The Role of Interracial Interaction in the Development of Leadership Skills and Cultural Knowledge and Understanding

While higher education leaders tout the benefits of racial diversity for developing culturally knowledgeable civic leaders, our understanding of these benefits and, in particular, the role of interracial interaction in realizing them, is still emerging. In this study, differences between the effects of interracial contact among students that are close friends versus more casual interracial interactions are examined for their affect on students' leadership skills and cultural knowledge and understanding. Findings suggest that casual interracial interaction is particularly beneficial among students with more racially homogeneous friendship circles, especially with regard to developing leadership skills. In addition, findings indicate that frequent interracial interaction among students may be more important in developing cultural knowledge than involvement in formal activities such as cultural awareness workshops.     

Negotiating assignment pathways: students and academic assignments

Existing research identifies that students’ approaches to assignments are related to their general approaches to study. It is suggested that students need to better understand the requirements of assignments and acquire new concepts such as ‘argument’. This fine-grained study proposes four qualitatively distinct assignment pathways: gathering, connecting, minimalist and performing. Students negotiate assignment pathways to sustain a sense of control, confidence and connection. Making changes to their approaches to assignments is not straightforward. Suggestions are made for using insights from the research to more effectively support assignments as vehicles for learning.     

Student perceptions of support services and the influence of targeted interventions on retention in distance education

To improve student retention in distance education, Simpson suggested in 2003 that institutions analyse their own retention characteristics and ‘spot the leaks.’ In 2008 the Centre for Distance Learning at Laidlaw College, New Zealand, employed two part‐time academic support coordinators in an effort to improve student retention and success. This study compares the retention statistics for first‐time student outcomes across two semesters, one without and one with specific course retention interventions. Results are benchmarked across national data. Interviews with students who were retained revealed that students frequently attribute their success to their own efforts. Student support services in distance education might therefore be perceived by its beneficiaries as a ‘hygiene’ factor (Herzberg, 1968, 2008) in that their presence is not generally appreciated by students. However, their absence is noticed. The similarity of this finding with Shin’s institutional transactional presence (2002, 2003) is also explored.     

英国大学生学费与资助政策改革及启示

从20世纪初到70年代末,英国政府在大学实行的是免费加助学金政策,在80年代以后,经济困境使得这种政策有所改变.2004年的<高等教育法案(草案)>,又提出了新的学费政策和资助制度.英国大学学费与资助政策的演变与近年来的一系列改革值得我们认真思考和借鉴.     

Change and renewal: the role of a change team in improving student support

How do open and distance learning institutions review and renew themselves to ensure their continued fitness for purpose? Here we report on the work of a change team in the UK Open University, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning created to examine, innovate and improve student support. The existence of the Centre for five years from 2005 to 2010 enabled us to facilitate an extensive programme of practical support activities and to influence long-term university policy development. We are aware that very few institutions will have the luxury of such long-term funding (and do not expect it to be available again in the United Kingdom any time soon). However, we believe that there is much in models of change that can be applied more generally to improve learner support.     

A student-centred approach: a qualitative exploration of how students experience access and success in a South African University of Technology

This article investigates students’ understanding and students’ experiences of access and success at a Higher Education Institution. There is a growing discourse around how students at Higher Education Institutions experience access and success. These discussions are imperative so that educational practices, university systems and processes as well as educational development initiatives can be tailored to meet the needs of all students. This specifically relates to issues of how students access the university, both epistemically and culturally and what their stories of success are in their path to and through the university. Qualitative research methodologies have been used for data collection and analysis. This article describes a six-month pilot study, which falls under the Siyaphumelela (‘we succeed’) student success project. In this pilot, forty-five interviews were conducted with undergraduate students. This article is underpinned by Tinto’s theory of integration. Moving away from the discourse of unprepared and underprepared students, our approach advocates that institutions prepare better for students who have not had the advantage of acquiring the necessary skills and knowledges that would assist them to be successful in their higher education journey. This study has found that the institution is already providing services which are much needed by students for their success. However, an extension of these systems needs to take place so they reach the entire student population. Our approach in this project is holistic because we understand that how students experience access, success and student centeredness is intricately linked to becoming university students.     

高校学生党建与学生工作互动模式的构建

做好高校大学生党建工作,是事关党的执政基础和我国社会主义事业前途命运的一项重要战略任务. 本文针对高校学生党建的现状,着力挖掘学生党建工作与学生管理工作的相同点,探索两者有效结合的互动机制,期望能为学生党建工作提供参考.     

高校发展性资助育人体系的构建

高校资助育人应当确立发展的观照视阈,以"三生·三成·三涯",即生存、生活、生命、成长、成就、成功、学涯、职涯、生涯为资助育人的内涵构成。只有确立人的自由而全面发展理念、提高资助工作者素质、促进资助工作由保障型向发展型的转型才能真正构建起高校发展性资助育人体系。     

The emotional background to learning

Abstract

This article makes observations on the emotional and KEYW ORDS behavioural dif?culties of university students. The rapid expansion of student the higher education sector since the 1980s has brought an increased counselling; need for liaison between academics and university counsellors and student EBD; other health professionals. Key tasks confronting students are separ-student support ation from the family, the articulation of a sense of ‘self’, and the internalization of knowledge. Depression and anxiety are the likely side-effects of undertaking these, but peer-group and tutorial support can assist the authentic growth that is the real goal of tertiary education.     

高校学生工作应实现"四化"

社会变迁给高校学生工作带来严峻的挑战,同时也创造了极好的改革机遇。为了适应时代发展的需要,高校学生工作应当勇于面对挑战、积极改革、实现"四化"。实现"四化"就是要求高校学生工作实现人本化、法制化、科学化和系统化。"四化"不是孤立的,而是相辅相成的,它们共同构成高校学生工作体系改革和完善的要素,在实际工作中要协调推进,不可偏废。     

高校学生事务管理概念的演变与本土化

美国"高校学生事务"及其管理之概念大致经历了"替代父母制"、"学生人事"、"学生服务"、"学生发展"、"学生学习"的演进过程。但各阶段并非截然分割,而是呈现出"四个重叠、偶尔冲突但共存"的现象。我国目前虽然广泛地采用了"高校学术生事务"及"高校学生事务管理"等术语,但其概念已融入中国色彩,有其特定的本土化涵义。     

打造学生工作团队 突出中心管理特色

在以学生为本的实验教学理念的指导下,着眼于加强由实验技术骨干带领的学生工作团队建设,对传统的学生助理制度进行升级。通过打造具有专业性,稳定性和归属性的特色团队,加强中心大平台的管理特色,让学生接受教育的同时,参与实验教学改革,为验证和提高实验教学改革有效性提供参考。     

Student needs and motives when attending a university: exploring the Syrian case

This paper aims at exploring student needs and motives to pursue higher education in Syria. Based on the model of student buyer behavior developed by Kotler and Fox in 1995, the study focuses on the first step of this model, so-called motives. The study results are based on qualitative data collected by means of semi-structured styles of interviews with 30 current students at three higher education institutions in Syria in the summer of 2010.The study reveals three dimensions of needs and motives. These are: Self needs and motives; Social needs and motives, and Souk (market) needs and motives. Accordingly, several detailed explanations for each dimension concluded from the study are presented. The findings reveal that the three dimensions are important for university students in Syria when attending universities. People responsible for marketing in higher education institutions need to pay attention to understand their students' motives when designing their customer-oriented marketing strategies. Study programs at universities could be designed to better satisfy such needs and motives. This study could provide bases for further research through a replication of the model using the information offered by the survey. Further research could investigate the research questions in a wider student population employing a quantitative approach. The importance of this study comes from the classification of needs and motives into a three-Ss model (Self, Society and Souk). The study also shows originality into understanding motives of Syrian students in attending certain universities in particular.     

Avoiding the goulash: closing gaps and bridging distances

Not many universities provide both distance and on-campus study options for study. Massey University has been delivering both for more than 50 years. In this time there has been a significant change from paper-based to increasingly online delivery (both on-campus and at a distance). Services provided to students have also changed and adapted to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The paper outlines changes in service delivery to on-campus and distance students, the development of an online toolset of self-help services and also provides an overview of the underpinning student success framework. This framework informs current and future service delivery and allows evaluation of the usefulness of services for on-campus and distance students.     

Investigating expectations and experiences of audio and written assignment feedback in first-year undergraduate students

Previous research suggests that audio feedback may be an important mechanism for facilitating effective and timely assignment feedback. The present study examined expectations and experiences of audio and written feedback provided through turnitin for iPad^® from students within the same cohort and assignment. The results showed that although initially sceptical of audio compared to written feedback, there were no significant differences in students' experiences of audio and written feedback. Students' performance on the assignment was not associated with their experiences of audio feedback but first-class performing students (?>?70%) had more positive experiences of written feedback than those who received an upper second-class grade (60–69%). In general, the results imply that audio feedback provided through turnitin for iPad^® is a viable alternative to written feedback. The findings are discussed in relation to past research findings.     

试论高校传播媒体在人才培养中的作用

本文以高校的几大主要传播媒体——校报、广播、电视和校园网为研究对象,总结了校园传媒的作用,研究高校传播媒体与人才培养的关系,为大学生健康成长创造条件。     

《大学成本降低与机会法》和美国学生资助体系的重大改革

最近美国通过了《大学成本降低与机会法》,该法的通过反映了美国大学成本上涨,学生和家长负担加重的现实,同时也与最近发生的学生贷款丑闻和政治因素有一定关系。该法提高了佩尔助学金的最高额度,降低了联邦补贴学生贷款的利率,增加了基于收入的贷款偿还项目和公共服务雇员贷款豁免项目等新的制度。相关创新做法对我国当前的学生资助体系建设有一定的借鉴意义。     

新形势下高校学籍管理存在的问题及对策

新形势下高校学籍管理,应严格按照《普通高等学校学生管理规定》的要求,提高对学籍管理的认识,树立新理念,规范制度建设,加强学籍管理队伍建设,优化高校学籍管理工作。     

The flexible learning needs and preferences of regional occupational therapy students in Australia

This study aimed to explore the flexible learning needs and preferences of occupational therapy students from a regional Australian university. Participants (n?=?170) were surveyed using a quantitative survey tool. Findings were analysed using SPSS to determine significant differences between variable attributes of the student cohort. The survey found that students have complex and competing lifestyle demands, which impact on study. In particular, paid work was found to negatively influence study and the university experience. Traditional face-to-face learning suited most students, however, flexible learning options were preferable for students where paid work, family commitments and geographic location interfered with study. These results will help inform the design and implementation of flexible delivery courses for occupational therapy. Further research is required to explore the experiences of staff and students who are involved in health courses run by flexible delivery.     

Teaching and learning across disciplines: student and staff experiences in a newly modularised system

Within modular degrees it is sometimes possible for students to broaden their education by taking modules from outside their main programme of study. This is one significant aspect of modular degrees which has not been studied. In an effort to better understand this issue, the research reported in this paper explored the experiences: (1) of students taking modules from outside their programme of study and; (2) of staff teaching modules with significant numbers of students from other programmes. In total, 820 undergraduate students responded to an on-line survey; 12 academic staff members participated in interviews. The survey focused on students’ reasons for choosing the module, their experiences of assessment and their perceptions of workload. Interviews with academic staff focused on the influence of non-programme students on teaching and assessment practices. The discussion addresses the implications of student choice and classroom diversity for teaching and assessment in modular systems.