Five Dimensions of Quality: A Common Sense Guide to Accreditation and Accountability

CHAPTER 17USING EVIDENCE TO ENSURE AND ADVANCE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a habit of asking, “How do you know that?” (Stengel, 2012). At a college committed to a pervasive, enduring culture of betterment—one of evidence-informed decision making—everyone asks this on a regular basis. Decisions everywhere are consistently informed by systematic, compelling evidence: at board and department meetings, in administrative units and academic programs, in liberal arts and professional programs. A quality college is always learning about its students, its practices, its stakeholders, and its environment and using that information to become ever more responsive and effective. Evidence is not something cranked ...