Online education can be leveraged to help current students complete their degrees and to attract new students. While online learning is not new, in recent years, it has been moving away from the periphery of higher education and becoming a central component of institutional strategies for increasing student enrollment, retention, and completion.…

Explains the approaches taken by higher education institutions for instruction of environmental content. These include changes in course content, the development of specific environmental courses, and the development of a planned curricula that emphasizes environmental education. (ML)

An experimental first-year course in administrative law integrated several instructional approaches: text, lectures, research, in-depth study of a specific agency, appearances by agency representatives, and in-depth study of a case handled by the school's clinic, including classroom visits by key figures in the case. (MSE)

A course evaluation method is described in which the adoption of a desirable change is integral to the process of evaluation designed to motivate teachers, students, and other course organizers to improve and consequently change the structure, content, and conduct of the course when necessary. The course illustrated leads to a Postgraduate…

Reports on an ethnographic project that investigated an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) student's listening activities during one academic course at a university in the United States. Research findings suggest content-based listening classes could be helpful in ESL preparatory programs; guiding principles for course design are included. (49…

The development of a mathematical model for estimating faculty time involved in teaching a course is outlined. Over six years, systematic time analysis has helped determine principal components and empirical coefficients of the model. Data are reported showing reasonable agreement between model estimates and time analyses for the courses…

Describes the content, structure, and methodology of a bibliographic instruction module on the subject of modern French language and literature that was implemented at the University of Nice (France). The university library is described, library resources and services are explained, and an evaluation of the course is offered. (nine references)…

Data from 20,000 student ratings of 224 undergraduate courses at the University of Canterbury (England) were analyzed to explore the relationship between the ratings and course characteristics. The ratings were found to be stable and significantly related to academic field, class size, percentage of full-time students, academic year of the course,…

A required one-credit discussion course in research ethics for graduate students in biology is described. The course has four parts: (1) overview of major issues; (2) practical issues in scholarly work; (3) ownership of research results; and (4) graduate student training and personal decisions. A list of weekly topics and related readings is also…

The University of Alberta's (Canada) four-year experience with development of a medical school course in behavioral science is chronicled. The course began as a traditional lecture course and evolved through several formats into a clinical course. Attention given to the quality of the educational experience is highlighted. (MSE)

The development and structure of a computer literacy course, developed at Hunter College (New York) in 1991 and targeting women and minorities, are described. The course has been extremely successful and well received and has resulted in the opening of additional computer laboratories and scheduling of many new sections. (MSE)

Describes the operation of a graduate level statistics course based on computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Course content and student reactions are discussed, course evaluations are reported, problems involved with moving the courseware to different computer systems are described, and the CAI run-time system is explained. (10 references) (LRW)

A laboratory course designed to provide simulated practice experience for pharmacy students at Drake University College of Pharmacy was redesigned by restructuring laboratory schedules to provide more time, by establishing competencies to be attained, and by self-pacing. Student evaluations of the changes were highly supportive. (MSE)

This guide for college faculty attempts to balance assessment theory and practical advice on grading. Grading is viewed as a complex process that serves multiple roles: evaluation, motivation, communication, and organization, and this work provides examples from classrooms in many disciplines, sample assessment plans for departments and general…

The conversion of a course for delivery via video teleconferencing can easily become an insurmountable task for a faculty member working alone. The model used at Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Texas) for the conversion of courses for delivery via video teleconferencing entails collaboration between the faculty member and an instructional…