A course syllabus can affect students' perceptions of the motivational climate within a course. Yet, few researchers have conducted experimental studies of students' perceptions of syllabi in courses in which they were currently enrolled. The purpose of the present studies was to assess the extent to which syllabi language and organization…

Embedding general education in the Chinese university education system is a considerably complex systemic project, and a lack of institutional arrangements beneficial to general education has always been a key barrier in implementation. Currently, the main institutional restricting factors for university general education include substantial…

This paper presents a framework for educators, administrators, and researchers to assess distinct facets of developmental education programs. The researchers review the literature on best practices in developmental education with regards to program cost, program structure, and student placement procedures. This paper also identifies seven model…

This paper provides an introductory discussion of the value and theoretical structure of a higher doctorate in American academia. The theory is that such a structure would help to guide academic careers and provide a credentialing system that is absent in most accrediting processes and disappearing with the decline of tenure. The goal is to ignite…

Four course development models were compared over a 3-year period, based upon student perceptions of the integration of the Quality Matters (QM) Standards, course structure, and quality. Points of comparison included (a) faculty training, (b) instructional designer supported, (c) additional QM training course, and (d) no training or support used.…

In this article we will describe the development of an interdisciplinary general education course focusing on water. As part of a faculty cohort charged with teaching and studying this topic, we considered a number of projects, including community outreach, teacher professional development, and collaborative research. We decided on an…

The popularity of service learning has grown in recent years, as educators place more value on active and experiential forms of learning. Service learning is learning conducted through service work in a community setting in combination with coursework that frames the service experience with respect to civic engagement and political power. Yet…

There are substantial quantitative research and anecdotal reports on blended learning and blended learning courses. However, few research studies focus on what happens at the classroom level. This research study aims to consider the highly contextual environment of effective blended learning courses by identifying the strategies instructors use to…

The collection of electronic course templates suggested in this article results from collaborative investigation between instructional support staff and academic staff users of the virtual learning environment (VLE) at two institutions, one in the United Kingdom and the other in the United States. The particular VLE in use at both institutions was…

The integration of co-teaching across disciplines in higher education is an approach that enhances the learning experience for both students and faculty. The process of examining material from the perspective of two disciplines contributes to critical thinking skills beyond traditional pedagogical approaches. This article presents a model for…

California State University, Northridge's Hybrid Lab course model targets high failure rate, multisection, gateway courses in which prerequisite knowledge is a key to success. The Hybrid Lab course model components incorporate interventions and practices that have proven successful at CSUN and other campuses in supporting students, particularly…

Industrial purification of biomolecules is commonly based on a sequence of chromatographic processes, which are adapted slightly to new target components, as the time to market is crucial. To improve time and material efficiency, modeling is increasingly used to determine optimal operating conditions, thus providing new challenges for current and…

This paper develops a research model based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT) and Hofstede's cultural dimensions to explore factors that influence student effort at learning Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) using LISREL was utilized to validate the proposed research…

We present an undergraduate course on concurrent programming where formal models are used in different stages of the learning process. The main practical difference with other approaches lies in the fact that the ability to develop correct concurrent software relies on a systematic transformation of formal models of inter-process interaction (so…

The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education (GADE) promotes excellence in PhD education in Social Work. GADE's 2013 Quality Guidelines for PhD Programs heavily emphasize preparation for research. Little is known, however, about the details of the contemporary social work PhD program structure and curriculum. Several prior surveys have…