2017-18 Student Success and Service-Learning Report

Institutional data across multiple academic years were used to assess the impact of undergraduate service-learning class participation on three critical student success metrics: Inclusive excellence, Degree completion, and Quality of learning. Results indicate that traditionally underrepresented student groups participated in VCU service-learning classes at expected rates given their proportion in the overall student population. Thirty-seven percent of undergraduate service-learning students were from underrepresented minority groups and 30% were Pell grant recipients. The average three-year retention rate across four matriculating cohorts of first-time, full-time undergraduate students was 84% for service-learning students compared to 70% for non-service-learning students. Seventy-two percent of undergraduate service-learning students graduated in five years or less compared to 62% for non-service-learning students. Finally, on the 2017 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) VCU seniors who had passed at least one service-learning class during their undergraduate career reported significantly higher levels of faculty-student interaction and integrative learning than did VCU seniors who took no service-learning classes

Interpreting Recoil For Undergraduate Students

In this paper, I outline some problems in the students' understanding of the explanation of recoil motion when introduced to them in the context of Newton's third law. I propose to explain the origin of recoil from a microscopic point of view, which emphasizes the exact mechanism leading to recoil. This mechanism differs from one system to another. Several examples that can be easily implemented in the classroom environment are given in this paper. Such a profound understanding of the origin of recoil help students avoid some of the misconceptions that might arise from the phenomenological approach, and stimulates their thinking in the fundamental origins of other physical phenomena.Comment: To Appear in The Physics Teacher Magazin

Highly prevalent but not always persistent: undergraduate and graduate student's misconceptions about psychology.

Although past research has documented the prevalence of misconceptions in introductory psychology classes, few studies have assessed how readily upper-level undergraduate and graduate students endorse erroneous beliefs about the discipline. In Study 1, we administered a 30-item misconception test to an international sample of 670 undergraduate, Master’s and doctoral students. Analyses indicated that participants identified and rejected the majority of misconceptions, with doctoral students performing better than their Master’s or undergraduate peers. In Study 2, we administered a revised version of our questionnaire to a novel sample of 557 students while controlling for number of years spent at university, psychology courses completed and need for cognition. Once again, we found that graduate students rejected more, affirmed less and reported lower levels of uncertainty than their undergraduate counterparts. Educational implications and future research directions are discussed

Today’s Undergraduate Students … Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs?

It is often said that owning a small business is part of the American Dream. Collectively, U.S. small businesses represent an estimated 99 percent of all employers (U.S. Small Business Administration, 2002). Interest in creating and owning a small business has never been greater than it is today: new business formation in the U.S. has broken successive records for the last few years, growing at a rate of between two and nine percent and totaling over one-half million annually

Interprofessional education for first year psychology students: career plans, perceived relevance and attitudes

Undergraduate psychology students have been largely excluded from interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. In contrast to many health professions, undergraduate psychology students do not engage in work placements as part of their degree, and many enter careers outside the health care context. However, the collaborative skills gained through an IPE experience may well be beneficial to students who work in this wider context. This research examines whether undergraduate psychology students’ views of IPE vary according to their planned career directions, and if so, whether the perceived relevance of IPE mediates the relationships. A sample of 188 Australian university undergraduate psychology students completed an online questionnaire following completion of a first-year IPE health sciences program. Path analysis indicated that psychology students’ attitudes towards IPE are associated with both professional identification and practitioner orientation, fully mediated through the perceived relevance of IPE to future career and study plans. Stronger professional identification and practitioner orientation were associated with greater perceived relevance and more positive and less negative attitudes towards IPE. Placing a stronger emphasis on the generalizability of IP skills taught may increase students’ awareness of the relevance outside of the health context, reducing disengagement of students planning alternative careers

Boston University 2013 undergraduate student library survey report

In the spring of 2013 the Assessment Committee surveyed all BU undergraduate students to determine their use of and satisfaction with current library services and resources. The quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and the results from the survey are now available in our Undergraduate Student Survey Report. The chart below from the report shows undergraduate students ratings of the BU libraries’ contribution to their quality of life and academic success

Quality and inequality in undergraduate courses: a guide for national and institutional policy makers

Summary of Main Findings ‘The Pedagogic Quality and Inequality in University First Degrees Project’ was a longitudinal investigation of sociology and related social science degree courses in four universities . Its main objectives were to investigate what social science students value about their university education and differences in curriculum and teaching in different universities. The main findings are summarised below and relate to defining, improving and measuring the quality of undergraduate courses. Defining good quality undergraduate courses • High quality undergraduate courses are those in which students engage with academic knowledge in transformative ways. Courses in different disciplines are likely to be transformative in different ways. • In sociology-related social sciences, academic engagement is transformative in three ways: students gain access to an understanding of academic knowledge that is interesting and relevant to their lives; it changes the way that they understand themselves and their place in the world; and they gain an enhanced understanding of society. Such outcomes emphasise the importance of maintaining sociology-related social science courses across the sector. • Good teaching is vital if students are to engage with academic knowledge in transformative ways. Improving the quality of undergraduate courses • Improving teaching is central to improving the quality of undergraduate courses. • Good teaching is multidimensional and improving it is timeconsuming and challenging. • A focus on quality enhancement that supports lecturers is in danger of being obscured by the emphasis in recent policy documents on improving quality through competition. Measuring the quality of undergraduate courses • Key measures of the quality of undergraduate courses are students’ engagement with academic knowledge and good teaching. • When quality is measured by engagement with academic knowledge, the ranking of the universities in the study is very different from that in national higher education league tables. • Without engaging meaningfully in academic knowledge, students are unlikely to gain much benefit from studying an undergraduate degree. So in order to be valid measures of the quality of undergraduate courses, national higher education league tables, Key Information Sets and the National Student Survey need to take account of students’ engagement with academic knowledge

Just a Paycheck? Assessing Student Benefits of Work on Faculty Research Projects

The benefits that students gain from designing and implementing their own independent undergraduate research projects is often presented as a valuable step in their academic career, and a stepping stone to graduate school success. However, it is not clear what benefits students receive when working as undergraduate research assistants on faculty research projects where they, the students, have little or no input into the project or its design. This paper reports on a survey of undergraduate students who participated as wage laborers on two separate faculty-directed research projects. The results of the study suggest that students gain valuable knowledge and skills that serve as constructive preparation for work, personal lives and graduate school careers; in addition, their participation in research enhances their overall undergraduate experience.student learning, assessment, undergraduate research, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Boston University Libraries 2016 Undergraduate Survey Instrument

In the spring of 2016, the Boston University libraries surveyed BU faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students to determine their use of and satisfaction with library services and resources. This document shows the survey instrument emailed to BU undergraduate students. A report describing the protocol and analyzing the data gathered in this survey may be found at this location, http://hdl.handle.net/2144/20325

Connecting Undergraduate Students as Partners in Computer Science Teaching and Research

Connecting undergraduate students as partners can lead to the enhancement of the undergraduate experience and allow students to see the different sides of the university. Such holistic perspectives may better inform academic career choices and postgraduate study. Furthermore, student involvement in course development has many potential benefits. This paper outlines a framework for connecting research and teaching within Computer Science- though this is applicable across other disciplines. Three case studies are considered to illustrate the approach. The first case study involves students in their honours’ stage (level 6, typically 3rd year) project, the second an undergraduate intern between stages 5 and 6, and finally, a MSc (level 7) project. All three case studies have actively involved students in core parts of the University’s teaching and research activities, producing usable software systems to support these efforts. We consider this as a continuing engagement process to enhance the undergraduate learning experience within Computer Science