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2 Defining Quality
Pages 9-18

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From page 9...
... He noted that in the 2-year sector, institutional completion rates are almost completely uncorrelated with the post-enrollment median earnings for institutions' former students, and the correlation is still fairly weak, though positive, in the 4-year sector. Matsudaira reasoned that earnings miss important dimensions of institutional quality, but the Scorecard earnings measures are some of the few quality indicators based on an outcome that students care about and are available for almost every highereducation institution.
From page 10...
... Some participants believed that institutions are too diverse for a single set of metrics to be applied universally, given that postsecondary education spans from online institutions to "boot camps" to community colleges to 4-year colleges and universities. Further complicating the notion of a single set of metrics is the diversity of students, who vary considerably in their needs and expectations, as well as in their academic, social, and economic backgrounds.
From page 11...
... Steve Crawford (George Washington University Institute of Public Policy) and Courant suggested informing typologies with questions such as "Where do people like me, with my attitudes, my interests, my behavioral traits, get a quality education?
From page 12...
... described students "who are moving in their own directions, motivated to find the best resources out there, and using their institutions of higher education as a guide to help them get to where they want to go." Andy MacCracken (National Campus Leadership Council) believes that many students acquire the foundational skills that prepare them for the workplace outside of the classroom.
From page 13...
... How Well an Institution's Graduates Succeed in the Workforce Courant cited a recent Gallup poll that found that only 11 percent of business leaders and 14 percent of the American public believe that colleges adequately prepare students for the workforce, while 96 percent of chief academic officers believe that their graduates are workforce ready. 3 MacCracken suggested that, given how often the average person changes careers over a lifetime, the foundational elements of a quality education are the skills that apply to different occupations and fields.
From page 14...
... These outcomes include knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrated learning. 5 Several participants cited professional and basic cognitive skills as important outcomes of a quality education, noting that employers increasingly report these skills as weak among their new hires.
From page 15...
... Schneider said, "We have ascended to a highly stratified tiered system of higher education in which some students are routinely steered to institutions that would give them the fullest and the most empowering possible education while others are steered off to narrow, short-term programs or to apply to those degrees which are devoid of the broad learning that people need to understand the global economy they're part of." Ericsson highlighted a stronger background in mathematics as a key to college success for underrepresented minorities. The students whom she sees succeeding in engineering or technology coursework received strong mathematics education at an early age: "I'm seeing students taking Calculus 3 before they leave high school." Although some students' deficits may be due to deficiencies in K-12 education, she suggested maintaining focus on higher education.
From page 16...
... For instance, the Gallup-Purdue Index has grappled with relating later life satisfaction to undergraduate experiences. The Post-Collegiate Outcomes Initiative, a collective partnership between the American Association of Community Colleges, the Association of Public and Landgrant Universities, and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, also touched upon these issues.
From page 17...
... mentioned that the outcomes of UC– Davis students who started at community colleges are sometimes better than if they had started at the university. Partnerships between UC–Davis and the community colleges have been critical in the university's efforts to improve quality.


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