Study On Internal Quality Indicators In American Universities And Colleges

People have been focus on the quality of education since the beginning of the school. With the deepening of mass higher education process, the higher education quality has been the attention of stakeholders, such as universities and colleges, students, employers. The core task of higher education is to totally improve the quality. Internal quality indicators in universities and colleges have been the important basic in the process of quality management with the development and mature of patterns on quality management. The appearance of internal quality indicators in universities and colleges makes higher education quality management possible from the starting point, but also makes higher education assessment standard. Therefore, study on internal quality indicators in universities and colleges has important theoretical significance and practice value.The patterns on quality management of American higher education have matured relatively in the United States, America, as the one of the most mature and developed higher education. Internal quality indicators in universities and colleges in America have significant functions in the process of supervision and controlling of quality management. The study on the internal quality indicators can not only be well known the application and value in the practice of quality management but make other countries and regions learn from which it does. So, the study is in the perspective in the internal quality indicators in universities and colleges. Firstly, the paper studies the American higher education quality movement and the changes of quality management patterns while analyze the universities’ and colleges’ role and status of quality management, and then explores the history and its cause of American internal quality indicators. Secondly, the paper studies the internal quality indicators in different types of American universities and colleges. In this paper, according to the Carnegie University Classification Standards in2000and social influence of various types and levels of universities, the paper researches the internal quality indicators systems in four types of universities and colleges granting the awarded the doctorate, the master, the bachelor and the associated degree. Finally, the paper makes the following conclusions by analyzing the pattern, characteristics, functions, questions and enlightenments on the base of practice of different types of American universities and colleges, according to the theories of the new public management and total quality management.From the basic form points of view, the internal quality indicator system in American universities and colleges include four indicators, which are students, faculties, fund and basic indicators (class size and teacher student ratio), and each type of the indicators is abundant. Internal quality indicators in American universities and colleges have characteristics followed. Firstly, the universities and colleges granting the doctorate, the master, the bachelor degrees have their own quality indicator system except the colleges awarded associated degree; secondly, the names of indicators in the internal quality indicator system are the same, but the data are different; thirdly, the different quality indicators in the system of indicator are not even with the development; the forth, there is a big difference in the completeness of quality indicator system in four types of universities and colleges; moreover, the design and development of internal quality indicators in universities and colleges in America is more closely related to training objectives. From the view of the function, quality assurance, monitoring and positioning of universities and colleges are the basic function of internal quality indicators, and to excellence and to diversity of universities and colleges as well as to academic freedom are the derived functions of internal quality indicators. In the views of questions existing, different development levels in American universities and colleges should be further improved, and the quality indicators should be refined in the future. In the enlightenment point of view, rationality of internal quality indicators in universities and colleges is the only but best way to enhance the quality of higher education, and we should optimize internal quality indicators in order to construct scientifically the internal quality indicators.