Attitudes of higher education faculty toward distance education: A national survey

Abstract

Although distance education is growing in importance in the United States, little research has focused on the attitudes of American college and university teachers toward college‐level distance education and toward the use of specific media in distance education provision. The attitudes of both participating and nonparticipating faculty toward distance education need further examination, since teaching innovations cannot succeed without their support. This study examines the receptivity to college‐credit distance education of faculty members in two‐ and four‐year higher education institutions. The research questions focused on general receptivity to distance education, the relationship between professional characteristics and attitude toward distance education, the connection between previous distance education experiences/ familiarity and receptivity, and on attitudes toward different distance education media and methods.     

The evolution of higher education in law enforcement: Preliminary findings from a national study

The preliminary results are reported in a national study of police education. All state police agencies, all municipal agencies serving populations greater than 50,000, and all sheriff's departments with more than 100 sworn officers were surveyed to obtain data on the level of higher education in the departments, policies in support of college education, and the effect of higher education on policing. The survey was followed by indepth site visits to San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento, California; Kansas City, Missouri; New York City; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Largo, Florida. Significant findings showed that the average educational level of police officers has risen steadily over the past two decades; that only a small proportion of police departments formally require college for employment of promotion; that the great majority, however, have educational support policies and an “informal” criterion of college for selection and promotion or officers. The data also show that minorities are being recruited effectively and hired with educational levels competitive with those of whites; that women are being recruited effectively with mean educational levels nearly a year higher than those of males; and that employment of minorities in law enforcement in the study population is proportionately comparable to the proportions of minorities in the general population.     

论教育学院学科带头人的培养

本文旨在探索一条适合教育学院特点的学科带头人培养途径,作者首先阐明培养学科带头人的前提是加强学科建设,并论述了加强学科建设的三大任务;在此基础上,阐明了学科带头人应具备的条件以及精心选拔,严格考核,流动遴选的操作程序;最后提出了加强学科带头人培养的三方面的途径与措施。     

Validating teaching competencies for faculty members in higher education: A national study using the Delphi method

In this study the Delphi Method was used to validate teaching competencies of faculty members in higher education. Through the use of expert opinion, a panel of national leaders in college-level teaching validated twenty seven competencies as important or very important for faculty members who teach. Seven other competencies were rated slightly below a mean score of 4.0 suggesting, based on additional feedback by the panel, that the importance of some competencies may depend on specific variables found within a given context.Kathleen S. Smith is Coordinator of Teaching Assistant Support at The University of Georgia, Office of Instructional Development. She holds graduate degrees from The University of Georgia and has served as Administrative Coordinator and Acting Head of The University of Georgia's intensive English program. Her research and teaching focus on the development and administrative support of teaching assistants with emphasis on International Teaching Assistants. Ronald D. Simpson is Director of the Office of Instructional Development at The University of Georgia, where he also is professor of Higher Education and Science Education. He holds degrees from The University of Tennessee and The University of Georgia.     

The role of higher education institutions in national development

Abstract from the report of the International Conference on Education (33rd Session) of the International Bureau of Education. It deals with (i) the role of higher education institutions in national development, (ii) improving and sustaining the competence of educators and (iii) managing the system of education.     

党的历代领导核心对高职教育的贡献

目前，我国高等职业教育事业得到迅速发展，己成为我国高等教育的“半壁江山”。这是我们党历代领导核心在半个多世纪的实践中不断探索的结果。本文侧重学习和思考毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛关于高等职业教育的论述，以激励我们切实搞好高等职业教育工作。     

The role of higher education in national integration in Nigeria

This paper discusses the machinery for higher education policy formulation and implementation in Nigeria with particular reference to the university system. It identifies the goal of national unity and national integration as a new addition to the university's traditional roles of manpower production, research and teaching. An analysis of the implementation of measures aimed at achieving national integration with emphasis on student recruitment is attempted. Two features are apparent, both of which are counter-productive to national integration. First, universities recruit their students mostly from the states and geopolitical regions in which they are located. Secondly, inter-regional migration of students is a one-way traffic - mostly from South to North. Measures to improve the achievement of national integration are also suggested.     

Accommodating project-based professionals in higher education institutions in Japan

In the shifting environment of higher education, characterised by financial constraints, institutional competition and governmental steering, universities adopt a new stream of missions. In Japan, internationalisation and the acquisition of a global outlook have become a key strategy. The trend is endorsed through competitive public funding schemes, based on the belief that competition fosters so-called world-class universities. These schemes necessitate not only internationalisation of curriculum and research but also a wide range of projects and programs, which require talents that may not be readily found in the existing cadres of university workers. This empirical research assesses experiences and perceptions of project-based professionals in Japanese universities. It found unique ways in which ‘Specially appointed academic staff’ are given project and administrative responsibilities but with limited access to environment and/or support system for research. Discussions focus on impacts of such appointment on their academic career and explore how these institutional projects may be handled in regards to university organisation.     

成人高等教育国际化:新加坡PSB学院的启示

PSB学院是从成人教育培训学院转型而来的新加坡最大的独立教育与培训机构,国际化办学是其最突出的亮点。深度多层的国际合作、权威可信的资格认证、力臻卓越的办学质量、探索多元的学习旅程是学院的鲜明特色,这些成功经验为我国成人高等教育机构转型与发展提供了许多可资借鉴之思。     

Grade inflation in higher education: A comparative study

Recent research in higher education has exposed and documented a phenomenon that some have labeled “grade inflation.” Because of the significant implications of grade inflation for the credibility of academia's standards of excellence and accountability, efforts should be directed toward explaining why this phenomenon is occurring, and remedies sought. The present study represents a comparison of 10 departments displaying high grade inflation rates during a 7-year period with 10 departments within the same university displaying low(er) grade inflation rates. The study found an average inflation of grades of +.298 during this time period, with higher grade inflation rates related to perceived and/or actual increases in the demands or pressures placed upon the academician's role, to greater flexibility in grading options and, in particular, to the use of more subjective student-based methods of evaluation. While the study's findings also support the “peaking effect” theory that grade inflation rates will slow down, the central question remains: How high will grade point averages rise and, in the absence of positive corrective action, what will be the effect of the grade inflation phenomenon on the credibility of institutions of higher education and their graduates?     

Leading higher education professionals: local,connected, and artful

In this paper, we explore the work life of a scholar new to academia in her methods of leading informally. We discuss five vignettes that offer moments of learning and reflection, including reducing performance anxiety, privileging financial accountability, the rise of the virtual world, the impact of silence, and the potential for confrontation to strengthen working relationships. We offer suggestions as to how contemporary leaders may adapt to the freedom that artful action offers.     

The future of higher education in Japan: Changing the legal status of national universities

Japanese universities have beentightly controlled by the Ministry of Educationand it has often been pointed out that theirautonomy has been ambiguous. In the late 1990s,however, the Japanese government started thedebate about introducing an IndependentAdministrative Institution system in order toderegulate its authority and to make therelationship between the government andnational universities clear. If this systemwere actually introduced, universities in Japanwould not only enjoy a great amount ofautonomy, but would also face financialproblems. The reality is unclear so far, butsome national universities have already startedto reform themselves radically in preparationfor the introduction.     

The changing demand for higher education in the seventies: Adaptations within three national systems

Aspects of decline in the demand for higher education have become apparent in most Western systems of higher education in the mid-seventies. Although these are usually associated with deteriorating labor markets and falling relative earnings of university graduates, analyses of enrollment trends in Belgium, the United States and France reveal that other factors have an important influence upon enrollment levels. In the comparatively elite Belgian university system the maintenance of rigorous academic standards in secondary schools and the universities appears to be responsible for the stagnation in enrollments since 1971. The surprising decline in the enrollment rates of white males in the United States seems to be due to both worsening labor markets and declining academic achievement levels. French university students have responded to the devaluation of university degrees by decreasing the time and effort applied to university study; but even under these circumstances the traumas of the 1976 confrontation have apparently discouraged potential students from enrolling. These developments suggest that the expansion of higher education has reached a set of inherent limitations created by social conditions and educational organization; and that inducing further expansion would do little to raise real educational levels or further social advancement.     

高等教育质量研究——管理的视角

质量是评价高等教育水平的尺度,管理是维持和改进高等教育质量的方法,质量管理代表了人们通过管理提升高等教育质量的努力。作为一个介于主观与客观、抽象与具体之间的特殊范畴,高等教育质量不同于企业领域的产品质量或服务质量,高等教育质量管理也不同于企业领域的全面质量管理。在普遍重视质量的新时代,质量管理绝不只是高等教育管理的时尚,而是高等教育发展的新希望,高等教育领域必须加强对于质量管理的研究,并积极付诸实践。