Studied 44 academic departments judged by provosts to be engaged in effective curriculum planning to identify practices of continuous curriculum planning. Identifies 4 criteria and 20 indicators for assessing continuous program planning in a department. (SLD)

Proposes that higher education scholars distinguish among professional subjects taught to undergraduates as they do among traditional disciplines. Other distinctions may be more meaningful than the research-based dimensions used in the popular Biglan classification. A framework for differentiating collegiate career fields is proposed, evidence…

Disciplinary groups of faculty in small liberal arts colleges hold significantly different perspectives on teaching-learning goals and approaches for achieving them. The pattern of differences identified seems more complex than attitudinal dichotomies previously advanced by researchers studying faculty views across diverse types of institutions.…

In an attempt to provide more accurate information for student choice among postsecondary institutions, a team of educators "audited" a new information prospectus under preparation at Barat College. The audit procedure, its accomplishments, limitations, and generalizability are discussed. (Author/LBH)

A generic conceptual framework is presented to guide study of preservice collegiate professional preparation programs. Research based on the scheme can help to improve program self-study and external reviews, clarify educational goals, and foster collaboration across fields of professional study. (Author/MLW)

Content analysis revealed that specialized accreditors include few explicit educational outcome statements in published standards. A comparison of differentially explicit agencies based on independently derived faculty views about outcome emphasis and accrediting rigor indicated that more experience and firmer data are needed to judge the impact…

A survey of professional field faculty in programs at 346 colleges and universities enabled identification of field-specific environments for preparing entry-level students. The environments are independent of institutional type and size but parallel the occupational prestige of the profession and the gender ratio of graduates. (Author/MLW)

The responses of 10 disciplinary task forces to an Association of American Colleges challenge to improve the college major were examined, using content analysis. Consistent with previous research on academic planning, results showed that the disciplines respond to curricular reform proposals in different but characteristic ways. (Author/MSE)