There are many types of student portfolios used within academia: the prior learning portfolio, credentialing portfolio, developmental portfolio, capstone portfolio, individual course portfolio, and the comprehensive education portfolio. The comprehensive education portfolio (CEP), as used by the authors, is a student portfolio, developed over…

This case study is part of a series on newer competency-based degree programs that have been emerging in recent years. In January 2014, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), South Texas College (STC), and Texas A&M University-Commerce (A&M Commerce) launched the Texas Affordable Baccalaureate Program, the state's first…

The Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE) was designed to complement the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and is coordinated by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. FSSE (pronounced "fessie") measures faculty members' expectations of student engagement in educational practices that are empirically…

It has become a received wisdom that the completion of a work placement as part of a sandwich undergraduate degree is of positive benefit both to graduates and employers, particularly in an era that stresses the economic contribution of higher education through developing graduate employability. This benefit is twofold: first, work placements…

A laboratory exercise has recently been reported in which the students use the initial rates method based on the clock reaction approach to deduce the rate law and propose a reaction mechanism for the oxidation of iodide by iron(III) ions. The same approach is used in the exercise proposed herein; the students determine the dependence of the…

Over the past decade, several reports have recommended a shift in undergraduate biology laboratory courses from traditionally structured, often described as "cookbook," to authentic research-based experiences. This study compares a cookbook-type laboratory course to a research-based undergraduate biology laboratory course at a Research 1…

Senior design capstone projects for engineering students are essential components of an undergraduate program that enhances communication, teamwork, and problem solving skills. Capstone projects with industry are well established in management, but not as heavily utilized in engineering. This paper outlines a general framework that can be used by…

The Edgeworth exchange diagram is a traditional tool of undergraduate microeconomic theory that depicts the mutually beneficial gains from voluntary trade. The authors take the analysis one step further. They identify the buyer's and seller's surpluses that accrue to both trading parties in the Edgeworth diagram. This is a straightforward exercise…

The author argues that the aggregate demand/aggregate supply (AD/AS) model is significantly improved--although certainly not perfected--by trimming it of the short-run aggregate supply (SRAS) curve. Problems with the SRAS curve are shown first for the AD/AS model that casts the AD curve as identifying the equilibrium level of output associated…

The author discusses several issues that instructors of introductory macroeconomics courses should consider when introducing imports in the Keynesian expenditure model. The analysis suggests that the specification of the import function should partially, if not completely, be the result of a simple discussion about the spending and import…

In a recent survey of Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) member institutions, writing topped the list of desired learning outcomes for all students. Students report being more engaged in courses with intellectually stimulating writing assignments. Indeed, there is a clear consensus on the importance of writing instruction in…

Equilibrator is a Microsoft Excel program for learning about chemical equilibria through modeling, similar in function to EQS4WIN, which is no longer supported and does not work well with newer Windows operating systems. Similar to EQS4WIN, Equilibrator allows the user to define a system with temperature, initial moles, and then either total…

The chemical origin of life on earth has been used as a conceptual framework in an introductory, undergraduate chemistry course. The course explores the sequence of events through which life is believed to have emerged, from atoms to molecules to macromolecular systems, and uses this framework to teach basic chemical concepts. The results of this…

This paper examines the ways in which neoliberal economic policies are affecting academic work in Israeli universities, prioritizing programs that can generate their own funding, External philanthropic support from North America has enabled creation of an interdisciplinary Women and Gender Studies Program at Tel Aviv University that draws…

Integrated Event Design (IED) capitalizes on three distinct courses to achieve a blended course delivery: Event Management, Research and Evaluation (for undergraduate students), and Experiential Education (for graduate students). Through the use of an event management company metaphor that fully integrates the diverse curricular concepts, course…