The immediate shift to remote teaching or distance learning, due to COVID-19 management strategies, most notably limited in-person contact, was abruptly implemented in universities worldwide. This process was demanding for both the instructors and the students, notwithstanding. The present study examined the challenges in a course attributed as…

Attention paid to awarding gaps in higher education linked to ethnicity tends to focus on outcomes at the final award stage. Our project sought to scrutinise awarding gaps at module level where these gaps may emerge. Our aim was twofold: to identify the most important barriers to student success and determine strategies to reduce awarding gaps at…

This study examines food insecurity in a novel population: health professions students. Their academic success has a unique impact on our nation's future health care system. We administered a 39-question survey, including open-ended questions that were coded for qualitative analyses, to 2,853 students to delineate the scope of this problem and…

This pilot study explored undergraduate students' experiences with goal setting and time management. We embedded a series of mandatory planning and reflection assignments into two undergraduate courses. Assignments were unique to each course, but emphasized goal setting, planning and time management, and reflection. Qualitative analyses revealed…

Anatomy and physiology courses are a foundation for numerous degrees, but experience some of the highest failure rates of all undergraduate health science programs (Higgins-Opitz & Tufts, 2014). While interventions have been developed in an attempt to remediate this concerning phenomenon, there is a paucity of evidence to determine the reason…

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in South African universities and institutes of higher learning experiencing an unprecedented shift to online learning in 2020, coupled by limited access to campus, in order to prevent community transmission. However, the potential impact of the outbreak on the academic and psychosocial wellbeing of students warrants…

Three studies were conducted for this dissertation around the broader topic of improving undergraduate health research training programs for Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Peoples (NHOPP), and increasing the likelihood of NHOPP pursuing health science research careers. The first study systematically examined existing published literature on…