The demand for student loans in higher education: A study of preferences and attitudes

This empirical study examined postsecondary-student attitudes and preferences regarding five discrete student loan plans and loan plan features. Certain demographic variables were examined for their relationship to student attitudes toward the various loan plans. The study addressed the following questions: What debt ceiling do students identify as acceptable? Are students willing to indebt themselves over an extended time span? What percent of annual income do they feel reasonably can be applied to loan repayment? Will students alter their repayment plan choices given additional and more detailed information about loan options? A random sample of 218 recipients of federal higher education loans during the 1973–74 academic year was drawn from the population of 6,765 undergraduate borrowers at the University Park Campus of the Pennsylvania State University.     

The Monsoon Wedding phenomenon: understanding Indian students studying in Australian universities

How does the University sector identify and support the diverse needs of Indian students? This paper reports on a research project carried out on undergraduate students from India enrolled at a Melbourne‐based University. The focus is the need to understand why Indian students choose an overseas destination for tertiary study. The intent is to explore how the curriculum that they have experienced in their country prepares them for study in another. We examine the expectations of students in relation to studying overseas. The suggestion underlying this paper is that if academic and support staff in tertiary education understand international students in cultural cohorts, then it is more likely that their transition to tertiary education will be easier. We envisage that this may also lead to a greater retention rate for universities.     

Hidden voices: L2 students’ compensatory writing strategies

This qualitative research study examines how 12 undergraduate second-language learners understood the concept of citations in academic writing. The following questions guided this study: What are the participants’ beliefs about citing research? How do students conceive the role and function of citations in their writing assignments? How do they make decisions about what and what not to cite? Results indicated that students believed that citations were a superficial accessory to the main text and only cited information to comply with teacher directives, thereby, sacrificing their own empowerment in the writing process. To overcome their unfamiliarity with academic prose, students created specific compensatory writing strategies. Although this study included only L2 students, the findings are consistent with the research involving monolingual students. This research can inform educators about the need to engage undergraduate students in participatory discussions about the role, function, and power of referencing within a privileged academic discourse.     

‘What really matters to freshers?’: evaluation of first year student experience of transition into university

Measuring student experience in terms of satisfaction is a national measure used by prospective students when considering their higher education choices. Increasingly league tables are used as a means to rank universities with a limited interrogation of the reality of students’ experiences. This study explored the question ‘What really matters to freshers?’ during their transition into higher education through to completion. Students on an academic undergraduate Early Childhood Studies degree (n = 530) over a five-year period completed a Student Experience Evaluation in their first term and this data was correlated with the National Student Survey data collected about their cohorts in the final term of their degree. During the five year period, a number of interventions were undertaken by the academic staff to develop a learning community, based on the values linked to ‘being, belonging, and becoming’. The results of this study suggest that three things matter to students about their experience, that is, the academic staff they work with, the nature of their academic study and feeling like they belong. A model is proposed which aims to demonstrate the impact of academic staff, studies and the learning community that develops through social and academic experiences at University.     

THE BENEFITS OF SUMMER BRIDGE PROGRAMS FOR UNDERREPRESENTED AND LOW‐INCOME TRANSFER STUDENTS

University summer bridge programs or transitional programs for low‐income and minority transfer students are becoming an established part of the effort to recruit, retain, and graduate a population of students underrepresented in higher education. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a summer bridge program on the academic, personal, and social development of underrepresented and low‐income transfer students during their first year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The 1988 entering cohort of Transfer Summer Program (TSP) students was tracked through their first two quarters at UCLA, collecting both attitudinal and academic data.

The results of the study clearly suggest that summer bridge programs for underrepresented and low‐income students can help facilitate their transition and adjustment to university life and improve their academic performance and persistence rates. This is accomplished by increasing transfer students' control over their academic future by preparing them to effectively participate in a classroom, to assess their academic abilities, and by introducing them to campus services and encouraging the utilization of these services.     

Performance and perceptions of distance learners in cyberspace

Abstract

This study compared the performance and perception of cyber‐learners to that of traditional learners. A study of several hundred undergraduate students taking an introductory economics course at the University of California suggests that cyberlearners learn as well as, or better than, traditional learners regardless of characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, academic background, computer skills, and academic aptitude and that they do so with a high degree of satisfaction. CD‐ROM‐based lectures, electronic testing, threaded electronic bulletin boards, and online discussion rooms all appear to be effective instructional technologies. The CD‐ROM‐based lectures that simulated the traditional classroom experience were regarded as being both the most essential and most enjoyable instructional medium.     

North American Christian Study Abroad Programs: Wheaton College and Whitworth University

Study abroad programs are in vogue today, especially among Christian colleges and universities. It is, therefore, appropriate to ask tough questions of these programs. Do they help our students become more mature followers of Jesus? Are they respectful of people in the target culture? College and university leaders must focus in particular on how study abroad programs are framed to take advantage of the cultural interface between students’ sending culture and their receiving culture, the partnerships that are built between institutions and communities, and some of the key learning experiences we ought to seek and provide for all involved. How can Christian colleges and universities best engage with the opportunities and demand for studying abroad without turning them into glorified tourism experiences? How can institutions set up study abroad sites that are mutually beneficial to the sending institution as well as the host institution and their immediate communities? These questions are addressed by examining the effectiveness of two study abroad programs, one at Wheaton College and the other at Whitworth University, to see how well they embody four operating principles implied in relevant passages of the Bible: radical equality, deep immersion, transforming conflict, and respect for global Christianity.     

The significance of faith for Black men's educational aspirations

It is uncontested that British African Caribbean men are minimally represented in elite UK higher education institutions. Even as data demonstrates that African Caribbean males are more likely to study further education than White males 1 1 Research indicates that the proportion of UK‐domiciled Black students pursuing higher education degree courses has increased since the academic year 2003/04 (ECU, 2014 ).
and that the proportion of UK ‐domiciled Black students pursuing higher education has increased since the 2003/04 academic year (ECU , 2014), the representation of Black students throughout the Russell Group remains low. 2 2 It is important to acknowledge that on the whole, undergraduate Black students are over‐represented in higher education and in 2012/13 experienced the largest increase in the proportion of all BME students attending university to 6.3% (ECU, 2014 , p. 114). However, the majority of this increase in Black student representation is accounted for in non‐Russell Group institutions, particularly at the less prestigious universities that comprise the Million+ Group. The Million+ Group comprises the following universities: Abertay University, Anglia Ruskin University, Bath Spa University, University of Bedfordshire, University of Bolton, Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Cumbria, University of East London, Edinburgh Napier University, London Metropolitan University, London South Bank University, Middlesex University, Staffordshire University, University of Sunderland, University of West London, University of the West of Scotland and Southampton Solent University ( www.millionplus.ac.uk/who-we-are/our-affiliates/ ).
Less than 3% of the entire Russell Group's student population comprised British African Caribbean students in 2011/12 and 2012/2013 (ECU , 2013, p. 203; ECU , 2014, p. 358). However, according to the 2011 Census, ‘Black’ people represent 5.5% (3.1 million) of the total UK population (ONS , 2015). For the few Black men who are successful in attaining acceptance at these exclusive universities, to what assets or capitals do these young men attribute their ability to get to and successful graduate from these institutions? Interviews with 15 Black male students who attended Russell Group universities in England and Wales were analysed and several ‘capitals’ or resources were identified as beneficial to their ability to succeed. Drawing on Bourdieu's work on cultural and social capital, this paper advances the concept of ‘faith capital’ as a unique recognised asset that six of the participants described and reflected upon as being influential on their academic trajectories. Based on findings from the ESRC ‐funded research Exploring the narratives of the few: British African Caribbean male graduates of elite universities in England and Wales , this paper discusses these six participants’ accounts of their higher education journeys in relation to how they identified faith as a resource that was influential to their academic success.     

Entry points when undergraduate research mentors reflect on their role: a qualitative case study

Abstract

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are increasingly taking on mentoring roles in undergraduate research (UR). There is, however, a paucity of research focusing on how they conceptualize their mentoring role. In this qualitative interview study, we identified three entry points that mentors reflect on to define their role: (1) What are the goals of UR? (2) What do the students expect from me? and (3) How should I use my expert knowledge? We discuss how academic developers can use these entry points together with a set of reflective lenses to stimulate critical reflection on the mentoring role and help the mentors to define their role and help the mentors to define their role.     

Disciplinary Categories, Majors, and Undergraduate Academic Experiences: Rethinking Bok’s “Underachieving Colleges” Thesis

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking experiences were no more evident among humanities and social sciences majors than among science and engineering majors. All three academically beneficial experiences were, however, strongly related to participation in class and interaction with instructors, and participation was more common among humanities and social sciences students than among science and engineering students. Bok’s (Our underachieving colleges: A candid look at how much students learn and why they should be learning more. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2006) influential discussion of “underachievement’ in undergraduate education focused on institutional performance. Our findings indicate that future discussions should take into account differences among disciplinary categories and majors as well.     

Asian Students in the United States: Lessons That Can be Learned

This article is the result of a research review of Chinese-American students' academic performance. The key research questions are: 1) How are Asian students, especially Chinese-American students, doing academically in the United States compared with other American students? 2) How do they do well and why do they excel? 3) What are the main factors that contribute to their outstanding performance? In answering these questions, endeavours and attempts are made to explain reasons why they are doing well and to provide findings in search of factors affecting their advantages. The major purposes are to present to Singaporean and other Asian students the lessons they can learn from Chinese-American students to succeed academically and socially.     

清华大学本科教育学情调查报告2010

本研究以“中国大学生学习性投入调查问卷”(NSSE- China)为工具,在清华大学全日制本科生数据库中通过分年级完全随机抽样方式抽取被试,采用最后回收并有效的889份问卷,总体揭示2010年度清华大学与美国同类院校本科生在学习性投入五大可比指标上的水平差异;对正在进行本科教育教学改革的院系进行案例分析,以揭示清华大学本科教育的走向;围绕拔尖创新人才培养问题,对清华自主招生学生、学业排名前5％学生、获国际大奖学生等学生亚群体的学习行为特征进行专题分析.报告对进一步改进清华本科教育教学工作,提高人才培养质量,提出具体政策建议.     

Developing the developers: Some ethical dilemmas in changing times

Abstract

Universities in Australia, like those in many Western countries, currently are being pushed to find for themselves an increasing share of their own budgets and to consider themselves as service providers to students, their ‘customers’. These students, having paid fees, may well expect to get what they have paid for and, in current labour market conditions, that may amount to a degree rather than an education. That is, universities are now under‐funded and, frequently, far from being seen as educational institutions, are seen as businesses whose role is to provide adequate service at optimum price. By and large, educational development staff do not teach students so they do not contribute directly to the income of the enterprise. The position of such staff and the units in which they are located is thus increasingly coming under threat as ‘economies’ are sought by academic ‘managers’. One poignantly pointed issue, then, is the extent to which educational developers might appropriately change the style and substance of their activities to assist in the evolution of universities to embrace and perhaps to thrive in the new environment. Would this amount to collusion or to co‐operation? Developers have, in the past, often attempted to develop themselves by embracing the model of reflective practice and implementing it both while carrying out their work (a kind of action learning) and at conferences and in journals and books of various kinds. However developers, and their clients (actual and potential), are under increasing pressure and for many survival, not thriving, may be the main issue. The issue for developers may well be the identity of their clients ‐ the university; its management; its teaching staff; its students (the university's supposed ‘customers'). In this paper I focus on the ethical dilemmas which may arise when educational developers try to develop themselves to serve various possible clients.     

The experiences and outcomes of domestic and international students at four Canadian universities

Most studies of international students have focused on their adaptation to host societies. By way of contrast, this article deals with the academic and social experiences of international and domestic students in four Canadian universities and, consistent with the ‘college impact model’, examines the relationship between experiences and objectively measured and self‐assessed outcomes. In general, it is found that international students are as involved in campus activities as domestic students; however, they lack particularly the academic support enjoyed by domestic students. Moreover, the scores of international students on both objectively measured and self‐assessed outcomes are lower than those of domestic students. Regression analyses reveal that the amounts of variance in outcomes explained by variables in the college impact model are lower for international than for domestic students. For both groups of students, however, academic experiences explain more of the variance in self‐assessed than in objectively measured outcomes. In addition to variables in the college impact model, value is added to various outcomes by mere attendance at particular universities.     

六所加拿大高校面向本科生的领导教育

大学生领导教育自20世纪80年代以来在西方国家兴起并日趋活跃,最终蔓延到全世界。培养大学学生的领导力是加拿大高等教育的重要内容之一。目前加拿大共有12所高校开展本科生领导教育,其中卡莫森学院、皇家山大学、圭尔夫大学、新布伦瑞克大学、滑铁卢大学和约克大学等6所学校在本科生领导教育方面具有代表性。这6所学校在培养机构、使命、目标、计划、内容和方法上同中有异,异中有同,各有特色。鉴于此,通过介绍和比较加拿大6所高校面向本科生的领导教育计划,以期对于我国高等教育的发展有所启示。     

日本研究型大学培养学生“基础能力”的探索——以名古屋大学“基础讨论课”为例

近年来,日本研究型大学日益重视培养学生的"基础能力",希望他们成长为富有创造力的研究型人才。为此,各大学在本科教育中进行了种种探索,名古屋大学的"基础讨论课"是其中较成功的范例。     

美国不同类型高校教师对本科教学的认知差异与成因分析

以加州州立大学这一教研型高校与加州大学这一研究型高校的教师代表为样本,通过质性访谈、编码分析发现美国不同类型高校的教师对本科教学地位、目标、认可与回报的认知存在明显差异。加州州立大学的教师视教学为“首要使命”,认为本科教育旨在促进学生的“个体发展”,教学为他们带来了多元成就;加州大学的教师则认为教学是基本职责之一,致力于训练“未来的研究者”,教学上的认可主要来自学生和同行。这种认知差异的直接原因在于各校在教师晋升中导向明确,组织使命得以内化为教师的个人目标。美国研究型大学同样注重在教学管理和人事制度上对教师的教学行为予以规范,保障本科教育质量。我国大学要重视本科教育,更应当提升教学在教师评价中的地位。     

Mini skirts and headscarves: undergraduate student perceptions of secularism in Turkish higher education

This article is based on a qualitative study that examines the perceptions of advanced undergraduate students in five Turkish state universities regarding their understanding of the concept of secularism and its manifestation within the higher education sector. The study further illuminates these students’ perspectives of how the university may change in relation to their understanding of secularism. This inquiry was guided by four central questions posed to the students: (1) what is your understanding of the concept of secularism?; (2) how does secularism manifest within universities in Turkey and your institution in particular?; (3) are there aspects of your university you would like to see change as a result of secularism?; and (4) in what ways has your identity influenced your academic decisions?     

Benchmarking the environmental values and attitudes of students in New Zealand's post‐compulsory education

How much do teachers in tertiary education know about the sustainability characteristics of their incoming students and, if this knowledge were to be available, how could their educational approaches be influenced by this knowledge? In New Zealand, Otago Polytechnic has committed itself to the goal that every graduate may think and act as a sustainable practitioner, and staff are changing their approach to teaching to achieve this. This research sought to benchmark the environmental worldview attributes of an incoming cohort of Otago Polytechnic students to support academic staff who need to know more about the sustainability interests and characteristics of their students, so that they may provide appropriate educational programmes. The research was also designed as the first stage of longer‐term research to evaluate the impact of these institutional changes on how students transform during the period of their tertiary education experience. The data and analysis presented here suggest that even before students start to study in the institution different groups have substantially different sustainability values‐sets. The authors anticipate that the research instruments and approaches used in the present study will contribute to a substantial national exploration of the sustainability value‐sets of tertiary students.     

大学与学术公民身份-基于全球参与和社会转型视角的探索

基于全球范围内四所大学的案例研究,本文探讨并深入阐述了"学术公民身份"的概念,着重讨论了作为学术公民的学生和教职员如何应对全球化带来的挑战和机遇。在研究广东外语外贸大学、加州大学洛杉矶分校、布宜诺斯艾利斯大学和中欧大学等四所高校的学术公民的职业与生活时,作者指出全球化的一些重要特征,并且在所有被研究的区域中全球资本主义都在改变学术生活的本质。作为学术公民的学生与教职员采取创造性的方式来面对强大的全球力量,这也可能正是当今大学为实现其社会转型所寻求的。