A national survey by the Higher Education Panel of the American Council on Education was conducted to provide some insight into what is happening in undergraduate international studies. Important features of international studies as they appear at a large stratified national sample of institutions are enumerated. These features are foreign…

Undergraduate project work at the University of Bath, England, was investigated through a survey of students and project supervisors. The investigation as conducted for each of two academic years with two different respondent groups, and the first year questionnaire and a revised second-year version are appended. To facilitate reference to the…

This project focused on encouraging instructors at large universities to take advantage of the curricular materials and computer tools developed for two related programs funded originally by FIPSE. In particular, it involved reworking and integrating materials developed for the previously funded Workshop Physics and Tools for Scientific Thinking…

A project to develop the Longitudinal Primary Care Program at University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine is described. In addition to producing three curriculum documents, this 3-year project included a faculty development program, preparation of a training handbook and communications system for medical preceptors, and development of a…

This document summarizes the findings of the Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation and Dissemination (LEAD) Center's report on the team approach to the first research experience for undergraduates in botany and zoology. Students (N=25) and faculty (N=12) were interviewed and a comparison was made between students who performed the research in…

Fifth-year baccalaureate pharmacy students are required to participate in a 16-hour rotation in the college's drug information center, including instruction in information sources and retrieval. The self-paced program includes audiovisual aids with a laboratory manual and individualized instruction. The rotation evaluation questionnaire is…

A competency-based curriculum in veterinary public health and preventive medicine was developed that included: principles of epidemiology, environmental health, food quality, community health, and international health. A questionnaire used to establish the rank order, learning weight, and priorities within each category is included with tabulated…

The reform movement, with its bold and innovative approaches that focus on student-centered learning, has been able to uncover the richness in undergraduate mathematics. The most outstanding pedagogical practices take into account the environment in which learning occurs as well as the background of the student body. Mathematics educators should…

An interdisciplinary course centered on mathematical ideas (involving infinity and geometry) is described. The course was developed by the authors, both mathematicians, as a vehicle for engaging students in learning about mathematical ideas that are rarely found in the general undergraduate curriculum. The course was offered to honors students…

There has been concern over the validity of the Algebra Diagnostic Test (ADT) used to determine the actual level of student preparation for the first quarter of calculus as taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It has been hypothesized that performance-based questions, along with the more traditional multiple choice questions,…

Graduate perceptions were examined in a study that was part of an ongoing assessment project at the University of Central Texas. The study, in which 201 graduates from 5 areas were surveyed, was designed to do the following: provide descriptive data about each student; determine what activities the graduates had participated in since graduation as…

A study was conducted at the College of Saint Rose, in Albany, New York, to evaluate the effectiveness of a student workbook that accompanies the 5th edition of the textbook "Introduction to Psychology: Exploration and Application," by Dennis Coon. The study examined the academic performance and attitudes of 106 undergraduate students…

The first in a series of National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) reports on undergraduates presents NPSAS data to policymakers and other interested parties. It examines the education expenses of undergraduates who were enrolled in a postsecondary institution in the fall of 1986 and the methods by which they financed these expenses. This…

In response to charges that the transfer programs of California's community colleges are not functioning well, this report examines the role and operation of baccalaureate-level courses at Bakersfield College (BC). Introductory material outlines the multiple purposes served by baccalaureate-level courses in California's community colleges and…

A self-grading form that was developed for a large introductory religion course was designed to clarify the objectives of the discussion session, provide a uniform grading process, allow the student a chance to assess his own performance, and stimulate the student to consult with the assistant instructor (AI) for improvement in discussion. A…