This report presents the comprehensive academic plan for undergraduate students to be phased in at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) beginning with the class entering in 1996. Four concepts are emphasized in the plan: (1) continued personalization and individualization of the professor-student relationship; (2) establishment of a first-year…

This paper explores the experiences of information technology (IT) faculty members at community colleges in the Midwest. The primary tool utilized for data collection was an in-depth interview. Personal interviews were conducted with 18 full-time information technology faculty at seven public community colleges. Based on recurring themes, six…

A model for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary teaching is suggested to fill the need of community colleges for curriculum and instruction models that can help students of unlike backgrounds and capabilities. This model offers a mechanism for bringing together unlike cultures to enable students to look for parallels and relationships. (JMD)

Service-learning has drawn largely on a few major theorists for theoretical support. Additional theoretical perspectives drawn from cognitive psychology and social theory can also contribute, including constructs of concept formation, selective perception, categorization, critical reflection, and mediated learning. Each of these helps to explain…

An approach to quality in college instruction at a French technical institute, based on the industrial model of quality assurance, is outlined, and four separate initiatives are described. They include a group organized to implement the approach in a civil engineering department, undergraduate curriculum reform, redefinition of objectives in…

A study investigated whether Biglan clusters of academic disciplines (hard/soft, pure/applied, life/nonlife) could be used to explain disciplinary differences in college student ratings of instruction. It was found that Biglan clusters do not explain the differences, many disciplines still emphasize knowledge acquisition over higher-order skills,…

A course taught at Western Washington University's Fairhaven College brings together all 13 faculty and a third of the student population in an interdisciplinary effort to address the theme of conflict. The course is administered by a student and a faculty member and exemplifies the difficulties of collaborative administration. (MSE)

The Coursework Cluster Analysis Model, a new analytical technique linking college curriculum to student achievement gains, can be used to identify effective general education course sequences for different student ability levels. This can help overcome the fragmentation associated with general education and enhance undergraduate study for a…

A study used the Coursework Cluster Analysis Model to identify college courses associated with gains in student learning, then sought faculty perceptions about methods for teaching and assessing those abilities. Teacher perceptions corroborated the statistical analysis and improved understanding of how student assessment, individual courses, and…

Review of research indicates that, when asked about their perceptions of general education, college students show lack of understanding, clarity, and purpose relative to their general education courses. These findings, and an exploratory study of faculty enactment of educational goals in the classroom, suggest some considerations for college…

Outlines a newly designed foundations of sociology course at Mount Saint Mary's college (California) that attempts to integrate the course into the College's liberal arts core curriculum. Suggests teaching this integrated, sociohistorical curriculum furthers students understanding and attraction to the discipline. (NL)

Programs that teach scientific ethics must maintain vigilance against scientific misconduct; prepare scientists to deal with ethical ambiguity; and stress the importance of consultation and consensus, adherence to accepted standards of evidence, and commitment to due process using procedures established in advance. (Author/MSE)

The Association of American Colleges and Universities' statement calling for a national dialog about effective higher education is presented. It examines the considerable task institutions face in educating a generation of students in an era of near-universal postsecondary education, fundamental choices to be made, mixed signals in public policy,…

This article outlines the experiences of a first-year writing program's adoption of large-scale portfolio assessment as part of its move from student-focused assessment to programmatic assessment. This research is an attempt to provide evidence to support the claims benefits associated with portfolio assessment and to chronicle the changes that…

The OATYC Journal provides the two-year colleges of Ohio with a medium for discussing problems and sharing concepts, methods, and findings relevant to the two-year college classroom. The fall 1992 and spring 1993 issues contain: "What We Are Doing Right: Can We Do It All?," by Linda Houston; "Campus Profile: A Walk through Shawnee…