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Tightening Curricular Connections: CQI and Effective Curriculum Planning

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Abstract

Over the past decade, continuous quality improvement (CQI) has emerged as a strategy for documenting and systematically building academic program quality. This study used a nationally representative sample of engineering faculty members and students to examine the influence of faculty members’ CQI activities on the relationships between student and institutional characteristics, student experiences in- and out-of-class, and student learning outcomes. A cluster analysis validated the use of four CQI-related variables to differentiate engineering programs into high- and low-CQI groups. In a multiple group path analysis, the models for the high and low groups differed significantly, supporting the hypothesis that CQI indirectly influences the relationships between student and institutional characteristics, student experiences, and student learning outcomes. Further, the path results suggested a number of modifications to the analytical and conceptual frameworks used in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Affairs Research and Assessment, The Pennsylvania State University, 222 Boucke Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Betty J. Harper

  2. Center for the Study of Higher Education, The Pennsylvania State University, 400 Rackley Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Lisa R. Lattuca

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  1. Betty J. Harper
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Correspondence to Betty J. Harper.

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Table 7 Study variables
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Harper, B.J., Lattuca, L.R. Tightening Curricular Connections: CQI and Effective Curriculum Planning. Res High Educ 51, 505–527 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9167-2

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