This chapter examines the impact of declining student response rates on surveys administered at small- and medium-sized institutions. The potential for nonresponse bias and its effects are addressed.

Using an assessment cycle as an organizing framework, this article illustrates how educational development and assessment mutually complement each other. It describes an assessment study conducted to determine if two colleges at a small university met their strategic goals to increase the adoption of learning-centered teaching. This study served…

To continue to meet the changing needs of students and the evolving higher education environment, further exploration into the viability of an online career development course was needed. The purpose of this post-positivist, quantitative, quasi-experimental design study was to examine the effectiveness of an online career development course versus…

MVC is at a tipping point in understanding how to serve students through their students of concern process. Seventy percent of the college population are students of color, and Hispanic/Latino/a students represent 50.9% of the total undergraduate body. The designation of Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) does not take into consideration how…

The purpose of this non-equivalent control group design, quantitative quasi-experimental study with a qualitative component is to compare the stress levels of nursing students who have a peer mentor to stress levels of nursing students who do not have a peer mentor while taking an Introduction to Nursing Course in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing…

This study examined how Chief Information Officers (CIOs), also known as Information Technology leaders, understand the use of technology as a strategy for reducing academic costs in small, private, liberal arts colleges in New England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight CIOs throughout small, private, liberal arts colleges in…

Historically, empirical research exploring the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of department chairs has been limited and narrow in scope. In addition, these studies have not kept pace with the rapidly changing nature of higher education. The current study consists of data collected from a survey of current and former chairs at a small,…

Opportunities to learn how to develop engaging learning experiences are vital for preservice teachers. This article describes an in-class modeling activity, provides assignment guidelines, and includes examples of candidates' completed tasks when developing technology-integrated instruction using Quick Response (QR) codes. The content of…

Guided by Bandura's theoretical construct of self-efficacy, in this study, we attempted to model the relationship between preservice elementary teachers' sources of self-efficacy and their constructivist, and traditional beliefs related to teaching and learning by multiple linear regression analyses. Participants consist of 151 preservice…

This chapter examines the current state of college unions at small colleges and offers a forecast of their future.

"An Introduction to Complexity Pedagogy: Using Critical Theory, Critical Pedagogy and Complexity in Performance and Literature" offers readers an introduction to the basic concepts of complexity science and how they might be applied in the teaching of composition, creative writing, performance, and literature. The book builds on Critical…

This chapter discusses principles that support using data about teaching and learning and offers several strategies particularly well suited for use by institutional researchers at small colleges in helping faculty, staff, and administrators use data on student learning for improvement.

In this article, the author examines tap dance as an embodied feminist pedagogy through a course she teaches called Critical Race Feminisms and Tap Dance at Colby College, a small liberal arts college (SLAC) in Waterville, Maine. The course combines introductory tap dancing with elements of critical race theory and black feminist thought. Students…

Many institutions of higher education are facing significant financial challenges, resulting in diminished economic viability and, in the worst cases, the threat of closure (Moody's Investor Services, 2015). The study was designed to explore the effectiveness of competitive strategies for small colleges in terms of financial performance. Five…

Professors are often the first to introduce students to career-specific ethical dilemmas. Standard teaching methods for ethical classwork are mundane, typically involving lectures and case studies; however, research concludes that students have the best results from educational experiences when able to influence course composition. The authors…