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ERIC Number: EJ981335
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0024-1822
EISSN: N/A
The Quality Challenge: How Kaplan Is Tackling the LEAP Call to Action
Smith, Peter
Liberal Education, v98 n2 p48-53 Spr 2012
When the author attended a Network for Academic Renewal conference sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in 2011, he was surprised by the level of skepticism expressed from the podium about proprietary higher education. This article is intended as a response. From his perspective as a for-profit educator, the author explores the educational concerns that AAC&U promotes so strongly. Do they matter? Why? And what can the proprietary sector contribute to the larger conversation that AAC&U is promoting? The author asserts that Kaplan's academic community is committed to the values and aspirations promoted by AAC&U through its Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) initiative. Both LEAP and the Lumina Foundation's Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP) are shifting the policy and practice discussion in higher education toward learning outcomes, while joining the academic quality agenda with the completion and productivity agendas. LEAP and the DQP provide institutions the needed opportunity to discuss academic quality in a transparent environment, using third-party frameworks and definitions. The author discusses how Kaplan is tackling the LEAP call to action on transparency about academic quality. He points out that in a mass higher education environment informed by information abundance, efficiency, and effectiveness, the core quality standard for most colleges and universities will be based upon consistent, reliable, and valid assessments of transparent learning outcomes.
Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1818 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 800-297-3775; Tel: 202-387-3760; Fax: 202-265-9532; e-mail: pub_desk@aacu.org; Web site: http://www.aacu.org/publications/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A