The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), whose primary purpose is to improve teaching and learning, has a powerful potential to strengthen educational quality in postsecondary institutions, yet the relationship between a single institution's teaching effectiveness and SoTL support is understudied. We examined evidence for SoTL support at…

This study is part of a line of research that focuses on intentional, large-scale, and effective change in complex, dynamical, organizational systems. This research utilizes the behavior analytic perspective of organizational behavior management and connects multiple levels of analysis ranging from individual learning to cultural evolution. This…

In response to global interest in the quality of post-secondary teaching, institutions are placing increasing emphasis on teaching development. This study evaluated the effect of a campus-wide, non-evaluative classroom observation initiative on teaching development at a post-secondary institution. A survey found that participants in this study…

The study used a theoretically guided questionnaire to examine student experience in college and to gain a better understanding about how college environment affects student persistence. Data were collected from a single four-year institution; the findings suggest that institutional control over academic quality is the most critical factor in…

Institutions of higher education are increasingly hiring non-tenure track faculty members (NTTF) to help meet the demands of the institutional teaching mission. Research suggests NTTF experience inadequate working conditions that hinder performance and negatively impact the quality of undergraduate education. Given the growing number of NTTF…

Although the organizational justice theoretical framework has been used frequently across a wide variety of settings, its use in examining higher education institutions has been limited. The purpose of the study reported here was to begin the process of applying this framework to higher education by identifying the distributive justice…

The Eastern Washington University Department of Education adopted an assurance program that guarantees that its graduates will perform to classroom expectations. If they do not, the university will provide remedial assistance free of charge to the hiring school district. Credibility, student marketability, accountability, and program feedback are…

Some tensions in the institutional development of the University of Cincinnati's College of Community Services as an alternative in professional preparation for students interested in human services careers are examined, with attention given to how to build a quality professional college in a major urban university. (Author/MSE)

Higher education institutions are criticized for rewarding faculty and developing organizational processes by criteria unrelated to developing a real university based on values of freedom and responsibility. A model for a creative university based on those values is presented and contrasted with educational bureaucracies. (MSE)

Chronicles the development of collaborative teaching efforts in higher education, in a context of declining resources. Outlines models of team coordinated teaching and team teaching, and identifies four dimensions of collaboration: integration, interaction, active learning, and faculty autonomy. Offers a model of collaborative college teaching…

The accreditation standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) ask business schools to describe consistent processes that provide for operational consistency and continuous improvement in support of the schools' stated missions. This article addresses the identification of requisite quality…

Some states are mandating basic skills testing and encouraging comprehensive universities to provide remedial programs for students who do not pass the tests. Texas House Bill 2182 is an example of this trend and is discussed in light of 10 key issues posed by assessment experts. (Author/MLW)

Examines discrepancy between public college faculty's role and expectations of the public and funding agencies, explores contributing circumstances, and looks at two attempts to address increased demand for better undergraduate teaching without weakening institutions' research reputations. The first approach, development of ethical principles of…

We propose a new metaphor for describing the interaction between students and their institutions of higher education, "students as partial employees." Several current metaphors anchored in the quality movement are reviewed to provide a background for this new way of viewing today's college students. This article provides the readers with examples…