Although badges are among the most-used game elements in gamified education, studies about their optimal features to motivate learning are scarce. How should a badge be designed to represent an incentive for a specific goal like optimal exam preparation? This study examines usage data of a higher education learning app to determine whether the…

To supplement its French faculty, the Department of Modern Languages at Central Missouri State University (CMSU) has hired foreign students through the Institute of International Education (IIE), a clearinghouse for French and German university students wishing to teach in the United States. During the 1983-1984 academic year some 35 institutions…

This study examined the effects of an introductory counseling course on retention rates of students at Western Kentucky University (WKU). Rates of graduation after 4, 5, and 6 years for 400 freshmen and 474 sophomores enrolled in an academic orientation and preparation course between 1990 and 1994 were compared with WKU and regional rates during…

This paper describes a faculty development and orientation program for new faculty at Montclair State University in New Jersey. The New Faculty Program (NFP) is designed to orient and introduce a diverse new faculty (more than half of whom are women and minorities) to the culture of the university, and to help them attain reappointment and tenure…

Two studies evaluated outcomes of a University Experience (freshman seminar) course to ease the transition to college and enhance student retention at the University of South Florida. In the first study, course evaluations of "typical" USF students (N=540) who completed the course in fall 1998 were overwhelmingly positive in support of…

The effect of college orientation experiences on student grade point average (GPA) and persistence toward the degree was studied at Montana State University. Two groups of students were compared: 131 students who attended a 3-day orientation during the summer before their freshman year, and 97 freshmen who attended large group sessions just before…

A Memphis State University Program to familiarize prospective students and other college-bound students with academic and service information regarding college attendance is described. The program is designed to ease the transition from high school to college, to identify resources available at the university, to improve the university's public…

This paper describes the Buddy Program for international teaching assistants (ITAs) at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing and presents brief case studies of the program in action. The Buddy Program pairs new ITAs with undergraduates at MSU to help familiarize ITAs with student life at the school and help them assimilate into their new…

This qualitative study examined factors that have contributed to the educational success of nine college students with learning disabilities and explored how these students manage their disabilities in the educational arena. Data came from student academic records, interviews, and classroom observations over a 6-month period. Factors studied…

The Student Affirmative Action Program at California State University, Long Beach was designed to serve the needs of Latino students, an underrepresented population in higher education, and to help eliminate identified institutional barriers to their participation. Barriers include inadequate orientation and information, poor planning and academic…

This paper provides the results of a survey, conducted in 1991-92, on the use of adjunct faculty in the English and business departments at all 64 campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. A total of seven English department chairs and eight business department chairs responded to the survey. It was found that, on average, the…

This study investigates definitions and usage of the term "mental retardation" worldwide, via a review of the literature and a survey of 20 countries. Nineteen of the 20 responding countries reported using some sort of intelligence quotient (IQ) criterion to determine mental retardation, though the criterion varies. In some countries, there are…

The impact of liberal arts and professional programs on student outcomes variables was studied. Data were gathered from the 1975 entering freshman cohort at the University of Colorado at Boulder through a 1975 Freshman Questionnaire and a 1979 Graduating Students Survey. Program impact was measured using a model developed by Astin. Type of program…

Information about and excerpts from the 1981 "Commuter Institution Index," an annual publication on research on commuter institutions of higher education are presented. The Index provides an overview of the demographic characteristics of responding institutions and the functions most frequently performed by these institutions for commuters. It…