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Business schools are globally often seen as structured, purpose-driven, multi-sector and multi-perspective organisations. This article is based on the response of a graduate school to an innovative industrial Quality Function Deployment-based model (QFD), which was to be adopted initially in a Master's degree programme for quality assurance purposes. The approach is based on the premise that individuals ought to take responsibility for the quality of their own work. A structured qualitative case study approach was used with the deployment of one-on-one and focus group interviews, document analysis, and observations. Convenient sampling assisted in reaching 27 respondents (five from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, eight academics and university managers and 14 students and alumni), documents and facilities that had the most pertinent information on the research focus. A validation study was used to test the value of the research findings to business and the practice of quality assurance. The main findings of the study attest to the feasibility of QFD as an assessment and quality assurance tool in higher education, and as a compact and holistic model for quality assurance that subsumes the many fragmented models available. QFD appears to supersede most models, where it compounds the market, social and management dimensions in terms of quality. In addition, Six Sigma Road Mapping can be linked to QFD to balance the quality requirements in terms of planned quality, offered quality and expected quality.

This paper aims to elaborate on the use of Six Sigma and Kaizen in policing services. Two case examples are discussed, followed by a review of the key implications obtained from the projects. In optimising the quality of policing services to the community, the police agencies in the UAE are faced with numerous challenges. This paper aims to provide further evidence of the use and applicability of Six Sigma and Kaizen in the policing field and to propose the direction for future studies. Based on the study results, it is proposed that the methodologies from Six Sigma and Kaizen are adopted in policing services to achieve an improvement in all aspects of their environment, including the process of service delivery, service effectiveness and efficiency, and the reduction of operational costs. This study is considered one of the few that have reported the use and benefits of these methods in policing services. Specifically, the findings have provided implications to the general arguments on the effectiveness of Six Sigma and Kaizen and their applicability in police agencies under the public sector, leading to further contributions which fill the research gap. Moreover, this study offers significant value for practitioners and managers in the organisations under the public sector to exert continuous improvement in the provision of services or products and organisational performance.

AJK (Azad Jammu & Kashmir) government is a small administrative unit under overall sovereignty of Pakistan. It has a total area of 13297 sq kilometers with a population of about 3.8 million. This study critically examines the problems of primary education system in AJK State specifically in govt. primary schools in Pakistan administrative Kashmir, a part of former princely state called Azad Jammu & Kashmir. For this purpose a significant review of on hand literature was passed out. On the basis of deeper and critical investigation into the literature, the study found that primary education is the most neglected, poorly financed and poorly managed. There is political interference in the system which breeds corruption, favoritism and nepotism. The system of supervision is weak and traditionally characterized having no effective mechanism for teacher training with poor system of accountability, teachers are underpaid and successive educational policies have failed to bring any positive changes in the system due to poor implementation. The curriculum of the primary education is outdated. Assessment is based on the memory of the students rather than their performance. On the basis of this study it is recommended that the problems can be solved by robust system of accountability, eradication of corruption, quality assessment system, non political interference, and quality curriculum and teachers motivation.

Education means all round development, this all round development means intellectual, social and emotional development. It is only education that can mould the behavior of an individual. READ (Rural Education and Development) Foundation is notfor-profit organization established in 1994 to address the dire need for education and literacy in Pakistan. Pakistan is facing an educational crisis with more than 25 million children not being able to avail their constitutional right to a quality education. One in ten of the world's out-of-school children are Pakistani. Education is the only tool which can enable the country to develop and progress amongst the communities of nations. Realizing this problem, READ Foundation's founders envisaged building a school system to serve the marginalized communities and underprivileged families and to contribute for MDG,s. The main aim of this study is to assess the actual role of READ Foundation of quality improvement in Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the key roles of READ Foundation for providing quality education in Pakistan. For this purpose a significant review of on hand literature was passed out. On the basis of deeper and critical investigation into the literature, the study found that the READ Foundation truly contributed with the admirable system of accountability with equal opportunities to all. Having good quality assessment system, non political interference, and quality curriculum and teachers motivation for achieving quality oriented goals.

This study investigated the factors that shape the broader impacts activities of NSF grant recipients. A random sample of NSF grantees was surveyed about the type and quality of their broader impacts activities, their views on knowledge production and the democratization of science, their experience and training, and the existence of a supportive climate and resources for community engagement at their home institutions. Respondents indicated that they shared an orientation towards knowledge production that was more democratic than technocratic and valued public engagement in science; that they had adequate experience but little training in community engaged activities and lacked confidence in their ability to evaluate such work; that executive leaders at their institutions encouraged community engagement but promotion and tenure policies did not recognize such activities; and that they had little access to training, funding, or infrastructure to support community engaged activities. A multinomial logistic regression showed that faculty expertise, available resources, and academic discipline were the strongest predictors of type of broader impacts activity (p < 0.001). A multiple regression analysis revealed that faculty expertise, a democratic orientation towards knowledge production, and a supportive climate were the strongest predictors of quality of broader impacts activity (p < 0.001).

At this age of accountability, it is acknowledged that assessment is a powerful lever that can either boost or undermine students' learning. Hitherto, much of the regular institutional and instructional practices show that assessments remain inhibitory or void rather than constructive as these lack the assessment formative aspect. This denotes that assessment is either not well understood or not done in a principled educational framework across all educational levels. This is due to some inherited dysfunction of the past, which calls for the urgency of a moratorium. The current article attempts to enhance the EFL practitioners' educational assessment practice as a form of expanding awareness. It attempts to establish a founded theoretical framework for the main concerns that might have been troubling novice and professional EFL practitioners with regard to understanding the working mechanisms of such a perplexing task that has long been delegated to them. Particular aspects of the current review target the definitions of the concept of assessment, the value, functions and purposes of assessment, levels where assessment occur, assessment research literature synopsis, and classroom assessment research (CAR). CAR presents detailed knowledge about the potency of assessment, research on classroom assessment practices, research on alternative assessment, research on formative assessment, and finally quality control criteria for effective classroom assessment. The article culminates in the pedagogical potency of formative assessment and some of its classroom procedural applications inspired from research into formative assessment, and how that might contribute to the enhancement of pedagogic practice.

The relevance of the research problem is conditioned on the need to justify the use of the logistics methodologies in the quality parameters control process of material flows. The goal of the article is to develop theoretical principles and practical recommendations for logistical system control in material flows quality parameters. A leading approach to study this problem is a set of scientific knowledge and special methods, allowing identifying the main trends and features for the quality parameters control of material flows. The main results of the research with the scientific novelty are the following: --grounded conceptual framework for the qualitative parameters management of material flows and business processes; --defined the relationship of the evaluation criteria to characterize products and processes, and to highlight typical and assigned material flow characteristics; --proved the necessity of quality parameters logistical system control of material flows. The article can be useful to set up the quality parameters control system of material flow in the micro-mesa-logistics systems to optimize total costs, improve quality, material flow and processes and, as a consequence, improve the products competitiveness.

The article analyzes the problems of contemporary professional education. As its instance, we examine the developmental scheme for training professional translators. Optimal ways of organizing the learning process are suggested from the point of view of the competence approach, which is widely recognized for training a modern specialist. The article demonstrates the present-day relevance of the translation profession and the importance of raising expert translators, who possess such a professional quality as a translator's competence. In this article, we analyze different points of view on the concept of "translation competence", as given presently in both national and foreign scientific literature. However, the PACTE-model is specifically highlighted. The problems of developing criteria for the translation quality control are studied, as regards to the translations that future professional translators perform in the process of learning. The article presents various opinions of foreign scientists on the systems of assessment and on the criteria for evaluating the quality of translation services. These systems form the basis for the suggested complex of criteria for the quality control and assessment of translations from Russian, which combines different approaches to assessing translation, and which proved to be productive when used in the process of translators training.

The relevance of the investigated problem is caused by the objective necessity of construction of the Russian examination practice, taking into account the leading trends in the education system development, where student-activity approach advocates the dominant, and insufficient development of this issue in both the theoretical and methodical plan, based on the primary focus of the examination content on reproductive component, does not dock with the modern educational realities. Objective of the research: to develop and pedagogically substantiate the didactic conditions and means of improving the examination control procedures at a vocational school in the conditions of modernization of Russian education, drawing on diagnostically specified learning objectives and focus on personal characteristics of the student. Leading approach to the study of this problem was the holding of a retrospective analysis of the literature on the quality control of the educational process, the analysis of the actual state of the problem of examination quality control of preparation of students of professional institutions in theory and practice, with the purpose to identify the didactic conditions and means of improving the examination control in a vocational school. The author's version of pedagogically-based examination procedures in a vocational school in the conditions of modernization of education is represented in the article, developed on the basis of the revealed didactic conditions (diagnostic mission objectives, focus on level and student-activity approaches, reflected in the structure and content of the exam, correcting pre-exam training) and means (typology of examination tasks, complex advisory activities). The article represents practical significance for using by vocational school teachers in the process of organizing and carrying out the examination; researchers in the field of vocational training in the study of problems related to the examination control.

The subject of the study in the article is conceptual basis of construction of the target model of interaction between University and region. Hence the topic of the article "the Target model of strategic interaction between the University and the region in the field of education." The objective was to design a target model of this interaction. The methods of study were comparative analysis and instructional design, as well as benchmarking as a methodology of quality control of the interaction. The result was the definition of five main blocks of issues that determine the quality and effectiveness of pre-school, general and additional education at the university. The research results can be used in the design of teacher education in the universities of Russia. This paper therefore concludes that the allocation of basic blocks between the University and the region will allow detailed conceptual and structural essence of the target model of interaction.

In this paper, the authors explore a holistic three-stage framework currently used by the Eynesbury Institute of Business and Technology (EIBT), focused on academic staff identification and remediation processes for the prevention of (un)intentional student plagiarism. As a pre-university pathway provider--whose student body is 98% "international"--plagiarism is a prevalent and complex issue that cannot be solved with a single-solution response. The three stages of identification should be conceived holistically and with each stage being equally important to the assessment of student writing. It is worth noting, however, that the extent to which plagiarism is detected will determine the number of stages involved and the degree the student has transgressed. This framework emphasizes the need for, and importance of, Academic Integrity (AI), literary ownership, assessment transparency, and compatibility with partner institutions.

This study aims to describe the form and the effort of empowerment management in enhancing teachers' competence at three "Madarasah Aliyah" in Banten province. Meanwhile, the specific objective of this study is to find out the teachers' responses in the research site about the opportunity of the academic qualification improvement and the improvement of their competence as a teacher, as well as to understand the problems of empowerment management and the improvement of teachers' competence at three "Madrasah Aliyah." Data collecting techniques used in the research were: interview, observation, and documentation study. The study revealed that: the improvement program of academic qualification and teachers' competence encouraged all teachers to minimally have graduate academic qualification; The improvement of teachers, competence was carried out in integration with the duties and the major functions of teacher as a professional educator and teacher; and the efforts done by the teachers to continue their study to the graduate program which was appropriate with their major.

This study involves the assessment of the quality management models in Higher Education by explaining the importance of quality in higher education and by examining the higher education quality assurance system practices in other countries. The qualitative study was carried out with the members of the Higher Education Planning, Evaluation, Accreditation and Coordination Council and Director of Higher Education and External Affairs Unit of the Ministry of National Education. Purposive sampling and snowball/chain sampling was done due to low number. The semi-structured interview form was designed in light of the theoretical framework as the data collection tool. The data was analysed through content analysis. The results of the study showed that higher education authorities are not able to perform their responsibilities with the current bureaucratic structure and major duties fall onto the higher education institutions in terms of quality management.

This paper critically examines the treatment of the statistical basis for Six Sigma and process capability in popular operations management textbooks. It discusses areas of confusion and suggest ways of treating the topic that make sense to instructors as well as students. Even though Six Sigma was introduced almost 30 years ago, misconceptions persist. In the textbooks we have found no consistency of approach or understanding of the statistical underpinnings (3.4 defects per million opportunities) of Six Sigma. Sometimes statements are made that are factually incorrect and cause frustration for students and instructors. Similar difficulties are encountered in discussions of the related concept of process capability. The paper suggests changes that will help resolve these issues and bring much-needed clarity to discussions of these important ideas. Students will find the material much more accessible and instructors will find it much easier to convey the concepts underlying this important topic.

This paper provides a description of a teaching approach that uses experiential learning to teach process improvement. The teaching approach uses student groups to perform and gather process data in a senior-level quality management class that focuses on Lean Six Sigma. A strategy to link the experiential learning in the group projects to the theory provided in class is detailed, specifically the ability to increase yields through centering the process and decreasing variation. The group deliverables linking experiential learning to theory are described and examples are provided. Also, assessment criteria for the group deliverables are suggested.

In May 2016, the office of Finance and Sponsored Projects at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital conducted a 5-day design sprint session to re-evaluate and redesign a flawed final reporting process within the department. The department sprint was modeled after the design sprint sessions that occur routinely in software development and manufacturing processes fields. The Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) process was not consistent among all Sponsored Project Officers (SPOs), and the department needed to develop and implement quality control measures to safeguard compliance and assure quality in the reporting process. This study in adapting a software design process for use in sponsored projects assesses how this problem-solving mechanism can be utilized with success to replace the formal workgroup model and improve the research administration enterprise. Findings illustrate that several factors influence the success of the sprint application to research administration, including increased time spent dedicated to the problem and a gained shared understanding of the problem and possible solutions. Finally, findings indicate a strong preference for the individual problem-solving technique inherent in the sprint model in combination with the intense and deadlinedriven collaboration mechanism.

Relevance of article is caused by the fact that customer's satisfaction currently serves as the mechanism allowing the carmakers to be competitive in the market. The paper describes issues of assessment of the quality of products manufactured by automobile companies. The assessment is based on widely applicable complex characteristics of the quality. The obtained values of the quality index with the price criterion can be used at all stages of the automotive manufacture as well as of the price-quality ratio which completes the process of decision-making on car purchase. Materials of article represent the practical importance, results of a research can be used by automobile companies in development of strategy of product quality improvement.

During a short chemometrics course in the seventh semester of the chemistry undergraduate program, students receive a brief theoretical introduction to multivariate calibration, focused on partial least-squares regression as the most commonly employed data processing tool. The theory is complemented with the use of MVC1_R, an easy-to-use software developed in-house as an R Shiny application. The present report describes student activities with the latter software in the development of mathematical models to predict quality parameters of corn seeds from near-infrared spectra. Subsequently, an experimental project is carried out involving near-infrared spectral measurements, which are widely used in several industrial fields for quality control. To process the obtained data, students apply the knowledge acquired during the theoretical/software sessions.

Research syntheses provide one means of managing the proliferation of research knowledge by integrating learnings across primary research studies. What it means to appropriately synthesize research, however, remains a matter of debate: Syntheses can assume a variety of forms, each with important implications for the shape knowledge takes and the interests it serves. To help shed light on these differences and their stakes, this chapter provides a critical comparative review of six research synthesis infrastructures, entities that support research syntheses through investments they make in synthesis production and/or publication--enabling (and constraining) the ways knowledge takes shape. Identifying our critical cases through purposive selection, we examined research synthesis infrastructure variations with respect to four different kinds of investments they make: in the genres of synthesis they support, in their promotion of synthesis quality, in sponsoring stakeholder engagement, and in creating the conditions for collective work. We draw on this comparison to suggest some of the potential changes and challenges in store for education researchers in future years.

The single-case adapted alternating treatments design allows for an experimental comparison between two independent variables applied across two equally difficult, yet functionally independent, dependent variables. The design has been used prominently within the special education and behavior analysis literature since its inception. Despite its history and continued use, there are currently no formalized quality standards specific to the adapted alternating treatments design. Given the rise of evidence-based practices and the increased number of organizations developing quality and rigor standards, a discussion and evaluation of quality indicators specific to adapted alternating treatments designs is warranted. We provide an overview of quality indicators and examine their prevalence over the years within a subset of studies commonly incorporating the adapted alternating treatments design. Implications for researchers who use the design and organizations that develop standards for single-case research are discussed. Copies of coding tables and syntax in Microsoft Excel and SPSS formats may be obtained via Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/guw6h/.

A green chemistry experiment is presented for teaching an undergraduate quantitative analysis/analytical chemistry laboratory class through the use of black tea leaf extract for the determination of iron in supplement tablets. Dried tea leaf is a safe, low cost, and widely available source of natural extract that can be used in place of more toxic chemicals (for example, 1,10-phenanthroline) or other uncommon natural reagents that may be hard to obtain outside their native lands. Various student learning outcomes accommodated within this experiment include the principles and hands-on operation of a spectrophotometer, the construction of a calibration graph and obtaining a linear regression equation using Microsoft Excel, the determination of figures of merit (limit of detection, limit of quantitation, and linear working range), and sampling and preparation of supplement tablets with acid digestion. Students were trained in quality control and quality assurance through statistical data analysis for precision (SD) and accuracy (t test, percent recovery, and percent error) for the experiment. They were asked to discuss not only advantages but also limitations of using natural reagents for chemical analysis. Critical thinking and a deep understanding of the experiment were assessed through the students' ability to answer follow-up questions in their report and on the exam. Class management and modification of the experiment to suit a laboratory with limited facilities are discussed. This robust tea-Fe experiment was successfully demonstrated for teaching both large and small laboratory classes at two institutions, one in the U.S. and one in Thailand.

A major evolution of the research system has taken place in the Asian region. Taiwan, as an emerging economy, has systematically upgraded its knowledge production and international academic collaboration during recent decades. Within this broader context, this research aims mainly to investigate the contemporary development of knowledge production and internationalisation of research in Taiwan. Particular attention is directed to the concrete policies and mechanisms, current scenarios, and emerging issues and challenges. Despite relatively successful development until the early 2000s, our empirical evidence has revealed relatively low-ranked expenditures on R&D, declining R&D personnel, shrinking total international publications, stagnant research quality, and unbalanced disciplinary development. Moreover, emerging issues and challenges include intertwined factors that have lowered research outputs, diverse academic approaches, talent shortages, ageing faculty, and a lack of institutional underpinnings. In other words, Taiwan has reached a new watershed. Conclusions and implications are drawn in line with the systematic downsizing and quality enhancement.

We evaluate the feasibility of developing predictive models of rater behavior, that is, "rater-specific" models for predicting the scores produced by a rater under operational conditions. In the present study, the dependent variable is the score assigned to essays by a rater, and the predictors are linguistic attributes of the essays used by the e-rater® engine. Specifically, for each rater, the linear regression of rater scores on the linguistic attributes is obtained based on data from two consecutive time periods. The regression from each period was cross validated against data from the other period. Raters were characterized in terms of their level of predictability and the importance of the predictors. Results suggest that rater models capture stable individual differences among raters. To evaluate the feasibility of using rater models as a quality control mechanism, we evaluated the relationship between rater predictability and inter-rater agreement and performance on pre-scored essays. Finally, we conducted a simulation whereby raters are simulated to score exclusively as a function of essay length at different points during the scoring day. We concluded that predictive rater models merit further investigation as a means of quality controlling human scoring.

Purpose: This paper explores some management concepts and how applying these concepts from business to higher education can be problematic, let alone incompatible, particularly in relation to measuring quality in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: It provides a conceptual understanding of the literature on quality in the higher education context. It does so by examining the literature on students as customers, customer expectations, customer satisfaction and other management theories that have been applied to higher education. Findings: It argues that the current bases for perceiving quality such as meeting customer expectations, satisfying the customer, ensuring quality control, meeting standards and assessing the cost associated with poor quality are in disagreement with the principal aims and measures of quality in higher education. Research limitations/implications: This paper can certainly benefit from many other concepts in business that have been applied in higher education, which it lacks. It only focussed on a number of key and popular ideas in management theory that have been used in higher education more broadly. Practical implications: Student-focussed quality initiatives can be devoid of the student as customer concept. How programs, subjects and experiences are curated can be solely for the purpose of continuous improvement. Second, universities that choose to treat the student as a customer may find it beneficial to apply a relationship marketing approach to higher education. Lastly, those against the student as customer concept may focus on the long-term impact of quality initiatives such as promoting lifelong learning, building long-term relationships with alumni and employers and those that further promote academic integrity. Originality/value: Some considerations have been offered. These considerations revisit the basic notions of teaching and learning in higher education. It puts an emphasis on sidestepping the student as customer metaphor, that learning is not expressed in dollar terms, and that the quality of the student experience cannot be measured by student evaluation alone because it is felt much later in life.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of applying sustainability to the engineering curriculum at a university in China. Design/methodology/approach: A new curriculum, "ethics, involvement and sustainability," was designed and presented to engineering students from an undergraduate major in quality management engineering. This curriculum incorporated knowledge acquisition and skills training into sustainability via various teaching approaches in a mandatory curriculum at Tongling University, China. Pre- and post-questionnaire surveys, as well as a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model, were adopted to evaluate the changes in knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of respondents before and after curriculum implementation. Findings: Significant changes in knowledge and attitudes were observed following the implementation of the curriculum. In terms of the development of new behaviors, the changes tended to be moderate. Generally, respondents were satisfied with the effectiveness of the new interdisciplinary curriculum post-implementation. Practical implications: Positive results were observed for the pilot and practice of the new engineering education (NEE) strategy at the cooperating university in China. Specifically, the integration of sustainability into curriculum design, implementation and evaluation inspired greater social responsibility in engineering students' decision-making processes. Additionally, it shed light on how to integrate the concept of sustainability into curricula. One limitation of this study was the absence of a comparison group that did not experience the new curriculum. Originality/value: Scant attention has been paid to local universities in the context of the newly-launched NEE strategy. This study provides new insight regarding the implementation of sustainability into engineering curricula and practice via formal, but diversified, teaching approaches.

Despite the increasing discussions on quality and professionalism in the field of language assessment, limited empirical research is currently available on whether language testing practice conforms to the best practice model prescribed in professional standards. Situated in the context of Chinese higher education, this study examined how English placement tests are developed, implemented and used, and explored the social and contextual factors that shaped different aspects of placement testing practice. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design was employed to collect the research data. Findings suggest the lack of quality control procedures in placement testing practice, thus raising legitimate concerns over the reliability, validity, and indeed the overall usefulness of English placement tests for College English (CE) teaching programmes. Several factors featured prominently in the qualitative data which affected placement testing practice, including time pressure, a lack of policy and financial support from relevant administrative departments, stakeholders' lack of language assessment literacy (LAL), and students' cheating behaviours. Through investigating these aspects of English placement testing practice, this study highlights the crucial roles of professional standards in language testing practice and the importance of understanding the social dimensions of language assessment.

India and China are two fast growing economies of the world and need large skill based manpower to sustain the economic growth. The existing formal higher educational system in these countries will not be able to meet the demand of the economy. The paper will try (i) to compare the development of economy and distance education in India and China with reference to policy perspectives; (ii) to examine the course design, development and delivery of distance education programmes in national open universities of India and China i.e. Indira Gandhi National Open University of India (IGNOU) and Open University of China (OUC); (iii) to analyze the trend of enrollment in IGNOU and OUC; and (iv) to compare the recognition /accreditation and quality control process of distance learning in both these countries. The paper highlights the policy strategies of two countries towards quality control mechanism as par with conventional system.

Six Sigma methodology was used in a District General Hospital to assess the effect of the introduction of an educational programme to limit unnecessary admissions. The performance of the doctors involved in the programme was assessed. Ishikawa Fishbone and 5 S's were initially used and Pareto analysis of their findings was performed. The results were analysed and it was found that it was favouring the use of this technique, as the Six Sigma value increased from 2.6 to 4 producing a 99.4% yield. In conclusion this study stresses that The Six Sigma methodology is an acceptable tool which can be used for improvement of the performance of a Hospital Department and also of individuals; it can easily be used to improve the service safety and the patients' requirements.

The paper aimed to explore the self assessment practices in higher education in Bangladesh with special reference to Department of Business Administration of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. For self assessment purpose the researchers have collected opinion from students, alumni, employer and faculty members on eight areas. In collecting data the study used a semi-structured questionnaire on four point scale. To test the internal consistency the researchers have used Cronbach's a (alpha) test of coefficient. The study found that the department is in very weak position almost in all aspects from all assessors. The study suggested to the concerned authority of the department to allocate sufficient fund and logistic facilities for the development of higher education of the department.

This study follows well-published educational criteria for assessing the quality of learning outcomes and investigates how these criteria are applied to descriptors of courses that include object oriented programming concepts. These quality criteria aim to ensure that learning outcomes are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-scaled. The study examined course descriptors from all universities in New Zealand and found a significant gap between the published criteria and the learning outcomes--it is clear that learning outcomes are widely open to interpretation and do not meet the criteria. There is a minimal level of detail provided in these outcomes that are insufficient to satisfy the stated criteria. This study then presents a new and more detailed implementation of outcomes augmented with assessment structure and marking criteria to show that adding more detail significantly increases the complexity of course descriptors. This highlights the need for robust discussions between the writers of course descriptors who look for simplicity and flexibility and quality assessors who expect precision and specifics.

A semester-long, project-based series of laboratory exercises is described that provides practical experience of the upstream and downstream processes involved in monoclonal antibody production. This 6 week project is aimed at final year undergraduate students undertaking primary degrees in biotechnology, biochemistry, or related disciplines. Students develop subject matter knowledge of biologics production and practical skills related to cell culture, column chromatography, quality control, and information literacy. Students are assigned a vial containing a hybridoma cell line stored in liquid nitrogen. They thaw the vial and culture the hybridoma over the course of 4 weeks. They perform daily counts of live/dead cells and quantify glucose levels in the media. During the 4 weeks they will expand their cells from a single 60 mm dish into two large T-175 flasks, one for antibody production and one for generating stocks. They harvest the medium from the production flask and purify the antibody via Protein G affinity chromatography on an FPLC instrument. The purity of the antibody is tested by SDS-PAGE, and the concentration is determined on a Nanodrop instrument. Students present their results in the form of a project thesis, a product datasheet, and a public presentation. Learning was assessed relative to six learning objectives using a student survey administered at the beginning (presurvey) and end (postsurvey). The students who have undertaken this module demonstrated substantial learning gains. This laboratory project is highly adaptable with scope to adapt it for longer or shorter study periods.

Online and blended learning (OBL) is valued, but it also offers challenges. Literature indicates that OBL can enhance access to education and increase flexibility for students. However, the reported dropout rates indicate that student participation in OBL programmes is a concern. Scientifically valid knowledge about how factors that help students participate in OBL are related to student participation is necessary for quality improvement of OBL. This knowledge can help professionals determine what they need to improve in their institution and how to prioritize those improvements. In this study, we report on the validation of a quality instrument with indicators related to quality dimensions present in quality management frameworks and important success factors that aid student participation in OBL. These success factors are as follows: credibility, transparency, flexibility, accessibility, interactivity, personalization, and productivity. The partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method is suitable for validating complex models in studies where predictive accuracy is important. According to adult students, all success factors, except flexibility, are important for aiding OBL participation. Adult students perceive that the quality dimensions of learning activities and student support (related to interactivity) deserve priority in improving participation in OBL in adult education.

The aim of this study is to identify achieved successes, existing gaps and possible prospects of implementing the principle of transparency by Russian universities. It was focused upon the information transparency of educational activities from the perspective of legal requirements and interests of applicants and university students. The analysis of the implementation of the principle of transparency of Russian universities is conducted in this article by the reflection of information on the activities of the institution of higher education on the website and related network services. Here are revealed the typical shortcomings of universities to work with sites and generalized directions to develop this activity.

Institutions of higher education are faced with challenges when implementing an assessment initiative. These challenges include constraints on time and resources, the demands of specialized accreditation, and faculty motivation to comply. In addition, the communication of the expectations around assessment must be clear to all constituents in order for such initiatives to be successful. Communication begins with defining what the institution envisions to be the core elements that must be seen in a plan regardless of disciplinary uniqueness or specialized accreditation. When these core elements are developed and evaluated in a systematic and generalizable manner, institutions can move beyond the collection of quantitative data regarding the number of programs that are in compliance with the assessment mandate--i.e., merely counting the number of programs that report outcomes, measures, results, and action plans. Institutions can begin to conduct qualitative reviews of program-based assessment plans, identifying the clarity and value of plan components with regard to their usefulness for the improvement of student learning. Using the work of one regional comprehensive public university, this case study will demonstrate guiding principles for institutional success in both developing a generalizable assessment initiative and communicating this important work to institutional constituents.

Companies purchase computer systems to make their processes more efficient through automation. Some academic medical centers (AMC) have purchased computer systems for their institutional review boards (IRB) to increase efficiency and compliance with regulations. IRB computer systems are expensive to purchase, deploy, and maintain. An AMC should expect a positive return on investment from the purchase of an IRB system. An IRB system should decrease the processing time for IRB applications and affect the number of IRB staff members necessary to adequately handle IRB processes. This study examined these and other factors at AMCs to determine the value of IRB computer systems.

Engineering is one of the most global professions, with design teams developing technologies for an increasingly interconnected and borderless world. In order for engineering students to be proficient in creating viable solutions to the challenges faced by diverse populations, they must receive an expe­riential education in rigorous engineering design processes as well as identify the needs of customers living in communities radically different from their own. Acquainting students with the unique context and constraints of developing countries is difficult because of the breadth of pertinent considerations and the time constraints of academic semesters. This article describes a tool called Global Biomedi­cal Device Design, or GloBDD, that facilitates simultaneous instruction in design methodology and global context considerations. GloBDD espouses an example-centric approach to educate students in the user-centered and context-driven design of biomedical devices. The tool employs real-world case studies to help students understand the importance of identifying external considerations early in the design process: issues like anthropometric, contextual, social, economic, and manufacturing considerations amongst many others. This article presents the rationale for the tool, its content and organization, and evaluation results from integration into a junior-level biomedical device design class. Results indicate that the tool engages students in design space exploration, leads them to making sound design decisions, and teaches them how to defend these decisions with a well-informed rationale.

As the growth of online education offered by universities accelerates and spreads, universities are increasingly grappling with concerns related to widespread availability and the maintenance of academic quality. The "Quality Matters at Southeastern" Program fosters quality through a peer review process and offers a certification process to help assure quality in the University's online and blended course offerings. This report is a look at perceived impacts of the internal certification process by faculty.

The challenging of assessing formal and informal online learning at scale includes various issues. Many universities who are now promoting "Massive Online Open Courses" (MOOC), for instance, focus on relatively informal assessment of participant competence, which is not highly "quality assured". This paper reports best practices on the use of a web videoconferencing application to quality control student assignments through online oral examination at scale. In this case study, we examine the use of a simple online conferencing technology FlashMeeting (FM) by a Brazilian University to provide "quality assurance" in the assessment of twelve online postgraduate courses in Law for 20,000 students. Our research questions investigate the benefits and recommendations of using FM in online oral exams at scale. Our qualitative and quantitative data analysis centres on 3,462 short format interviews through FM conducted for this purpose by a group of around fifty assessors from September 2008 to September 2012. The effective use of FM provided evidence with respect to high quality assurance recognised by the Institution with respect to: students' identity, their knowledge and ownership of written work. The key benefits identified from the perspective of assessors and students were: reliable examination, credible technology, authentic assessment, interactive e-Viva, low cost, scalable process and practical testing in terms of time, effort and money.

Despite the fact that digital technologies are more and more used in the learning and education process, there is still lack of professional evaluation tools capable of assessing the quality of used digital teaching aids in a comprehensive and objective manner. Construction of the Comprehensive Evaluation of Electronic Learning Tools and Educational Software (CEELTES) tool was preceded by several surveys and knowledge obtained in the course of creation of digital learning and teaching aids and implementation thereof in the teaching process. The evaluation tool as such consists of sets (catalogues) of criteria divided into four separately assessed areas--the area of technical, technological and user attributes; the area of criteria evaluating the content, operation, information structuring and processing; the area of criteria evaluating the information processing in terms of learning, recognition, and education needs; and, finally, the area of criteria evaluating the psychological and pedagogical aspects of a digital product. The specified areas are assessed independently, separately, by a specialist in the given science discipline. The final evaluation of the assessed digital product objectifies (quantifies) the overall rate of appropriateness of inclusion of a particular digital teaching aid in the teaching process.

The current paper was produced with the purpose of suggesting strategies for bringing quality in distance education programs at higher education level. In recent times distance education is becoming an indispensable part of education system globally. Every institution is trying to offer their educational course through general as well through distance education means in order to make market for its programs. There is need to introduce quality distance education programs. It can be done through bringing quality in the curriculum and instruction of distance education programs, providing students quality support services, training faculty members in innovative methods of instruction of distance education, provision of technical support for promotion of research culture, adopting multiple ways of assessment of distance students, developing code of ethics for distance education faculty members and students, provision of quality infrastructure and technology, launching courses of distance education only through approval of national accreditation council for distance education (NACDE) and taking measures of check at every delivery system of distance education courses through quality control agencies.

This article considers the problems of the definition of quality in the educational sphere. Alternative approaches to the concept of quality of education and its evaluation are determined given the different approaches of scientists and experts. The most important criteria in assessing the quality is distinguished and formed in the matrix for quality control and to further enhance the higher education institutions. For the formation of the quality policy as it is conventionally defined in the market environment, interested parties are considered in the quality of education. The article shows an example of quality environment, you can analyze and generate a correct policy of higher education institution, taking into account the market environment and the matrix quality can complement each other in the process of quality management education. The article also discusses the current situation in the market of educational services of the Republic of Kazakhstan, based on the data that are not presented in the article. It is invited to consider the quality index which is formed on the basis of analysis of the "price-quality".