Higher Education Funding and Incentives: evidence from the Norwegian funding reform

In this article we examine how the introduction of an output-based funding scheme in Norwegian public higher education in 2003 affects pass requirement standards. Based on a survey of faculty at the institutions concerned, we find that the propensity to expect that the new funding model will affect the failing/non-failing decision in exams is higher among faculty at the regional colleges than among traditional university faculty. This result is robust when we verify a range of individual characteristics of the respondents.     

A predictive validity study of the Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) using multiple, specific learning criteria

Multiple and specific learning criteria were used to examine the predictive validity of the Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ). Ninety-nine students in a college of higher learning in The Netherlands participated in a naturally occurring field study. The students were categorized into one of four LSQ dimensions, namely, Activists, Theorists, Pragmatists, and Reflectors, and they were also graded on five different learning criteria throughout their four year education: classroom lectures, skills training, group projects, on-the-job training, and a written thesis. Although learning styles were matched to correspondingly suitable learning criteria, the LSQ revealed no predictive validity, however we can report good test–retest reliabilities over a two year time period. Given the lack of positive findings, using the LSQ to stimulate learning in college students is debatable.