Digital Commons Network^™

The Parlous State Of Academia: When Politics, Prestige And Proxies Overtake Higher Education's Teaching Mission, Viviane Callier, Richard H. Singiser, Nathan L. Vanderford

Toxicology and Cancer Biology Faculty Publications

Original and significant research benefits the careers of those running universities and brings prestige to their institution. World class teaching, by and large, does not, and this has important consequences for higher education's tripartite mission. Most notably, emphasis on the research mission of major higher education institutions dwarfs that of the teaching mission and this is to the detriment of teachers and students. Policy interventions are needed to address this discrepancy.

Disaster Preparedness Plan For The Study Abroad Student: How To Engage Students In Hazard Preparedness, Kimberly Ligon

MA IDS Thesis Projects

In today’s world, hazard preparedness is vital for creating disaster resilient communities across the globe. This is needed now more than ever, due to the increasing number of disasters occurring worldwide (Chafe, 2007; Nakagawa & Shaw, 2004). This culminating project researches individual and community disaster preparedness, especially preparedness in the higher education community, and specifically study abroad individuals. There is a void in the current literature on disaster preparedness for study abroad students; a community of students that is growing and could encounter more hazards than on-campus students. Through case studies of disaster resistant universities and a proposed intervention, this …

Bryant University Undergraduate Course Catalog 2015-2016

Bryant University Undergraduate Course Catalog

No abstract provided.

Experiential Education As A Framework For Student Affairs' Educator Role, Aaron D. Clevenger

Publications

"The purpose of this article is to provide student affairs practitioner-scholars with an applied framework/action plan for incorporating experiential education techniques into their daily practice of hosting and/or advising events, and other planned experiences. Utilizing the National Society of Experiential Education’s eight principles of good practice as a praxis, student affairs educators may achieve many of the following benefits: 1) a consistent language and definitions, which will promote a common understanding and common values; 2) a learning community helping to develop skills, known to be effective in ensuring learning and creating an engaged environment; 3) a plethora of research and …

An Intrinsic Case Study Into The Appropriateness Of A Bespoke Training Model As An Approach To Supporting The Postgraduate Demonstrator In Developing Pedagogical Skills Suitable For Undergraduate Scientific Laboratories., Barry Ryan

Theses

Postgraduate demonstrators (PGDs) are crucial to the smooth running of undergraduate teaching laboratories; however, they are oftentimes exiled to superficial duties such as enforcing health and safety and procedural instruction. The aim of this intrinsic case study was to characterise the support required by postgraduate demonstrators (PGDs) to develop the key pedagogical skills that would assist them in effectively demonstrating undergraduate science teaching labs. Through supporting PGD development, it is hoped to centralise the PGD in the undergraduate teaching lab and set in place the foundations for a move towards undergraduate teaching labs that encompass aspects of tailored research in …

Religiosity, Spirituality, And Quality Of Life Among Selected University Students, Abby Austin Kreitlow

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Objective: College marks a time of transition and self-exploration. Quality of life can be enhanced or diminished throughout this experience. The objective of this study was to identify the level of religiosity, spirituality and quality of life and identify if there was a relationship between a person's level of religiosity and spirituality and quality of life.

Participants and Methods: The sample group, consisting of 548 Midwestern university undergraduate students, completed the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale (SWBS) and the Ontological Wellbeing Scale (OWBS) in the spring semester of 2015.

Results: Findings indicate that Midwestern university students have a moderate sense of spiritual …

From With–In The Black Diamond: The Intersections Of Masculinity, Ethnicity, And Identity–An Epistolary Autoethnographic Exploration Into The Lived Experiences Of A Black Male Graduate Student, Vincent Tarrell Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

From With-In The Black Diamond: (Black Diamond) autoethnographically explores the lived experiences of a Black male who navigates his way through a predominately white higher education institutions while existing within marginalized spaces related to his gender, ethnicity, and identity. Black Diamond uses epistolary writing techniques to explore question research question: 1. How has a Black Gay male graduate student studying Higher Education negotiated his way to and through predominately white higher education institutions? In order to support the answering of this question I will argue that the most influential reasons higher education literature rarely addresses controversial topics related to GLBTQ …

An Ontological (Re)Thinking: Ubuntu And Buddhism In Higher Education, David Wayne Robinson-Morris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Institutions of higher education, the nation’s ideological filters, shape our world and our very being-in-the-world. Given the current anthro-cultural state of affairs around the globe, this investigation posits institutions of higher education’s complicity in the proliferation of societal dis-ease and its responsibility in assisting to recalibrate the global moral compass. Following these assertions this inquiry is focused on the other-than-ness of higher education, and re-imagines both humanity and higher education to be what it is not yet, but must become. More specifically, through Buddhism and Ubuntu, this investigation (re)thinks institutions of higher education as transformational educative environments of human becoming …

2015-2016 Course Catalog, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of The Registrar

University of Montana Course Catalogs, 1895-2024

An annual catalog of courses and course descriptions offered at the University of Montana.

A Primer On Higher Education In The 21st Century: The University As A Whole And Contributions Made By Law Schools, Ronald Griffin

Journal Publications

Citizens live within their unit's belief systems and superstitions. Truth is derived from family narratives, stories spun by old friends, outbursts from neighbours, barbers, religious figures, and priests. Certainty and comfort come from living in these spaces. But there is a wider world out there with characters doing things that conflict with routine. Higher education illuminates this realm. Legal education predicts what authorities will do about their antics and, while this is a laudable undertaking in the abstract, legal education should do more. It should arm the next generation with tools to cope with cultural ruptures, social confusion, dislocations, avatars, …

Curriculum Mapping As A Strategic Planning Tool, Susan Archambault, Jennifer Masunaga

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Curriculum mapping is a procedure for documenting and visualizing student learning at the programmatic level. The process allows libraries the opportunity to record where information literacy skills are taught across the curriculum in order to locate gaps and redundancies within a library instruction program. It also allows for alignment of the library’s learning outcomes with the learning outcomes important to the institution. This paper presents a review of the history of curriculum mapping, followed by a case study of how Loyola Marymount University (LMU) used the process to support information literacy in a new core curriculum.

Integrating Geoscience Into Undergraduate Education About Environment, Society, And Sustainability Using Place-Based Learning: Three Examples, David Gosselin, Steven Burian, Tim Lutz, Julie Maxson

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

From water to energy, and from climate change to natural hazards, the geosciences (marine, Earth, and atmospheric science) have an important role to play in addressing a wide range of societal issues, with particular relevance to how humans can live sustainably on Earth. Although arguably important to developing solutions for many societal issues, more often than not, students have limited exposure to the geosciences in high school or college. To address this geoscience literacy problem, the Interdisciplinary Teaching of Geoscience for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate) Talent Expansion Center has engaged members of the geoscience community and their colleagues in allied …

The Relationship Between Mobile Learning, Instructional Delivery, And Student Motivation In A Large Undergraduate Science Class, Kristen H. Gregory, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Science learning at the early undergraduate level provides a challenging context with large classes and many complex topics to unpack with the students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore: how students use mobile devices for learning in a large, undergraduate classroom; what types of instructional delivery could be used with the devices in this context; and if students were motivated to learn. Classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with the professor were reported and five patterns emerged from these data: connected, personal, multimodal, engaged, and class management. From the overall findings of these data, it would appear that …

A Historical Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Administrative And Organizational Structure Of The University Of Central Florida As It Relates To Growth, Boyd Lindsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a qualitative historical study, which was recounted chronologically and organized around the terms of the four full-time presidents of the university. The review addressed the processes associated with the establishment and development of Florida Technological University beginning in 1963 through its name change to the University of Central Florida in 1979, concluding in 2013. The organization's mission, vision, and goals, how they evolved and the impact they had on the university were of particular interest. The study was focused on the administrative actions and organizational changes that took place within the university to assist faculty in teaching, research, …

Through The Looking Glass: Barriers And Coping Mechanisms Encountered By African American Women Presidents At Predominately White Institutions, Maria Louise Baxter-Nuamah

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to identify factors (experiences, career paths, and barriers) that influence the career advancement of African American women administrators in higher education. African American women's experiences in higher education are molded by both external factors and internal factors specific to "traditional" social roles within and outside of the university. This qualitative study examines the personal and professional growth of five African American women who rose to executive leadership positions as presidents at predominately white colleges or universities .

There are five main themes in this study. First, African American women who aspire to senior level …

Inquiry-Based Teaching In The College Classroom: The Nontraditional Student, Daniel A. Kiernan

Theses and Dissertations

Decline in the economic realm often bolsters an increase of nontraditional student enrollments in colleges and universities (Windolf, 1992). Many of these students, who do not desire to major in some scientific area, find themselves struggling in required science courses. Over the last decade, science departments of higher education have been adjusting their curriculum to include inquiry in the college science classroom. Although inquiry-based teaching has been shown to be very academically positive in science classrooms from K-12, “at the college level the data are mixed as to whether increasing inquiry instruction can significantly change students’ learning or attitudes toward …

Shifting Narratives In Doctoral Admissions: Faculty Of Color Understandings Of Diversity, Equity, And Justice In A Neoliberal Context, Dian Drew Squire

Dissertations

Little is known about how faculty make decisions in the doctoral admissions process or how they conceptualize diversity, equity, and justice in those same processes. As the United States continues to diversify, understanding how students are selected into graduate programs and how faculty understand diversity, equity, and justice is increasingly important to supporting diverse leadership bodies and shaping an inclusive campus cultural context. This qualitative study utilized semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and critical discourse analysis to explore how faculty of color understand diversity, equity, and justice norms, values, and behaviors in the doctoral admissions process in Higher Education and Student …

The Pacifican April 12, 2014, University Of The Pacific

All Issues - Student Newspaper, The Pacifican, Pacific Weekly

No abstract provided.

Misalignments: Challenges In Cultivating Science Faculty With Education Specialties In Your Department, Seth D. Bush, Nancy Pelaez, James A. Rudd Ii, Michael T. Stevens, Kimberly D. Tanner, Kathy S. Williams

PIBERG Publications

Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES) are increasingly being hired across the United States. However, little is known about the motivations for SFES hiring or the potential or actual impact of SFES. In the context of a recent national survey of US SFES, we investigated SFES perceptions about these issues. Strikingly, perceptions about reasons for hiring SFES were poorly aligned with perceptions about potential and actual contributions reported by SFES themselves, and the advice they extended to beginning SFES was varied. While preparation of future teachers and departmental teaching needs were common reasons offered for SFES hiring, the potential and …

An Examination Of How Feminist Perspectives And Generational Differences Lnfluence The Leadership Practices Of Women Administrators In Higher Education, Marlene Kowalski-Braun

Dissertations

This study explored how feminist perspectives and generational differences influence the leadership practice of women administrators in higher education, specifically, how they lead and create institutional change. It examined the experiences of seven women who identified as feminists, who were part of Generation X, and who were at the mid-level, aspiring to senior-level, or in senior-level positions.

Phenomenology was the qualitative methodology used in this study to uncover how these women made meaning of their feminist and generational identities. The approach was grounded in feminist methodology and utilized feminist standpoint theory to legitimize women as “knowers.” It drew on a …

Nonprofit Executive Pay As An Agency Problem: Evidence From U.S. Colleges And Universities, Brian D. Galle, David I. Walker

Faculty Scholarship

We analyze the determinants of the compensation of private college and university presidents from 1999 through 2007. We find that the fraction of institutional revenue derived from current donations is negatively associated with compensation and that presidents of religiously-affiliated institutions receive lower levels of compensation. Looking at the determinants of contributions, we find a negative association between presidential pay and subsequent donations. We interpret these results as consistent with the hypotheses that donors to nonprofits are sensitive to executive pay and that stakeholder outrage plays a role in constraining that pay. We discuss the implications of these findings for the …

Developing A University-Wide Course On Sustainability: A Critical Evaluation Of Planning And Implementation, Can B. Aktas, Rosemary Whelan, Howard Stoffer, Edmund Todd, Cindy L. Kern Ph.D.

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Sustainability is an issue of increasing importance in today's world. Institutions of higher education are undergoing change towards incorporating sustainable development principles within their teaching, research, service, and community outreach efforts. This article presents a case study of the development and implementation of one such initiative: a university-wide freshman course centered on the topic of sustainability. The objective of the course was to expose freshman students to important sustainability issues in a common course team-taught by faculty from various disciplines. The article presents experiences and recommendations as a guide to administrators, faculty and researchers at other institutions of higher education …

Evaluation And Application Of Instruments Measuring Spatial Ability And Attitude For College Chemistry Students, Xiaoying Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Student performance in college chemistry courses remains a concern for educators seeking to help improve the future STEM workforce. Besides math ability and prior chemistry knowledge, spatial ability and attitude toward chemistry have been considered as important factors influencing college chemistry performance. This work includes five studies and uses data collected from instruments to examine the relationships of these two factors - spatial ability and attitude - with student chemistry performance, and provides psychometric evidence for using the Purdue Visualization of Rotations test (ROT) and Attitude toward the Subject of Chemistry Inventory (ASCIv2) to measure these two factors, respectively, in …

The Pacifican November 13, 2014, University Of The Pacific

All Issues - Student Newspaper, The Pacifican, Pacific Weekly

No abstract provided.

Big History As General Education, Nicola Pitchford, Mojgan Behmand

Office of Academic Affairs

A presentation on the emerging discipline "Big History" and how it could be integrated into the general education curriculum, using the First Year Experience at Dominican University of California as an example.

Clark Magazine, Fall 2014, Clark University

Clark Magazine

The Fall 2014 edition of Clark Magazine. Clark Magazine is a twice-yearly publication primarily geared towards Clark University Alumni.

The cover story is 'An ounce of prevention: A bold new partnership with Worcester puts Clark University on the cutting edge of public health.'

2014 September 29 - Graduate Council Minutes, College Of Graduate And Continuing Studies, East Tennessee State University

Graduate Council Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

Teaching Environmental Education To Native American And Alaska Native Students: A Case Study In Interdisciplinary Teaching In Higher Education, Nichlas Emmons, Travis Hardin

Journal of Indigenous Research

Teaching Indigenous students environmental education through an interdisciplinary learning approach takes advantage of a more holistic perspective that these students share. Students enrolled in three different Native American and Indigenous Studies courses were asked to contribute to a class capstone project. The three projects consisted of a land acquisition and management proposal with the Miami Nation of Indiana, a proposal for a forest management plan for the Keeweenaw Bay Indian Community, and environmental histories of the Miami, Potawatomi, and Shawnee in Indiana. The development of these service and community projects in natural resource management and environmental studies promoted an interdisciplinary …

The Pacifican September 18, 2014, University Of The Pacific

All Issues - Student Newspaper, The Pacifican, Pacific Weekly

No abstract provided.

Refworks Usage Statistics Through June 2014, Andrée J. Rathemacher

Technical Services Reports and Statistics

RefWorks is a subscription-based, online software product that helps researchers save, organize, and format bibliographic citations. This report provides monthly statistics on the usage of RefWorks by the University of Rhode Island community from 2002 through June 2014. Data provided includes: user type summary, focus area summary, references created per month, accounts created per month, all user accounts by user type, all user accounts by focus area, last quarter number of accounts by user type, reference type detail, all references by focus area, last quarter references by focus area, last quarter references by user type, all references by user type, …