Education Commons^™

Advising Experiences Of First Year International Doctoral Students, Nina Marijanović, Jungmin Lee, Thomas W. Teague Jr., Sheryl F. Means

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how international doctoral students were matched with their faculty advisors and how their advising experiences and satisfaction were shaped by their academic discipline. We applied the lens of developmental advising to situate the advising experiences of our sample because of the framework’s emphasis on holistic support and student development. We conducted individual semistructured interviews with 21 international doctoral students attending a large research-intensive university in the Southeast. Most participants were assigned to an interim advisor, but the data revealed concerning differences in the type of advising experiences and support based on …

Making A Tough Choice: Teacher Target-Setting And Student Achievement In A Teacher Performance System Using Student Learning Objectives, Allison Atteberry, Sarah E. Lacour

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

The use of student learning objectives (SLOs) as part of teacher performance systems has gained traction quickly in the United States, yet little is known about how teachers select specific students’ learning goals. When teachers are evaluated—and sometimes compensated—based on whether their students meet the very objectives the teachers set at the start of the year, there may be an incentive to set low targets. SLO systems rely on teachers’ willingness and ability to set appropriately ambitious SLOs. We describe teachers’ SLO target-setting behavior in one school-district. We document the accuracy/ambitiousness of targets and find that teachers regularly set targets …

Best Practices For Research Analytics & Business Intelligence Within The Research Domain, Baron Wolf, Terri Hall, Katherine Robershaw

Research Analytics Academic Publications

While an increased number of industries with business operations have been shaping their use of data analytics, the use of such tools and methods within the higher education research domain, specifically research administration, is still in its infancy. This mixed-methods study collected data to identify best practices in how universities and other research organizations use data analytics to drive their strategic agendas, create efficiency in operations, and promote complex research proposals throughout their institutions. Research methods included a survey to collect data on how research offices are using analytics and business intelligence tools, Rasch analysis (Rasch, 1993) to examine survey …

Facts And Trends Regarding Performance And Funding Of K-12 In Kentucky, John Garen

Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise Working Papers

Kentucky’s K-12 experienced an 80% in increase in per pupil funds, after inflation, from 1990 to 2019. However, there have been only modest changes in its nationally-administered test scores, and no increases in the past decade. Moreover, per pupil funding seems to exceed that of all but the most exclusive private school tuition. Just over one-half of public funds goes directly to instruction and most funds to local schools come from Frankfort. Scoring on Kentucky’s own student assessment tests, the K-PREP, are higher than that of the comparable nationally-administered tests. Also, K-PREP shows improvement, while the other tests do not. …

Policy Storms At The Central Office: Conflicting Narratives Of Racial Equity And Segregation At School Committee Meetings, Serena M. Wilcox

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This article reports findings from a multiyear critical ethnography that examined race talk dilemmas of school leaders at the central office at a small urban school district to understand why racialized educational policies and practices still persist against African American students. This study takes a structural approach to investigating the impact that race talk has on educational policymaking at the local district level. The guiding research question in this paper examines how we can understand educational reform and policy implementation and the unintended consequences of those interventions through the local from a historical context.

Sustainability And Maturation Of School Turnaround: A Multiyear Evaluation Of Tennessee’S Achievement School District And Local Innovation Zones, Lam D. Pham, Gary T. Henry, Adam Kho, Ron Zimmer

Public Policy and Administration Faculty Publications

Recent evaluations of reforms to improve low-performing schools have almost exclusively focused on shorter term effects. In this study, we extend the literature by examining the sustainability and maturation of two turnaround models in Tennessee: the state-led Achievement School District (ASD) and district-led local Innovation Zones (iZones). Using difference-in-differences models, we find overall positive effects on student achievement in iZone schools and null effects in ASD schools. Additional findings suggest a linkage between staff turnover and the effectiveness of reforms. ASD schools experienced high staff turnover in every cohort, and iZone schools faced high turnover in its latest cohort, the …

Choice Without Inclusion?: Comparing The Intensity Of Racial Segregation In Charters And Public Schools At The Local, State And National Levels, Julian Vasquez Heilig, T. Jameson Brewer, Yohuru Williams

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

We conduct descriptive and inferential analyses of publicly available Common Core of Data (CCD) to examine segregation at the local, state, and national levels. Nationally, we find that higher percentages of charter students of every race attend intensely segregated schools. The highest levels of racial isolation are at the primary level for public and middle level for charters. We find that double segregation by race and class is higher in charter schools. Charters are more likely to be segregated, even when controlling for local ethnoracial demographics. A majority of states have at least half of Blacks and a third of …

The Forgotten Element Of Instructional Leadership: Grading, Thomas R. Guskey, Laura J. Link

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Getting the school team coordinated on grading and reporting policies—and the purpose of grading—is too often overlooked in instructional leadership.

A Growth Curve Analysis Of Mandatory Student Athletics Fees, Willis A. Jones, Michael J. Rudolph, Michael Brown

Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation Faculty Publications

This study used growth curve modeling to estimate the growth trajectory of mandatory student athletics fees at public NCAA Division I universities from 2004–2016. We specifically focused on three measures of athletics fees; total athletics fees, athletics fees per FTE, and athletics fees as a percentage of total student costs. We found that in general the growth trajectory of athletics fees was positive, but that the rate of growth has declined over the years. We also found that on average less than 5% of student costs are directly attributable to athletics fees and that the growth trajectory of athletics fees …

Improvement Of Under-Represented Minority Individuals In The Healthcare Field Of Communication Sciences And Disorders, Allison Webb

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

Individuals from under-represented minority backgrounds are scarce within healthcare careers. Former research has suggested that this lack of diversity begins at the undergraduate level. This proposal discusses a potential solution to this problem occurring at the University of Kentucky and other colleges across the United States. Suggested intervention targeted diverse populations, connected students with faculty and staff, and provided shadowing resources for individuals from under-represented minority backgrounds. Based on research and current diversity statistics, populations of individuals from diverse backgrounds are expected to increase within the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Demographic information for the fall 2016 semester will become …

Global Kentucky (Fall 2015), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Spring 2015), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Fall 2014), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Review Of Central Retention Efforts And Results, Benjamin C. Withers

Undergraduate Education Faculty Presentations

Goals for the Discussion:

• How and why college metrics and goals will be established
• How you and your faculty/staff can get and use data using HANA/Tableau
• How college committees can work
• Accountability and reporting

Overview Of Uk 101: Academic Orientation Course, Benjamin C. Withers, Randolph Hollingsworth

Undergraduate Education White Papers

A review of UK 101, "Academic Orientation Course", and its impact on retention and graduation rates at the University of Kentucky (UK). The study includes charts showing the differences in retention and graduation rates over time from 2001 to 2013. It also explores key issues and suggested next steps within the context of UK's efforts to raise the number of first-year students and the use of the shared curriculum by colleges for their specialized sections to meet the needs of their new students. This white paper is the result of collaboration between many units at UK together with the Division …

Global Kentucky (Spring 2014), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

A Holistic Review Of The Medical School Admission Process: Examining Correlates Of Academic Underperformance, Terry D. Stratton, Carol L. Elam

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Background : Despite medical school admission committees' best efforts, a handful of seemingly capable students invariably struggle during their first year of study. Yet, even as entrance criteria continue to broaden beyond cognitive qualifications, attention inevitably reverts back to such factors when seeking to understand these phenomena. Using a host of applicant, admission, and post-admission variables, the purpose of this inductive study, then, was to identify a constellation of student characteristics that, taken collectively, would be predictive of students at-risk of underperforming during the first year of medical school. In it, we hypothesize that a wider range of factors than …

Partnership Between Library And Graduate School For Electronic Theses And Dissertations, Adrian K. Ho

Library Presentations

This presentation describes how the library and the Graduate School at the University of Kentucky collaborated to streamline the thesis and dissertation submission process. The outcome was that the Graduate School implemented an electronic thesis and dissertation mandate in Fall 2013 and students now submit their theses or dissertations directly to the institutional repository, which enables immediate free online access to their research.

Global Kentucky (Winter 2014), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Fall 2013), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Summer 2013), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Spring 2013), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Changing Strategies For Electronic Theses And Dissertations: Communication Between An Academic Library, Graduate School, Academic Departments, And Students, Lyndsey E. Calico, Cleophus V. Price, Adrian K. Ho, Jonathan Garrett

Library Presentations

Technology has long since removed the need for paper copies of theses and dissertations in the library. The latest strategy for receiving, reviewing, and archiving graduate student scholarship is the institutional repository (IR). An IR will allow online submission by a student from anywhere in the world, increasing convenience for local students and increasing global diversity.

The University of Kentucky Graduate School and the University of Kentucky Libraries have teamed to create an online submission process for all graduate student scholarship. UKnowledge, the University's IR, is now home to all digitally born graduate student scholarship. To make the student experience …

Global Kentucky (Winter 2013), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Global Kentucky (Fall 2012), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

Retention Improvement: Reflecting On Current And Future Actions To Improve Retention - A Brief Written By Jason Pieratt On Behalf Of The Division Of Undergraduate Education, Randolph Hollingsworth

Undergraduate Education Faculty Presentations

Jason Pieratt, an enrollment and retention analyst hired by the Division of Undergraduate Education for the purpose of developing this brief, interviewed in early August 2012 selected individuals from across the diverse communities of the University of Kentucky staff, students and faculty. The following strategies were identified and developed.

University-wide:

• “Student Success is My Main Job” Mindset for All Employees (particularly Main Campus)
• Weave Post-UK Success into Everything from Recruiting to Graduation
• Capitalize on “Small” Settings that Already Exist at UK
• Student Services Building One-Stop Shop
• Retention-Focused Office under the Provost
• Academic and Social Gathering Places throughout Campus
• Faculty Involvement …

Global Kentucky (Summer 2012), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.

The National Student Exchange Program At The University Of Kentucky, 2009 – 2012: A Review Sponsored By The Division Of Undergraduate Education For The Associate Deans Of Curriculum And Instruction In The Undergraduate Colleges At The University Of Kentucky, May 15, 2012, Randolph Hollingsworth, Kelly Green Crume

Undergraduate Education White Papers

This white paper describes the origins of the University joining this international consortium and the overall goals for the program in terms of UK student success. The Program's review by the University's faculty leadership in the undergraduate colleges revealed that not only is this student exchange program useful for UK's upper division students seeking quicker time to degree, but it is also a conduit for the UK community to be enriched by the contributions from high quality students from other institutions.

Transfer Students And The University Of Kentucky, Michael Mullen

Undergraduate Education Faculty Presentations

No abstract provided.

Global Ky (Spring 2012), University Of Kentucky International Center

Global Kentucky

No abstract provided.