Digital Commons Network^™

A Survey Of Faculty Perceptions Of Community College Career And Technical Education, Thomas Gauthier Dr.

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Community colleges are the leaders in facilitating career and technical education (CTE), and faculty help develop program offerings on campus. This study explored faculty perceptions of community college CTE programs using the survey research method. Participants included 36 faculty members from various disciplines from 15 state colleges in Florida. Participants were sent a digital survey and asked to use a scale from 0 (do not agree) to 8 (agree) to score their agreement level with 43 statements of opinion. Data revealed that community college faculty perceive CTE as beneficial, but CTE programs must include the habits of mind and support …

Unlv Top Tier Focus: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Activity, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Focus on Top Tier 2.0

Designated Carnegie R1, UNLV is part of the top 3% of institutions nationally for research. Our Top Tier goal is framed broadly to include not only research, but scholarship and creative activity, speaking to the depth of programming we offer. As we evolve to Top Tier 2.0, we will continue to seek innovation and excellence in research, with multiple interdisciplinary opportunities that further support scholarship and creative activity.

Public University And College Enrollment In The Mountain West, 2019-2021, Dielle T. Telada, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

On June 10, 2021, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released the Spring 2021 Current Term Enrollment Estimates (CTTE) report. The report provides estimated postsecondary enrollment numbers based on the Clearinghouse universe of institutions. The impact of COVID-19 related disruptions has caused higher education enrollment to fall to what the National Student Clearinghouse suggests are “new lows.” This fact sheet explores trends in higher education enrollment at Mountain West colleges during the 2020 and 2021 Spring semesters.

Unlv Top Tier Focus - Student Achievement, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Focus on Top Tier 2.0

Our Student Achievement goal involves student success, which includes retention and graduation rates, but also includes other academic needs, services, and co-curricular learning experiences. As we evolve to Top Tier 2.0, we will continue with our focus on undergraduate student success and expand to include graduate and professional student opportunities, as well as career development and progression as we work to graduate students who are career ready.

Perceptions Of Dental Undergraduates Towards Online Education During Covid-19: Assessment From India, Nepal And Sri Lanka, Pragati Kaurani, Kavita Batra, Himangini Rathore Hooja, Rajlakshmi Banerjee, Rasika Manori Jayasinghe, Dhanushka Leuke Bandara, Navin Agrawal, Vimmi Singh

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Purpose: The social distancing mandates instituted during COVID-19 pandemic mark the sudden transition in the mode of dental education’s delivery to the virtual instruction. It is vital to assess students’ perceptions towards virtual learning environments, particularly among those gaining education in resource-strained countries. This cross-sectional study aims to assess the perceptions of dental undergraduates towards online education, environment and transferable skills and patient care during COVID-19 in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: Dental preclinical and clinical undergraduate students from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka were recruited from November 2020 to March 2021 through a 47-item web-based survey …

A Tribe Called Trump: The Motivation Behind The Education Line & Why People Of Color Voted For The Bully-In-Chief, Leah P. Hollis

Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education

Throughout the 2020 election, a constant question arose, “How can they vote for Trump?” Within the context of tribalism and the disenfranchised status created by the deteriorated blue-collar job market, I reflect on labor history to explain how those who are denied affordable education are left out of the American dream. This trend disproportionately affects the Black community. In turn, these populations potentially remain reminiscent of how America was great for them in the past. Supported by descriptive statistics, I reflect on the educational line in red and contested states during the 2020 presidential election. The paper concludes with the …

Cultivating Graduate Stem Pathways: How Alliance-Based Stem Enrichment Programs Broker Opportunity For Students Of Color, Ariana L. Garcia, Tonisha B. Lane, Blanca E. Rincón

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education Faculty Research

To understand how higher education institutions broker graduate opportunities for Students of Color (SOCs) in STEM, we employ a single case study of a Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) alliance. Drawing primarily from student interviews and informed by Small’s (2006) organizational brokerage theory, our findings illuminate how 1) alliance-based STEM enrichment programs (SEPs) bridge social capital via interorganizational networks and 2) how SEP instability creates barriers to building the trust that is central to the brokerage process. We conclude with recommendations for future research and practice.

College-Educated Young Adults In The Mountain West, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet examines data originally published in “The Young and Restless and the Nation’s Cities,” a report prepared by Joe Cortright for the City Observatory. The original report explores the percentage of college-educated young adults (or individuals aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree), as well as the percentage these individuals made up of the total population in each metro area between 2000 and 2012. This fact sheet explores data for the following Mountain West places, as reported by the original source:

• Denver CSA (Combined Statistical Area)
• Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ Metro Area
• Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Metro Area
• Salt …

Postsecondary Educational Attainment And Health Among Younger U.S. Adults In The “College-For-All” Era, Anna Zajacova, Elizabeth Lawrence

Sociology Faculty Research

Population-health research has neglected differentiation within postsecondary educational attainments. This gap is critical to understanding health inequality because college experience with no degree, vocational/technical certificates, and associate degrees may affect health differently. We examine health across detailed postsecondary attainment levels. We analyze data on 14,750 respondents in Waves I and IV of the nationally representative Add Health panel spanning adolescence to ages 26 to 34. Multivariate regression and counterfactual approaches to minimize the impact of confounders estimate multiple health outcomes across postsecondary attainment levels. Compared to high school diplomas, we find significant returns to bachelor’s degrees for most health outcomes …

Brain Drain And Higher Education Capacity: A Case Study Of Nevada And The Western Undergraduate Exchange, Marie A. Falcone

Student Research

Policy initiatives such as the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE), a regional tuition saving agreement among colleges and universities operating in the western states, have the ability to increase mobility and promote human capital attainment. This brief will be focusing exclusively on how Nevada’s higher education system and related programs, specifically the WUE, can be improved to further attract and attain a higher-skilled workforce. This paper will cover a literature review of brain drain and its effects, investigate Nevada’s relationship with human capital and the WUE, as well as offer policy recommendations to improve attainment.

2021 Salary Scores: University Of Nevada, Las Vegas And University Of Nevada, Reno, Olivia K. Cheche, Emmanuel A. Berrelleza, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This fact sheet provides a comparative analysis on salary earnings for graduates of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). Data are gathered from the GradReports website, which offers salary scores ranging from 0 to 100 for UNLV and UNR degree programs.

Who Participates In The Skilled Technical Workforce After College And What Are Their Educational Pathways?, Xianglei Chen

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

The skilled technical workforce (STW) comprises workers in occupations that require significant science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) skills but not a bachelor’s degree for entry. The United States had over 17 million STW workers in 2017, and is expected to be short about 3.4 million workers who are qualified for the available STW positions by 2022. Despite the important contribution of the STW to the U.S. economy, the policy discourse on the STEM workforce has largely focused on workers with bachelor’s or graduate degrees, overlooking those without a 4-year degree. Consequently, knowledge about the STW is limited. This paper …

2022 Graduate Program Rankings, Unlv & Unr, Madison Frazee-Bench, Marie A. Falcone, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

This Fact Sheet presents the 2022 U.S. News and World Report Graduate program rankings for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). The rankings for 2022 are important when taking into consideration that both UNLV and UNR reached Carnegie R1 status in 2018. This status marks their place in the top 130 research universities in the country.

Modernizing Tuition Assistance: Programs To Build A 21st Century Workforce, Mgm Public Policy Institute

Pathways for Postsecondary Education

This is the first paper in a series from the MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute at UNLV, exploring tuition assistance programs. This report provides a broad overview of tuition assistance programs, and key challenges and insights about best practices.

Covid-19: Higher Education Funding In The Mountain West, Olivia K. Cheche, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

In February 2021, Victoria Jackson and Matt Saenz of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities published a report titled, “States Can Choose Better Path for Funding Higher Education Funding in COVID-19 Recession.” The report presents data on changes in state spending for higher education, and tuition costs for all 50 states between 2008 and 2019. This fact sheet explores data on higher education budget cuts and changing tuition costs for four-year institutions and community colleges in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah).

Unlv Top Tier Focus - Academic Health Center, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Focus on Top Tier 2.0

The Academic Health Center has set out to become the premier academic health institution in the region. A highly functioning academic health center will not only provide high- value quality care for the community, but also cutting-edge research and a source of economic diversity for our economy.

Unlv Top Tier Focus - Community Partnerships, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Focus on Top Tier 2.0

Community Partnerships seeks to leverage our resources for public good to advance the university and the communities we serve. With the development of Top Tier 2.0, our Community Partnerships core is being refocused around what we do for our community.

Unlv Top Tier Focus, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Focus on Top Tier 2.0

Our Top Tier vision and mission guide our efforts at UNLV, and we have made remarkable progress on our journey. We continually evaluate our actions, and it is time to expand our plans to become an even greater university. Top Tier 2.0, the next evolution of our strategic plan, is a forward-looking roadmap that our university will continue to refine and follow over the next decade. It builds on our progress and recognizes our opportunities as we continue on our path to becoming a top public research university.

Student Debt In The Mountain West, Class Of 2019, Kristian Thymianos, Eshaan Vakil, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Higher Education

In 2020, Americans collectively owed $1.6 trillion in student debt, making it the second-largest consumer debt category nationwide. 1 However, this debt is not distributed evenly across the country. This fact sheet reports data on the amount and prevalence of student debt in Mountain West states (Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), as originally reported by the Institute for College Access and Success (ICAS) study, Student Debt and the Class of 2019.2 This fact sheet also reports figures relating to the amount and prevalence of student debt for graduates from Nevada’s two public research universities: the University of Nevada, …

Fast Facts: Policy Issues In Nevada Education, Unlv College Of Education

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Since 2004, the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Assessment (CREA) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas has served as a major academic center that provides expert, nonpartisan program and education policy evaluation and assessment services for decision-makers in national, state, and local organizations. CREA also provides expert consultation on research design (quantitative and qualitative) for UNLV and non-UNLV researchers.

Policy Issues In Nevada Education (Full Issue 2021), Unlv College Of Education

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

No abstract provided.

The Viability Of Bilingual Education Programs In Nevada, Alain Bengochea, Elizabeth Greer

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Problem. Approximately 15% of emergent bilinguals (EBs; commonly referred to as English learners) in Nevada demonstrated proficiency in math and English language arts in contrast with the general student population, which achieved proficiencies of 42% and 55% in these subjects, respectively. Therefore, there is a critical need for programs that are responsive to EBs’ linguistic, cultural, and academic strengths. Purpose. This policy paper discusses the need for alternative educational supports for EBs, the effectiveness of bilingual education models compared with prevailing English instructional models, and the possibility of bilingual programming as a viable option in Nevada. Recommendations. Nevada could require …

Retention Starts With Preparation: Preparing Black And Latinx Teachers Through Alternative Routes To Licensure, Iesha Jackson, Doris L. Watson

Policy Issues in Nevada Education: Policy Papers

Problem. Critical to the support and success of students of color is support for Black and Latinx teachers. Yet, teacher preparation programs often neglect the culturally relevant perspectives and experiences of teachers of color. This can contribute to retention issues given challenging school climates that Black and Latinx teachers must navigate. Purpose. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of sound teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention practices nationally and draw alignment to the state of Ne- vada. We focus on alternative routes to licensure (ARL) because such programs are touted for increasing the number of teachers of …

Preparing Students For Their Future! A Virtual Career Development Practice, Jenna Heath

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

This is a simple practice for faculty to integrate into their courses to enhance career and professional development for their students. The “virtual document review” is an effective way for faculty to provide students a great resume, without the faculty having to be a career and professional development expert, and without the faculty having to edit each individual resume that comes in. All faculty should utilize the Career Services resources, especially right now as there are new and innovative ways to move resources online. Students resumes were significantly better after the use of this tool.

Applied Learning During A Pandemic, Roberta Jo Barnes

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Applied learning is a critical component of the Hospitality College curriculum. This teaching practice examines the development of a course providing a meaningful substitution for internship during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Using Children's And Young Adult Literature In College Classrooms, Christine A. Draper

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Using a children’s book or YA novel as an introduction, or a piece to draw students’ attention to a particular topic can harness the power of emotions help our students connect with, learn, and retain course material more deeply (Cavanagh, 2016).

While the plot-line of children’s books may appear simple, the issues addressed can be quite complex. The newest wave of children’s literature addresses a wide range of socially sensitive topics such as racism, poverty, death, gender identity, police brutality, war, and immigration (Johnson, 2014) and often does so in a way that invites discussion rather than foreclosing it.

Though …

Using The Reverse Case Study To Meet Clinical Outcomes In A Practice-Based Discipline, Angela E. Silvestri-Elmore, Lisa Nicholas

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has disrupted curricular plans at UNLV and nursing schools across the nation, and clinical instruction and evaluation were notably impacted. Nursing faculty are accustomed to direct observation of student performance in the clinical setting to inform student evaluation in clinical. Due to the pandemic, many clinical requirements are completed virtually because of clinical displacement of students. With reverse case study use in a remote clinical learning environment, the UNLV SoN has successfully met clinical learning needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reverse case studies differ from the traditional case study in that students are involved with the development …

Survey For Rapport, Allison Mcswain

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Survey questionnaires can be used as a tool to build rapport with students. This serves a few key purposes: 1. It allows instructors to connect with their students more deeply. 2. It gives students another way to communicate with instructors and makes them feel cared for as people. 3. It allows instructors to learn about patterns within the classroom to guide the curriculum of the course.

Science In Your Naturehood, Alison Sloat

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Engaging students in hands-on scientific research in their NatureHoods, or local neighborhoods, improves student outcomes, learning, and success in remote learning environments.

Reflections Drive Online Course Quality, Nicole Hudson

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The teaching practice that the department found helpful was self-guided reflection and assessment of professional development needs to improve course design and delivery. Professional development opportunities included cohort experiences, webinars, and self-paced trainings on online best practice including: course organization, student engagement, content delivery and assessment.

• 630 UNLV faculty participated in the Summer Course Improvement Program. The first step was to self-assess their online teaching practices and identify their professional development needs and goal. 262 chose to enhance a skill and 368 chose to incorporate a new strategy in their course
• 523 UNLV faculty attended one or more professional development …