2019 was a bit different from previous years for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) Research. Since they had six larger-scale research projects (of which several were calendared over the summer months), they did not want to overly burden their members with surveys. This resulted in four 60-Second…

Thanks to engaged members and research partners, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) was able to engage in research and produce reports on several topics again in 2021. AACRAO Research completed four 60-Second Surveys and six comprehensive reports. Other research-supported work included: facilitating…

Alternative Digital Credentials (ADCs) will significantly transform the relationship between higher education institutions and society. By providing fully digital, workplace-relevant, and information-rich records of an individual's skills and competencies, ADCs will render traditional university transcripts increasingly irrelevant and obsolete.…

If we want a university and college education to focus on its purpose--learning--then we need to reframe the way we highlight outcomes. Across the nation and abroad, educational leaders have begun the process of helping students define the value and purpose of "their" degrees. Specifically, institutions should help students navigate and…

This article focuses on coordination between governance actors in higher education. The object of the study is a department at a public university, seen as a multi-project environment. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and analyze project governance as a tool that allows departmental management to coordinate with the authorities, the…

The movement toward proficiency-based learning is gaining momentum at secondary schools across New England and beyond. Proficiency-based learning is the system of instruction, assessment and grading based on demonstration of skills that meet performance standards or "proficiencies." The goal of proficiency-based learning is to better…

Distance librarians often do not have the opportunity to engage face-to-face with users of library services. Without this personal interaction, it can be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of library services in meeting the needs of the distance learners. Distance librarians may not realize it, but most have a wealth of information at their…

Grades are the fundamental currency of our educational system; they signal academic achievement and noncognitive skills to parents, employers, postsecondary gatekeepers, and students themselves. Grade inflation compromises the signaling value of grades and undermines their capacity to achieve the functions for which they are intended. We challenge…

Colleges and universities across the country are seeing their bond ratings drop and their budgets shrink. Employers complain that college graduates are not prepared for the workplace, and many students find themselves saddled with considerable debt and no job to show for it. These are trying times for parents, for students, and for institutions.…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Rebalancing the Investment in Collections (H. Thomas Hickerson); (2)…

Much has been written about school-university partnerships including their general intent to positively impact student learning through the continuous professional development of classroom teachers. This article, which offers an in-depth description of the growth of a school-college partnership, follows the development of a partnership between a…

Over recent years, educational institutions have been making increasing use of virtual environments to set up collaborative activities for learners. While it is recognized that teachers play an important role in facilitating learner collaboration online, they may not have the necessary skills to do so successfully. Thus, a small-scale professional…

The present article discusses the impact of a localized and generative model of professional development on the teaching lives of two American elementary school teachers and a university research team. Within the framework of the ethic of care, the study focused on the construction of relationships between university team members and teachers that…

This article takes the form of a set of edited diary entries containing reflections on incidents drawn mainly from the author's professional life as a university professor and as a consultant to a disadvantaged multi-ethnic secondary school in the north of England. The form of the article allows a wide range of issues to be touched on, including…

Academic development has had an approximately forty-year history within Australian higher education, paralleling the major expansions and changes in the sector, both nationally and internationally. Its principal concerns have been the improvement of teaching and the professional development of the academics who teach. The history of academic…