University education is known to generate significant earnings returns, but its full value may be understated without considering its wider effects on individual wellbeing. This paper estimates the complete lifetime return to higher education in the UK by combining income effects with monetised wellbeing effects. Building on recent evidence, we…

The higher education sector is under increasing pressure to deliver more and to evidence the fruits of its contribution to society. There is a particular focus on the enhanced engagement of students in order to maximise success, and for this engagement to be achieved equitably across the student body, regardless of demographic backgrounds. This…

Teaching and learning have evolved over the years. While the use of lecture is still the dominant mode of teaching in educational institutions, there has been consensus that students need to be active in learning, for which traditional styles of teaching may not be well suited. This calls for an alternative instructional mode: cooperative learning…

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and labour markets, the imperative for lifelong learning (LLL) for professional engineers has become evident. The need for interventions to equip higher education students with LLL competencies is crucial for their sustainable careers. This systematic review explores interventions in higher education…

This report presents findings from a 2018 survey, CHEA Survey of Accrediting Organizations, administered by NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC), an independent research organization, on behalf of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The purpose was to gather insights from accrediting organizations about their recent…

Schools are increasingly finding ways to improve administrative decision-making and student success through data, experimentation, and evidence, but they face clear and persistent obstacles. This leads to a key question: how can colleges and universities best drive student success through data and evidence? To begin to answer this question, focus…

Quality teaching is increasingly prioritized in higher education. One reason is that government funding requires students to succeed in their studies and be ready for employment. In response, educators throughout the Western world have generated large quantities of evidence-based, practical, often uncritical research about what works to improve…

Higher education institutions are investing significant effort into the improvement of student success, retention and satisfaction. Some effort is being expended in research seeking to understand influencing factors, but the majority of effort is directed towards improving teaching quality. Effort to improve teaching quality is characterised by…

High-impact practices, such as learning communities, capstones, undergraduate research, and community-based experiences, are effective pedagogies. Most of these practices have been around for decades. By clustering the effective elements of these activities through the term "high-impact practices," we bring together elements which we…

Graduating from a liberal arts college leads to meaningful economic mobility (Hill & Pisacreta, 2019). College graduates typically lead longer and healthier lives, are more engaged civically, and generate more economic output (Committee on Education and Labor Report, 2019). Despite these facts, there continues to be widespread doubt about the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of a culture of high quality and show how a culture of high or exceptional quality goes beyond the functional apparatus of quality assurance, the so-called props on the stage, to the enactment and ultimately to the shared meaning-making and webs of significance for both the institution…

This report presents a synthesis of literature--published since 2008--that demonstrates significant impact in each of the key student outcomes of access, retention, attainment, and progression. This builds on a number of key Higher Education Academy (HEA) publications or projects from the past five years that have addressed issues associated with…

This protocol guides the review of research that informs the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) practice guide in the topic area of Effective Advising for Postsecondary Students. The review protocol is used in conjunction with the "WWC Procedures Handbook" and the "WWC Standards Handbook (versions 4.0)." The purpose of the…

First, the good news: due to increased attention from accreditors, the federal and state governments, and the public, it is difficult to find a college or university that does not have at least a nascent institutional process for--if not culture of--assessing student learning. There is also bad news: the existence of an assessment office or…

This article provides quantitative evidence on the effect on learning outcomes of contrasting teaching styles applied to a class of Level 3 final-year students on a BTEC Applied Science course within a further education college in the UK. Two topics within a unit were taught using either a student-centred or teacher-centric (instructional)…