Current Views of Departmental Quality: An Empirical Examination

This article examines systematically four different views of quality: a faculty view, a student view, a resource view, and an outcomes view. In varying degrees the research literature is found to lend empirical support to all four views. A recent study which incorporated each of these four views is introduced in order to reexamine the merits and limitations of each perspective. The ensuing discussion considers the theoretical and practical problems encountered in dealing with the elusive concept of quality and suggests the kinds of actions colleges and universities can take to improve program quality.