Academic Quality Work: A Handbook for Improvement Book

About the Authors     ix
Foreword     xiii
Preface     xix
Quality Matters     1
Could Quality Be Better?     2
The Importance of Mental Models     7
Economic Considerations     9
A Program for Academic Quality Improvement     16
Plan for the Book     23
Academic Quality Work     26
AQW Defined     26
Myths About Education Quality     27
Design and Implementation Quality     31
AQW Focal Areas for Education     33
Balancing Cost and Quality     45
Quality Principles and Their Application     51
Quality Principles     52
Maturity of AQW     65
Quality Work Above the Department Level     67
Context-Defining Questions for Teaching     71
Engaging Faculty in Education Quality Work     76
A Systematic Process for Structured Conversation     78
The Virtue of Peer Review     84
Introduction to Academic Audit     87
Audit as a Force for Change     95
Testimony From the Bellies of the Whales     97
Preparation and Departmental Self-Studies     101
ProjectOrganization     101
Orientation Workshops     103
Audit Work Sessions for Programs in Cycle     103
Example of a Self-Study     113
The Audit and Audit Report     173
Putting Together the Audit Team     174
Audit Report-Writing Guidelines     179
Tips to Make the Process Work     182
Follow-Up to Process Is Important     189
Examples of Audit Reports     191
Auditing Quality Work for Research and Scholarship     211
Research Focal Areas     212
Quality Principles Applied to Research and Scholarship     213
Some Comments About the Process     215
Starting Questions for Research and Scholarship     218
Modifying the Audit Process to Include Research     220
Results From Reviewing Research and Scholarship     222
Concept-Defining Questions for Research     226
Campus Audits and Continuous Improvement     233
Organizing a Campus Audit Program     233
Campus Visit Schedule     243
Campus Audits Internationally     248
The National Consortium for Continuous Improvement     252
Policy Recommendations     255
Summary of the Book      255
Return on Investment in Higher Education     257
The Spellings Commission     259
Recommendations     262
What Everyone Can Do     265
Bibliography     267
Index     273