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Accreditation: does it enhance quality?

Published:12 March 1994Publication History
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Abstract

Accreditation, considered to be the one formal mechanism for assessing quality in the postsecondary environment, focuses on determining and encouraging acceptable levels of educational quality. In particular, specialized program accreditation is purported to enhance program quality.

This exploratory study used a nationwide mail questionnaire to a stratified random sampling of 100 department heads of the units administering baccalaureate Computer Science programs. The purpose was to gain an understanding of how Computer Science programs and departments were related to selected indicators of faculty and program quality.

Several differences and some similarities exist between the accredited and non-accredited groups. The median of the data for each indicator suggested a quality breakpoint to be used in defining two indices. It was found that for each of the two indices, the accredited group outperformed the non-accredited group by thirty percent. The implication is that Computer Science programs that follow accreditation guidelines have the potential for increasing their quality indicators.

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          cover image ACM SIGCSE Bulletin
          ACM SIGCSE Bulletin  Volume 26, Issue 1
          March 1994
          410 pages
          ISSN:0097-8418
          DOI:10.1145/191033
          Issue’s Table of Contents
          • cover image ACM Conferences
            SIGCSE '94: Proceedings of the twenty-fifth SIGCSE symposium on Computer science education
            March 1994
            414 pages
            ISBN:0897916468
            DOI:10.1145/191029

          Copyright © 1994 ACM

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          Association for Computing Machinery

          New York, NY, United States

          Publication History

          • Published: 12 March 1994

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