The central phenomenon researched in this case study was higher education administrators' decisions to institutionalize a safe ride program at a small, rural college. The purpose of this single/within-site case study was to describe the changes that happened at a rural public institution of higher education and the surrounding community in the…

A good assessment plan combines many direct and indirect measures to validate the collected data. One often controversial assessment measure comes in the form of retention exams. Although assessment retention exams may come with faults, others advocate for their inclusion in program assessment. Objective-based tests may offer insight to…

There is a pervasive and ongoing perception that leadership preparation is a problem. Important questions remain about the intentions, capacity, and impact of state departments of education engaged in leadership preparation program redesign. In this essay, I take up several issues concerning this state policy work, including whether a one size…

The widespread adoption of research-supported treatments by mental health providers has facilitated empirical development of quality assurance (QA) methods. Research in this area has focused on QA systems aimed at assuring the integrity of research-supported treatment implementation, while examination of QA systems to assure appropriate…

This article describes a program for excellent students that views research as an inseparable part of its development, and utilizes research findings as a means to aid formulation and implementation of policy changes. Eight nationwide graduate follow-up studies have been conducted on the program. Their findings were studied comprehensively, and…

Estonia is a small republic that has undergone several big societal changes (from belonging to the Soviet Union to becoming a free republic, and the process of integrating into the European Union) during the last several decades. Psychology has been taught as a separate discipline starting from 1968, but its content has been changed from very…

This chapter is a case study of one institution's effort to institutionalize a process through which student development is promoted through active engagement with the community.

An honors curriculum with realistic graduation requirements should have a respectable graduation rate. This number, when low, can indicate significant problems in the program. But a high graduation rate does not necessarily indicate success. A quality honors program, especially one that remains attentive to students' ability to thrive, might have…

We developed a two-semester series of intensive (six-contact hours per week) behavioral research methods courses with an integrated statistics curriculum. Our approach includes the use of team-based learning, authentic projects, and Excel and SPSS. We assessed the effectiveness of our approach by examining our students' content area scores on the…

Increasing criticism of practicing educational leaders has led to additional critiques of the university programs in which they are prepared. In response, many states have mandated statewide university preparation program redesign. The articles in this special issue describe five unique cases of principal preparation program redesign--including…

Saint Joseph's University, a small comprehensive university, implemented a one-credit capstone project for the mathematics major beginning in 2002. After expansion to three credits in 2007, the capstone, although successful, had unintended consequences. In 2010, for both programmatic and practical reasons, the department decided to remove the…

The goal of this research is to understand the relationship between a fully implemented American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model school counseling program on student career readiness and college attainment. The Delphi technique was employed to gain consensus from a group of experts on indicators of students' college and career…

The Accelerating Opportunity initiative helps our nation's lowest-skilled adults earn college credentials and enter higher-wage jobs faster by combining the Adult Basic Education and career and technical training they need into one integrated curriculum. Based on four years of designing and managing Accelerating Opportunity, Jobs for the Future…

Since the implementation of the ePortfolio Program in 2006, Clemson University has incorporated peer review for the formative feedback process. One of the challenges with this large-scale implementation has been ensuring that all work is reviewed and constructive feedback is provided in a timely manner. In this article, I discuss the strategies…

Relevance of the problem stated in the article, conditioned by the fact that the successful adaptation of orphans in a foster family requires specialized knowledge and skills, as well as the need of professional support. Therefore, this article aims at substantiation of the effectiveness of the developed pilot program psycho-pedagogical support of…