The Seven Silos of Accountability in Higher Education: Systematizing Multiple Logics and Fields

Joshua Travis Brown   |    Volume Eleven  |   

Higher education accountability is a field characterized by complexity. Prior frameworks grounded in psychometrics, economics, and history fall short in explaining the persistence and composition of its complexity. This article employs organizational theory to identify the multiple conflicting approaches of higher education accountability and explain their persistence. The seven identified fields function as specialized silos, each with a unique logic and approach toward accountability, they are: assessment, accreditation, institutional research, institutional effectiveness, educational evaluation, educational measurement, and higher education public policy. The seven accountability silos are systematized into a single conceptual model using an institutional logics framework. This article provides an alternative to the silo-based approach and argues that future accountability efforts must integrate by examining the knowledge domains of other silos to successfully navigate the changing environment of higher education. The implications of an integrated accountability approach are considered for five topic areas: data, the professions, structure, responsibility, and transparency.

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