Catherine Burdt reports that accreditation agencies are placing increasing emphasis on student learning outcomes. These agencies are in the early stages of using metrics to assess and verify institutional progress, an important indicator of institutional quality.

Looking forward, trends indicate that institutions are using the accreditation process as a catalyst to examine their internal data as well as to institute data-driven processes to achieve productivity gains.

For profit institutions have established a significant presence in higher education by targeting non-traditional students. Some for profits are now moving to serve the 18- to 22-year-old audience.

Federal and state-level government agencies encourage improved transparent data about price, costs, student outcomes, and other value-added results of a postsecondary education.

Some institutions try to capture outcomes at three levels--student, programmatic, and institutional--and identify the most relevant measures.

Source: Catherine Burdt, "The Drive to Learning Outcomes Management," Campus Technology, 3/1/2007, http://www.campustechnology/article.aspx?aid=45265

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