In a FIPSE-funded assessment project, a group of diverse institutions collaborated on developing a common, course-embedded approach to assessing student writing in our first-year writing programs. The results of this assessment project, the processes we developed to assess authentic student writing, and individual institutional perspectives are…

Many institutions of higher education have designed a variety of first-year seminars to facilitate student transition to college. These seminars are often assessed in terms of their overall impact on academic performance and retention. However, limited research has been conducted to identify the types of seminars that are most effective for…

The article describes the "Vienna E-Lecturing" (VEL), a complex internet-based blended-learning setting developed for students at the University of Vienna (Austria). As part of the introduction to research methods in psychology, VEL aids in imparting factual knowledge regarding research methods and evaluation, as well as promotes…

In this article we discuss an approach to the critical problem of student retention and the high school-college transition. The context of the discussion is centered on science and engineering students for whom calculus in the first year in college is an essential requirement for on-time graduation. This transition/retention problem has become…

To prevent summer achievement loss and help ensure Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for all students as mandated by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), school districts are enacting summer enrichment programs. To determine effectiveness, additional student assessments are often required and instructional time is reduced. The goals of this study were to…

Colleges are under mounting pressure to increase retention rates by easing incoming students' academic and social transition to college. Finding time in first-year students' busy schedules to provide this additional support can be difficult, however. Thus, the Clipper Project set out to test whether offering online, college level courses to high…

When preservice teacher programs are failing to adequately prepare collegiate students towards becoming thriving teachers, what can be done? After many complaints were voiced from my student body, a survey was constructed, which revealed student satisfaction levels were lowest in the following areas: 1) The variety of opportunities to teach…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the role that the University of Toronto has had in helping to establish a Regional Centre of Expertise (RCE) on Education for Sustainable Development in Toronto, Canada. The way in which the RCE initiative has helped to move forward the university's own five-year plan will also be discussed.…

In the past three decades, program evaluation has sought to more fully engage stakeholders in the evaluative process. But little information has been gathered from stakeholders about how they share in evaluation tasks and whether role sharing leads to confusion or tensions between the evaluator and the stakeholders. This article reports findings…

Young adults with disabilities often depend on linkages and supports from adult agencies to achieve high-quality adult outcomes. However, interagency collaboration has emerged as a major area of difficulty and a critical area in need of improvement for school districts throughout the United States. Based on the input of research participants from…

An ideal time to start health promotion education is during the elementary years. However, over the last several years, many elementary schools have eliminated formal health education from their curriculum, subsequently integrating health education components into existing classroom content. The "I Feel Good!" radio broadcast is an…

Although individual systems for out-of-school time cannot be replicated purely, European countries have made great strides in learning from one another. This article examines the five steps of admiration, confusion, structure, concepts, and discussion to illuminate how cross-system learning can occur while also giving insight into a myriad of…

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

Accreditation and accountability recently have been prominent in national conversations about the preparation of teachers. Members of our profession have developed standards to which we will hold ourselves as we prepare foreign language and world language (F/WL) teachers for the 21st century. As a participating Specialized Professional Association…

Dual credit programs have become increasingly popular with 71% U.S. public high schools offering dual credit courses in 2002-2003. As this popularity has grown, so have concerns regarding academic rigor, course quality, parity with college courses, and effects on higher education. Determining actual dual credit course equivalent in higher…