Institutional factors in time to the doctorate

The aim of this study was to delineate departmental differences in the length of time that doctoral students take to receive their degrees and the institutional characteristics linked with it. Variables describing graduate departments in three disciplines (chemistry, English, and psychology) and their parent universities were obtained from available records. In analyses of departments in each discipline, a relatively small set of institutional variables correlated with average time to the doctorate for the department, after controlling for characteristics of students in the department, and these relationships differed from discipline to discipline. The clearest and most extensive findings emerged for psychology: the institutional variables identified primarily concerned faculty accessibility (student/faculty ratio and department size)—a longer time to the doctorate for departments with many students per faculty member or many students.     

Publication Rates of Molecular Versus Non-Molecular Biologists: A Case Study of Seven Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

At many primarily undergraduate institutions, biology faculty members mentor student research collaborators. If publication is required for tenure and promotion, this research is expected to result in periodic publications; and publication rates are a common metric used to assess faculty productivity. However, we have uncovered a highly significant difference in the time required to publish articles based on biological sub-discipline. It takes, on average, twice as long for molecular biologists to publish articles than scholars from other sub-disciplines in biology. We believe that this analysis can be used to assess whether this phenomenon generalizes to other disciplines and/or other categories of institutions.     

An analysis of predictors of instruction work effort

Various measures are presently utilized for the purposes of determining faculty teaching effort and assigning teaching loads. This study investigates how well the predictor variables of credit hours, student credit hours, contact hours, and student contact hours correlate with faculty self-report measures of time-use for each class taught. Additionally, the question of differences among measures of faculty work effort per class when faculty are classified by academic rank was investigated. The findings of this study indicate that of the commonly used measures of total faculty effort for a class only contact hours are a reliable measure, and neither the level of instruction nor the academic rank of the teacher have much to do with the faculty member's effort as measured in time for a class.     

An Undergraduate Research Opportunity: Collaboration Between Undergraduate and Graduate Students

ABSTRACT: A research experience was made available to an undergraduate Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) student through collaboration with a Masters-level Nutrition graduate student. Both students were under the supervision of a graduate FSHN faculty member. Positive, self-identified aspects for the students included learning how to work collaboratively as a team member, gaining a better understanding of the process of field-based research, and successfully completing both projects. While caveats are noted, we suggest that this process is an untapped opportunity to offer a research experience to undergraduates. It could be applicable in departments/ units that maintain both an undergraduate and graduate program or across departments where disciplines are similar.     

What characterizes a productive research department?

The correlates of average departmental annual research journal publication rates of faculty were examined in three disciplines: chemistry, history, and psychology. Variables studied included factual information about each department, faculty perceptions and ratings, and graduate students' perceptions and ratings. Content included academic programs, specific policies and practices, characteristics of students, faculty, facilities, etc., as well as the quality of teaching and human relations in the departments. Although the common results indicated the importance of able faculty and students, a strong emphasis on research and the provision of time and funds for faculty to pursue research, there were discipline-specific patterns of results. In chemistry the pattern of productive departments suggested large research laboratories, in history a scholarly apprenticeship approach, and in psychology an emphasis on research over practice. Discipline specific studies may be the best approach to understanding research productivity.     

Equivalent but not the Same: Teaching and Learning in Full Semester and Condensed Summer Courses

Research on teaching and learning in condensed-course formats is varied and difficult to generalize. We analyze this research and identify factors that may account for the varied findings. Additionally, we present a mixed methodology study of 20 matched-pair courses (i.e., full and condensed formats) from 11 disciplines which examines student learning and student and faculty perception data. We find that faculty and students perceive condensed courses as more effective, but that student learning varies depending upon the measures used to assess it. We conclude by considering the implications of our study for teaching and assessment practices.     

我国研究生暑期学校类型、特色模式与共性研究简

搜集了2008－2012年五年间近百份研究生暑期学校总结报告,结合有关的暑期学校文献,从师资队伍、学员结构、教学形式、教学内容四方面总结暑期学校的类型,提炼其特色模式,归纳其共性特征。特色模式包括中外合办型、外教主导型、实验实践型、全程辅导型、小学期制型,共性特征涉及教学形式、师资队伍、学员结构、管理制度四方面。暑期学校分类、特色模式与共性特征研究可为暑期学校举办单位准确定位、提升办学水平提供参考。     

Perspectives on interdisciplinary undergraduate research

Undergraduate Research (UR) provides deeper experiential learning opportunities for students while increasing their self-efficacy, academic success and motivation to pursue graduate studies. Many real-world problems require an integrated solution and collaboration across different disciplines; therefore, it is important that students develop skills to work across disciplines on challenging research problems. As types and complexity of UR increase, Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research (IDUR) has become more prevalent, but little is known about it. We define IDUR as “student-faculty collaboration to examine, increase, and share new knowledge or works relevant to research questions the investigation of which necessitates an interdisciplinary approach”. From the faculty perspective, and based on the results of a national sample of higher learning institutions in the U.S., we outline the enablers of and barriers to IDUR and provide quantitative and qualitative insights. Survey results show that, irrespective of the size of the institution at which they work, faculty members value mentoring students conducting IDUR although it brings with it some challenges. Our findings may help institutions better facilitate IDUR projects and inform faculty development opportunities that deepen student learning and retention via enhanced curricula in which IDUR is embedded.     

Sex differences in the environments of graduate students and faculty

This paper considers some important psychological aspects of the academic experience for male and female graduate faculty members and students. Drawing on data collected in a recent national study of doctoral program quality, information pertaining to the graduate department's environment for learning, the extent of faculty members' concern for students, graduate student assistantship experiences, and faculty members' satisfactions and views about various departmental practices and policies are examined. Gender differences in both student and faculty member perceptions of their environments were found to be generally slight and to vary by discipline.     

On Masters and Apprentices in Physical Education

This paper discusses the impact of the mentoring role of faculty on fostering a quality educational experience for graduate students. Although potentially significant graduate students naturally gravitate to work with significant faculty, it is the mentoring role of the advisor that allows the student's potential to be realized. Clues to the impact of this mentoring role are gleaned from Zuckerman's (1977) analysis of American Nobel Prize laureates. To promote a quality advisor–student relationship, departments need to look beyond the student and considerations of the norms and regulations of entrance and ongoing program criteria. One necessary and very significant precursor will be the presence of quality faculty.     

A Study of Disciplinary, Structural, and Behavioral Effects on Course Outcomes in Online MBA Courses

This article reports the results of a 2‐year study examining the effects of subject matter, course structure, and participant behaviors on students' perceived learning and satisfaction with delivery medium in Web‐based courses of an MBA program in the midwestern United States. Using finance as the referent discipline, we found statistically significant differences in the mean course outcomes (students' perceived learning and satisfaction with delivery medium) associated with 13 business disciplines. Although most of these disciplinary differences ceased to be significant predictors of student perceived learning as structural and behavioral characteristics were incorporated into the model, these differences remained significant predictors of perceived delivery medium satisfaction. We also found that some structural and behavioral characteristics were significant predictors of course outcomes, but in opposite directions. For instance, media variety was a positive predictor of delivery medium satisfaction but a negative predictor of perceived learning, while learner–learner interaction positively predicted perceived learning but negatively predicted delivery medium satisfaction. These findings suggest that instructors of online graduate courses must manage trade‐offs in balancing students' learning with their perceptions of the internet as a course delivery medium.     

The graduate record examination as a predictor of graduate student performance: The case of criminal justice

Research on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) as a predictor of graduate student performance has been marked by much debate. Thornell and McCoy (1985) have found that the relationship between student performance and the GRE may be sensitive to the discipline being studied. While unexplained to date, this disciplinary variation may be related to the differences in means and/or relative dispersions of GRE scores among disciplines. Further, there has been only one study (McKee, Mallory, and Campbell, in press) for criminal justice, the field with the lowest mean GRE score. This paper focuses on this neglected field. Data were collected from the files of 70 criminal justice majors in a master's program at a large midwestern urban university. The results indicate that GRE scores are largely unrelated to indicators of graduate student performance (GPA, grades in specific classes, and the completion of the M.A. degree). The one exception is a strong relationship between verbal GRE and graduate GPA. This relationship may indicate a nonlinear ceiling effect wherein verbal GRE scores affect GGPA, mainly in disciplines with means at the low end of the verbal GRE score distribution.     

Noncognitive Constructs and Their Assessment in Graduate Education: A Review

We reviewed the literature on "noncognitive" predictors-specifically, personality as it pertains to graduate education. The review is divided into 3 sections. In the first section, we reviewed measures typically used in studies of graduate school outcomes, such as attrition and time to degree. We also reviewed which student qualities faculty and administrators said they desired and cultivated in graduate programs. We also noted that there are many qualities faculty ranked high in desirability but which could only imperfectly be gleaned from sources such as letters of recommendation and personal statements. In the second section, we reviewed general personality factors (e.g., the "Big Five"), specifically, definitions, measures, correlates, and the validity of those measures. We concluded with a discussion of how personality factors might be used in admissions and guidance applications for graduate education.     

The departmental rating game: Measure of quantity or quality?

What constitutes quality in graduate education? The most widely accepted definition has been proposed by Cartter who asked recognized scholars to rate departmental excellence in 30 disciplines. Cartter's instructions to the raters could have allowed the influence of a “halo effect” to operate. This is an error in rating which is produced when the particular characteristics being rated are contaminated by the rater's notion of the general worthiness of the object being rated. This study demonstrated that the halo effect related to size variables occurred in the Cartter study. Data were collected from public sources for each department of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geology rated in the Cartter study as “extremely attractive,” “attractive,” “acceptable plus” and for a random sample of “less than acceptable plus” departments. These data consisted of the following size variables: (1) number of areas of specialization within a department; (2) number of faculty; (3) number of Ph.D. degrees awarded between 1960–64; (4) number of full-time students; (5) number of first year students; and (6) ratio of part-time to full-time students. Tests of statistical significance indicated that these variables differentiated the departmental ratings beyond chance expectation. A graphic illustration is provided for each discipline showing the relationships between the size measures and the mean departmental ratings. Implications of these findings are that measures of size ought not to be confused with measures of quality and that the development of measures of quality is a matter of urgent priority.     

Student ratings of college teaching: a comparison of faculty and their students

Based on the review of student ratings myths by Aleamoni (1987, 1999), a survey research design was used to analyse differences between college students' (n = 968) and faculty's (n = 34) perceptions. Generally, students held stronger beliefs in these myths, in that they believed faculty with excellent publication records were better qualified to evaluate teaching and that student ratings on single general items are accurate measures of teaching effectiveness. On the other hand, faculty believed that student ratings were invalid and unreliable. Further examination of student characteristics revealed that male students held stronger beliefs in these myths. Finally, students' beliefs in these myths were correlated with their actual ratings of nine dimensions of the Student Evaluation of Educational Quality. A discussion as well as suggestions for using student ratings is provided.     

研究生科研创新能力提升的系统分析及对策

提升研究生科研创新能力是研究生教育中面临的挑战性难题。研究生科研创新能力培养是一个系统工程。本文在对系统中各要素进行剖析的基础上,提出了完善和制订相关政策措施以优化外部环境、突出共性问题和强调学科专业特色结合、加强导师队伍建设、全方位开展学术交流、优化课程设置、重视学术道德和学风建设、多方位调动研究生主观能动性等建议。     

Facilitating Student Learning,the Assessment of Learning,and Curricular Improvement Through a Graduate Social Work Integrative Seminar

Social work programs undertake to educate competent professionals and to promote critical thinking among students who are expected to become lifelong learners. In addition, programs are called on to develop reliable and valid measures for assessing student learning outcomes and to use assessment results to reflect upon and strengthen curriculum. This study explores the use of a graduate integrative seminar to accomplish these goals. The authors describe the learning and assessment processes of the seminar. The authors used a mixed-method research design to analyze data from students over a 3-year period regarding the effectiveness of the seminar as well as from graduate faculty regarding student achievement of curricular objectives. Results indicate that formative assessment processes promote student learning in a manner that mobilizes students to strive for excellence, and that an embedded measure of learning outcomes in the form of a final integrative project may serve as a rigorous assessment tool.     

Part-time faculty status and student evaluation of teaching: An analysis of criminal justice classes

Although part-time (p/t) faculties constitute a growing proportion of college instructors, there is little work on their level of teaching effectiveness relative to full-time (f/t) faculty. Previous work on a key indicator of perceived teaching effectiveness, student evaluation of teaching (SET), and faculty status (p/t/ vs f/t) is marked by a series of shortcomings including lack of a systematic theoretical framework and lack of multivariate statistical analysis techniques to check for possible spuriousness. The present study corrects for these shortcomings. Data consist of SETs from 175 sections of criminal justice classes taught at a Midwestern urban university. Controls are introduced for variables drawn from the literature and include ascribed characteristics of the professor, grade distribution, and structural features of the course (e.g., level, size). The results of a multivariate regression analysis indicate that even after controlling for the other predictors of SETs, p/t faculty receive significantly higher student evaluation scores than f/t faculty. Further, faculty status was the most important predictor of SETs. The results present the first systematic evidence on faculty status and SETs.