Education Commons^™

Critical Workforce Skills For Bachelor-Level Geoscientists: An Analysis Of Geoscience Job Advertisements, Gregory W. Shafer, K. Viskupic, Anne E. Egger

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Understanding the skills bachelor-level geoscientists need to enter the workforce is critical to their success. The goal of this study was to identify the workforce skills that are most requested from a broad range of geoscience employers. We collected 3668 job advertisements for bachelor-level geoscientists and used a case-insensitive, code-matching function in Matlab to determine the skills geoscience employers seek. Written communication (67%), field skills (63%), planning (53%), and driving (51%) were most frequently requested. Field skills and data collection were frequently found together in the ads. Written communication skills were common regardless of occupation. Quantitative skills were requested less …

Music At Central Washington University With Emphasis On The Years 1891-2000, Norman D. Wallen

Music Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This history deals primarily with the period before the year 2000. Only four professors on current faculty predate 2000. Most of those four are scheduled to retire by 2025. I trust one or more are willing to write a detailed history of their years at Central. Other than the bound and on-line books of concert programs there is very little available information after 1998. They must rely primarily on memory. It is very difficult to write anything about CWU Music in this century because so little written documentation is available. (See ”Sources”) Former Director of Bands Larry Gookin is retired …

Central Washington University Jazz Recording Archive The Analog Years In Digital: 1946-2000, Norman D. Wallen

Music Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Central Washington University Jazz Recording Archive, The Analog Years in Digital: 1946-2000, is every known CWU analog jazz recording converted to digital audio.

• This annotation of analog recordings contains extensive history. It is not a full history of jazz. Consult Music at Central Washington University for complete history.

• More than 425 analog magnetic tape recordings of concerts and recording sessions were digitized exactly as performed, and stored as electronic files in industry-standard Full Lossless Audio Codex (FLAC) format.

• Each selection from every concert or recording session was converted to a separate m4a or mp3 compressed …

Active Collections, Passive Collecting: Revitalizing Library Displays To Diversify Collections & Increase Student Engagement, Erin A. Sulla, Wendy Lee Spaček, Bridgette Flamenco, Elizabeth Kuykendall

Library Scholarship

After a year of limited outreach and collection development activities due to COVID, staff and librarians at one university revitalized their library displays to both address gaps in the collection and increase student engagement with monographs. By activating the collection through monthly themed displays, librarians have increased holdings related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, thus improving representation on the shelves. Participants will discover how active displays that incorporate both academic and recreational holdings can serve a dual purpose as collection development and outreach activities, making the most of limited funds for monograph acquisitions. Attendees from academic and public libraries should …

Analysis Of Skills Sought By Employers Of Bachelors-Level Geoscientists, Gregory Shafer, Karen Viskuptic, Anne E. Egger

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

Bachelors-level geoscientists make up the majority of the geoscience workforce, and positions for entry-level geoscientists are expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, with some jobs anticipating upward of 10% growth (National Center for O*NET Development, 2021). Are geoscience departments adequately preparing undergraduate students to succeed in these positions?

Learning From The Covid-19 Pandemic: How Faculty Experiences Can Prepare Us For Future System-Wide Disruption, Kathryn M. Bateman, Ellen Altermatt, Anne E. Egger, Ellen Iverson, Cathryn Manduca, Eric M. Riggs, Kristen St. John, Thomas F. Shipley

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The COVID-19 pandemic provided education researchers with a natural experiment: an opportunity to investigate the impacts of a system-wide, involuntary move to online teaching and to assess the characteristics of individuals who adapted more readily. To capture the impacts in real time, our team recruited college-level geoscience instructors through the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) and American Geophysical Union (AGU) communities to participate in our study in the spring of 2020. Each weekday for three successive weeks, participants (n = 262) were asked to rate their experienced disruption in four domains: teaching, research, ability to communicate with their …

“Part Of Something Larger Than Myself”: Lessons Learned From A Multidisciplinary, Multicultural, And Multilingual International Research Team Of Academic Women, Kristina S. Brown, Tricia M. Farwell, Sara Bender, Alpha A. Martinez-Suarez, Stefani Boutelier, Agata A. Lambrechts, Iwona Leonowicz-Bukała, Pipiet Larasatie

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Bringing our collective experiences of past collaborations through a virtual connection, we created an international research team of 16 multidiscipline, multicultural, and multilingual academic women called “COVID GAP” (Gendered Academic Productivity) to explore the ongoing challenges and effects of COVID-19. Identifying as insider researchers, we engaged in a two-phase, primarily qualitative research project to better understand the lived experiences of academics during the pandemic. Our past individual experiences with cooperative research informed our roles and responsibilities and how we organized and communicated. This article is a reflection of how COVID GAP has refined our collaborative process in response to an …

Sink Or Swim? Transitioning Academic Library Outreach In Times Of Covid-19, Lauren Wittek, Maureen Rust

Library Scholarship

This practical article explores the challenges and unexpected benefits discovered when a public regional academic library transitioned its engagement and outreach efforts to a fully online format. The onset of COVID-19 presented a need for a radical change to Central Washington University Libraries’ events and social media communication. While adhering to the core principles of library outreach and engagement, the library has shifted the modality and types of programming offered to meet safety guidelines. Online event assessment, promotion, and engagement will also be discussed.

Integrating Common Data Analytics Tools Into Non-Technical Undergraduate Curricula, Kurt Kirstein

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

Aside from statistics courses, accessible data analytics skills are often excluded from traditional non-technical university programs. These are topics that are typically the domain of programs that focus on math, statistics and computer science. Yet the need for these skills in non-technical disciplines is changing. A rapid expansion of data-related processes in organizations of many types requires individuals who have at least a working knowledge of common analytic tools. This article briefly describes three categories of data analytics tools that can be useful for graduates in any discipline. The first category covers descriptive tools that allow students to learn what …

No Textbook Cost General Education Pathway: An Effort To Increase Retention At Central Washington University, Maura Valentino, Geri Hopkins

Library Scholarship

Purpose

This study aims to describe a project that aims to give students a choice to complete their general education requirements without purchasing a textbook.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 26 faculty, teaching in the new general education curriculum, at Central Washington University were given stipends to eliminate expensive textbooks and use free to the student resources such as open educational resources (OER) or library resources. The data was collected on student savings and student and faculty satisfaction with the program.

Findings

Many paths were created through the general education curriculum, so a student may easily finish these requirements without purchasing a …

Modeling Tropical Diversity In The Undergraduate Classroom: Novel Curriculum To Engage Students In Authentic Scientific Practicesum To Engage Students In Authentic Scientific Practices, Jana Bouwma-Gearhart, Sarah Adumat, Allyson Rogan-Klyve, Andrew M. Bouwma

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

A feature of science is its production of evidence-based explanations. Scientific models can both provide causal explanations and be predictive of natural phenomena. Modeling-based inquiry (MBI) is a pedagogical strategy that promotes students’ deep learning about phenomena via engagement in authentic scientific practices. Some university instructors have begun to facilitate MBI in their courses, notably those aimed at aspiring K–12 science educators who, per the Next Generation Science Standards, are encouraged to implement MBI. Yet exploration of curriculum and teaching with MBI in postsecondary environments is scarce. We detail a novel MBI curriculum implemented in a postsecondary ecology course that …

Is A Library Department Chair Essential?: The Development Of The Library Department Chair At Central Washington University, Julia Stringfellow

Library Scholarship

The combined position of University Archivist and Library Department Chair in the James E. Brooks Library at Central Washington University (CWU) in Ellensburg, Washington is unique and draws cu- riosity as to what other academic libraries have department chairs and what is their specific area of librarianship. This article provides a review of literature on the responsibilities of department chairs and their vitality, as well as publications specifically referencing library department chairs. A compar- ison of the CWU library department chair to another library faculty chair in the Orbis Cascade Alli- ance is also provided. The history of the chair …

More Than Fun And Games: Changing Library Perceptions Through Outreach Efforts, Maureen Rust, Elizabeth Brown

Library Scholarship

Academic libraries are beginning to devote more resources to library outreach as a means of conveying the unit’s relevancy to its campus constituents. Various methods of outreach include student engagement activities, embedded librarian liaisons within campus-wide departments, community programming, often in partnership with other campus units, and increased library instruction in University 101 courses. How effective are these methods of heightening the library’s campus profile? Does the return on investment warrant the resources expended on these programs? This study investigates campus perceptions of the target library. Since instituting its formal embedded librarian program in 2013, hiring two tenure-track faculty specializing …

Media Exposure On Student Work: Spotlight On Undergraduate Research, Dominic Klyve

Mathematics Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes efforts by the author to engage and motivate students in undergraduate research by giving them a large audience and engaging the media in disseminating their work. I provide an introduction to public relations from the point of view of a mathematics professor, and describe some lessons I’ve learned in my own attempts to engage newsprint, radio, and television sources in stories about undergraduate research in mathematics. After describing some partially successful early attempts, the paper discusses a recent event in which undergraduate research in mathematics became, briefly, a “hot news item” in Central Washington. The paper concludes …

Saving The Stratton:The Fate Of The Sheldon Jackson College Library Collection, Ginny Blackson, Mattias Olshausen

Library Scholarship

On June 29, 2007, Alaska’s oldest educational institution, Sheldon Jackson College, ceased operations without notice. The closure left an uncertain future for the college’s students, faculty, staff, resources, and buildings including the Stratton Library and the over 48,000 items housed within. The Library’s collection not only contained the college’s academic collection, but it also housed two rare book collections, historical photos and plate glass negatives, as well as the archives documenting the school’s 128-year history. This article will track the relocation and current status of the Sheldon Jackson College archives and C.L. Andrews rare book collection.

Wage Distribution Impacts Of Higher Education Faculty Unionization, Charles S. Wassell Jr., David W. Hedrick, Steven E. Henson, John M. Krieg

Economics Faculty Scholarship

The literature on the effects of unions on the distribution of wages at the macroeconomic and inter-industry levels has given little attention to the effects at the firm level. At the same time, research on collective bargaining impacts in higher education has focused on the overall wage level rather than on the distribution of salaries. Using panel data on individual faculty members, we find faculty unionization to be associated with a significant flattening of the wage distribution across academic disciplines. This has implications for why faculty might choose to unionize, even in the absence of an overall wage premium.

A Comparative Study Of Competency-Based Courses Demonstrating A Potential Measure Of Course Quality And Student Success, Jackie Krause, Laura Portolese, Christopher Schedler

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

While competency-based education is growing, standardized tools for evaluating the unique characteristics of course design in this domain are still under development. This preliminary research study evaluated the effectiveness of a rubric developed for assessing course design of competency-based courses in an undergraduate Information Technology and Administrative Management program. The rubric, which consisted of twenty-six individual measures, was used to evaluate twelve new courses. Additionally, the final assessment scores of nine students who completed nine courses in the program were evaluated to determine if a correlation exists between student success and specific indicators of quality in the course design. The …

Using A Spreadsheet To Solve The SchröDinger Equations For The Energies Of The Ground Electronic State And The Two Lowest Excited States Of H2, Yingbin Ge, Robert C. Rittenhouse, Jacob C. Buchanan, Benjamin Livingston

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

We have designed an exercise suitable for a lab or project in an undergraduate physical chemistry course that creates a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to calculate the energy of the S₀ ground electronic state and the S₁ and T₁ excited states of H₂. The spreadsheet calculations circumvent the construction and diagonalization of the Fock matrix and thus can be accomplished by any undergraduate chemistry student with basic calculus skills. The wave functions of the S₀, S₁, and T₁ states of H₂ are constructed from the symmetry-adapted bonding and antibonding molecular …

Academic Self-Efficacy, Coping, And Academic Performance In College, Mehjabeen Khan

Student Published Works

This study serves as a pilot study for a possible future study including the same variables. The purpose of the pilot study was to find a relationship in the college academic setting between academic self-efficacy, stress coping skills, and academic performance. Sixty-six undergraduate students, 17 male and 49 female, from a university in northwestern United States participated in the study. Stress was measured using the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). Self-efficacy was measured using the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). Academic performance was measured using the participants’ college GPA. Academic Self-Efficacy and the Planning subscale …

Building An Online Data Management Plan Tool, Michele Reilly, Anita R. Dryden

Library Scholarship

Following the 2011 announcement by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that it would begin requiring Data Management Plans with every funding application, the University of Houston Libraries explored ways to support our campus researchers in meeting this requirement. A small team of librarians built an online tool using a Drupal module. The tool includes informational content, an interactive questionnaire, and an extensive FAQ to meet diverse researcher needs. This easily accessible and locally maintained tool allows us to provide a high level of personalized service to our researchers.

Ethics In The Accounting Curriculum, James H. Thompson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

The number of corporate debacles in recent history has been a great concern to the financial community. From Enron to Bear Stearns, the events have highlighted that greed, incompetence, and deception exist systemically. After these and other similar events, the importance of professional ethics intensified. Has the concern for improved ethical behavior compelled academic institutions to provide greater emphasis on ethics in accounting degree programs?

Several findings emerged in this study. First, ethics is more commonly part of the course description than it is to be part of the course title. Second, there is greater emphasis on ethics in undergraduate …

Gender, Masculinity, Femininity And Help Seeking In College, Heath Marrs, Ellen A. Sigler, Robyn D. Brammer

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The current academic performance struggles of college men is gaining increasing research attention (Sax, 2008a, 2008b), but few studies have explored the possible impact of gender-related attributes such as masculinity and femininity on academic help-seeking behaviors and academic performance. In this study of 567 college undergraduates, students who classified themselves as androgynous on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory were more likely to engage in academic help-seeking behaviors than those classified as male sex-typed, female sex-typed, and undifferentiated. No significant differences were found for academic performance. These results highlight the importance of exploring the potential influence of gender-related constructs on academic behavior …

Accounting Capstone Course Design: Using The Internet To Modernize A Graduate Accounting Capstone Course, Diane S. Bloom, Clemense Ehoff Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This second paper describes how the Internet was used to modernize a graduate accounting capstone course to enhance student interest and learning, and is an extension of an earlier paper that examined a similar approach with an undergraduate accounting capstone course. Course content was developed from contemporary issues and cases obtained from the Internet. Benefits, drawbacks, and feedback from students who completed the updated course are presented as a basis for future study. The concepts and techniques presented in this analysis can easily be applied to capstone courses in other disciplines.

A Survey Of Accounting Faculty Perceptions Regarding Tenure And Post-Tenure Review, James H. Thompson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Attaining tenure is a goal of every faculty member. Indeed, at the beginning of every faculty member’s career, there is concern regarding the process of earning tenure. Many factors enter into the tenure decision, but most universities place weight on three primary factors: teaching effectiveness, research activity, and demonstration of service to the university and beyond. The relative importance of these three factors varies, but most universities expect “satisfactory” performance in all three areas. One of the historical reasons for faculty tenure is to protect academic freedom. Once tenure was attained, a faculty member’s academic freedom was considered safe. Recent …

A Primer On Profit Maximization, Robert Carbaugh, Tyler Prante

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Although textbooks in intermediate microeconomics and managerial economics discuss the first-order condition for profit maximization (marginal revenue equals marginal cost) for pure competition and monopoly, they tend to ignore the second-order condition (marginal cost cuts marginal revenue from below). Mathematical economics textbooks also tend to provide only tangential treatment of the necessary and sufficient conditions for profit maximization. This paper fills the void in the textbook literature by combining mathematical and graphical analysis to more fully explain the profit maximizing hypothesis under a variety of market structures and cost conditions. It is intended to be a useful primer for all …

A Comparative Empirical Analysis Of Characteristics Associated With Accounting Internships, James H. Thompson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

Internships are a popular element used to enhance accounting education. Although previous studies have considered internships, many have addressed enhancement of subsequent academic and professional performance. The purpose of this paper is broader and examines several characteristics of accounting internships: the frequency of participation, eligibility requirements, process for securing internships, level of participation, availability and amount of academic credit, area of assignments, nature of post-internship requirements, and benefits to students. Two random samples, one in 1998 and one in 2003, of 100 accounting programs were analyzed in the study. For each program selected, the survey was mailed to accounting program …

Incorporating Accreditation Into Strategic Planning In Academic Libraries: A Look At Nine Libraries In Washington State, Daniel Canncasciato

Library Scholarship

Accreditation for universities and colleges is a milestone achievement. Failing an accreditation review can have a dire impact on an institution. A successful accreditation process should be a major goal of all involved at the institution, as it brings with it a validation of that institution. The academic library is included in accreditation reviews, so library personnel should plan to succeed in the process. The purpose of this article is to investigate whether such planning is evident or explicit in the mission and planning documents of nine academic libraries in Washington State.

Recruiting Students Into The Earth Sciences Through Undergraduate Research, Anne E. Egger, Simon L. Klemperer

Geological Sciences Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the challenges of recruiting undergraduate students into STEM disciplines and describes strategies which have been used to stimulate undergraduate interest in Earth sciences research at Stanford University.

Educational Operations Four Days A Week, Charles O. Pringle, William Bender

Engineering Technologies, Safety, and Construction Faculty Scholarship

Four day work weeks have been employed by industry, state agencies, and recently by higher education. The generally perceived benefit of the four day work week is reduced energy costs. These costs savings include more efficient building operations and less energy consumption driving to a facility. The generally perceived negative impact of four day operations, particularly of state agencies, is a decreased level of service.

How much energy would be saved and could the level of service be maintained in a higher educational environment by switching from five to four day weeks? This study occurs at a regional university within …

Notes On Accounting Capstone Course Design: Contemporary Issues Versus Case Analysis Enhances Student Interest And Learning, Clemense Ehoff Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Business

This paper presents how the Internet can be used to bring contemporary issues into the accounting capstone course to enhance student interest and learning. While existing cases have been reviewed and structured, they focus on issues that may not be at the forefront of the items currently under examination and/or debate by the accounting profession. Based on course development and delivery experience at a major Eastern University, the benefits and drawbacks of using the Internet to select contemporary accounting issues are presented and compared to existing research findings as a basis for future study. While the focus of this paper …