Education Commons^™

Ethical Imperatives And Challenges: Review Of The Use Of Machine Learning For Predictive Analytics In Higher Education, Emily Barnes, James Hutson, Karriem Perry

Faculty Scholarship

The escalating integration of machine learning (ML) in higher education necessitates a critical examination of its ethical implications. This article conducts a comprehensive review of the application of ML for predictive analytics within higher education institutions (HEIs), emphasizing the technology's potential to enhance student outcomes and operational efficiency. The study identifies significant ethical concerns, such as data privacy, informed consent, transparency, and accountability, that arise from the use of ML. Through a detailed analysis of current practices, this review underscores the need for HEIs to develop robust ethical frameworks and technological infrastructures to navigate these challenges effectively. The findings reveal …

Navigating The Maze: The Role Of Pre-Enrollment Socio-Cultural And Institutional Factors In Higher Education In The Age Of Ai, Emily Barnes, James Hutson

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the complex interplay between pre-enrollment socio-cultural and institutional factors and their impact on the higher education landscape. It challenges traditional metrics of academic achievement, presenting a nuanced perspective on student success that emphasizes the importance of socio-economic backgrounds, cultural capital, and K-12 education quality. The analysis extends to the significant role of institutional attributes in shaping student readiness and decision-making processes. The study advocates for the integration of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven assessments by higher education institutions to cater to the diverse needs of the student body, promoting an inclusive and supportive learning environment. Anchored in an extensive …

Parenting And The Academic Library: Experiences, Challenges, And Opportunities, Courtney Stine, Sarah Frankel, Anita Hall

Faculty Scholarship

Academic Library Workers in Conversation is a C&RL News series focused on elevating the everyday conversations of library professionals. The wisdom of the watercooler has long been heralded, but this series hopes to go further by minimizing barriers to traditional publishing with an accessible format. Each of the topics in the series were proposed by the authors and they were given space to explore. This issue’s conversation revolves around parenting and how academic libraries must do more. The insights from the authors apply beyond parenting and are a great reminder that people make our academic libraries work.— Dustin Fife, series …

Bridging The Divide: Improving Digital Humanities Pedagogy By Networking Higher Education And Secondary Education Faculty In St. Louis, Geremy Carnes, Margaret K. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

In 2021, faculty at Lindenwood University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) led the formation of a Saint Louis Digital Humanities (STL DH) Network of faculty and scholars at area universities, schools, and cultural institutions.1 The Lindenwood and SIUE campuses bookend the St. Louis metro area, a region whose strong geospatial presence offers fruitful opportunities for digital humanities (DH) education but which also suffers from long, deeply ingrained economic and racial segregation. While other regional DH networks exist, the STL DH Network is unique in taking undergraduate education and secondary education— and particularly equitable access to education—as its chief focus. …

College Major Area And Career Commitment: Rethinking Steam In Educational- Vocational Guidance, James Hutson, Sara Bagley, Colleen Biri

Faculty Scholarship

Objective: The exigency for higher education to exhibit outcomes aligning with career competencies has intensified, driven by external pressures favoring job-specific training. Amidst shifting career tendencies of Generations Y and Z and the advent of artificial intelligence-led automation, the valuation of different college majors has come under scrutiny. This study aims to dissect the prevailing assumptions and explore the satisfaction and career commitment levels among individuals with career-focused degrees.

Methods: Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study delves into the relationships among areas of study, career commitment, self-esteem, and self-efficacy among alumni from a private Midwestern liberal arts college. Instruments …

The Role Of Faculty In Durable Skills Development In Higher Education, James Hutson, Mark Valenzuela, Shannon Wright, Elizabeth Melick

Faculty Scholarship

Although Emsi and other market researchers have found that employers desire durable skills (formerly known as “soft skills”) in new hires, there have been few studies dedicated to identifying how faculty perceptions of skill development differ in degree and by area, and how that might impact how such skills are embedded in classroom instruction. This study proposes to investigate the perceptions of faculty from different academic backgrounds and how their disciplines and experiences may contribute to their perceived role in curricular, cocurricular or extracurricular offerings that support durable skill development. Results from the study demonstrate the differing perspectives and expectations …

Andragogy: The Common Thread In The Teaching Of Adults In Colleges Of Education, Criminal Justice, And Health Management, Grant J. Shostak, Larry Acker, Vanessa Vandergraaf

Faculty Scholarship

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes to higher education. Students and educators face challenges never anticipated, including switching classes from on-ground to online and back again, mental fatigue, stress, and burnout. Faculty across disciplines may turn to Andragogy to best teach college students to inform their teaching practices. This paper demonstrates how professors from education, criminal justice, and healthcare management have used andragogical techniques in their classrooms.

Study Abroad - Your Future Self Will Thank You, Stephanie Afful, Rebecca Foushée, Colleen Biri

Faculty Scholarship

Unavailable

Eyes Wide Shut: Using Accreditation Regulation To Address The “Pass-The-Harasser” Problem In Higher Education, Susan Saab Fortney, Theresa Morris

Faculty Scholarship

The #MeToo Movement cast a spotlight on sexual harassment in various sectors, including higher education. Studies reveal alarming percentages of students reporting that they have been sexually harassed by faculty and administrators. Despite annually devoting hundreds of millions of dollars to addressing sexual harassment and misconduct, nationwide university officials largely take an ostrich approach when hiring faculty and administrators with little or no scrutiny related to their past misconduct. Critics use the term “pass the harasser” or more pejoratively, “pass the trash” to capture the role that institutions play in allowing individuals to change institutions without the new employer learning …

A New Paradigm For Improving Race Relations, Teresa Reed

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Doctoral Quest: Managing Variables That Impact Degree Completion, Glenn Gittings, Mathew J. Bergman, Kobena Osam

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Merchants Of Moocs, James Grimmelmann

Faculty Scholarship

A loose network of educators, entrepreneurs, and investors are promoting Massive Open Online Courses as an innovation that will radically disrupt higher education. These Merchants of MOOCs see MOOCs' novel features—star professors, flipped classrooms, economies of scale, unbundling, and openness—as the key to dramatically improving higher education while reducing its cost.

But MOOCs are far from unprecedented. There is very little in them that has not been tried before, from 19th-century correspondence courses to Fathom, Columbia's $25 million dot-com boondoggle. Claims of disruption look rather different when this missing context is restored. This essay examines some common arguments about what …

Reforming Legal Education: Law Schools At The Crossroads, Debra Curtis, David Moss

Faculty Scholarship

In today's volatile law school environment, curriculum reform has emerged as a significant focus. It is commonly understood that law schools effectively teach certain analytical skills, but are less successful in other areas, and often scramble to adapt to evolving aims. This book demonstrates how law schools are successfully reforming their curriculum - and lays the framework to show how all schools of law can engage in a continuous reform model that proactively shapes our profession. It is expected that faculty and professional staff engaged in legal education will utilize this book as a primary resource to guide their respective …

Building Pathways Of Possibility From Criminal Justice To College: College Initiative As A Catalyst Linking Individual And Systemic Change, Susan P. Sturm, Kate Skolnick, Tina Wu

Faculty Scholarship

Across the United States, communities, especially marginalized and low income communities, face challenges resulting from the “school-to-prison pipeline”—a continuum of conditions increasing the probability that people from such marginalized communities, particularly black men, will find themselves in prison rather than college.1 Dismantling this pipeline has become a significant national focus of advocates and policy makers. In New York City, a network has emerged in the last ten years to focus on building a new pipeline from criminal justice to college. This network focuses on rebuilding the lives of the over 70 thousand people who have fallen into the school-to-prison pipeline. …