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<p>List of Tables and Exhibits ix</p> <p>List of Jargon Alerts xi</p> <p>List of Acronyms xv</p> <p>Foreword xix</p> <p>Preface xxv</p> <p>Acknowledgments xxxi</p> <p>About the Author xxxiii</p> <p><b>Introduction: Today’s Quality Context 1</b></p> <p>1. Why Is American Higher Education Under Fire? 3</p> <p>2. Understanding American Accreditation 11</p> <p>3. Quality: Committing to Excellence 25</p> <p>4. Why Is This So Hard? 35</p> <p><b>Dimension I: A Culture of Relevance 49</b></p> <p>5. Integrity: Doing the Right Thing 51</p> <p>6. Stewardship: Ensuring and Deploying Resources Responsibly 59</p> <p><b>Dimension II: A Culture of Community 75</b></p> <p>7. A Community of People 77</p> <p>8. Leadership Capacity and Commitment 89</p> <p><b>Dimension III: A Culture of Focus and Aspiration 97</b></p> <p>9. Purpose: Who Are You? Why Do You Exist? 99</p> <p>10. Goals and Plans: Where Are You Going? How Will You Get There? 107</p> <p>11. Who Is a Successful Student? 119</p> <p>12. Helping Students Learn and Succeed 129</p> <p><b>Dimension IV: A Culture of Evidence 145</b></p> <p>13. Gauging Success 147</p> <p>14. Good Evidence Is Useful 161</p> <p>15. Setting and Justifying Targets for Success 167</p> <p>16. Transparency: Sharing Evidence Clearly and Readily 177</p> <p><b>Dimension V: A Culture of Betterment 189</b></p> <p>17. Using Evidence to Ensure and Advance Quality and Effectiveness 191</p> <p>18. Sustaining a Culture of Betterment 197</p> <p><b>Conclusion: Integrating and Advancing the Five Dimensions of Quality 209</b></p> <p>19. Demonstrating Quality to Accreditors 211</p> <p>20. Program Reviews: Drilling Down into Programs and Services 229</p> <p>21. Where Do We Go from Here? A Six-Point Agenda for Ensuring and Advancing Quality 239</p> <p>References 249</p> <p>Index 265</p>

<p><b>LINDA SUSKIE</b> is a bestselling author, speaker, trainer, and consultant on assessment and accreditation in higher education. She has served as vice president of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, associate vice president for assessment and institutional research at Towson University, and director of the Assessment Forum of the American Association for Higher Education. She is the author of <i>Assessing Student Learning</i> from Jossey-Bass.</p>

<p>Written as a practical and highly accessible guide, <i>Five Dimensions of Quality</i> outlines a simple, straightforward model for understanding and meeting the ongoing need for advancing quality in higher education. Institutions seeking accreditation along with those simply aiming for self-improvement will find Linda Suskie’s practical model of five dimensions of quality—relevance, community, focus and aspiration, evidence, and betterment—a standard for identifying ways to improve institutional quality and a useful approach for demonstrating quality to constituents. </p><p><i>Five Dimensions of Quality</i> is an ideal resource for any institution wading through accreditation processes, which have become more complex in recent years due to increasing regulation and pressure for greater accountability. To help readers understand accreditation processes, Suskie explores the underlying principles that drive the expectations of accrediting bodies. Using the five dimensions model, which provides a framework for the resources provided by accrediting bodies, college and university leaders, administrators, and faculty can readily recognize what they need to do to earn and maintain accreditation as well as advance overall institutional quality and sustainability. </p><p>Suskie offers a wealth of useful advice and real-world examples on each of the five cultures of quality, including practical suggestions on articulating goals, gauging success, the characteristics of good quality evidence, setting and justifying targets for success, and sharing evidence. She also offers sensible tips for building an institutional community, deploying resources, responding to the needs of students and society, using evidence to ensure and advance quality and effectiveness, and sustaining pervasive cultures of quality and betterment. She concludes with a six-point agenda for colleges and higher education leaders who are tasked with advancing quality and effectiveness and adds ideas for accreditors. </p><p>With <i>Five Dimensions of Quality</i>, higher education leaders, administrators, faculty, and committee members will have the information, tools, and strategies needed to enhance and demonstrate their institutions’ quality and sustainability. </p>

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