This paper provides a look at the development of a new culture of assessment in higher education with the use of electronic portfolios (ePortfolios). It uses the metaphor of horticulture to describe how an inter-institutional program, Metro Academies of Health, has gone through the first two parts of the ePorticulture cycle--preparing for the use…

Today's new teachers, with growing frequency, are assigned to teach linguistically diverse students, often referred to as English Language Learners (ELLs) (de Jong & Harper, 2005; Pappamihiel, 2007). Many novice teachers, however, express feeling ill-prepared to work across languages and cultures, and researchers have found that new teachers…

During a time when most institutions of higher education are in search of underrepresented student participation, Georgia State University (GSU), a majority White institution, has observed a lack of involvement of White students in co-curricular activities. The purpose of the research study was to critically examine White students' (dis)…

It has been well established that the high schools students attend contribute significantly to how well they do in college, and even if they choose to attend college at all (Lee & Frank, 1990). Low performing high schools tend to under-prepare their students for post-secondary education and contribute to the very high percentages of students…

Seventy-eight native English speakers rated the foreign-accented speech (FAS) of 24 international students enrolled in an Intensive English programme at a public university in Texas on degree of accent, comprehensibility and communicative ability. Variables considered to potentially impact listeners' ratings were the sex of the speaker, the first…

This paper briefly reviews the various efforts undertaken by the University of California to maintain diversity in the institution, and especially at its highly competitive flagship campuses, UCLA and Berkeley, in the face of the loss of affirmative action during the mid-1990s. It demonstrates the continuing decline in representation of…

This case study examines Black-Latino/a relations at a public university in California, which has a 31% Black and 40% Latino/a student population. In-depth interviews with students and administrators indicate that Black and Latino/a students do recognize that they share similar educational and socioeconomic obstacles; however, there is little to…

The growth of open access publishing, the development of institutional repositories, and the availability of millions of digitized monographs and journals are rapidly changing scholarly communication. This case study looks at the current and possible uses of these tools by Michigan's three largest universities: Michigan State University, the…

This paper examines innovations in strategic faculty hiring emphasizing interdisciplinarity at two major public research universities in the USA. The research investigated how and why the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison chose to pursue interdisciplinary faculty recruitment, how it was structured, and how it…

Research has shown that women may perform actions such as leading, communicating, or working on a team differently than men perform them. For example, female leaders may have a more inclusive rather than authoritarian style. The American university is an institution designed by men for men. Women are increasingly represented as students and…

This article discusses the origins, goals, and ongoing development of a high-school-based archival program, emphasizing the critical role of school-university collaboration in facilitating the program's success. The Hunterdon Central Regional High School Archives has initiated programs to collect and document institutional history, highlighted by…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of a sustainability network at a large California public university, as an example of organizational change. Design/methodology/approach: The paper combines participant observation and case study techniques over a three-year period. From 2007 to 2010, the author helped found the…

Since the 1990s, the federal government required public state universities in Mexico to recruit full time faculty members with doctoral degrees and research productivity to increase the academic competitiveness of higher education. After two decades of the implementation of federal mandates, public state universities have not improved their…

Fewer than 25% of all states across the United States (18 total) currently require oral proficiency exams for initial foreign language teacher licensure. Of those 18 states, 8 require oral proficiency testing for all world languages certification, 5 for non-Roman based language certification only, and 5 for alternative certification only. The…

The purpose of this paper is to examine signature pedagogies for the education doctorate. Three California State University campuses that have started new Ed.D. programs examine practices that distinguish the education doctoral experience from other professions. Embedded field work, the professional seminar, and the research and writing support…