Education Commons^™

Authenticity In Academic Development: The Myth Of Neutrality, Gail Rathbun, Nancy Turner

Gail A. Rathbun

Academic developers are often positioned as intermediaries who wield value-neutral tools—language, models, and techniques—in service of decidedly non-neutral institutional goals. We challenge the value of perpetuating the ideal of the neutrality of academic developers and their tools by examining the ways in which our resources and approaches produce imbalances of control, power, and authority in a consulting relationship. We suggest that the values embedded within the practices of academic development lead developers, and the people they help, to act inauthentically. By recognizing the improbability of neutrality in academic development work, the authors seek to open the way to constructive reflection, …

Numbers Are Not Enough: Women In Higher Education In The 21st Century, Sherry H. Penney, Jennifer Brown, Laura Mcphie Oliveria

Sherry Penney

Women are now the majority of students in institutions of higher education in the United States, and in many ways women as students and faculty have seen significant progress. But numbers do not tell the whole story. Subtle forms of discrimination continue to exist, and the higher up the pyramid you go, the fewer women are to be found, whether among tenured faculty, as presidents and provosts or as board members and board chairs. Many steps can be taken to improve the situation. Some institutions are recognizing that. We note some positive changes and discuss areas where improvement is needed. …

Why Not A Fifty-Fifty Goal? Increasing Female Leadership In Higher Education, Sherry H. Penney, Nancy Kelly

Sherry Penney

One of the key factors determining the economic status and success of women is their level of education. Women have been turning to education in ever increasing numbers, and they now comprise the majority of students in our institutions of higher education. Yet women hold only 10 percent of the most senior positions — college and university presidencies. Clearly if institutions are to be responsive to the needs of all students, that percentage must change. Those who make up the ranks of this elite achieved their professional standing by overcoming inequities that linger in the academy even as we enter …

Poverty Reduction And Vincentian Higher Education Institutions, Marco Tavanti, Craig Mousin

Craig B. Mousin

Dr. Marco Tavanti and Craig Mousin discuss with Dr. Scott Kelly the university's responsibility for poverty reduction as expressed in the conferences and special number of Vincentian Heritage "What would Vincent do? Vincentian Higher Education and Poverty Reduction"

Invisibly At Risk: Low-Income Students In A Middle And Upper-Class World, Jennifer O. Duffy

Jennifer O'Connor Duffy

Women's studies programs, multicultural centers, and organizations to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students are campus fixtures. Few now question diversity's contribution to the education of all students. Jennifer Duffy suggests that it's time to acknowledge, support, and celebrate one more form of diversity that is mostly hidden: social class.

Student Activism And Curricular Change In Higher Education, Mikaila Arthur

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur

While higher education is still far from universal in the United States, it plays an increasingly large role in shaping our collective understanding of what knowledge counts as legitimate and important. Therefore, understanding the college curriculum and how it is changed and shaped helps us to understand the overall dynamics of knowledge in contemporary society. This book considers the emergence of three curricular fields that have developed and spread over the past half century in American higher education - Women's studies, Asian American studies and Queer/LGBT studies. It details the broader history of their development as knowledge fields and then …

Engineering Success: The Role Of Faculty Relationships With African American Undergraduates, Christopher B. Newman

Christopher B. Newman

Previous research has found that faculty–student relationships are a contributing factor to the retention of students at four-year institutions. In this study, the experiences of twelve African American engineers are explored through the lens of Fiske’s (Structures of Social Life: The Four Elementary Forms of Human Relations, Free Press, New York, 1991) social-relational models theory. The overall findings of this study suggest that faculty play an important role in encouraging or dissuading the African American engineers in this study to persist in their respective majors. Additionally, the involvement in faculty research laboratories and the referral by faculty to other opportunities …

Academic Dishonesty Among International Students In Higher Education, Krishna Bista

Krishna Bista

Examining The Need For Customized Satisfaction Survey Instruments Measuring Brand Loyalty For Higher Educational Institutions, Kendrick W. Brunson

Kendrick W. Brunson

The success or failure of service-based organizations is determined in large part by consumers’ perceived value of those services. Value can be measured in terms of consumers’ perceived performance quality in comparison with the cost to consumers of purchasing the service. The ideal goal of service marketing organizations is to obtain and maintain a loyal base of delighted customers. Loyalty can be measured in terms of customer satisfaction, retention levels, and perception of service quality. In the higher education industry, private institutions compete for student enrollment with state-funded institutions on factors other than cost value. Standard quality and satisfaction survey …

Revelations Of Adaptive Technology Hiding In Your Operating System, Kathleen P. King

Kathleen P King

Pre-publication version of a chapter about the assistive technology tools and resources available for free in Windows OS and Mac OS. Introducing higher education faculty to free resources, features and programs which they can recommend to their students or perhaps use for themselves (for instance for fading eyesight or hearing). In addition, the chapter briefly shares strategies and examples of how they might be used. The book will have an entire chapter dedicated to assistive technology as well. This is a popularized assistive technology chapter for generalist, NON special education, faculty to become acquainted with readily available and free resources. …

Finding Congruence, Finding Meaning: Value Intersections And Transforming Relationships Among Faculty And Staff At A Religious College, Christy M. Craft, Alyssa N. Bryant

Christy Moran Craft

This case study explored how faculty and staff derived meaning from their work within a religious college environment. The findings suggest that the meaning-making process was fostered by connection. Many staff and faculty found meaning in their work as they experienced correspondence between work and personal values, the mission and values of the institution, and/or global democratic values. Furthermore, transforming relationships that were personally affirming and enabled faculty and staff to make a difference and observe transformation in others' lives were instrumental in providing a conduit for meaningful connection.

Organizational Values, Social Responsibility, And Corporate Citizenship: The Case Of Nevada State College, Grace S. Thomson

Dr. Grace S. Thomson

Organizational Values, Social Responsibility, and Corporate Citizenship Organizations contribute more than products and services to the society. The generation of jobs, creation of wealth and satisfaction of needs are only a portion of the influence that organizations have in a community. Likewise, organizations are increasingly engaging in social responsible initiatives to respond to the concerns of their various stakeholders (Aguilera, Rupp, Williams, & Ganapathi, 2007). Organizations with a genuine interest for social responsibility and citizenship possess value systems that articulate and integrate these social motives into their corporate strategy (Graber & Kilpatrick, 2008). Higher education institutions in the United States …

Poverty Reduction And Vincentian Higher Education Institutions, Marco Tavanti, Craig Mousin

Marco Tavanti

Dr. Marco Tavanti and Craig Mousin discuss with Dr. Scott Kelly the university's responsibility for poverty reduction as expressed in the conferences and special number of Vincentian Heritage "What would Vincent do? Vincentian Higher Education and Poverty Reduction"

La Profesión Académica En México: Un Oficio En Proceso De Reconfiguración, Jesús F. Galaz-Fontes, Manuel Gil-Antón

Jesús Francisco Galaz Fontes

Este trabajo forma parte de la investigación internacional que estudia la reconfiguración de la profesión académica en más de 20 países, The changing academic profesión (CAP). Explora las formas específicas en las que este proceso de transformación del oficio académico ha ocurrido en México. La comparación entre los rasgos de esta actividad profesional –centrada en la academia en las instituciones de educación superior, al inicio de los años 90 del siglo XX y con las características que ahora presenta– arroja luz, preguntas y conjeturas ante un cambio notable, así como líneas de continuidad que es preciso reconocer y explicar. La …

Self-Study Leveraging: The Qpc Model For Comprehensive Academic Program Review., Jamie Comstock, Kathy Booker

Jayne Marie Comstock

The past twenty years have brought about a paradigm shift in higher education. During that time, we have changed our focus from what we want to teach to what students need to learn. The academy's position of unassailable authority has been usurped by public cries for transparency, accountability, quality assurance, and quality improvement. To cut expenses, and therefore deter the rising cost of postsecondary education, institutions have borrowed best business practices and started focusing on productivity, efficiency, and reallocating resources.

Enhancing Authentic Assessment Through Information Technology, Beth Rubin

Beth Rubin

This chapter provides a framework to analyze the opportunities to enhance authenticity when assessment is mediated by information technology (IT), as well as the limitations of IT mediation on authenticity. The potential degree of authenticity is determined by several aspects of the competence being assessed: the chronicity of access to and use of information; the durability of the display; the use of written, oral and non-verbal communication; and computer use. The framework is used to identify IT tools that enable more authentic assessment as well as sample approaches and limitations on authenticity.

Effective Library And Information Services Sustainability And The Impact Of Information And Communication Technology, Emmanuel Kunle Ogunlana, Oyintola Isiak Amusa

EMMANUEL KUNLE OGUNLANA

With the incorporation of information and communication technologies and more open models, the library has the potential of becoming more involved at all stages, and in all contexts, of knowledge creation, dissemination, and use. This paper looks at the impact and challenges of ICT on library and Information Services. Various library services were highlighted, especially those services that ICT have great impact upon. The paper proffers recommendations and concludes that ICT is cost effective and can improve library services and ensure sustainability

Validation Of Programmes Of Higher Education In Ireland - The Role Of The Higher Education And Training Awards Council, Deirdre Lillis, Tara Ryan

Deirdre Lillis

This paper considers the programme validation arrangements in place in one half of the Irish higher education sector. It outlines how responsibility for programme validation can be safely delegated to Institutions within a robust overarching framework for quality assurance. It compares programme validation in Institutions with self awarding status with Institutions that have their programmes validated by a national Awarding agency. The paper concludes that when programme validation in Ireland and (potentially) across Europe is examined more closely, processes that appear to be very different on the surface can be quite similar in reality. From a philosophical perspective it appears …

What Would Vincent Do? Vincentian Higher Education And Poverty Reduction, Marco Tavanti, Craig Mousin

Marco Tavanti

The worldwide Vincentian major higher education institutions have best practices and pedagogical innovative strategies for linking their educational mission with poverty alleviation. This edited volume includes experiences from DePaul University, St. John;s University, Niagara University, Adamson University, Santa Isabelle University and All Hallows College.

What Would Vincent Do? Vincentian Higher Education And Poverty Reduction, Marco Tavanti, Craig Mousin

Craig B. Mousin

The worldwide Vincentian major higher education institutions have best practices and pedagogical innovative strategies for linking their educational mission with poverty alleviation. This edited volume includes experiences from DePaul University, St. John;s University, Niagara University, Adamson University, Santa Isabelle University and All Hallows College.

The Increasing Expectation Of Relevance For Higher Education And The Academic Profession: Some Reflections On The Case Of Mexico, Jesús F. Galaz-Fontes, Laura E. Padilla-González, Manuel Gil-Antón

Jesús Francisco Galaz Fontes

Developments in the global context and in national conditions have stimulated a re-examination of higher education relevance in the context of the increasing role of knowledge in the economic and social life of nations. In general, and such is the case also for Mexico, there are increasing expectations regarding higher education potential contribution to society. In this essay we discuss, in the context of the recent evolution of Mexican higher education, the drivers that are elevating the relevance expectations that Mexicans have of higher education. After that, we elaborate how higher education growth dynamics and the increasing social expectations regarding …

University Of South Florida: The First Fifty Years, 1956-2006, Mark I. Greenberg

Mark I. Greenberg

No abstract provided.

Harnessing Innovative Technologies In Higher Education, Kathleen P. King, Joan K. Griggs

Kathleen P King

This publication is an attempt to capture the evolution of distributed higher education over the last decade by tracing the applications of new technologies funded by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). As FIPSE surveyed the current state of distance/distributed education, there existed an opportunity to help post econdary education make the transition to this new generation of distance education made possible by the explosive growth of the Internet and other new technologies. These technologies created the potential for students to access learning that was interactive, customized, and self-paced; to more easily merge lifelong learning with the …

Shaping The Future: Strategic Planning For Small Colleges And Universities., Jamie Comstock, Rand Ziegler

Jayne Marie Comstock

This paper addresses the importance of strategic planning as a precursor to assessing organizational performance and outlines a change model that has been used successfully at a small college with limited resources. Grounded in extant executive planning processes, this new model demystifies the strategic planning process and establishes procedures that address the practical and logistical issues associated with facilitating a planning process and ensuring that the plan becomes a document that espouses realistic goals, inspires and motivates members of the campus community, and actually provides direction for departments as they create their work plans and allocate resources.

The Limits Of University Autonomy: Power And Politics At The Universidad Nacional Autónoma De México, Imanol Ordorika

Imanol Ordorika

The nature and extent of institutional autonomy at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has been a matter of contention between academics, policy makers and university members for many years. Opinions about governmental influence over the university in Mexico range from absolute autonomy to absolute control. Few of them, however, are founded on research on university-government relations. Most studies of univer- sity autonomy in Mexico are based on classical definitions and pluralist political perspectives that limit a thorough understanding of this relation between the University and the government in the context of an authoritarian State. This article provides an …