This paper outlines evidence-based practice in the context of professionalism, and highlights the contribution evidence-based practice can make to the professional practice of higher education course managers. Implications of the changing HE landscape for the status of academics as professionals are reviewed, and evidence-based practice is…

Small colleges and universities serve a profoundly important role in American society. They provide the rigorous, personalized experience that is the hallmark of the best of higher education. In the process, they build opportunity and encourage civic engagement among a new generation of citizens. The landscape for these institutions has changed…

If you are a grants or research administrator working at a small predominantly undergraduate institution, have you ever wondered where you stand in relation to other similar institutions? Have you thought about what you need to do to get yourself, your office, and your institution to the "next level" of outreach to or support for the…

Genuine engagement by academic staff and students in reflective practice in a time of great institutional pressure and a neo-liberal agenda for more metrics driven practice has become increasingly difficult to set time aside for. While more and more feedback is being requested on teaching practice, the quality, validity or reliability of this…

Community colleges play a fundamental role in higher education. They are open-access institutions, providing higher education services to individuals from a variety of backgrounds. Community colleges also provide important workforce development and training opportunities to help develop the local economy. Today, states and the federal government…

North Central State College provides a case study of how a small college can increase revenue by strategically realigning its existing staff resources for improving student retention and success, even in a period of stagnant enrollment. The college implemented a series of major reforms with the aim of improving student retention and completion on…

There's been no shortage of suggestions for how to save the many small colleges that dot the landscape, especially in New England. Susan Dynarski, a well-respected professor who regularly comments insightfully on issues in higher education, suggested that perhaps the only places where COVID safety and education can coexist are rural small college…

From 2015 through 2019, the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) conducted a project that was intended to test the utility of Shared Shelf to the teaching and research needs of small colleges. Shared Shelf (now called JSTOR Forum) made it possible for a collection of material assembled by one faculty member--for example, butterfly specimens--to…

One argument for keeping the physics Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is that it can help applicants who might otherwise be missed in the admissions process stand out. In this work, we evaluate whether this claim is supported by physics graduate school admissions decisions. We used admissions data from five Ph.D.-granting physics departments over a…

The six-year university graduation rate for minority, first-generation, and low-income students is significantly lower than it is for non-minority students, students whose parents went to college, and students from high-income families. The problem addressed in this study was small private, faith-based institutions do not have a viable model for…

This study examined how students and faculty perceived the use of pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy in undergraduate humanities courses. Humanities courses, in particular at small, liberal arts institutions, are underrepresented in research about perceptions of learning and teaching. Participants in this study were undergraduate students and…

Although the Collegiate Recovery Community is increasingly seen as the treatment modality of choice for students in recovery, relatively few such programs have been established on small residential campuses. In this article we examine the possible reasons for this reluctance and suggest ways in which the standard model for a Collegiate Recovery…

This study examines student-faculty relationships at a small women's college where STEM students rely almost exclusively on faculty members for academic support. Students at comparison schools, including two of similar size, rely primarily on peer study groups. To understand this difference, students and faculty interviews, classroom observations,…

This dissertation examines Burnout and Compassion Fatigue in Student Affairs Professionals actively working in various Student Affairs roles at small, residential colleges and universities within Southern California. The study investigates factors related to Burnout using the three constructs identified in Dr. Christina Maslach's Maslach Burnout…

This dissertation explored the adoption of technology at academic libraries and the perceptions of the community (students, faculty, staff, and administration) about this technology at six small institutions of higher education. Institutional characteristics were identified through a library technology audit to obtain an understanding of the…