Assessing Quality in Graduate Programs: An Internal Quality Indicator. AIR Forum 1981 Paper.

Four approaches to measuring quality in graduate education are reviewed, and the approach used at the graduate school at Ohio State University is assessed. Four approaches found in the literature are: measuring quality by reputation, by scholarly productivity, by correlating reputation and scholarly productivity, and by multiple measures. Ohio State University uses a multiple measures approach to assess quality. Graduate school representatives judge doctoral examinations and report to the graduate school dean about the fairness of the examination, the quality of the examination, and the quality of the student's performance. The judgments are tabulated and presented as quantitative and qualitative indicators of quality. Quantitative data are derived from the General Examination Evaluation Forms. The graduate school representatives rate from one to seven (poor to excellent) the appropriateness of the oral questions, the level of difficulty of the oral questions, and the candidate's performance. Qualitative data are derived from written comments made by the graduate school representatives. Quantitative and qualitative data are also derived from the Final Oral Examination. The graduate school representatives' evaluations are added to other internal and external quality measures to help programs identify their strengths and weaknesses. These evaluations have been useful in helping program faculty change their examination procedures, the content of doctoral examinations, and perceptions that have contributed to the suspension of graduate admissions in a field of specialization. A bibliography and ratings of graduate school representatives on graduate examinations are appended. (SW)