Each year, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) offers a summer education program designed to assist students with a variety of instructional needs. The 2016 summer education program allowed students the opportunity to repeat required courses needed for promotion, to get ahead by taking required courses before the next school year, or to…

In recent years Finnish university language centres have increasingly developed procedures for assessing and recognising the skills in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) that students acquire in various non-formal and informal learning environments. This article describes the procedures developed by the University of Eastern Finland Language…

This article describes a faculty-led, multiyear process of formulating learning objectives and assessing the effectiveness of a foreign language requirement for all College of Arts and Sciences undergraduates at a research university. Three interrelated research questions were addressed: (1) What were the levels and patterns of language courses…

The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan organization that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing Board established the NAEP Program of 12th Grade Preparedness Research to assess what NAEP can report on the academic preparedness of 12th grade students entering college and…

This study describes the objectives, structures, and outcomes of a one-semester, required sociology research capstone course as taught at three institutions. Pre- and postquestionnaires from students, syllabi from instructors, and a random sample of final research papers were analyzed. Results indicate that the main foci of the course are to…

Administrators at a large, public university launched a mandatory success course for freshmen placed on academic probation at the end of their first semester. We compared the rates of course participant and nonparticipant return to good academic standing; persistence to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years; and graduation (within 4 to 5 years). The…

An internally-developed tool was developed to assess the intercultural competence of students taking part in short-term study abroad programs. Four scales were built to assess possible change in students' host culture knowledge, cross-cultural awareness, cross-cultural adaptation, and self-assessed foreign language proficiency. Enrollment in a…

Educators and student affairs professionals are responding to the call for internationalizing education to keep pace with social, political, and economic globalization. This article provides a qualitative description of the transformation and globalization of an undergraduate college. Successful implementation of a college-wide international…

The Rhode Island Early Learning Council (Council) is engaged in a multi-year planning process to build a coordinated early childhood system. An essential component of this system is access to appropriate early childhood higher education. To assist in this process, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at the University of…

Adjustment to university is challenging for students as they navigate a path through new academic, social and cultural practices. Some may feel on the borders, marginalised by their background. Issues such as adjustment to university life, independence, performance expectations, establishing friendships, technological competence, cultural capital,…

There is growing concern that the remedial math courses taken by most community college students unnecessarily divert some students from earning a degree. Anecdotes of students who thought they had completed their math requirements in high school only to have remedial courses delay their progress through college are common. In addition, research…

The article investigates how university lecturers taking part in the compulsory teacher training at Stockholm University (SU) conceive of the effects of standardised and formalised training on their teaching. The study explores the emotions and responses evoked among academics when everyone is required to embrace the same pedagogic philosophy of…

The purpose of this study was to describe the structure of general education curricula at baccalaureate colleges of health science in relationship to Bergquist's Career-Based Model of curriculum. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, the model was tested by examining whether the curricula were both prescriptive and specific.…

Second year mathematics is a compulsory course for all students enrolled in engineering and mathematics programmes at the university, and it is taken by approximately 120 students each year. The pass rate of the course had been below expectations in the past years. In order to improve the predicament, quizzes which provided a mark incentive were…

Historically, the teaching of design theory in an engineering curriculum has been relegated to a senior capstone design experience. Presently, however, engineering design concepts and courses can be found through the entirety of most engineering programs. Educators have recognized that engineering design provides a foundational platform that can…