Changes in the Demand for Public Land-Grant Universities: The Use of Panel Datasets

This study illustrates how to conduct a panel data study of the initial student interest or demand for specific sets of colleges and universities. There are 3 major distinguishing features of this study. First, time-series data for the 6 states are combined into a panel dataset, and fixed-effects and random-effects models are used to estimate how selected factors affect the demand for public, land-grant universities (PLGUs) in the region. Second, rather than focusing on enrollment behavior, this study utilizes data on the proportion of seniors in each state who have taken the SAT and had their test scores sent to particular PLGUs within the region as a measure of demand. This formulation also has the benefit of avoiding the supply constraint problem that could possibly affect enrollment figures. Finally, student demand models are estimated for their own in-state PLGU, and for one particular institution (the University of New Hampshire) among non-New Hampshire seniors in the region who have taken the SAT. The results show that most of the decline in student interest in attending PGLUs in the region during the 1990s is attributed to the rising educational aspirations of college-bound seniors, falling (real) family incomes, and falling private-to-public tuition rates.     

Academic standards and regulatory frameworks: necessary compromises?

Assessment regulations in higher education, which are important for assuring threshold academic standards, reflect institutional cultures and histories, and are shaped by pragmatic concerns about quality indicators such as retention and progression rates, as well as principles of equity. This paper articulates some of the tensions that confront higher education institutions in the development and revision of regulatory frameworks, and describes a survey of assessment regulations from a sample of UK higher education institutions for the first year of undergraduate study. The survey identifies key variations in regulatory policy and practice that challenge assumptions about comparability of academic standards between higher education institutions. These findings imply that student success and progression may not be a simple reflection of academic attainment, and raise questions about notions of equity. It is intended that this research will contribute to informed discussion in the sector about academic standards and the regulatory frameworks underpinning first-year assessment policy and practice, and thus potentially lead to more transparent and consistent practice.     

国际学生专职辅导员队伍建设的思考

建设国际学生专职辅导员队伍是适应来华留学教育规模快速发展的现实要求,也是提高来华留学教育发展质量,创新国际学生事务管理模式、提高国际学生事务管理水平的客观需要;通过建立国际学生专职辅导员的准入机制、成长机制、评价机制和发展保障体系,培养和提高国际学生专职辅导员的政治素质、跨文化交流能力、国际学生事务管理能力和科研创新能力。     

医学生的个性特征对学习成绩的影响

该研究的目的在于研究与其他专业的学生相比，医学生的个性特征中哪种更典型，更能影响医学生的临床前期课程学习。1997年，有785名学生进入了弗兰米西地区的大学学习医学，其中631名学生(占80．4％)进行了个性五因素的测定量表(NEO-PI-R表)测量，914名捷特大学其它7个专业的一年级学生也做了同样的测量。该研究还调查了这些医学生的期末成绩，第一学年有607名，第二学年413名，第三学年341名。结果表明，医学生的“外倾性”和“随和性”因素分值最高，“责任心”因素对临床前期的学习成绩的预测作用很大，“责任心”因素分值低而具有“社交”、“冒险”个性特征的学生更有可能无法通过考试。     

影响博士生选择学术职业的因素探析——基于厦门大学博士生的问卷调查

博士生是从事学术职业的主要后备人才,探明影响博士生选择学术职业的因素具有现实意义。调查发现,博士生选择学术职业的影响因素主要有：博士生对于学术的兴趣及喜好程度,终生从事学术探索工作的学术志向,导师的影响,对学术环境性质的判断和对学术工作是什么的判断等。持续增强博士生对学术职业的向心力,必须培养博士生对学术职业的持久兴趣,加强博士生职业生涯规划教育,充分发挥导师队伍的引导力量,规范与优化学术环境。     

Beyond English language proficiency scores: understanding the academic performance of international undergraduate students during the first year of study

ABSTRACT

Past research into the relationship between English proficiency test (EPT) scores and score profiles, such as the IELTS and the TOEFL, has shown that there is not always a clear relationship between those scores and students’ subsequent academic achievement. Information about students’ academic self-concept (ASC) may provide additional information that helps predict future academic success. Research has consistently shown a positive relationship between students’ ASC and subsequent academic achievement and educational attainment in both school and higher education settings. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between the academic performance of international students and their language proficiency and academic self-concept as well as other characteristics related to academic success. The study focused on first year international students in undergraduate business programs at an English-medium university in Canada. The following information was collected about the student participants: grades in degree program courses, annual GPA, and EPT scores (including subscores). In addition, students completed an academic self-concept scale. To obtain additional information about success in first-year business courses, instructors in two required courses were interviewed about the academic and language requirements in their courses and the profile of successful students. Correlations between the students’ course grades, GPA, EPT scores, and ASC score were calculated. The instructor interviews were analyzed using a content analysis procedure. The findings from all data sources were triangulated and show that language ability, ASC, and other factors impact academic success during the first year in a business program. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

浅析高校学生社区的境外生管理工作

如何提高境外生的学生社区工作成效一直是侨校面临的一个重要难题,本文从存在的基本问题入手,构建境外生社区管理工作基本原则,从多角度对高校学生社区的境外生管理工作进行了研究,探析提高境外生学生社区教育管理工作实效性的具体措施,以期对今后的发展华文教育有所裨益。     

Analysis of Korean students’ international mobility by 2-D model: driving force factor and directional factor

The purpose of this study is to understand the dynamics of Korean students’ international mobility to study abroad by using the 2-D Model. The first D, the driving force factor, explains how and what components of the dissatisfaction with domestic higher education perceived by Korean students drives students’ outward mobility to seek foreign higher education. The second D, the directional factor, describes the factors that influence the choice of destination country for students’ outward mobility, and is explained by the comparison of Korean students’ perceptions on the images of universities in the U.S., China, the U.K., and Australia and their expectations for higher education in each country (categorized as ‘academic’–‘environmental’). Two questionnaire surveys were conducted to analyze the two D factors and the research findings were integrated into suggestions for each country’s higher education institutions that can be incorporated into their recruitment strategies for international students.

浅议省属高校硕士研究生学术道德失范的表现及原因

学术道德建设对于硕士研究生及其所在的省属高校都有重要意义。但是,目前省属高校硕士研究生学术道德失范现象较为普遍,主要有抄袭剽窃、雇佣枪手、搭顺风车、伪造数据、一稿多投等多种形式。教育理念偏差,评价体系不善和认识水平不足是造成其道德失范的主要原因。规避道德失范现象是个系统工程,既要提高规范意识,也要完善制度和加大制度执行力。     

对研究生学术不端与失范行为的分析

近年来,学术不端与失范现象在研究生中日趋盛行,严重扰乱了正常的教学秩序,败坏了学术风气,妨碍了研究生的学术创新,损害了研究生教育的质量。本文通过对研究生学术不端和失范行为的分析,揭示现行研究生教育体制中存在的弊病和隐患,目的在于强化研究生学术规范教育和诚信教育,健全学术规范监督惩戒机制和学术评价体制,扭转不良风气,净化学术环境,消除学术泡沫,减少学术不端与失范行为的发生,真正实现研究生学术规范由他律到自律的转变。     

培养目标教育对高职学生择业的影响与反思

“职教二十条”明确提出了把发展高职教育作为培养大国工匠和能工巧匠的重要方式。目前,高职院校的学生在择业过程中还存在不愿意也不安心从事基层一线工作的问题,在一定程度上加剧了人才供给与需求的结构性矛盾。高职院校为社会培养“下得去、用得上、留得住”的高素质技术技能型人才必须重视对学生进行培养目标教育,这是高职教育人才培养工作的内在要求,也是服务我国经济社会发展的现实需求。     

关于高校如何发展学术的思考

本文从加强学术梯队建设、学术争论和学术批判氛围建设、学术整合机制建设、学术应用机制建设和学术传播机制建设五个方面对高等学校如何发展学术进行了探索。     

南京国民政府时期大学的边疆问题研究及其影响

南京国民政府时期的大学边疆研究是推动中国边疆研究从传统边疆史地研究向现代专门化学术研究转型的主导力量,也是大学参与边疆开发与建设的重要体现。南京国民政府时期的大学边疆研究为南京国民政府抗战救国方针下各种相关具体政策的制定提供了一定的参考依据,深化了人们对边疆社会的认识,推进了大学相关学术理论与研究方法的中国化进程,也为当代中国边疆研究积累了宝贵的经验。     

The effect of work placements on the academic performance of Chinese students in UK higher education

The main controversy as a result of the commercialisation of international education markets is that international students especially those from China are unable to perform as well as UK students in UK universities. So far, research has yet to identify the influence of placements on the academic performance of Chinese students from entry to graduation. Using four cohorts of accounting and finance students in a UK university, this present work is the first to find that Chinese students who undertake placements in the third year are seven times more likely to achieve good degrees (2.1 or 1st) than those who opt out of work placements. It is also found that Chinese students who have a high prior academic achievement and better academic results from years 1 and 2 are likely to undertake placements. Finally, the results show that the academic performance of international students is influenced by domicile.     

《关于欧洲高等教育伦理价值和原则的布加勒斯特宣言》的解读与思考

《关于欧洲高等教育伦理价值和原则的布加勒斯特宣言》既是学者共同体的心声,也体现了全体学者的自我约束。值此《宣言》发表之时,我们应当思考大学的使命、学者的职业道德、学术诚信等严肃问题,防止教育腐败,促进大学治理。     

Understanding international students’ in-class learning experiences in Chinese higher education institutions

Despite the dramatic rise in international student enrolment in Chinese higher education institutions, the classroom learning experiences of these students are not adequately reflected in the international literature. The present qualitative study explores the learning experiences of 33 international students in different types of classroom arrangements at Chinese universities. The findings show that the international students’ perceptions of teaching and learning approaches, their language difficulties, the type of classroom arrangement, the origin of the international students in the class, the more relaxed academic requirements for international students and the international students’ learning motivation all shaped their in-class experiences. Furthermore, the findings reveal that the international students’ personal traits and cross-cultural environment interacted with their psychological mechanisms to produce and influence their learning experiences. The article highlights the need to make sense of these complexities in order to understand international students’ in-class learning experiences. The implications of improving these experiences are discussed.     

Why study abroad? Sorting of Chinese students across British universities

This research contributes to the booming literature on the mobility of international students in higher education. We analyse university-level factors that affect the sorting of Chinese international students across British universities. We produced a unique data-set merging university-level data from the 2014 UK Higher Education Statistics Agency and the Higher Expectations Survey, supplemented by qualitative evidence from six focus groups for illustrative purposes. Our results, using nationally representative evidence for the first time, confirmed that university prestige is the most important driver for the sorting of Chinese students across British universities, together with further effects of the broader social and cultural offerings that the universities provide. Interestingly, the cost of study and marketing strategies deployed by universities do not seem to drive the Chinese students’ university choices. Our findings underline the importance of diffuse institutional factors such as university rankings and their taken-for-granted status by students themselves.     

Enhancing research through academic staff development

Abstract

In the past few years, research has been an increasingly important focus of academic staff development, but there is little documentation of this new area of development. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution over four years of a programme to develop research skills. The experience of planning and implementing this programme illustrates how changes in higher education and university priorities (such as amalgamations of institutions, increased pressures on staff, increased competition between institutions for funding, and universities’ growing corporatization) have interacted with staff development objectives to shape changes in the programme's purpose, format, mode of participation, and planning approach. A collaborative approach to planning is seen to be appropriate in the current climate, maximizing sensitivity to the distinctive needs of the various faculties, departments or schools. Current scholarly discussion is recognized as providing support for a move toward collaboration and context‐sensitivity.