Conversations with Peter Ewell:
Academic Standards & Performance Assessment
Register now Download 2010 brochure
This half-day executive seminar takes stock of international work on academic standards and on productivity in higher education – complex and intertwined concepts driving much debate in Australia.
Featuring a review of the different approaches to assessing and monitoring academic standards, the seminar will explore what this means, what has been tested, what works and what has failed. The rationales for current policy interest in this facet of education quality will be considered, placing developments in Australia within broader global trends.
Productivity considerations shape the work of institution leaders and policymakers alike. Policy developments in the USA will be reviewed, including approaches to measuring productivity, the economic contribution made by higher education, and performance-based funding models. Links will be made with research led by the USA National Academy of Sciences and the Lumina Foundation.
Specific topics to be covered include:
- academic standards in a global perspective
- funding approaches and perspectives on productivity
- strategies for systems and institutions
Who should attend?
This seminar is for senior leaders and policymakers responsible for designing and managing change, including Vice-Chancellors, Pro Vice-Chancellors, Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Deans, Vice-Principals, Policy Directors.
Delivery mode
A highly interactive half day seminar.
Date and location
Tuesday, 6 July 2010, 9:30am to 2:00pm, LH Martin Institute, Carlton, Victoria
Cost
$450 ($495 inc GST)
Fee includes program materials, morning tea and lunch.Please note that numbers are limited to a maximum of 20 participants.
Seminar Leader
Peter T. Ewell
Vice President, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
Peter Ewell is Vice President at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), a research and development centre founded to improve the management effectiveness of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. A member of staff since 1981, Dr Ewell’s work focuses on assessing institutional effectiveness and the outcomes of college, and involves both research and direct consulting with institutions and state systems on collecting and using assessment information in planning, evaluation, and budgeting. He has directed many projects on this topic, including initiatives funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the National Institute for Education, the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education, and The Pew Charitable Trusts, and is currently a principal partner in the Pew Forum on Undergraduate Learning.
Having consulted with over 375 colleges and universities and twenty-four state systems of higher education on topics including assessment, program review, enrolment management, and student retention, Dr Ewell has also been actively involved in NCHEMS work on longitudinal student databases and other academic management information tools.
He has published extensively on improving undergraduate instruction through the assessment of student outcomes. Among his publications are: The Self-Regarding Institution: Information for Excellence and Assessing Educational Outcomes, both of which have been widely cited in the development of campus-based assessment programs. He has prepared commissioned papers for many agencies, including the Study Group on the Conditions of Excellence in American Higher Education (authors of the report Involvement in Learning), the Education Commission of the States, the National Governors’ Association, the National Conference of State Legislators, and the National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education. Widely sought as a speaker on assessment, in 1985 he gave the keynote address for the first national conference on Assessment in American Higher Education, and has since spoken widely on this topic at both national and international conferences. In 1998 he led the design team for the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and currently chairs its Technical Advisory Panel.
Prior to joining NCHEMS, Dr Ewell was Coordinator for Long-Range Planning at Governors State University. A graduate of Haverford College, he received his PhD in Political Science from Yale University in 1976 and was on the faculty of the University of Chicago. In addition to consulting in higher education, Dr Ewell has been involved in program evaluation, organisational development and strategic planning for a variety of non-profit and arts organisations including the National Endowment for the Arts and six state arts agencies. In 1981 he received the National Theater Association award for Theory and Criticism.
If you would like more information on this program please contact Anna Steer or call +61 3 8344 3157.