The Scholar Must also Teach

Classroom incivility is a major concern in higher education today. Yet little study has been done of student perceptions of behavior in the classroom. Based on a survey of 3,616 students at a Midwestern public university, the present study provides useful information to faculty members and administrators about the behaviors students find most uncivil and how frequently they are experiencing these behaviors. In general, it appears that students are experiencing a fair amount of at least moderately uncivil behavior in their classes. These results have implications for how faculty and administrators develop policies designed to guide students toward appropriate behavior.     

Faculty responses to academic dishonesty: The influence of student honor codes

Cheating among college students has generally been studied from a student perspective. The research discussed here looks at student cheating from a faculty perspective. Utilizing the responses of 789 faculty members at 16 institutions located throughout the United States, it examines typical faculty responses to incidents of student cheating and how the presence of a student honor code influences faculty responses. These findings are compared to student perspectives on how faculty address incidents of cheating using data collected from over 3,000 students at the same 16 institutions in an earlier phase of this research project.     

Defining appropriate professional behavior for faculty and university students on social networking websites

The vast majority of university students have profiles on social networking sites (e.g., Myspace, Facebook) (Salaway et al. 2008). However, it is yet to be determined what role this rapidly evolving method of communication will play in an academic setting. Data for the current study was collected from 459 university students and 159 university faculty members. Participants’ opinions regarding faculty/student interaction on social networking sties (SNSs) were analyzed. Over one-third of the students and a quarter of the faculty participants reported that it is inappropriate for faculty members to have accounts on SNSs. Significant disagreement existed between the faculty and students, as well as among the faculty and among the students regarding what constitutes appropriate professional professor/student interaction on SNSs.     

Student faculty evaluation (SFE) at Jordanian universities: a student perspective

This study is the first to address student evaluation of faculty members (SFE) from a student perspective at a major Jordanian public university using a comprehensive (71-item) questionnaire administered to 620 undergraduates. Addressed are students’ perceptions of the SFE process in terms of: (a) their paper-based vs. online-format preferences; (b) their beliefs about the process; (c) the standards they adopt in the evaluation; (d) the fruitfulness of SFE outcomes; and (e) their opinions about the evaluation instruments currently used at their institutions. It also explores whether students’ beliefs vary according to their gender, GPA and college (Educational Sciences vs. Sciences). The results reveal that most students prefer online evaluation, adopt academic rather than interpersonal criteria in their evaluation, have a low level of satisfaction with the impact of previous evaluations on faculty teaching behaviours and the evaluation instruments used at their institution. Additionally, the findings suggest that gender has a less influential role in shaping students’ beliefs about the SFE process compared to their college or GPA. The findings of this study and their implications are very useful pointers for faculty and higher education administrators, faculty members and students towards further improvement at higher education institutions.     

A game theoretic analysis of faculty competition and academic standards

Grade inflation, particularly but not exclusively in higher education, is a serious concern of educators, educational policy-makers and researchers. It has been suggested that student evaluations of faculty are among its principal causes because students tend to give favorable evaluations to professors who give high grades, and that these evaluations are used by university administrators as part of the criteria for promotions, salary increases and similar faculty benefits. This explanation suggests that faculty members compete for favorable student evaluations. It can be generalized to state that faculty members cooperate and compete not only for favorable evaluations, but also for the enrollment of students in the courses they teach. The relevance of faculty cooperation and competition suggests that the Theory of Games could be a useful instrument to analyze the interactions among university professors. The object of this paper is to present a model based on these assumptions and to analyze the consequences that can be derived from it that are relevant for university policy decisions.     

English is for dummies: linguistic contradictions at an international college in South Korea

Under the slogan of internationalisation, Korean universities have opened international colleges as a way to better attract and accommodate foreign students. However, due to a lack of foreign student recruiting capability, the majority of the students who enrol at one such international college are not foreign, but Korean. Contradictions arise when the English-language medium enforced by the foreign faculty members of the college conflicts with the linguistic practices of the mostly Korean student body. This article uses an international college in South Korea as a case study for the examination of the role of English on student life at Asian universities pursuing internationalisation strategies via the recruitment of foreign faculty members. Paradoxically, by establishing an international college that aggressively enforces the English language medium, the Korean university has created an environment where students avoid using English at all.     

Student Perspectives on Teaching and its Evaluation

The research on student ratings of instruction, while voluminous, has had minimal focus on the perceptions of the students who do the ratings. The current study explored student perspectives on course and teacher ratings as well as some issues related to teaching effectiveness and faculty roles. It was found that students are generally willing to do evaluations and to provide feedback, and have no particular fear of repercussions. However, they have little confidence that faculty or administrators pay attention to the results, and do not even consult the ratings themselves. The students view teaching and advising as the most important roles that should be played by faculty, yet project that faculty, while also viewing teaching as the most important, would rank research above the more student-interactive advising. Canonical correlations among various scales reveal a strong emphasis on such issues of the importance of faculty respect for student views.     

The adjustment problems faced by international and overseas Chinese students studying in Taiwan universities: a comparison of student and faculty/staff perceptions

Over the last 15 years the number of international students studying at universities in Taiwan has increased dramatically; however, to date, there have been few studies that measured the cultural adjustment problems that this diverse group of students experience. To remedy this problem, this study gathered data from 1,174 international students and 189 faculty and staff members at 15 universities in Taiwan that described the extent of these problems in 12 different areas. Using independent sample t-tests and multiple regression analysis, this study found that the cultural adjustment problems experienced by international students were relatively minor, that faculty and staff consistently overstated these problems, and most importantly, problems with the English language explained more of the variation in both student and faculty and staff responses.     

教师和学生对“学生评教”的看法调查

本研究调查了52位外语系教师和116名公共外语研究生对于“学生评教”的看法。结果显示,大部分师生赞成“学生评教”。他们认为这种做法在一定程度上可以提高教学质量。他们对其他问题的回答也给我们提供了有益的信息,有助于进一步完善评估体系。     

Estimating the economic payoff to virtual university education: a case study of the Open University of Catalonia

This study extends the scope of research that examines the connection between physical attractiveness and student perception through a survey analysis. While other studies concentrate on physical attractiveness alone, we examined not only perceptions of attractiveness but its impact on students’ perception of knowledge, approachability and faculty selection in a hypothetical course. Using ordered logistic regression, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression to examine the interaction between age, attractiveness, knowledge and approachability, our findings show that younger faculty members are perceived as more approachable and more attractive, while older faculty members are perceived as more knowledgeable. Faculty perceived as more attractive are also perceived to be more approachable. Further, we test the impact that these results have on faculty selection in a hypothetical course and find that students are more likely to select an attractive and approachable faculty member to take a course with, regardless of perceived knowledge of the faculty member. Overall, although the perception of beauty may be cursory, its results may not be when considering the primacy effect, role model effect and teaching effectiveness assessment.     

Student and Faculty Member Engagement in Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate research (UR) is a valued co-curricular activity that has involved an increasing number of students and faculty members in recent years. While there is a growing body of research on student participation in UR, there is less research available examining faculty perceptions of, participation in UR, and how those factors influence student participation in UR. This study examined approximately 110,000 responses to the National Survey of Student Engagement and 40,000 responses to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement at over 450 four-year institutions. Findings revealed that individual and institutional characteristics predicted student and faculty member involvement and that the majority of faculty members perceived UR to be of importance. Implications for fostering faculty involvement, student success, and viewing UR as an institutional asset are discussed.     

STUDENT EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTION: PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS,FACULTY, AND ADMINISTRATORS

The purpose of this study was to compare the opinions of students, teachers, and administrators relative to student evaluation of instruction in selected community colleges. While important educational decisions in community colleges are made on the basis of students’ evaluations (as in retention, promotion, tenure, and pay), little has been accomplished in testing the assumptions behind student evaluation of instruction. The student evaluation process assumes that students are honest, serious, and evaluate instruction, not some incidental activity.

A 25‐item Student Evaluation Process Scale was completed by 607 students, 130 faculty, and 45 administrators in five Illinois community colleges. Findings revealed little significant differences in the opinions of students regarding evaluation of instruction based on variables of sex, age, school location, student type (transfer or occupational), and class standing. There were little significant differences in faculty opinion and within the administrative groups based on selected variables. There were significant differences when the opinions of students, faculty, and administrators were compared. Students and faculty tended to agree with those items that questioned the objectivity of student evaluation of instruction. Administrators and students tended to agree with items reflecting the seriousness with which students evaluate instruction. Faculty and administrators indicated that student evaluation of instruction impacted faculty members’ instructional performances. Neither students, faculty, nor administrators supported the concept of merit pay tied to student evaluation of instruction.

The role of student evaluation of instruction in a faculty evaluation system must be investigated. A variety of groups should participate in this investigation.     

Emerging collaborative and cooperative practices in 1:1 schools

In this article, the authors explored how laptops used in 1:1 classrooms affect cooperation and collaboration practices. Based on an observational time study, the authors found that the most common activity in 1:1 classrooms is group work using the computer. They also found that, despite what the concept 1:1 alludes to about one student working with one computer, most laptop use takes on other forms such as two students working with one computer (1:2) or two students working together using two laptops (2:2). The findings reported in this article about the various different collaboration arrangements have implications for both research and practice. For practice, because teachers can arrange activities based on an awareness of the different student–laptop constellations that emerge when students are given a laptop. Research is likewise informed about the various group work constellations and can build on this knowledge for further analysis of the pros and cons with the different collaborative forms.     

From traditional accountability to shared responsibility: the benefits and challenges of student consultants gathering midcourse feedback in college classrooms

The explicit purpose of gathering feedback in college classes is to improve those courses, usually along the lines of structure, organisation, pace, or some other aspect of the course over which the professor typically has control. A potential outcome that is less immediately obvious is the shift that can take place regarding who is responsible and in what ways for the analysis and revision of pedagogical practices at the college level. In this article, I take as a foundation for my discussion the premises of new wave student voice work, and I describe a project through which students were positioned as consultants who gathered midcourse feedback for faculty members. I analyse how those student consultants supported faculty members in revising not only their courses but also their relationships with students – both student consultants and students enrolled in the courses.     

Investigating substantive and consequential validity of student ratings of instruction

This study aimed at exploring faculty and student perspectives on student evaluations, as well as identifying their perceptions of the usefulness and appropriateness of the ratings for evaluating teaching effectiveness. More specifically, the study aimed at identifying the consequences, both intended and unintended, of using the evaluations, in addition to better understanding the process students used in responding to evaluations and what use faculty members made of them. Two surveys were developed and placed on the website of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. Emails were sent to all students and faculty participating in evaluations soliciting their cooperation and requesting their input. Faculty and student perceptions were compared qualitatively and statistically. Results revealed that students and faculty believe in the effectiveness and usefulness of the system with the need to overcome some negative consequences and biases inherent in its application at the University. Recommendations for system improvement are provided.     

The Challenges of Designing and Implementing a Doctoral Student Mentoring Program

The relationship between doctoral students and faculty members has been identified as a key component of a successful graduate school experience. In this article, we consider the challenges inherent in designing and implementing a formal doctoral student mentoring program. By bringing together students, peer mentors, and faculty mentors, the program sought to introduce a team-based platform to facilitate student success. We specifically consider how program components might be scaled up across the institution, providing both a personal and supportive relationship for participants as well as an information resource for the broader student population.     

省立安徽大学化学系办学历史

省立安徽大学化学系自1929年招生以来,一直坚持办学并抓住机遇不断发展。化学系历届系主任和教职工遵照学校有关规章制度,注重自身实验特色,严格教学管理和学生管理,为全省乃至全国培养了一批化学人才。     

Undergraduate Student Participation in an Evaluation of a Police Program: A High-Impact Practice

High-impact educational practices are increasingly being recognized as powerful teaching strategies that can positively impact both student and faculty experiences in the classroom. Student persistence in college is correlated to campus integration, and one way this can be successfully facilitated is through student–faculty research partnerships. This paper documents the process of one faculty research team integrating four undergraduate students into an ongoing research project, for which students received course credit. There were many benefits of this collaboration to both student and faculty participants, but there were also many opportunities to better streamline the project and to potentially create an institutional template for replication of this process so that other faculty members can learn from this experience and more easily successfully integrate students into their own research.