Making It Fit: Reshaping Library Services and Spaces for Today's Students

University course assignments increasingly focus on group work and group projects to help students collaboratively discover more about their fields of study. The Thomas G. Carpenter Library realized the need to investigate means for reimagining itself to better accommodate today's researchers. The complex process of planning for the redesign of both services and space undertaken by the library is described and explained in this first of a planned series of articles.     

Beyond Average: Contemporary statistical techniques for analysing student evaluations of teaching

Student evaluations of teaching (SETs) have been used to evaluate higher education teaching performance for decades. Reporting SET results often involves the extraction of an average for some set of course metrics, which facilitates the comparison of teaching teams across different organisational units. Here, we draw attention to ongoing problems with the naive application of this approach. Firstly, a specific average value may arise from data that demonstrates very different patterns of student satisfaction. Furthermore, the use of distance measures (e.g. an average) for ordinal data can be contested, and finally, issues of multiplicity increasingly plague approaches using hypothesis testing. It is time to advance the methodology of the field. We demonstrate how multinomial distributions and hierarchical Bayesian methods can be used to contextualise the SET scores of a course to different organisational units and student cohorts, and then show how this approach can be used to extract sensible information about how a distribution is changing.     

Feedback as an incentive for responding to a mail questionnaire

The effect of offering respondents feedback on questionnaire results was investigated in a national mail survey of college-bound secondary school students. It was found that offering feedback had a significant positive effect on response rate, but the magnitude of that effect was slightly less than the increase in response rate resulting from a shorter questionnaire and considerably less than a follow-up contact with nonrespondents.     

Can Quality Assurance Survive the Market? Accreditation and Audit at the Crossroads

This article provides a comparative analysis of the systems used for the ‘accreditation’ of degree‐granting institutions in the USA (accreditation) and the UK (audit). The authors begin by outlining the similarities and differences between the two processes. They point out that audit is not the subject of political controversy in the way that accreditation currently is. However, they add that this does not necessarily mean that all is set fair and potential sources of disturbance are highlighted. The article then considers what changes can be expected in the two processes as a result of increased market pressures, and whether such changes will make them more effective vehicles for quality improvement. An alternative approach, which would involve merging the regulatory role of the QAA with the regulatory functions of the Funding Councils, as part of a complete scheme of risk assessment, is suggested. The article also asks to whom the accrediting agencies in both countries are accountable for their work. According to the authors, neither process is foolproof; both can be manipulated and are open to abuse. In addition, it is argued that on neither side of the Atlantic are there currently adequte arrangements to “inspect the inspectors”. The authors conclude by warning that with the growing tendency to resort to the legal process, more questions will be asked about the accountability of those whose judgements are being questioned. In their view, the stronger the market pressures, the greater will be the recourse to legal process in both countries.     

The Globalization of Higher Education: Some Observations Regarding the Free Market and the National Interest

The globalization of higher education, which is as much an affair of electronic delivery as of franchising and of validation of university awards, has given rise to various concerns. The most well known of these has been the question of quality; however, there are also cultural, economic, and political factors, examples of all of these being given. Some countries, indeed, have made such efforts to regulate transnational higher education offerings on their national territories that they have created less than legitimate barriers to such programmes. The higher education community should respond forcefully to these barriers.     

Branching Out: Communication and Collaboration Among Librarians at Multi-Campus Institutions

ABSTRACT

Communication and collaboration are vital aspects of 21st century librarianship, particularly for librarians in branch and regional settings who are often separated from their system colleagues by both physical distance and administrative structures. For this study, the authors conducted an exploratory survey to examine collaboration, communication, networking behaviors, and perceptions among librarians in multi-campus academic library systems. Results of this investigative study will lead to better understanding of these issues within the profession, suggest possible approaches and solutions for better models of communication and collaboration, and lay the groundwork for future research on these topics.     

Partners in Learning—educators,practitioners and students collaborate on work‐based learning—a case study

Work‐based learning is incorporated into a wide range of undergraduate courses that emphasise education for the professions. Yet, there is a lack of literature examining successful models that are structured around the principles of experiential learning. Partners in Learning (PAL) is a 12‐month, part‐time internship developed for Library and Information Studies students at the University of Canberra. Now in its fourth year, PAL is judged successful by students, mentors and academics alike. In this article, PAL is examined in relation to a model of experiential learning. Elements of successful work‐based experience are identified in published literature and related to “best practices” underlying the PAL model. Implications for educators introducing such a model are highlighted.