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Educational institutions can apply Deming's System of Profound Knowledge to provide a map for change that will help them meet the new accountability requirements they face.
Accountability in higher education is creating different expectations of institutional quality and success. Learner outcome indicators are replacing traditional indicators based on line item budgeting and institutional budget planning. There is pressure to look at universities in terms of economics and prestige, suggesting market position through ranking instead of institutional mission or types of degrees offered (Eckel, Couturier, and Luu, 2005). The issue, however, is not the absence or amount of institutional accountability; rather, in the United States, "[t]he problem is a failure to develop and implement accountability approaches that help improve performance in a complex, decentralized system of higher education." (National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education, 2005).
Accreditation is used as a proxy for quality in higher education (Eaton, 2003); thus, colleges and universities define quality based on accreditation (institutional and programmatic, as deemed appropriate) and state-recognition protocols. This creates a messy regulatory environment - one that needs simplification, according to the Spellings Commission Report written in 2006. So, to quote from the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education (2005):
"Too often accountability is a battleground between educators and policymakers. Many educators believe externally imposed accountability is a tool to place blame or avoid responsibility for inadequate financial support. Many policymakers, frustrated because existing investments are not producing better results, believe stronger external accountability is the only way to get improvement. In an atmosphere of resentment and mistrust, accountability initiatives produce more resistance than progress."
If Augusti's (2005) agreement with Haug's (2003) earlier perception that the inefficient process of accountability will remain in place for the foreseeable future is correct, central and unit administrators at colleges and universities need to rethink how they view the whole of institutional performance as it relates to its:
* Identity and role (mission and vision).
* Programs offered (curriculum and co-curriculum).
* Relationship with stakeholders (students, parents, potential students and parents, employers, community organizations, and political entities at the local and state levels).
* Institutional definitions of quality (instruction, research, and services).
* Demonstration/documentation of institutional performance excellence.
Although senior campus administrators do not normally look at the field...