Education Commons^™

Sports Scandals Cost Higher Education Ed Big, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Last week in this column I summarized some studies showing that most athletic programs at colleges and universities are run at a financial loss. I also addressed how other aspects of some athletic programs have become liabilities in other ways, including the seemingly never-ending scandals that take place around those programs. But do scandals result only in a bad image for the institutions, or are there also financial consequences to them?

In a study just published titled, “Universities Behaving Badly: The Impact of Athletic Malfeasance on Student Applications and Enrollment,” several researchers from Appalachian State University and Seton Hall University …

The Cost Of Athletics In Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Among the greatest concerns regarding higher education are their budgets. With diminishing appropriations from state governments for public institutions, and decreasing enrollments affecting not only state but also private institutions, we see policies of slash and burn. Entire academic programs have been eliminated, which has oftentimes led to a loss of jobs. Yet a number of other programs that have nothing to do with the main mission of colleges and universities – education – seem to be untouchable. The most prominent example is athletics. It is interesting that big sports programs are a feature unique to the American higher education …

2001 And Future Of Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

1968 was one of the most convulsive years in recent world history. Fifty years later it is worthwhile to remember many of the things that happened back then. That was the year of the Tet Offensive that radically changed American public opinion about the Vietnam War. That was also the year of the Paris revolts in May that transformed a lot of popular culture, of the Mexico City Olympic games where two African-American athletes publicly protested against racial discrimination by raising their black-gloved fists and wearing black socks in lieu of shoes at the podium. It was also the year …

College Students Not Intolerant Of Ideas, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One of the current urban legends circulating about is that college students are intolerant to a diversity of views and have a selective attitude towards free speech. Epitomized by a few highly publicized cases highlighted in the media, especially conservative ones, the idea of intolerance as a feature at colleges and universities has now become part of the conventional wisdom. But, is it true?

As usually happens with legends, impressions may be just a reflection of a distorted reality.

According to a study carried out last year but published a few weeks ago by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, stu- …

Interview With Arnoud De Meyer: Creating A New Management University, Arnoud De Meyer

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Goals as President
• Support from the government
• SMU Academy
• SMU-X Building
• Board of trustees
• Differentiating SMU

Rural Students’ Sense Of Belonging At A Large Public University, Benjamin P. Heinisch

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate students from rural areas experience higher education environments and develop a sense of belonging at a large Midwestern public university. This study defined rural considering students’ hometown population size and density as well as each individual participant’s constructed reality of a rural identity (Crockett, Shanahan, & Jackson-Newsom, 2000). The following questions guided this study: (1) How does students’ identification with their rural background influence how they experience their college environment? (2) What do rural students see as key environmental factors affecting their sense of belonging? (3) Is the institution providing supportive environments for …

Employers Seeking Skills, Not Robots, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

There is a new obsession among higher education administrators and the politicians who oversee them. That new obsession can be summarized as follows: Colleges must prepare students for jobs. While this new mantra might seem innocuous and even well intentioned, there is more to it than meets the eyes.

In the first place, in the world we live today the specific requirements for different jobs continue to change at a dizzying pace. What we think is most important today will most likely not be tomorrow. Leading to these changes are factors including technological transformations, as well as changes in the …

Putting Students In The Front And Center: Exploring And Refining Student Centered Learning Techniques, Michelle M. Bennett, Anne Boettcher, Brent D. Bowen, Tonje Crossley, Dawn Groh, Tyrone Groh, Timothy B. Holt

Publications

Student-centered learning (SCL) represents a growing trend in higher education that emphasizes active learning strategies in lieu of more traditional passive strategies such as lecture. This study explores different techniques under the rubric of SCL to evaluate the utility of selected tools to enhance student knowledge and student learning. Specifically, this study tests the use of student portfolios, flipped classrooms, digital learning strategies, and problem-based learning to enhance a student’s learning experience. Originating as a collaborative effort from a university faculty learning community, this study includes a multi-disciplinary look at the effects of SCL approaches in the fields of aviation, …

Interview With Tan Chin Tiong: Creating A New Management University, Chin Tiong Tan

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Involvement with SMU
• Private university
• Collaboration with Wharton School
• Challenges

Demagoguery Hurting Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In the last few years a ghost has been wandering the political landscapes of many countries. Whether it is Trumpism in the U.S., the Five Star Movement and the League Party in Italy, the Podemos and Catalan separatist parties in Spain, or the Venezuelan Chavism, they all have something in common: a mixture of populism and nationalism.

Populism is characterized by the rejection of the establishment, the so-called privileged elites. Nationalism is a movement that promotes the alleged interests of a tribe, whether it is a group tied by geography, culture, or ethnicity.

They are both anti-historical in the sense …

Interview With Howard Hunter: Creating A New Management University, Howard Hunter

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• Involvement with SMU
• Law school
• Support from the government
• Curriculum
• Board of trustees
• Private university

Humanities And The Pursuit Of Happiness, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One question that is commonly asked of people who pursue a career in the humanities (like philosophy, literature, history and the like) is, “But what are you going to do for a living?” Even former President Barack Obama once ridiculed those following an art history career. These concerns are even more amplified in the case of first generation college students whose parents often- times expect them to follow more conventional careers, such as medicine, law or engineering.

Also, in the last few years there has been great hype about the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines as the only …

Academia Is Running For Congress, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Midterm elections usually reflect strong opposition to the party in the White House, and the 2018 elections do not seem to be any different. Women, many who see themselves as targets of the current political environment, have achieved great success in special elections since 2016, and they seem to be heading to even greater success in this year’s elections.

According to Emily’s List, the largest national organization devoted to electing female candidates, in the 10 months before the election in 2016 about 1,000 women contacted that organization about running for office or getting involved in other ways.

Since the election, …

Interview With Ho Kwong Ping: Creating A New Management University, Kwon Ping Ho

Oral History Collection

The interview covered:

• SMU history
• SMU startups
• Singapore education system
• Autonomous universities
• Strategic decisions
• Differentiating SMU
• Millennials
• Top ranking institutions
• Board of trustees

Meddling Goes On In Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

On February 16, the Justice Department issued a detailed indictment of 13 Russians and three Russian companies that worked since 2014 in subverting the 2016 U.S. elections. According to the indictment filed by the office of special counsel Robert S. Muller III, these foreign agents developed a sophisticated network aimed at supporting the Trump campaign, especially in battleground states.

These agents, who worked from an office in St. Petersburg, Russia, stole the identities of American citizens, posed as political activists, and stirred debate on politically sensitive issues such as immigration, religion, and race, all in an attempt to favor the …

Interview With Lily Kong: Creating A New Management University, Lily Kong

Oral History Collection

The Interview covered:

• Liberal arts education
• Business schools
• Professional education
• Liberal management education
• Education management
• Ethics courses

The New Federal Budget And Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most powerful regimes in human history, despite its many faults. Most historians will agree that the causes of why that empire fell were a combination of factors including, but not limited to, the invasion by the Barbarians from the north, the loss of traditional values, and military overspending.

Last week I reported in this column on how a fiscal shutdown of the federal government would affect higher education. Now that a two-year budget has passed, allowing the government to run until late March, we have a better idea of what is …

A Shutdown’S Effect On Higher Ed, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

When we read or hear about the federal shutdown in the media, we learn that it is due to the inability of our politicians to compromise, that all federal employees who are not considered essential are subject to a furlough, and that national parks and museums usually close. Yet, one may ask, how such shutdowns affect higher education. After all, most of higher education – including student aid – is supported directly or indirectly by the federal government.

To begin with, we need to remember that although no new federal dollars can be spent during a shutdown, money that has …

Logemann Studies, Practices Corporate Communication In Today’S World, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“It’s a good thing for the communication degree to be combined with business knowledge. Business acumen is more and more necessary in corporate communication. My own history has been full of twists and turns, and it’s brought me finally to the subject of communication. I simply didn’t know as a young person that you can study communication. I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up in a business school.”

That’s the way Dr. Minna Logemann explains how she became an expert in a field that is more and more in demand today: corporate communication. She is originally from …

“Are We Really Not Going To Talk About The Black Girl?”: The Intergroup Racial Attitudes Of Senior, White, Sorority Women, Hilary B. Zimmerman, Demetri L. Morgan, Tanner Terrell

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Despite the positive effects of cross-racial interactions for students, predominantly White sororities remain segregated. Utilizing focus group methods, this study investigates the racial attitudes of White sorority women to understand the influence of sororities on racial attitudes. Findings revealed that participants in this study minimized race, thought about diversity within context, and perceived barriers to cross-racial interactions. These findings have important implications for campus professionals who work with sorority women.

Africa Has A Need For Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One of the oldest words in the English language is bigotry. Although it has an obscure origin, everybody knows its meaning: intolerance toward the opinions, lifestyles, or identities of people who are different from the person expressing those opinions. The bigot bases such rejection of others on ignorance and usually takes such bigoted positions to insult.

In one of the many scandals that we are witnessing on a weekly basis, Donald Trump referred to all the countries of Africa, as well as Haiti and El Salvador, as “s***hole countries.” The problem with this statement is that it not only reflects …

Higher Ed Is In Need Of Fresh Ideas, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

One common expression in the English language, particularly on this side of the Atlantic, is to refer to unexpected or crazy ideas as coming “out of left field.” The expression originated from baseball, specifically after Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, was built in 1914. In what is today the left field of the stadium, there used to be what was then called a mental asylum. So when something crazy or unforeseen happened it was said to be “out of the left field.”

Some of the greatest ideas in the history of civilization came “out of the left field.” …

U.S. Vs. Europe In Higher Education, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Last week, while in Spain, I had the chance to speak with several higher education officials about how academia compares between Europe and the U.S. As someone who received his under-graduate degree in Europe and his graduate education in the U.S. many years ago, I was very intrigued. And this is what I found out.

When I went to college at the Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, European undergraduate degrees were five years. During those five years, all the subjects that you took were both a year long, and also were all related to your field of study. The advantage …

Weissman Was My Destination, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

The date was Monday, August 8, 2016. The coeditor of this book, Gary Hentzi, and I visited Baruch College’s archives to get an idea of the kind of photographic resources we would have available to use as illustrations. We were impressed by how much material the archives contained and by how well organized they were. The director of the archives, Sandra Roff, and her staff walked us through the collection and occasionally showed us a particular picture that they thought could be of interest.

The Effect Of The End Of Net Neutrality, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

You expect that any material in public libraries is available to you. There may be a few exceptions, such as adult material not being accessible to minors, or some very rare or delicate materials that need to be handled with special care and cannot be checked out. Nowadays when you do an Internet search you expect to access any web site for the same cost and at the same speed.

There is free access to the Internet at many locations, from public libraries to places such as malls, coffee shops, and the like. The connections at these places are usually …

From Departure To Destination. Reminiscences Of The Weissman School Of Arts And Sciences., Aldemaro Romero Jr., Gary Hentzi

Publications and Research

This volume is both a remembrance of the past and a prologue of the bright future to come for the George and Mildred Weissman School of Arts and Sciences (WSAS). As these chapter attest, the Weissman School has grown and evolved significantly, and particularly in the period sine George and Mildred Weissman provided their visionary endowment gift in 1999. Now the School is on the precipice of a new era.

Contents:

"Foreword," Mitchel B. Wallerstein

"Introduction," Katherine Pence

"First Annual Weissman Lecture, 1998," George Weissman

"A Two-Way Street," Carol Berkin

"Baruch and the Liberal Arts," Myrna Chase

"Fertile Ground," Roslyn …

Engineering Identity Development: A Review Of Higher Education Literature, Sarah L. Rodriguez, Charles Lu, Morgan Bartlett

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this systematic literature review was to appraise and synthesize the current scholarship pertaining to engineering identity development within the higher education context and create recommendations for future scholarship within engineering education. A review of the literature concluded that research on engineering identity development has increased over the past ten years, has been conducted primarily with qualitative methods, and has been primarily limited to academic communities focused on mathematics, science, and engineering education. In addition, current scholarship reflected that most of the work in this area has focused on the learning contexts and experiences of women and underrepresented …

Linking Global Competitiveness, Higher Education, And Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Rhesty R. Biares, Tereso S. Tullao Jr

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has contributed to the accumulation of capital and the improvement of the economy’s productive capacity through the incorporation of new inputs and modern technologies in the production process. Neoclassical and endogenous growth models have been widely used to empirically test the benefits of FDI (Almfraji & Almsafir, 2014). However, results of testing theoretical benefits are varying from regions, countries, and industries. Conflicting relationships and impacts range from significant to non-significant, positive to negative impacts, directly or indirectly. Despite that, FDI inflows have still been recognized to influence employment and wages, infrastructure development, human capital development, technology …

Mind The Gap: Mapping Skills In Higher Education Project Summary, Melody Viczko Dr, Shannon Mckechnie, Natasja Van Buggenhout, J. Eduardo Álvarez Barrios

Education Publications

The call for reform in higher education has been a focus of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for over a decade. This call for reform is driven by a stated “skills gap” between the skills of graduates and the needs of the labour market. Student groups have also voiced their concern about the skills gap and its impact on future employment.

Students' Perceived Value Of The Community College Experience: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin A. Duncan

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceived value of their community college experience and its relationship to other factors often related to student persistence in college, namely satisfaction, academic quality, service quality, and engagement. The research was guided by three focused questions: How do students describe and define perceived value of community college; what components emerge from exploratory factor analysis of items designed to measure perceived value; and how, if at all, is a student’s perception of the value of a community college experience different from related measures such as satisfaction, engagement, or quality? Data were collected …