It seems impossible, dear Marwan, to find a concrete means for measuring success of higher education: the guiding of young minds in productive directions is something which, you would think, resisted calibration. Yet, one standard does exist, however crude and apparently materialistic.  Many private colleges and universities in the U.S. rely for their continuation on alumni endowments.  I think in particular of the seven Ivy League schools, Harvard,Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell.  The success of graduates enables them to be generous with their alma maters.  This applies to those alumni who have succeeded mainly in the business sector.  The greater the endowments, the higher the success rate of the respective institutions. What of scientists and researchers?  The quantity of advanced thinkers that a university generates is an objective measure, ascertainable from curricula vitae. The quantity of publications put out by such thinkers is yet another measure.  The quality can be measured by prizes awarded for their research, from the most provincial local cash awards all the way up to the Nobel Prize.  What I have said of measuring success in the sciences applies to the humanities, where quantity and quality of literature and artworks appear on CVs.  Can one measure success from the esthetic enjoyment afforded by a given painting?  Apparently not, and yet, if that painting generates many imitators, historians of art discover yet further objective means to measure success of university graduates.  Many different means of quantifying and qualifying the success of teaching institutions do exist, and with reflection the list of these means can be extended ad infinitum.

Dear Marwan

The things you have indicated are measures by them selves. Indeed the values of higher education are measured not only by the number of people of higher degrees but by the impacts it makes in the lives of individuals, communities and the world at large due to the training and education it offers. Its higher value lies in building knowledge to think in a higher order to solve problems and  transform societies for better.  

Dear Merwane

Such a question is in my opinion difficilke to grasp for various reasons. It is not easy to measure the value of higher education especially since we can not standardize on a global scale. I think each country in its own way to evolve (scientific and technical). The social development of a country can be selected as one of the parameters but it remains the same as a subjective parameter.

Best regards

FADEL

It seems impossible, dear Marwan, to find a concrete means for measuring success of higher education: the guiding of young minds in productive directions is something which, you would think, resisted calibration. Yet, one standard does exist, however crude and apparently materialistic.  Many private colleges and universities in the U.S. rely for their continuation on alumni endowments.  I think in particular of the seven Ivy League schools, Harvard,Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell.  The success of graduates enables them to be generous with their alma maters.  This applies to those alumni who have succeeded mainly in the business sector.  The greater the endowments, the higher the success rate of the respective institutions. What of scientists and researchers?  The quantity of advanced thinkers that a university generates is an objective measure, ascertainable from curricula vitae. The quantity of publications put out by such thinkers is yet another measure.  The quality can be measured by prizes awarded for their research, from the most provincial local cash awards all the way up to the Nobel Prize.  What I have said of measuring success in the sciences applies to the humanities, where quantity and quality of literature and artworks appear on CVs.  Can one measure success from the esthetic enjoyment afforded by a given painting?  Apparently not, and yet, if that painting generates many imitators, historians of art discover yet further objective means to measure success of university graduates.  Many different means of quantifying and qualifying the success of teaching institutions do exist, and with reflection the list of these means can be extended ad infinitum.

Dear @Marwan, Measuring the 'Value' of Higher Education brings good information and discussion about. I do agree with you that such measures would bring good informational feedback that could be used for the improvement of HE policy and its outcomes!

"Evoking a term like value in higher education conversations often leads people to think about salary -- focusing on the economic and workforce benefits of a college degree. Certainly, that's a critical and practical part of the equation. But, value should also focus on outcomes that prepare students for lifelong learning and long-term professional success and contributions to the social good.

To better gauge value, students need to ask -- and receive answers to -- some straightforward questions: How much does college cost and how do students pay? How many -- and which -- students complete their degrees? And what do graduates experience after college in the workplace and society? These may seem like easy questions to which we should already have the answers, but the truth is this information is not readily available."

A model for measuring the value added by higher education in Australia is given!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-asha-cooper-phd/measuring-the-value-of-hi_b_5150945.html

http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/what-s-the-difference-a-model-for-measuring-the-value-added-by-higher-education-in-australia_hemp-v21-art5-en?crawler=true

In an ideal case, universities will contribute into shaping the future by producing graduates equipped with critical thinking & deductive reasoning. But, in the real case, the majority of the graduates did not acquire these two attributes but only obtained a degree for a career or to hang it in the guest room to show off. The market continues to change in specific countries but not on a global scale (in fact, there are market stagnations in many places). The performance of the lucky graduates, who got jobs, can give indications about the value of higher education but I am afraid that many universities do not follow up their students after their graduation.

Dear Prof Marwan. The evaluation and measurement of higher education is a national task to promote the national institutions to standard international levels. and  depend on participations of of all invoved in this education and and concentrate on (1)tracing the historical background of educational testing (2) describing the trends in the shift from national testing to institutional testing; (3) recounting the programs advocating the discipline among higher education institutions; and (4) citing the organizations and institutions supporting the discipline. The development in these four areas shaped the status of educational measurement and evaluation ..

Dear Dejenie, Fadel, Nelson, Ljubomir, Nizar, Gamal, Brenda, Marcelo and other friends,

In speaking of the value of any education, we are actually speaking about the personal and professional life of students, a value that should be measured by how well it imparts critical abilities that students will need to thrive, abilities that will allow graduates to fulfill their potential and to make a difference in the world.

I couldn't find awnsers for your question, but I found two books about that.

Green, Diana. "What is quality in higher education?." (2014).

Astin, Alexander W. Assessment for excellence: The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012.

I agree with Nizar and Ljubomir.

I agree with you dear Marwan and with Nizar and Ljubomir. The quality of outcomes and graduate students lifestyle reflect the type of evaluation we need.

1. Papers published in accredited journals.

2. Original developed projects.

3. Projects developed with significant risks.

4. Problems solved in the community.

5. Difficult and risky decision made on behalf of the community.

6. prizes awarded for research

Thanks everybody for making this whole argument rich in demands! I think that  we need to avoid the pitfalls of traditional assessment tools (such as standardized tests) that are often unconnected to our teaching practices and experiences!

Dear Eraldo,

Dear All,

Students should be equipped with the abilities to fulfill their destinies after their graduation, eventually to help them find where we fall short in developing their abilities.

I also agree with dear Marwan & Nizar and Ljubomir.

Some of the most important things in life are highly non-quantifiable. We can only measure the measurable but the benefits of higher education are beyond measure. 

Dear Prof. Marwan M. Obeidat

The value(s) of higher education be measured by different required attributes in the goals of students, nations and societies. It is debatable and complex to fix universal values but in general contribution in economic productivity is a common bench mark for measuring the value(s) of higher education. 

Teacher quality needs

Appropriate vocational education programs

Utilise resources optimally for academic growth and excellence.

Institutions - productive enterprises linkage for student’s academic growth and career advancement.

ICT infrastructure in academics and administration.

Curriculum to meet the global challenges through the competencies and skills developed among the students

1. Up dated teachers and Curriculum

2. Research on the issues that benefit the society

3. Morally and ethically strong teachers

@ Marwan M. Obeidat

Faculty quality research output and recognition.

There is an interesting answer for this question in the following article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-asha-cooper-phd/measuring-the-value-of-hi_b_5150945.html

Dear @Mohammed, please have a look in my answer, page one of this thread! :)

Implementing a social media strategy to leverage the existing student body to communicate to a wider audience.

Measuring the 'Value' of Higher Education

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-asha-cooper-phd/measuring-the-value-of-hi_b_5150945.html?ir=India

http://www.ets.org/s/hed/21911/index.html

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-mash/valuing-higher-education-new-economy

http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/the-avenue/posts/2013/11/12-economic-education-rothwell

https://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications/the-region/the-interaction-of-education-and-economic-change

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21600131-too-many-degrees-are-waste-money-return-higher-education-would-be-much-better

http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Documents/20121212_Economics%20of%20Higher%20Ed_vFINAL.pdf

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/dropouts/value-of-college-degree.html

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775714000582

A model for measuring the value added by higher education

http://www.oecd.org/site/eduimhe08/41319232.pdf

M e a s u r i n g  V a l u e -A d d e d  i n  H i g h e r  E d u c a t i o n

http://www.hcmstrategists.com/contextforsuccess/papers/CUNHA_MILLER_PAPER.pdf

Measuring the consumption value of higher education

http://repec.org/esAUSM04/up.17298.1075484224.pdf

Beyond the Rankings: Measuring Learning in Higher Education

http://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/beyond-the-rankings.pdf