The author examines the effect of class format on student performance, time spent on homework, and instructor evaluations. The findings are unique and add to a limited body of literature. Each group comprised similar undergraduate students who received the same number of instructional hours, same assignments and were taught by the same instructor.…

The following study explores the landscape of grading systems utilised in higher education, focusing on the frequency of different types of assessment scales (including Straight Letter, Plus/Minus, and other alternative policies). Although numerous studies have explored the relationship between university grading system and student behaviour,…

Title IX establishes in law equal opportunity for women in educational programs that receive financial support from the federal government. In higher education in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the misapplication of Title IX in college athletics is believed to have caused the termination of college wrestling programs that were otherwise…

In response to national calls for improved physical sciences education for students pursuing careers in the life sciences and medicine, reformed introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) courses are being developed. This exploratory study is among the first to assess the effect of an IPLS course on students' attitudes, interest, and…

Previous research has found the field of higher education, particularly in the United States, is dominated by functionalist approaches, a preponderance of survey data, and the ubiquitous use of advanced quantitative methods to investigate educational phenomena. This descriptive study aims to illuminate why the field is constructed in this way.…

The purpose of this study was to explore and examine perceptions among public and private higher education leaders in Pennsylvania regarding their institutions Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) codes of conduct, ethics training programs, and practices of ethics. Highly publicized misconduct incidents warranted the need for scrutiny of the…

Based on in-person, task-based usability testing and interviews, the authors' library Web site was recently overhauled in order to improve user experience. This led to the authors' interest in additional usability testing methods and test environments that would most closely fit their library's goals and situation. The appeal of card sorting…

Student persistence problems have arisen in the past 30 years due to the rapid growth of online higher education degree programs in the United States. Current literature has studied online undergraduate student persistence in-depth, but there has been little research to uncover the issues facing online graduate students. Given that online…

This article reports results from a study of teacher beliefs among a panel of English and language arts teachers at three universities as the pre-service teachers entered methodological coursework and internships. Using a new assessment tool, the Developmental Instruction Assessment Battery (DIAB), along with a discrete choice task and one-on-one…

Much research on student engagement has recommended a variety of activities and instructor attitudes and behaviors that effectively engage online students such that they are more likely to persist in achieving their educational goals. This study asked online students how often they engaged in research-based effective activities in their courses…

A multi-year study investigated the impact of incorporating student-directed discovery projects into introductory statistics courses. Pilot instructors at institutions across the United States taught statistics implementing student-directed projects with the help of a common set of instructional materials designed to facilitate such projects.…

The rising price of higher education and its implications for equity and accessibility have been extensively documented, but the material conditions of students' lives are often overlooked. Data from more than 30,000 two- and 4-year college students indicate that approximately half are food insecure, and recent estimates suggest that at least 20%…

Immigration and globalization have dramatically changed the ethnic landscape of the United States, yet stereotypes about race continue to exist. Foreign language classrooms are at the heart of teaching about diversity. We investigated whether undergraduates (with varying exposure to Spanish language education) could accurately identify the race of…

In 2015, prominent figures from the debate community gathered at Penn State for a Conference on Speech and Debate as Civic Education. Convened in response to a perceived decline in debate's contributions to civic education, the conference also aimed to start a conversation about the future of debate education. Although a great deal can be learned…

Lifelong learning skills have been shown to benefit students during and after college. This paper discusses the use of the Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory (ELLI) in a first-year composition course. Reflective writing assignments and pre- and post-semester ELLI data were used to assess student growth as lifelong learners over the course of a…