The Vision and Change effort to explore and implement needed changes in undergraduate biology education has been ongoing since 2006. It is now time to take stock of changes that have occurred at the faculty and single-course levels, and to consider how to accomplish the larger-scale changes needed at departmental and institutional levels. This…

Graduate students and post-doctoral scholars at research universities will shape the future of undergraduate education in the natural and social sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the STEM disciplines) in the United States. In 2009 alone, more than 41,000 doctorates were awarded in STEM fields, and if employment trends hold,…

The American Physiological Society (APS) and APS Council encourage the teaching of physiology at the undergraduate, graduate, and medical school levels to support the continued prominence of this area of science. One area identified by the APS Council that is of particular importance for the development of future physiologists (the…

Inquiry-guided learning (IGL) has widespread appeal in higher education as a suite of teaching strategies that promotes learning through students' increasingly independent investigation of questions, problems, and issues using the methods of inquiry of the disciplines. Framed as especially appropriate for research universities, IGL has been…

The undergraduate Bioengineering Program at Lehigh University was established as part of the university's Bioscience and Biotechnology Initiative with support from the National Science Foundation through a grant from its Division of Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). The objective here is to describe the program development and…

In 2006, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) launched a major initiative, the Top 25 Project, to embed inquiry-guided learning (IGL) into its largest-enrollment courses across the university. These are generally entry-level classes and thus affect many students: 75 percent of incoming students on its main campus in 2010 were in at least one Top 25…

The term "assessment" sends shivers down academic spines. For faculty, it signals marching orders from external parties who may or may not appreciate the subtle and not always quantifiable value of faculty efforts. For administrators, it means the dual challenge of recalibrating internal measures to meet external mandates but also…

The use of WebCT in the Laurentian University Bachelor of Science in Nursing program began in 2001 when faculty were eager to explore different modes of delivery for fourth-year courses. Since then, the use of WebCT within the baccalaureate program has increased substantively. This paper outlines the developmental growth of the use of this…

hapTEL, an interdisciplinary project funded by two UK research councils from 2007 to 2011, involves a large interdisciplinary team (with undergraduate and post-graduate student participants) which has been developing and evaluating a virtual learning system within an HE healthcare education setting, working on three overlapping strands. Strand 1…

This paper explores a relatively new area in the design and development of assessment procedures for the evaluation of coursework and student performance on computer and video games degrees. Emphasis is placed on an assessment which involves the development of and interaction in a virtual world, where lecturers and students are represented as…

A two-day conference was held for faculty from nine schools offering successful undergraduate engineering and technology programs and for faculty from other institutions with less developed or no programs in this academic area. The design of successful programs, organization of technology courses, and problems in disseminating technology literacy…

Describes types of computer science and data processing courses, programs, and curricula currently being offered in the United States and Canada. Indicates that the structure chosen by colleges for implementation depends on such factors as type of industry need, student clientele, faculty expertise, industry/college cooperation, and others. (JN)

The project described here involved the design, implementation, and evaluation of an upper level, undergraduate elective course for science majors. Specific course goals were to help students gain an appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology, understand key ideas in astrobiology, and develop the skills necessary to communicate…

Every public university is engaged now in serious and ongoing accountability appraisal with significant time and resources dedicated to the task. The academy's commitment to accountability is real. Focusing on accountability for undergraduate education, one of several important functions of public universities satisfies a need, but it should not…

This book describes and reports on a new approach to higher education that is experiential and democratic. The approach uses discussion and interaction, laboratory work and field learning, community involvement and service, democratic citizenship and skills training, and student-initiated participatory learning in courses, projects, and clinical…