This study identifies the best online teaching practices to benefit first-year visual arts students, notably to include instructor-created videos. Such instructor-created videos provide a firm foundation for these students to succeed in their first year of college. The introduction of Web 2.0, focusing on user-generated content, has shown…

This paper examines the successes and challenges of a Supplemental Instruction/Peer Assisted Learning (SI/PAL) scheme at an Irish Higher Education Institute that was the outcome of a co-working approach between academic staff and the Students' Union. It considers how novel approaches can enhance student experience, support student learning and…

The current study reports outcomes of a professional development model intended to strengthen faculty members' cultural competence and skills for teaching about diversity and inclusion. Creating Inclusive Communities (CIC) was developed collaboratively by faculty from across social science disciplines based on a theoretical framework emphasizing…

Analyzing data from the Wabash National Study, we use probit models while adjusting for sample selection to estimate the influence of effective instructional behaviors on graduating from college. Net of a host of potential confounders, we find that exposure to effective instruction significantly predicts graduating from college in four years. We…

Student-centered learning environments with upside-down pedagogies (SCALE-UP) are widely implemented at institutions across the country, and learning gains from these classrooms have been well documented. This study investigates the specific design feature(s) of the SCALE-UP classroom most conducive to teaching and learning. Using pilot survey…

A survey was administered to undergraduate business students to gain insight into 34 factors influencing satisfaction, divided into curriculum matters, interaction between faculty and students, and activities beyond coursework. Students expressed a desire for experienced faculty, degree customization, and career paths through internships, with…

A project-based course for first-year engineering students, called Engineering Exploration, was created an implemented with the goals of increasing retention, providing professional skills, increasing interest about engineering, and to aide in choosing an engineering major. Over 100 students have taken the course since its inception in Fall 2009.…

For more than two decades, the national standard for benchmarking student satisfaction in higher education has been the Ruffalo Noel Levitz Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys. Since their beginning in 1994, these benchmark surveys have been used by more than 2,900 U.S. colleges and universities to evaluate students' concerns that correspond with…

This paper presents a model for assessing the impact of interaction with faculty on student outcomes. Based on analyses of 1,500 freshman responses to Your First College Year survey, the study identified significant relationships between interaction with faculty and perceived growth in knowledge (r = 0.29, p less than or equal to 0.001); academic…

This study attempts to identify the factors perceived to be important in choosing an Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) for distance learning. One thousand five hundred questionnaires were distributed to the first year students in the social sciences distance learning programs and 980 valid responses were received of Malaysian public university.…

This study used system-wide student satisfaction data from the 14-university Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (SSHE) to develop a model for predicting student retention, to identify individual students who could be retained with appropriate intervention, and to target factors which may be useful in the intervention process. A student…

Included herein is the conference proceedings of the 27th Annual Conference on the Teaching of Psychology: Ideas and Innovations, sponsored by the Psychology Department of the State University of New York at Farmingdale. The conference theme for 2013 was: The Science of Learning. The Conference featured a keynote address by Victor Benassi, Ph.D.…

This case study examined formative assessment of a first-year core course initiated in response to an external requirement. The paper discusses the campus assessment climate; describes how course faculty became proponents for assessment; explains how the core survey became housed in a larger student satisfaction survey; and outlines key elements…

The DATAWave is a bi-weekly publication that is designed to inform the campus community and broader constituencies on assessment issues and practices at Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). The first issue of this fourth volume covers survey results about the effectiveness of the ENMU Assessment Resource Office (ARO) and presents a fall preview…

"Higher Education Counts" is the annual accountability report on Connecticut's state system of higher education, as required under Connecticut General Statutes Section 10a-6a. The report contains accountability measures developed through the Performance Measures Task Force and approved by the Board of Governors for Higher Education. The…