Many readers who followed the Chronicle articles about the precipitous decline and fall of H. Fred Walker, now former president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, no doubt did so with a mixture of fascination and horror. They were thinking either,
"There but for the grace of God go I," or "Been there, done that, never want to do that again." There is much, in fact, that
higher-education leaders can learn from Walker’s downfall.
Here are steps to help them avoid some of the problems that led to Walker’s resignation:
This study aimed to investigate the effect of two different teaching methods on learning achievement and teacher-student interaction.
Revenues and expenses
• In 2012-13, college system revenues totaled almost $3.7 billion. Grant revenue from all sources accounts for half of college system revenue.
• College system expenses amounted to about $3.5 billion. Like other organizations in both the public and private sectors, salaries and benefits are by far the largest expense item for colleges.
Trends in college funding
• In 2013-14, real operating funding per student (FTE) was about five per cent higher than in 1998-99 – but 16 per cent lower than during the peak in 2007-08.
• Per student revenue from operating grants and tuition fees for Ontario colleges continues to be the lowest among the provinces. Funding per student for Ontario colleges continues to be significantly lower than that for secondary schools and universities.
• Space per student is much lower for Ontario colleges (90 square feet per student) in comparison to universities and secondary schools.
• In current dollars, the apprenticeship per diem has decreased slightly since 1998-99. However, after inflation is taken into account, the per diem has decreased by 28 per cent. The student in-school fee, which was implemented in 2002-03, has not been increased since its introduction.
Human resources
• Colleges employ more than 43,000 people. From 1997-98 to 2012-13, the number of full-time staff employed at colleges increased by 28 per cent, while enrolment increased by 31 per cent.
Student financial aid
• In 2012-13, almost 125,000 college students were OSAP recipients. This represents about two-thirds of the total full-time post-secondary enrolment.
• The default rate for student loans for all post-secondary institutions in 2012 was 9.8 per cent. For the college system, it was 13.4 per cent.
Every one of us is on a journey, a journey of life. In this journey, we grow, change, and develop along several dimensions ---intellectual, social, civic, physical, moral, spiritual, and religious. And we develop holistically and not departmentally, i.e., we simultaneously develop our mind, sense of self, and relationships with others. In this journey of life, we, and especially
during the traditional college years of ages 18-24, are actively involved in asking several questions about ourselves, including these three.
• How do I know?
• Who am I?
• How do I relate to others?
89% of colleges and universities in the United States offer online courses and of those institutions 58% offer degree programs that are completely online (Parker, Lenhart & Moore, 2011). Providing online student services is an important component of these distance programs and is often required by accrediting bodies. Health and wellness services for online students are especially essential, as college students are accessing mental health services for severe problems at increasing rates on college campuses (Gallagher, Sysko, & Zhang, 2001). This paper outlines how institutions of higher learning can prepare faculty to identify mental health needs of online students and suggests effective administrative policies and programs to address these student needs.Online enrollments were less than 10% of all students in 2002 when the Sloan Foundation began their annual surveys on the topic.By 2011, 32%of all enrolled post-secondary students were taking at least one online course and the numbers have been increasing steadily (Allen & Seaman, 2013). The rising percentage of online students has led to awareness by college administrations that these students have the same needs as students in a traditional classroom setting. Students who want to learn online also want to access their student services online. For learners enrolled in online programs, and living in geographically distant locations, internet access to student services is essential. These students' needs have resulted in revision of college and university policies and the creation of extensive web-based services for technical support in online courses, enrollment services, financial aid, and library resources.
In recent years, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) has launched several studies that analyze and conceptualize the differentiation of the Ontario postsecondary education system (Weingarten & Deller, 2010; Hicks, Weingarten, Jonker & Liu, 2013; Weingarten, Hicks, Jonker & Liu, 2013). Similarly, in the summer of 2012, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) initiated several projects to identify ways to drive innovation and improve the productivity of the postsecondary sector.
A brash tech entrepreneur thinks he can reinvent higher education by stripping it down to its essence, eliminating lectures and tenure along with football games, ivy-covered buildings, and research libraries. What if he's right?
Too many students are dropping out of doctoral programs or taking too long to finish, prompting some universities to question what they can do to help them along.
The relationship between academia and technology is notoriously complicated. Faculty often view IT staffers as gadget-mongers eager to roll out new tech regardless of its value to teaching and learning, while technology specialists are certain they could make life easier for those on the other side — if they'd only listen!
SOME HIGHLIGHTS & KEY CONCLUSIONS…
1. Transition from “elite” to “universal” higher education
2. The emergence of a new research paradigm
3. Average total funding has not declined…
4. Ontario undergraduate teaching uses the world’s most expensive model but…
5. The current reality is very different
6. Funding drives university behaviour – One-size-fits- all
Teaching and assessment in higher education institutions are increasingly supported by digital tools and services. Students, however, perceive and value the importance of such e-learning offerings in very diverse ways. The goal of this article
is to examine which predictors significantly influence students’ perceptions of the value of digital learning formats. Based onKu¨pper’s acceptance model, we generate hypotheses that are subsequently tested using data from a German student survey.
The results show that individual-related characteristics, especially motivation and orientation patterns of students, have a high impact on the perceived importance of digital learning formats. Our analyses indicate that besides individual performance
and motivation, the practical orientation of a student is also a key predictor for a high rating of the importance of digital learning formats. An analysis of characteristics regarding the field of study shows that students who major in economic sciences, especially those who frequently work with digital learning formats in their classes, find them significantly more important than students who major in social science. Regarding innovation-based characteristics, students who express a need for flexible course offerings rate the use of digital learning formats as particularly important. The discussion provides an evaluation of the results of the student study based on the hypotheses and presents further implications.
Keywords: digital learning formats; online learning; online learner characteristics;
motivation; perceived benefit
Collège Boréal has a dual mandate: to be a postsecondary college institution and a vital community development organization. Collège Boréal is a hub of education, innovation, culture, and community serving a diverse francophone clientele: Franco-Ontarians, French immersion students, immigrants, French-speaking First Nations and Métis persons, and international students, among others. Its purpose is to produce a highly skilled bilingual workforce that is active in French-speaking communities and contributes to the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the province and country.
The following statements are part of the College’s 2010-15 Strategic Plan:
Vision
To foster knowledge and stimulate culture.
Mission
Collège Boréal provides a high-calibre personalized education to a diverse clientele and practises community leadership to foster the sustainable development of the francophone community of Ontario.
This report is the first by StudentsNS to focus principally on the organisation’s quality value. This paper conceptualizes quality in post-secondary education (PSE), examines the tools used by PSE institutions in Nova Scotia to uphold and enhance quality,
and finally, recommends policies to develop a more student-centred approach to quality measures and assessments. Our understanding of quality in PSE has shifted overtime from the traditional notions of excellence and exclusivity to a focus on
access, accountability, learning outcomes, and the student experience. This shift, however, has not been fully realized within the different mechanisms for supporting and measuring PSE quality. As a result, many of these mechanisms do not effectively
address the real factors affecting learning, institutions are insufficiently accountable for students’ learning, and student voice is not adequately supported. More research is needed to better understand the state of teaching and learning, especially within
universities. However, it is clear that, across the system, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on continual improvement in instruction and pedagogy, on learning outcomes, and on effective quality assurance. Recommendations in the report address
these three themes, envisaging a more student-centred, evidence-based, teaching and-learning-driven PSE system for our province. The report does not provide StudentsNS last word on PSE quality, but represents the first of many projects to explore
ways that Nova Scotia’s PSE institutions can better meet students’ expectations
and support their lifelong success.
As the world struggles with the uncertainty of a major economic downturn, the need to ensure that Canadians have the right
skills and knowledge for a sustainable economy—now and in the future—is suddenly thrown into high relief.
With jobs becoming vulnerable or disappearing, many Canadians are being forced to rethink their future. They are asking
themselves, “What can I do now? Do I have the skills I need?”
Post-secondary education (PSE) plays a key role in developing people’s potential and cultivating Canada’s human infrastructure,
both of which are necessary for the country’s success.
Aboriginal peoples in Canada face multiple and systemic barriers to attaining and succeeding in post-secondary education. A long history of discrimination, including the legacy of residential schools, and chronic government underfunding of Aboriginal
education has contributed to low high school completion rates, a widening gap in post- secondary attainment, and the lowest labour market outcomes of any group in Canada.
Do you know what the most common electronic device that college student’s possess? According to Joshua Bolkan, a
multimedia editor for Campus Technology and The Journal, “85% of college students own laptops while smartphones
come in second at 65%”. If technology is becoming a common practice among our students, what are we doing as
professors to incorporate it into our classrooms? How can students use technology to reflect on their work? How can
instructors use technology as a supplement in reading and writing courses? How can technology be used to deepen our
student’s critical thinking skills? These are questions we should be asking ourselves in a world where technology is
paving the way to learning.
OUSA asked students to answer questions about their experience with high-impact learning, active and participatory learning, work-integrated learning, and online courses. Students were also asked to provide their impressions about what resources
should be prioritized within their university, as well as how they viewed the balance between teaching and learning at their institution.
We’ve found that, for the most part, students are accessing high-impact and work-integrated learning at greater rates than ever, and are having a broad selection of pedagogical experiences, We’ve also found that more than half of students have
experienced and online course. Generally, students are either neutral or positive about the impact these experiences have had on their education.
Students prioritize instructor training to a notable margin over increasing research opportunities and reducing class sizes, and feel that universities generally prioritize research over teaching when balancing the two missions.
The United States is at a crossroads in its policies towards the family and gender equality. Currently America provides basic support for children, fathers, and mothers in the form of unpaid parental leave, child-related tax breaks, and limited public childcare. Alternatively, the United States’ OECD peers empower families through paid parental leave and comprehensive investments in infants and children.
The potential gains from strengthening these policies are enormous. Paid parental leave and subsidised childcare help get and keep more women in the workforce, contribute to economic growth, offer cognitive and health benefits to children, and extend choice for parents in finding their preferred work-life strategy. Indeed, the United States has been falling behind the rest of the
OECD in many social and economic indicators by not adequately investing in children, fathers and mothers.
A comprehensive study of work-life balance issues warrants a detailed discussion of all relevant policies, such as tax/benefit supports, workplace practices, childcare, education, and long-term care systems. Such an assessment is beyond the scope of this report, which focusses more narrowly on issues around reconciling work and care commitments for families with young children and in particular on paidparental leave policies within the OECD and the United States.
One of the core principles of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA) is that all willing and qualified students should be able to attend post-secondary regardless of their ability to pay. However, students in Ontario face the highest tuition fees in the country and the cost and perceived costs of post-secondary education are consistently identified as barriers to post-secondary education. These barriers are contributing factors to the persistently high attainment gaps for various vulnerable groups
in pursuing an undergraduate degree.
In 2010, there were almost 1.2 million students in degree programs on Canadian campuses: 755,000 undergraduates, 143,400 graduate students studying full-time, and an additional 275,800 students studying part-time. Fifty-six percent of university students were women, and 10 percent were international students. The number of full-time university students has more than doubled since 1980, and part-time enrolment is up 16 percent. In 1980, there were 550,000 full-time and 218,000 part-time university students
on Canadian campuses. Clearly, universities have experienced tremendous growth over the last 30 years.