Opportunity and Risk in Transnational Education—Issues in Planning for International Campus Development: An Australian Perspective

This article, that is based upon the experience of Monash University, identifies a range of opportunities and risks involved in transnational education and addresses a number of key planning issues in establishing an international campus. These include the guiding principles adopted by the university, country selection factors, market research, considerations in developing an appropriate delivery model, and the assurance of the academic quality and educational integrity of the programmes offered. The authors refer to literature in the field concerning corporate risk and identify factors relevant to the higher education sector. The article stresses the need for an appropriate integration of strategic vision, academic priorities, and business considerations to ensure that opportunities offered by transnational education are successfully realized.     

Affective education for “at-risk” students: The view of urban principals

A sample of principals (N=116) was drawn from a large, urban school district to determine their viewpoints on the academic needs of high-risk students. Principals participated in focus groups designed to establish a common set of definitions and educational objectives for students with chronic achievement problems. Survey data were subsequently gathered for the sample to identify areas where educational delivery systems could be supplemented or enhanced. Factor analysis of the data revealed five critical areas for improving educational outcomes for at-risk students, including academic transitions, affective interventions, content-oriented programs, alternative structures, and social-needs programs. The common theme identified in the responses of these principals was a belief that more attention should be given to the affective resources, including counseling personnel, transitional programs, and alternative classroom structures.     

Sinking in the sand? Academic work in an offshore campus of an Australian university

This research examines academic work in an offshore campus of an Australian university. The focus is on the external factors that influence academic practice, mainly in relation to assessment and the way academics perceive their role. The study is set within the wider context of transnational education and the changing nature of academic life and unlike some previous studies, it presents an entirely offshore perspective. The relationship with the home campus and the local educational and political context are found to be the major external influences on academic staff. Leading from the research, some suggestions for increasing the success of offshore campuses are offered. These include establishing strong channels of communication and well‐developed induction and professional development processes.     

Concepts of change: enhancing the practice of academic staff development in higher education

Achieving change at any level of educational activity is not easy. In terms of teaching practice, developing a positive capacity for continuous improvement may involve deep change with the potential to threaten the core values and personal belief systems of staff and the students whom they teach. Recent theorising and discussion concerning conceptions of teaching and learning is an acknowledgement that the task of achieving change and the role of change supporters is not just a pragmatic one. This paper considers some of the issues faced by academic staff developers attempting to transform teaching practice. The author draws upon late twentieth century philosophy and extensive theorising about educational and organisational change with a view to suggesting this literature's potential to support the work of change supporters, such as academic staff developers.     

Faculty experience of rudeness in Scottish higher education: dealing with rudeness from students and colleagues.

This paper investigated rudeness experienced by academic staff from students, co-workers and senior staff members. The focus of much of the rudeness literature in an educational setting has been on the student experience of rudeness, predominantly in the classroom. The aim of the current study was to focus on the experience of academic staff rather than students, and to broaden consideration of rudeness beyond the classroom, to include e-mail. Using a mixed-methods questionnaire, with both closed and open questions, rudeness perception, impact and response was examined across a sample of 122 academic staff from Scottish Higher Education institutions. The study examined relationships between personality, stress, job satisfaction, level of rudeness and the impact of rudeness on staff. The qualitative segment explored responses to rude e-mails across three sources; student, colleague and senior colleague. The results indicated that academic staff reported similar levels of rudeness from students, co-workers and senior colleagues. Faculty who reported high levels of neuroticism were more likely to report a negative impact of rudeness. Academic staff also reported that their response to rudeness could differ according to the instigator: a greater proportion of staff reported that they would be likely to reprimand a student, in comparison to a colleague, for rudeness. Staff were more likely to seek an informal resolution to rudeness with a co-worker, rather than a student. This paper highlights the potential importance of individual characteristics in assessing the impact of rudeness on faculty and indicates that rudeness may come from several sources in academia.     

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.     

高校学术人员参与管理和决策的调查与研究

对高校学术人员参与学校管理和决策活动情况的调查分析显示,当前我国高校管理中存在学术权力与行政权力失衡,行政权力代替学术权力等问题。解决对策是充分发挥学术委员会等学术组织的作用,调动学术人员的积极性和主动性;耦合学术权力与行政权力,建立符合高校实际的二元权力决策模式;健全教职工代表大会制度,建立有效的监督机制;管理重心下移,进一步整合院系学术权力与行政权力。     

Video Conferencing: a Solution to the Multi-campus Large Classes Problem?

Whether due to amalgamation or export education strategies, many universities now face a problem of delivering subjects, programs and courses across more than one campus. There are significant costs to students, staff and faculty of this teaching and administrative duplication. Information and communication technologies offer potential to achieve economies of scale but the effects on other things like student learning are not so clear. The objective of this paper is to report the outcomes of a video conferencing trial in an undergraduate mass lecture context. The effects on students and staff, and support issues are highlighted through a formative and summative evaluation. Surveys, focus groups, interviews, video recordings, exam results and reflective diaries provided data for the evaluations. The results will be useful both for decision-makers considering a video conferencing solution to duplication, as well as for staff potentially involved in using the video conferencing in a mass lecture context.     

Preparing academic staff to use ICTs in support of student learning

There is pressure on academic staff to respond to changes produced by the increasing globalization of education markets, and the capacities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to transform the ways education is delivered. This presents a serious challenge for many academics whose own formative educational experiences and professional orientations were shaped under different circumstances. This paper will focus on an innovative scheme designed to support university staff in their understanding and application of ICTs in student learning. The course was delivered to a small pilot group of experienced teaching staff who wished to explore the uses of ICTs. It aimed to provide an understanding of the available technologies, and how these might be utilized in the support of teaching, learning and assessment. Throughout the course's duration, one of the authors conducted an independent evaluative programme of research involving confidential questionnaires and observation sessions. The paper's two remaining authors have made further contributions as participant and course leader. Combining these sources of data, the paper reviews the course evaluation and discusses how staff approached the development and use of ICTs with varying levels of confidence, and with different practical issues and agendas concerning the incorporation of ICTs in teaching and learning. Placing the study's major themes within the changing contexts facing university staff, it concludes with a discussion of its wider implications for all practitioners involved in staff development that is both general and ICT-specific.     

Tapping the educational potential of Facebook: Guidelines for use in higher education

Facebook is a frequently used Computer Mediated Environment (CME) for students and others to build social connections, with identities and deposited self-expression. Its widespread use makes it appropriate for consideration as an educational tool; though one that does not yet have clear guidelines for use. Whether a social networking site can be used for educational objectives remains largely unexplored as a research question. This paper discusses a study conducted at the University of Auckland and at Manchester Metropolitan University on how their students use Facebook, and its impact on their social and academic lives. Using theories of social capital and knowledge management, we explore some potential educational uses of Facebook. Guidelines are included for the educational use of Facebook by tutors in a university environment. These include both positive recommendations and activities and approaches to avoid; and include educational, administrative and legal issues.     

Community education in Kansas,a challenge to community colleges

This article discusses an educational outreach project conducted during 1974 and 1975 by University for Man (UFM), a free university based in Manhattan, Kansas, that offers educational programs not only to the KSU/Manhattan community but to other areas of the state as well. The major objective of the project, supported by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities, was to serve adult educational needs with programs examining public issues through a humanistic perspective. Programs were organized in series of weekly town hall meetings that featured several speakers on a particular issue, including an academic humanist. The mechanics of organizing such a program are reviewed, the program's results are briefly summarized, and the implications of such programs are considered. Major implications include (1) the offering of new perspectives on public policy issues to the adult public, (2) the design of new roles for professional humanists, (3) the rejuventation of participatory democracy, and (4) the movement toward permanent programs of community education in small rural communities.They directed the UFM project reported here, which was supported by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities project grant FY-73-74-36. The contents of this article do not necessarily reflect the views of that committee.     

高等教育产权与大学治理探析简

随着市场经济的发展和高等教育体制的改革,我国的教育产权逐渐从政府单一主导向社会广泛参与的多元化格局转变。大学治理在现代大学制度改革中也逐渐由单一的行政权主导开始转变为遵循大学内在逻辑,实现依法自主管理、社会参与的多元治理结构。明确和平衡大学与政府、行政人员与学术群体、大学与社会等主要利益相关者之间的教育交易关系,建立起平衡的教育产权运行体系和大学共同治理结构,是实现教育资源优化配置和保证大学治理公平与效率的重要条件。     

A conceptual approach for blended leadership for tertiary education institutions

Over the last 20 years, the tertiary education sector has adopted new administrative management approaches, with the aim of improving accountable and strategic focus. Over the same period, the question of how to build leadership capacity to improve learning and teaching and research outcomes has led to discussion on what constitutes academic leadership. While both these advances are needed, what is missing is integration between the two such that academics and professional staff are engaged collaboratively to achieve learning and teaching and research outcomes that are accountable within a strategic focus. This article builds on research into the use of distributed leadership to build leadership for learning and teaching that resulted in the design of a conceptual framework for distributed leadership. Based on this conceptual framework, it proposes a conceptual blended leadership approach to engage academics and professional staff working in collaboration.     

Adopting an active learning approach to teaching in a research-intensive higher education context transformed staff teaching attitudes and behaviours

The conventional lecture has significant limitations in the higher education context, often leading to a passive learning experience for students. This paper reports a process of transforming teaching and learning with active learning strategies in a research-intensive educational context across a faculty of 45 academic staff and more than 1000 students. A phased approach was used, involving nine staff in a pilot phase during which a common vision and principles were developed. In short, our approach was to mandate a move away from didactic lectures to classes that involved students interacting with content, with each other and with instructors in order to attain domain-specific learning outcomes and generic skills. After refinement, an implementation phase commenced within all first-year subjects, involving 12 staff including three from the pilot group. The staff use of active learning methods in classes increased by sixfold and sevenfold in the pilot and implementation phases, respectively. An analysis of implementation phase exam questions indicated that staff increased their use of questions addressing higher order cognitive skills by 51%. Results of a staff survey indicated that this change in practice was caused by the involvement of staff in the active learning approach. Fifty-six percent of staff respondents indicated that they had maintained constructive alignment as they introduced active learning. After the pilot, only three out of nine staff agreed that they understood what makes for an effective active learning exercise. This rose to seven out of nine staff at the completion of the implementation phase. The development of a common approach with explicit vision and principles and the evaluation and refinement of active learning were effective elements of our transformational change management strategy. Future efforts will focus on ensuring that all staff have the time, skills and pedagogical understanding required to embed constructively aligned active learning within the approach.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE ADMINISTRATORS AND FACULTY OPINIONS OF TECH PREP

According to D. Hull and D. Parnell (1991), technical preparation, commonly referred to as Tech Prep, is essentially an innovative approach to vocational education. It is designed to integrate academic subjects (i.e., mathematics and science) with vocational-technical education subjects (i.e., engineering technology, applied science) and mechanical, industrial, or vocational subjects (i.e., agriculture, health, and business). This study focused on community college presidents' knowledge of attitudes toward Tech Prep in the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). Four research questions were addressed in the research that are essential to the success of Tech Prep initiatives in the NCCCS. These questions were (1) to what extent are the 58 community colleges in North Carolina actively engaged in Tech Prep programs?; (2) how many of the colleges have been actively involved in Tech Prep programs for four or more years?; (3) to what extent do senior administrators, faculty, and administrative support staff differ in their opinions of Tech Prep programs in their respective colleges?; and (4) what are the differences in opinions of Tech Prep among community college presidents, faculty, and administrative support staff on issues such as recruiting better-prepared students, retention, and graduation rates?     

Global pressures on education research: quality,utility, and infrastructure

This article provides an overview of issues likely to drive educational research globally over the next decade, and it examines the Asia Pacific Education Review (APER)’s role in responding to these issues, shaping research agendas, and delivering high-quality research. We also look at the implications of these pressures, along with changes in the academic infrastructure, regarding the form, distribution, quality, and utility of education research. We focus on three pressures in particular: a new demography of education, the changing technology of education, and the expansion of higher education and the research university. Demographic pressures create demand for new and different types of institutional responses and have created a new set of issues in education. Technological innovations promise to challenge current systems. MOOCs, web-based professional development for adults, mobile learning, and web-based performance supports for younger students will alter the physical, intellectual, and learning environments of higher education. How might these developments affect the infrastructure of academic research? Quality control will become even more central. It is a strength of academe, something which research institutions are particularly well designed to conduct. Growth in the higher education sector has been accompanied by equally unprecedented growth in research programs, research-trained faculty, and research-oriented universities. This, in turn, has produced pressure for more publications and journals. We conclude with a discussion of how the educational research community will likely respond to these challenges and the role of APER in this process.     

Implementing Distance Learning: Frameworks for Change

As Distance Learning programs expand at colleges and universities across the country, institutions find themselves grappling with a range of academic and administrative issues. Faculty working conditions, program development, academic oversight and student support services are but a sampling of the conflicts and issues that emerge as Distance Learning programs grow in popularity. In an effort to address these conflicts and the accompanying institutional changes, we will offer a framework for understanding and managing this change process. We also attempt to give insight into the broader issues raised by Distance Learning and propose strategies for developing cross-campus support for Distance Learning programs.     

Facilitating change to a problem-based model

This paper discusses barriers which arise during the change process from a traditional educational system to a problem-based educational model. The characteristics of a problem-based learning model are presented in order to provide a framework for discussion of the scope of these issues. Then the findings of a research study, which examined an actual transition from a traditional model to a problem-based learning model, are introduced and discussed. In spite of an extensive staff development programme to introduce teachers to the new model, some unforseen issues arose. Some of these were to do with the nature of teaching in the new model, for example, the requirements of project supervision as the new form of teaching, which was quickly brought into focus by teachers involved in the transition. Other issues were to do with the retention, in this particular example of problem-based learning, of forms of teaching which appeared similar to traditional teaching, namely lectures. The findings suggested that it was very important to 'rethink' known teaching methods such as traditional lecturing, because teachers have to reselect the content of courses if the number of lectures is substantially reduced. Furthermore, the results of the study indicate that the importance of the change processes at the educational model level focus on the individual, culture and the organization. For faculty and academic developers this means that they have to facilitate all three levels which is a comprehensive challenge and requires a high level of competency.     

A chair system in transition: Appointments, promotions, and gate-keeping in German higher education

The traditional German system of academic appointments and careers has recently become a focus of policy reorganisation. The article analyses the ongoing debates and changes on the basis of an examination of the origins and overall function of the academic career system. It is argued that the recruitment, promotion, and appointment of academic staff are seen as more important issues in countries, like Germany, where they shape the institutional pattern of higher education and where they are a major link to the state and society.