Purpose The purpose of this study is to share quality process experience from a US comprehensive university to use both direct (participation rate and assessment quality) and indirect assessment measures (assessment survey) to evaluate the quality process. Design/methodology/approach A mixed method design was used to evaluate the quality process. The qualitative design used thematic analysis to find the common themes from the assessment survey. The quantitative design included reliability and internal consistency for the survey and inter-rater reliability for the peer review. Findings Findings indicated that participation rate and assessment quality improved over the years. Faculty provided positive feedback about assessment website, the peer review process and feedback but negative perspectives on the assessment management software and heavy workload on assessment activities. The researcher shared the actions made based on three-year assessment results, especially how leaders have used it to align with planning and budgeting to close the institutional effectiveness loop. Research limitations/implications This research had two limitations. The inter-rater reliability of the peer review was not high and the number of peer review reports in two years were so different, so the results could not be checked for statistical significance. Practical implications The meta-assessment results could have important implications for other universities to improve the quality process. Originality/value There have been limited studies on using both direct and indirect assessment measures to evaluate the quality process. This study uses multiple measures to provide accurate results for administrators’ decision-making in resource allocation.

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We use archival ALMA observations of the CO(2-1) and SiO(5-4) molecular line emissions of AGB star R Hya to illustrate the relative contributions of rotation, expansion and line broadening to the morphology and kinematics of the circumstellar envelope (CSE) within ~70 au (~0.5 arcsec) from the centre of the star. We give evidence for rotation and important line broadening to dominate the inner region, within ~ 14 au (~100 mas) from the centre of the star. The former is about an axis that projects a few degrees west of north and has a projected rotation velocity of a few km s−1 . The latter occurs within some 7-14 au (50-100 mas) from the centre of the star, the line width reaching two to three times its value outside this region. We suggest that it is caused by shocks induced by stellar pulsations and convective cell granulation. We show the importance of properly accounting for the observed line broadening when discussing rotation and evaluating the radial dependence of the rotation velocity.

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Nowadays, industrialization and urbanization have led to increasing stress levels in many countries. Primarily, it starts having an impact on vulnerable populations, e.g., college students and physicians. While previous works have reported an alarmingly high rate of stress in students, little is known about whether there are stress-related brain activity changes. This study aims to examine the effects of a realistic stressor (examination) on students’ stress levels and brain activities. We selected a cohort of 16 college students to participate in this study. Each subject was invited to the laboratory twice (pre-exam and in-exam) for completing a package of questionnaires. At the same time, we measure their brain physiological activity by using a portable EEG recorder. Our data reveal that examination- induced stress is associated with changes in the activity of the occipital and parietal-temporal areas in the brain. We construct a machine learning framework to estimate each student’s stress level using features extracted from brain activities and a classification method. Finally, our study underlines the necessity of applying stress intervention to create an optimal learning environment for students.

Assessment or internal quality assurance (IQA) processes have often been driven by external stakeholders such as accreditation and governmental agencies of higher education, which are focused on accountability rather than quality improvement. This research examined how private and non-profit Doctoral and Research institutions with less public financial dependence and accountability requirements adopted the Excellence in Assessment (EIA) rubric to improve their IQA models that supports improvement. A survey based on National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) EIA rubric was sent to the ASSESS Listserv to learn if there was a difference in EIA scores related to source of funding and Carnegie characteristics. A two-way MANOVA analysis of the survey responses showed that there was no difference in IQA practice followed EIA rubric between source of funding (public and non-profit private institutions) and Carnegie classification (Research and Comprehensive). Recommendations are made regarding the reliability of the EIA rubric. The EIA designation can serve as a framework for U.S. and non-U.S. higher education institutions to benchmark and improve the current IQA processes.

Faculty engagement has a close relationship with the internal quality assurance (IQA) of academic programs and program success since faculty participation significantly impacts continuous quality improvement of teaching and learning. However, dramatic challenges revealed in a review of the literature indicated faculty resistance to this process. The purpose of this review of published articles was to learn about the strategies to engage faculty in quality management of academic programs. Based on a thematic and content analysis of published articles three major categorical areas emerged: Resources, IQA model and recognition and rewards. The knowledge gained from this analysis has implications for international higher education at three levels: ministry of education and training, accreditation agencies and higher education institutions. The implementation of identified practices would foster movement of the quality assurance process toward continuous quality improvement.

Accreditation demonstrates an institution’s commitment to quality academic experiences for their students and consistent institutional development. This chapter discusses the role of contingent faculty in the accreditation process.