The purpose of this study was to explore some of the challenges associated with mobile phones in college classrooms. A sample of faculty and students was surveyed to assess the extent to which the technology is considered a serious source of distraction in the classroom, concerns about use of the technology for cheating, and attitudes about…

In response to an increasingly globalized world, universities are engaged in an ambiguous and unclear journey of internationalization for economic and political reasons, and guided by different ideologies. Universities' distinctive nature and unique characteristics give culture a prominent role in mediating the university environment. This study…

Focuses on what has the potential to get lost - for both faculty members and students - in working in an environment that does not see undergraduate education as its first priority. Explores in more depth the challenges and pleasures of working in a college whose primary focus is the teaching of undergraduates. Describes four classroom examples of…

Used in-depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of women academics at a South African university. Found positive and negative experiences: positives included the lessening of overt discrimination and flexible work hours. Negatives included the "double workload" of traditional female duties combined with work life and…

This study sought to determine whether there are differences of instructor attitude toward occupational and academic students that would detract from or counter the efforts to provide a satisfactory environment for the occupational student. A semantic differential instrument was constructed and administered to 148 faculty members from…

The development of digital information literacy (DIL) has been slow in comparison to changes in information communication technologies, and this remains an issue for the higher education sector. Competency in such skills is essential to full participation in society and work. In addition, these skills are regarded as underpinning the ability to…

The versions of academic life portrayed in two recently published novels, "Small World" and "Coming from Behind," are compared and other aspects of the works' literary merit are discussed. (MSE)

Recounts the rapid rise and recent decline of the once highly regarded Duke University (North Carolina) English department, characterized by disaffection and defection to other institutions of a large proportion of the faculty, disorganized teaching, and an unsettled curriculum. The perceptions of a number of the faculty involved are presented.…

Australian higher education increasingly relies on flexible modes of delivery as a means of attracting and retaining students in a highly competitive global education market. While education is among those disciplines that have been most actively involved in the shift from face-to-face to online learning and teaching, the transition for many…

Institutional autonomy is a relative concept affected both by external constraints and by the attitudes and experience of those within the institution. The identity of an institution is the image established by the dynamics of its constituents and the freedom they exercise in establishing this identity determines its autonomy. In California,…

The University Opinion Poll conducted a survey to obtain an estimate of student and staff opinion toward alcohol on campus. Four hundred seventy students and staff, 77% of a random sample of all students and staff at the University of Minnesota, were contacted for their opinions. Most respondents favor having alcoholic beverages on campus and…

This study focuses on the relative importance attached to selected undergraduate teaching goals. Results support the merits of Holland's Theory as a conceptual framework guiding formulation of academic policies and investigations of discipline-based differences in attitudes and activities of academic professionals. (Author/GK)

The connection between faculty sex composition and job satisfaction among women academics in selected institutions of higher education in Pennsylvania was examined. Responses to a mailed questionnaire were received from 1,089 respondents, including 214 women. Biographical data and demographic information were collected, and job satisfaction was…

This report reviews: (1) instruments for measuring student perceptions of college; (2) inventories of college characteristics; (3) institutional self-studies; (4) instruments for measuring faculty perceptions of the college environment; and (5) studies on teaching evaluation. The report also contains the results of several surveys of faculty and…

A questionnaire on various aspects of academic freedom was mailed to 50 randomly selected members of the instructional staff at four schools in the Los Angeles Junior College District. This survey sought to identify potential problem areas and to determine in what areas further study was needed. Thirty-three instructors (66 per cent)--all teaching…