Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Principals’ Leadership Practices And Mathematics Pass Rate In Jamaican High Schools, David Palmer, Douglas Hermond, Carl Gardiner

Administrative Issues Journal

This research was intended to explore the degree to which leadership practices impacted Jamaican schools’ mathematics achievement. More specifically, the researchers examined Jamaica’s high school students’ CSEC mathematics performance in relation to principals’ instructional leadership behaviors as measured by teachers’ perceptions, using Kouzes and Posner (2003) Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). Data were gathered from 2-4 teachers from 42 high schools in Jamaica. The results indicated that those principals who had high LPI scores also lead schools with higher mathematics pass rates than those principals who had low LPI scores. More specifically, “enabling others to act” was established as the leadership …

Student Anxiety: Effects Of A New Graduate Student Orientation Program, Megan Hullinger, R. Lance Hogan

Administrative Issues Journal

A significant issue for U.S. institutions of higher education is reducing the anxiety of students in order to help increase retention rates and improve academic performance. The purpose of this study was to analyze the anxiety levels of incoming graduate students at a Midwest regional state university to determine if an online student orientation program would assist in lowering those levels. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y-1 (STAI) was used to measure anxiety levels before and after an orientation program was administered. The population consisted of graduate students, with data indicating that anxiety levels of entering graduate students were significantly …

Disrupting Faculty Service: Using Technology To Increase Academic Service Productivity, Perry Burnett, Kenneth Shemroske, Mohammed Khayum

Administrative Issues Journal

Scholarly attention regarding faculty involvement has primarily focused on faculty opinions of shared governance and faculty influence on institutional decision-making. There has been limited attention given to academic service productivity and the effectiveness of traditional approaches toward the accomplishment of faculty service requirements. This paper discusses disruptive technological change as a subset of disruptive innovation and proposes a technology-based framework for increasing service productivity while maintaining effort with regard to faculty service requirements in academic institutions. Specifically, a social networking tool is used to approach academic service projects with organic involvement and measured progress. It is suggested that such an …

Standardized Predictive Testing: Practices, Policies, And Outcomes, Lisette Barton, Pamela Willson, Rae Langford, Barbara Schreiner

Administrative Issues Journal

The aims of this study were to describe current policy practice related to the use of the HESI™ Exit Exam in schools of nursing and to determine which policies result in higher HESI Exit Scores. Deans and directors of nursing schools that administered Elsevier HESI Exit Exam to students during the 2010 academic year were queried. Data were collected regarding students’ HESI Exit Exam results, national nursing licensure examination outcomes, and the schools’ standardized testing policies. A stratified random sample of schools and a total of 5438 student records were obtained, 3084 from Associate Degree (AD) and 2354 from Baccalaureate …

Job Interviews: Keys For Results, Donald S. Miller, Stephen E. Catt, Thomas E. Slocombe

Administrative Issues Journal

Many students seem disinterested in learning to handle employment interviews effectively. This article discusses students’ motivation to become skilled interviewees and steps educators and counselors can take to increase students’ interest in this crucial career activity. The article also discusses mistakes students frequently make during employment interviews and provides suggestions educators can use to help students avoid these difficulties.

Factors That Influence Student Selection Of Educational Leadership Master’S Programs At Regional Universities, Pam Winn, Lesley F. Leach, Susan Erwin, Liza Benedict

Administrative Issues Journal

Graduate enrollment numbers in Educational Leadership programs have dwindled at many public higher education institutions. At the same time, for-profit institutions and institutions with private marketing partnerships have experienced increasingly greater enrollments. Many public institutions are reevaluating their marketing and recruiting strategies as they struggle to compete for students. Central to any marketing strategy is knowledge of the needs and wants of consumers; in the case of higher education, the consumers are students. This study sought to determine the needs and wants of Master’s-level Educational Leadership students by investigating the factors that influenced students’ selections of programs as well as …

Principals’ Perceived Supervisory Behaviors Regarding Marginal Teachers In Two States, Bret Range, Paul Hewitt, Suzie Young

Administrative Issues Journal

This descriptive study used an online survey to determine how principals in two states viewed the supervision of marginal teachers. Principals ranked their own evaluation of the teacher as the most important factor when identifying marginal teachers and relied on informal methods to diagnose marginal teaching. Female principals rated a majority of supervisory methods and data sources as being more useful and the importance of formative assessments and teachers’ self-reflection as significantly more important than did male principals. Female principals adopted a procedural style, while males identified with the situational style when working with marginal teachers.

Organizational Training And Relationship Building For Increasing Public Participation In A Public School District, John Poynton, Carole Makela, Don Haddad

Administrative Issues Journal

From the early twentieth century to the present, citizen participation in U.S. public institutions—particularly schools—has continually decreased. The trend has been linked to the bureaucratization of public schools and their increasing reliance on expert knowledge for solutions to school- and education-related problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a parent training program designed to increase a school district’s capacity for public participation by parents and other citizens. The program—known as Leadership St. Vrain—provided citizens knowledge about school district operations and management (know-how) and relationship-building opportunities with key decision makers (know-who). This article focuses on the …

Maintaining The Boundaries: Teacher Preparation Program Admission Criteria For Screening Quality Candidates, Rebekah Miller-Levy, Diane Taylor, Laurie Hawke

Administrative Issues Journal

This study examines several Texas university-based teacher preparation program screening measures and admission criteria. The researchers examined those measures stipulated in the Texas Administrative Code, as well as criteria that exceeded those required by the state. Identifying these measures and criteria will allow programs to maintain the boundaries of who becomes a teacher, thus providing the quality teachers required to educate productive members of society.

Learning From The Past: Dual Credit, Nicole Mansell, Madeline Justice

Administrative Issues Journal

This study involved identifying, categorizing, and comparing critical incidents related to qualifying dual credit high school students’ decisions to enroll or not to enroll in dual credit coursework in either a traditional or early college high school. The purpose of the study was (a) to identify the reasons qualifying students decide to enroll in dual credit courses in a traditional or early college high school and (b) to identify the reasons qualifying students choose the traditional versus the early college high school. For this qualitative study, the research method employed was the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) developed by John Flanagan …

Perceptions Of Preceptors And Students On The Importance Of Writing, Tina T. Fields, Jeff J. Hatala, Richard F. Nauert

Administrative Issues Journal

Health administration programs vary from other administrative programs based on emphasis in writing. Prior studies about writing skills in professional degree programs show student writing skills are not at a professional level. There is no literature at present that identifies important and essential writing skills related specifically to undergraduate or graduate health administration programs. This pilot study surveys graduate and undergraduate programs’ residency preceptors to identify the important skills and forms of written communication used in the workplace and surveys students to discover their perceptions of what skills and written work they will perform in their initial job. Results show …

Stragegies For Attracting And Retaining Teachers, Paul Bland, Edwin Church, Mingchu Luo

Administrative Issues Journal

Attracting and retaining high quality teachers is a challenge for many school districts. This is especially true in a time of increased accountability and limited resources. This report details best practice in the training, hiring, improvement, and retention of high quality teaching staff. The authors explain how school leaders can attract quality teaching staff, provide effective new teacher induction programs, and establish procedures that will assist in retaining the best of the best teaching staff.

The Targeted Open Online Course (Tooc) Model, Credence Baker, James Gentry

Administrative Issues Journal

In an era of increasingly hyped Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that seem to evoke feelings of both promise and peril for higher education, many institutions are struggling to find their niche among top-tier Ivy League schools offering courses to thousands of participants for free. While the effectiveness of MOOCs in terms of learning outcomes and student persistence is still unclear (see Daniel, 2012; Kirschner, 2012; and Jordan, 2013), one benefit of the trend are the innovative adaptations that smaller-sized, regional institutions have begun testing as alternative in-roads into the MOOC era. The Targeted Open Online Course (TOOC) model allowed …

Administrative Issues Journal: Table Of Contents

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Patsy Parker

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

2014 Apothecary, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Apothecary

This publication is dedicated to the Southwestern College of Pharmacy faculty, staff, alumni, and students. We congratulate this year's graduating seniors and wish you success in your professional careers.

It is with great honor we present the 2014 Apothecary issue. This year’s Apothecary was made possible by the provision of generous financial contributions from many stores, businesses, and Southwestern College of Pharmacy alumni. We greatly appreciate and thank you for your continued support.

Editors’ Pick—Book Review: Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners: A College Education For The 21st Century, Frederic Murray

Administrative Issues Journal

Conard, C., & Dunek, L. (2012). Cultivating inquiry-driven learners: A college education for the 21st century. Baltimore: John Hopkins UP. 132 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0598-8

Collaborative Preference: The Role Of Homophily, Multiplexity, And Advantageous Network Position Across Small And Medium-Sized Organizations, Troy A. Voelker, William C. Mcdowell, Michael L. Harris

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this paper is to examine collaboration between individuals across organizations. While both for profit and not-for-profit organizations utilize collaborative efforts, the factors that are important for bringing individuals and businesses together for collaboration still remain somewhat unresolved. In this paper, colleague similarity, the quality of pre-existing relationships, and the relative power of the other colleague are all examined for their correlation with the desirability of collaboration with that individual. In a study of pastors of small and medium sized churches in a southwestern protestant conference, we examined these areas through the lenses of homophily theory, multiplicity theories, …

Market Orientation And Its Measurement In Universities, Mihai Niculescu, Bing Xu, Gerald M. Hampton, Robin T. Peterson

Administrative Issues Journal

Historically, the measurement of market orientation has proved to be difficult, due to the low external validity of the concept. Existing scales exhibit acceptable properties in measuring market orientation in business organizations, but are less accurate in the context of higher education institutions. This paper compares the performance of three scales – the MARKOR scale, the MKTOR scale, and the University MARKOR scale – in the context of academic organizations. Results indicate that the MARKOR and the MKTOR scales need modifications, in order to accurately measure the construct in the new context. Evidence suggests that the student-oriented University MARKOR scale …

The Future Of Adjunct Teaching At American Colleges And Universities Under The Shared Responsibility Provisions Of “Obamacare”, Suzanne Wilhelm

Administrative Issues Journal

This article examines the effect that the Affordable Care Act may have on adjunct teaching faculty at universities and colleges across the nation.

Leaving The Dark Side For The Light: Twelve Strategies For Effective Transition From Academic Administrator To Faculty Member, Paul Sale

Administrative Issues Journal

Copious literature is available to provide nascent administrators with guidelines and advice for being a successful administrator. Likewise, faculty new to academia have many available resources both from the literature and from campus-based support services, such as new faculty development programs, mentors, and special internal funding programs. However, there is a paucity of academic discussion explaining the process of the return of an administrator back to faculty. The purpose of this paper is to delineate strategies for the transition back to faculty from the administrative ranks. Twelve pragmatic strategies for re-entering the world of faculty teaching, research, and service are …

Student Perceptions Of Integrative Field Seminar: A Comparison Of Three Models, Helen Harris, Dennis Myers

Administrative Issues Journal

Student perceptions of 63 concentration year MSW students, grades, and faculty perceptions were examined to evaluate differences in educational outcomes and in learning experiences among a traditional classroom model, a mixed or hybrid model, and a webinar online model for delivery of integrative field seminars. No significant differences were found in the grades among the three models. Findings showed strong support for the traditional model for students in local field internships and the webinar model for students in distant site placements. Reciprocity among students and faculty was a major factor in seminar integration and effectiveness, regardless of the mode of …

Student Equity: Discouraging Cheating In Online Courses, Timothy B. Michael, Melissa A. Williams

Administrative Issues Journal

As online programs at conventional universities continue to expand, administrators and faculty face new challenges. Academic dishonesty is nothing new, but an online testing environment requires different strategies and tactics from what we have had to consider in the past. Our university has recently adapted successful face-toface programs in financial management, both graduate and undergraduate, for delivery in a fully-online format. This paper discusses our experiences moving to a new environment, the challenges of student attempts to cheat and plagiarize, and techniques that we have found to prevent both cheating on high-stakes assessments and plagiarism.We present a number of essential …

Justifying Study Abroad In Financially Difficult Times, Marty Ludlum, Randal Ice, Jessica Sheetz-Nguyen

Administrative Issues Journal

In this paper, we will develop the justification for study abroad. We will discuss the current economic climate and its impact on budgets. Next, we will explain the many benefits of the study abroad programs. Then we will propose some less expensive alternatives to the traditional study abroad programs. We will conclude with expectations for the future.

Analysis Of The Higher Education Act Reauthorizations: Financial Aid Policy Influencing College Access And Choice, Robin L. Capt

Administrative Issues Journal

The original goal of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the amendments to that act in 1972, and reauthorizations through 1998 was to increase accessibility of higher education to all. Initially these system-level efforts substantially enhanced equity, but recent enrollment trends raise the question: Is our system becoming more or less equitable? By conducting a policy analysis of the HEA reauthorizations and other legislation, in respect to policy decision-making and policy implementation on federal and state levels, this paper examines how financial aid policy influences college access and choice for low- to moderate-income undergraduate students. Key elements in the federal …

Intellectual Property And Higher Education: Challenges, Virgil Van Dusen

Administrative Issues Journal

Intellectual property has become a highly coveted asset that can potentially reap a financial windfall for the owner who exploits its utility. Higher education has focused on the discovery of new knowledge, which can translate into intellectual property, but legislation, higher education policy, and/or contractual engagement may dictate ownership or opportunities for ownership of intellectual property by those involved in the discovery process. The dissemination of new knowledge acquired in the discovery of intellectual property may be limited for purposes of protection of commercial development. At the same time, higher education is becoming more involved in the oversight of technology …

Letter From The Editor, Tami Moser

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

Administrative Issues Journal: Table Of Contents

Administrative Issues Journal

No abstract provided.

The Wise Leader, Shirley Garick

Administrative Issues Journal

This paper is an article review of the Wise Leader, written by Nonaka, I; Takeuchi, H (2011) in the Harvard Business Review. These authors offer salient advice on what a wise leader needs to understand, regardless of your administrative leadership role. It can quality and apply across all dimensions of leadership roles from executive to managerial to employees.

A Case For Teaching Geography, Richard Huck

Administrative Issues Journal

The knowledge of geography is clearly lacking in college students. “We cannot understand who we are unless we understand history, and there is no way we can understand history if we do not understand the geography behind it”! How can we understand the Civil War without understanding the importance of the Mississippi River? A great many students cannot locate the Mississippi River on a map! This paper is original research based on my classroom experience and on a questionnaire given to my students at the beginning of each semester. About 150 students have been given this questionnaire over the 5 …