The primary objectives of this study were to provide detailed understanding of: (1) the processes by which Virginia's student assessment policy developed; (2) the current expectations and intentions of policy makers in regard to assessment; and (3) the anticipated direction of state policy in regard to uses of and further requests for information documenting institutional processes and quality. Primary data for this study included over 100 document sources, supplemented by interviews with 61 individuals involved in the policy making process. Virginia's assessment policy was shaped by a national trend toward state efforts to stimulate reform and "quality assurance" procedures in higher education, as well as the interests of the State Council of Higher Education staff in using assessment to advance an agenda for review and renewal of undergraduate curricula. Student assessment has been marked in Virginia by efforts to maintain an institution-centered approach to the process. As a result of the desire not to characterize assessment as an accountability mechanism, these activities have been guided by general and somewhat vague guidelines and expectations from SCHEV and other state officials. Assurances that institutions have meaningful and appropriate programs in place were desired, but most officials had limited concepts of what would constitute such processes and further indicated little concern with obtaining or using specific data. Assessment and related activities were seen by state officials as positive and logical components of necessary self-evaluation undergone by any agency or organization. As SCHEV officials awaited the first full institutional reports in summer 1989, it was apparent that only a very negative report on the quality of institutional efforts might spur prescriptive action on the part of the General Assembly. / Ph. D.

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie studie is om die huidige prestasiebestuurstelsel van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch te evalueer en om verbeterings aan te beveel. Die volgende navorsingsdoelwitte is dus bespreek: bepaal of uitsonderlike prestasie beloon word; stel vas of personeellede in die huidige prestasiebestuursproses glo en dit ondersteun; identifiseer die knelpunte in die prestasiebestuurstelsel van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch; bepaal die kenmerke van en vereistes vir doeltreffende prestasiebestuurstelsels; ontwerp ‘n model wat toesighouers in die toekoms as wegspringblok kan gebruik om prestasie as deel van hul daaglikse aktiwiteite te meet; bepaal die potensiële verwantskap tussen prestasie en vergoedingsvlakke; en bemagtig Menslike Hulpbronne om die vergoedingsbeleid konsekwent toe te pas. Eerstens word eietydse literatuur bestudeer om die verskil tussen prestasiebeoordeling en prestasiebestuur te bepaal. Beste praktyk vir prestasiebestuur word deur die literatuuroorsig geïdentifiseer sodat die Universiteit van Stellenbosch dit in die toekoms kan implementeer en sodat die slaggate waarin ander instansies getrap het, vermy kan word. Ander hoër onderwysinstansies word geëvalueer om bestaande stelsels ten volle te begryp en te bepaal waar die Universiteit van Stellenbosch kan verbeter. Data van die 2006-2007 en 2007-2008 prestasie-evalueringstydperke is gebruik om te bepaal of daar ‘n korrelasie is tussen individuele prestasiepunte en bonusse wat ontvang is. Laastens word ‘n elektroniese vraeboog aan alle permanente personeellede aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch versprei word om te bepaal wat die huidige persepsie van prestasiebestuur by bogenoemde instansie is. Die resultate (verwys Tabel 4.4) toon aan dat die Universiteit van Stellenbosch as geheel nie aan die vasgestelde prestasiebestuurbeleid voldoen nie. Sommige personeellede wat ‘n prestasiepunt van 3 en laer behaal het, het ook bonusse ontvang. ‘n Bonus vir ‘n prestasiepunt van 3 kan nog regverdig word as ‘n erkenning vir harde werk. Die Universiteit van Stellenbosch streef ooreenkomstig sy vergoedingsbeleid daarna om ‘n verwantskap tussen prestasie en vergoeding te bewerkstelling deur tussen uitsonderlike, gemiddelde en ondergemiddelde presteerders te onderskei. Dit is duidelik dat die Universiteit van Stellenbosch se beleidsdokumente (vergoeding en prestasiebestuur) uitgevoer word en weldeurdag is. Opleiding, wat saam met opvoeding bevorder word, verseker ‘n hoë vlak van begrip vir prestasiebestuur, die ontwikkeling van die nodige vaardighede en waardering vir die waarde wat prestasiebestuur tot ‘n organisasie kan toevoeg. Die voorgestelde prestasiebestuursmodel (verwys Tabel 5.2) sal verseker dat behoorlike voorbereiding gedoen word (standaard werkprosedures en opleiding) met opvolgaksies (kritiek en hersiening) om te verseker dat die model saam met die organisasie groei. Die huidige prestasiebestuurproses (die hoe) is onsuksesvol. Aandag kan egter aan die proses geskenk word deur opleiding en heropleiding en deur meer finansiële hulpbronne beskikbaar te stel om te verseker dat gepaste verwantskap tussen prestasie en vergoeding geskep word. Verskeie prestasiebestuurprogramme (elektroniese weergawes) is beskikbaar. Dit is vir die toekoms uiters belangrik om elektroniese bestuursmetingsprogramme te implementeer en om die proses hierby aan te pas. Gereelde kommunikasie hou personeel ingelig en verseker dat die verskillende stadiums van prestasiebestuur plaasvind. Die idee dat prestasiebestuur alledaags en tydrowend is moet in ‘n kultuur van maklike en doeltreffende prestasiebestuur omskep word. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to critically examine the current situation regarding the performance management system at Stellenbosch University and make recommendations for improvement. This was done by looking at the following research objectives: determine whether outstanding performance is rewarded; investigate whether staff members believe in and support the current performance process; identify barriers to the performance management system at Stellenbosch University; determine characteristics and requirements of effective performance management systems; design a model that can be used in future as a starting point for supervisors to measure performance as part of their daily activities; determine the potential link between performance and remuneration levels; and empower Human Resources to consistently enforce the remuneration policy. Firstly, contemporary literature was reviewed to understand the difference between performance appraisal and performance management. Best practices for performance management were identified through the literature review to ensure that Stellenbosch University implements those in future and to steer away from the pitfalls other institutions have experienced. Other higher education institutions were evaluated to fully understand what is in place and where Stellenbosch University can improve. Data from the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 performance evaluation periods were used to determine whether a correlation exists between an individual’s performance mark and receiving a bonus. Lastly, an electronic questionnaire was distributed to all permanent employees of Stellenbosch University to determine the current perception of performance management at this institution. The results (refer Table 4.4) indicate that Stellenbosch University as a whole does not comply with the set policy regarding performance appraisal. There were employees who received performance v marks of 3 and below who also received bonuses. Performance marks of 3 can be justified and seen as a “thank you for your hard work”. In terms of Stellenbosch University’s remuneration policy, the University strives to establish a link between performance and remuneration by differentiating between outstanding, average and below average performers. It is clear that Stellenbosch University’s policies (remuneration and performance management) are in place and well thought through. Training, running concurrently with education, ensures a high level of understanding of performance management, the development of the required skills and an appreciation of the value that performance management can add to an organisation. The proposed performance management model (refer Table 5.2) will ensure that thorough preparation is done (standard working procedures and training), with a follow-up action (critique and revision), to allow this model to evolve with the organisation. The current performance management process (how) is not successful. However, it can be fully addressed through training and re-training, and by making more financial resources available to ensure an appropriate linkage between performance and remuneration. Several performance management programmes (electronic versions) do exist. Moving forward, it is vital to implement electronic measuring programmes in conjunction with the re-alignment of the process. Regular communication will keep employees informed and will ensure that the different stages of performance management take place. The idea that performance management is mundane and time-consuming must be changed to a culture of easy-to-do and effective performance management.

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate success of an integrated newsletter assignment for first year Human Resource Management students as an authentic and meaningful form of assessment by tracing and deciphering the narratives of the role-players. The study also examined the role that the newsletter can play regarding experiential learning, which is an essential component of teaching and learning at technikons in South Africa.</p>

Student satisfaction and service quality are interrelated constructs that are associated with improving student retention. This research investigated the relationships between these constructs in the context of an institution of higher education as an information system and sought to reduce the dimensionality of what have traditionally been considered orthogonal factors of these constructs in order to produce a parsimonious model and survey instrument that may be useful in assessing and predicting overall student satisfaction and overall service quality. The methods of analysis used in this study are quantitative in nature and included the use of descriptive univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses; exploratory factor analysis to examine latent dimensions within the data; and multiple linear regressions to measure the predictive efficacy of combinations of variables with respect to overall student satisfaction and overall service quality. It was hypothesized that the statistical treatment of the data would show that some dimensions routinely collapse, leading to possible valuable theoretical implications.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-10-10T10:21:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Assef Pierotti.pdf: 1121473 bytes, checksum: 5918f48272659b1f5c48958d89f9c899 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-10T10:21:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Juliana Assef Pierotti.pdf: 1121473 bytes, checksum: 5918f48272659b1f5c48958d89f9c899 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-08-10 / This research is the analysis of the performance of Law students from a High Educational Institution based on public data made available by Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (Inep) on results obtained in the Students Performance National Exam (Enade) in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015.The qualitative and quantitative analysis is the comparison of Discrimination and Facilities Levels in Specific Component in more accurate and more wrong questions by Law students from this Institution compared to the total number of Law students who participated all over Brazil. It was also verified the curricular contentes with best and worst performance of these two groups. Covering documental analysis, results analysis and historical textualization of the emergence of intelligence tests and their influences for the creation of the Large Scale High Education Appraisal, this research aimed to indicate perspectives of the use of these informations for the planning and improvement process on the pedagogical proposal of a course, considering their respective students performance in the tests. We noticed that results are still being addressed in a regulatory manner and the creation of rankings is kept with a lack of aggregation in the formation proposal of new workers / A presente pesquisa buscou analisar o desempenho dos alunos do curso de Direito de uma Instituição de Educação Superior (IES) a partir dos dados públicos disponibilizados pelo Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anísio Teixeira (Inep) referentes aos resultados obtidos nas provas do Exame Nacional de Desempenho dos Estudantes (Enade) dos anos de 2006, 2009, 2012 e 2015. A análise quali-quantitativa consistiu da comparação dos Índices de Discriminação e Índices de Facilidade das questões de Componente Específico mais acertadas e mais erradas pelos estudantes do curso de Direito dessa IES em relação ao total de estudantes de Direito (participantes do exame) do Brasil. Também foi feita a verificação dos conteúdos curriculares de melhor e pior desempenho desses dois grupos. Englobando análise documental, análise de resultado de exames e contextualização histórica do surgimento dos testes de inteligência e suas influências para a criação da Avaliação de Larga Escala na Educação Superior, esta pesquisa buscou ainda indicar perspectivas de uso dessas informações para o processo de planejamento e aperfeiçoamento da proposta pedagógica de um curso, considerando o desempenho de seus respectivos alunos nas provas realizadas. Percebemos que os resultados ainda estão sendo tratados de forma regulamentadora e a criação de rankings se mantém, deixando de agregar na proposta de formação de novos cidadãos trabalhadores

<p>The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate success of an integrated newsletter assignment for first year Human Resource Management students as an authentic and meaningful form of assessment by tracing and deciphering the narratives of the role-players. The study also examined the role that the newsletter can play regarding experiential learning, which is an essential component of teaching and learning at technikons in South Africa.</p>

This thesis sets out to obtain an understanding of what it means to be an assessor in higher education, more especially within the Rhodes University context. The concept of assessment, a highly contentious and complex issue, is examined against a background of competing understandings of the nature and purpose of higher education, including the striving for excellence versus the call to more equitable ideals associated with a mass higher education and training system. An overview of salient issues is presented in which both traditional and alternative paradigms of measurement and assessment theory are explored with a view to considering foundational principles upon which sound assessment practice should be based. Specific methods and instruments of assessment are examined with the purpose of evaluating their potential for empowering students as active participants in their own learning and in the assessment process. In a field in which much of the literature seeks improved assessment merely through the administration of increasingly sophisticated assessment techniques, a phenomenological investigation offered a unique way of understanding the meaning assessors make of their practice. Making use of in-depth interviews with five lecturers at Rhodes University the researcher, interacting in a personal manner with people not viewed as experimental objects but as human subjects, assisted participants in moving towards non-theoretical descriptions that accurately reflected their experience. Insights contained in the data were synthesised and integrated into a consistent description of the essential nature of the experience, the primary endeavour of the phenomenologist being to transform naïve experience into more explicitly detailed conceptual knowledge. The essence of how these educators understand themselves as assessors at Rhodes University is perhaps best encapsulated by a considerable sense of agency or initiative on their part. While participants make use of a variety of assessment strategies, they are conscious that assessment cannot be viewed in isolation from other aspects of their teaching and the curriculum. Not only do they make use of different assessment methods but, conscious of accommodating the diverse needs of students, understand their responsibility in terms of providing learning opportunities to assist students in meeting the course outcomes and fulfilling their potential. Rather than allowing pressures from within and outside of the academy to dictate, these lecturers, with significant hard work, courage and a capacity for reflective practice, have embraced the challenges associated with higher education in a state of transition.

The purpose of this study was to develop a test blue-print for a hospitality management capstone course to measure programmatic student learning outcomes. A total of 50 hospitality industry professionals and hospitality management faculty were interviewed through focus group discussions, and a post-focus group survey was conducted to determine a weighted percentage for each of the nine determined content domains. A test blueprint was developed from the weighted proportions determined by this study and a process by which other educational institutions could follow to establish a consistent and accurate evaluation method for a capstone course was described.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Lack of presence in online courses can result in perceived isolation leading to student dissatisfaction with the learning experience. The purpose of this study was to measure nursing students' perceived extent of teaching, social and cognitive presence and course satisfaction in an online undergraduate nursing course, and whether relationships and associations existed between the three presences, course satisfaction, student demographic, academic, and technology variables, and selected instructional strategies. The Community of Inquiry theory was the framework used in this descriptive correlational study of RN-BSN students (n= 76). Variables were measured using the Community of Inquiry Survey and the Perceived Student Satisfaction Scale instruments, and a researcher developed survey. Findings indicated students' perceived teaching and cognitive presence were present to a greater extent than social presence. Significant positive correlations (p &lt; .01) were found between teaching and cognitive presence (r =.79), cognitive and social presence (r =.64), teaching and social presence (r =.52), satisfaction and the teaching (r =.77), social (r =.63), and cognitive (r =.52) presences. There were no significant findings associated with age, ethnicity, race, number of online courses taken, expected course grade or GPA and perceptions of the three presences and course satisfaction. There was a significant difference (p ≤ .05) with gender and perceived social presence with male students reporting stronger levels. Students experiencing course technology difficulties reported significantly (p ≤ .05) lower perceptions of teaching presence than those experiencing no difficulty. Significant differences (p ≤ .05) were found between specific course instructional strategies and each presence and course satisfaction. The findings provide faculty with an understanding of online course management and teaching/learning strategies that may increase students' perceptions of presence in online courses and improve student satisfaction with online learning.