This study set out to rethink and redesign online or distance education for the Rural Online Student Population (ROSP) based on this specific population's needs, strengths, places, and circumstances. To accomplish this goal, I combined recent, relevant research on successful methods and practices used to teach rural students, online students, and…

The specific problem addressed by this study was to understand those experiences well-prepared students undertake to become career ready as they position themselves for post-graduation employment. The majority of college students experience post-graduation employment challenges. The exception are those better prepared graduates with co-curricular…

Can students assess their peers on collaboration, a key practice in learning communities? The QUANTA program is a team-taught, two-semester coordinated studies program that is over 25 years old. The central governing ideas for the program are a belief in the social construction of knowledge, and recognition of the value of active, collaborative…

The EXCEL Program began as a National Science Foundation-sponsored STEM Talent Expansion Program in 2006 and, because of its significant impact on retention of STEM majors, has since become an institutionalized program at the University of Central Florida. The University of Central Florida EXCEL Program annually recruits approximately 200…

In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in…

To determine whether the educationally disadvantaged student could achieve academic success in Polk Community College's multimedia Biology 101 course, 44 students whose stanine scores were between one and four on the Florida Twelfth Grade Performance Test were studied. Academic success was defined as receiving a grade of C or above in the course.…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2009 proceedings, see ED504973.]