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Economic success is an aim of governments around the world. Their "human capital" stance towards higher education implies the need to develop graduates' capabilities to the full. The concept of graduate "employability", currently being developed in the light of theory and empirical data, is beginning to find acceptance in the UK. One of the keys to its acceptability in higher education has been the alignment of employability with good learning--that is, learning that is manifested in complex outcomes. However, the achievement of complex outcomes requires a programme-level focus, rather than a focus on individual study units. This article reports on the way such a programme-level approach was adopted in four different universities in the UK, and how relatively small-scale actions have the potential to augment students' employability. The implications for policy at the levels of the system, the higher education institution and the academic department are discussed.

Reviews some current responses to the pressure higher education institutions in the United Kingdom have received from the private sector concerning learning outcomes that employers value. This article asserts that many of these responses are inadequate and analyzes the concept of employability. The article also claims that employability leads to complex learning. (SWM)

Explores why summative, or high-stakes, assessment in higher education is in disarray, and why formative assessment therefore needs attention, along with the nature of curriculum in higher education. (EV)

Explores the dependability of assessments of student achievement when used for internal and external quality monitoring (IQM and EQM). Identifies problems and suggests responses, including a radical approach based on accepting that reliable national data about complex student achievements are not available. Asserts that reliance on EQM is unwise and that more attention should be paid to IQM. (EV)

Asserts that although outcomes-led rational curriculum planning offers one way of creating coherent curricula in higher education, it is a poor approach to adopt. Describes an alternative, process model of curriculum creation and discusses the advantages it can have as an approach to planning coherent learning programs. (EV)

Higher education institutions have difficulty providing stakeholders with reliable, valid information about student achievement. High stakes assessment data are ambiguous in communicating such information. It is important to distinguish criterion-referenced assessment from norm-referenced assessment. This paper proposes a system that goes beyond high stakes assessment and describes the design of reliable assessment systems. (SM)

Argues that the ways in which college and university faculty experience their work often inhibit them from applying validated teaching practices. Suggests, however, that leadership practices and working cultures at the departmental level that foster collective and collaborative teaching approaches can go far toward improving teaching and learning, although outcomes may be unpredictable. (DB)

Interviews with 24 new entrants to the academic profession at 10 Canadian and English universities were analyzed and compared with previous studies. Analysis of the process of socialization into academic life found that activity system theory and the idea of communities of practice seemed most appropriate. Implications for professional practice and better induction are drawn. (DB)

Discusses the benefits and drawbacks of teaching portfolios and student portfolios. Suggests that students can best gain from their years of study when the systemic reflection that is characteristic of portfolios engages them (through learning portfolios) and their teachers (through teaching portfolios); embedding such thinking in practice is itself a powerful and innovative approach to reframing the curriculum. (Author/DB)

Reviewed some UK graduate programs' information materials and a set of focus groups with students, and examined the nature of demand for graduate program information in two studies. Results show documents were uneven and frequently did not provide enough information, and applicants want more contact with departments and their students. (EV)

Drawing on experience in the United States and United Kingdom, two educators discuss the practice of quality assessment in higher education. Distinguishing between formative and summative assessment, they identify characteristics that support quality learning, observing that practice falls short of these ideals and noting that it is risky for universities to tacitly support the existing situation. (Author/MSE)

Editorial. Presents overviews of the articles published in the periodical 'Quality in Higher Education,' volume 6, number 2, 2000 issue. Academic work and quality; Quality and self-actualization.

Editorial. Comments on programmed instructions in higher education to advance the employability of graduate students. Correlation between updating the labor force and a country's economic performance; Definition of employability; Description of the Dalhousie Careers Profile programme.