Student support : bridging the gap between students and the university

Bangladesh introduced open and distance learning as a means of providing education for people in isolated and remote locations through the establishment of the Bangladesh Open University (BOU). The broad aim of the BOU is to provide flexible and needs-based education to those unable or not wishing to enter conventional educational institutions. The BOU is presently the only university in Bangladesh to provide mass education and also to provide continuing education and professional and technical education to support the existing educational system. The BOU has a mission that encompasses secondary and higher levels of education. BOU operates its programs through a centralised academic and administrative staff, and regional and local offices throughout Bangladesh that organise local tutorials and distribute information and materials. BOU has adult students in all parts of the country, and most of the students live in rural areas. They need support that is appropriate to their local circumstances. Using an interpretive approach, this research examines the support needs of students studying for the Secondary School Certificate and the Bachelor of Education, assesses the effectiveness of current support services and explores alternatives to the current system. The underlying assumption is that support needs to be appropriate to the country’s culture and circumstances, and useful and feasible from the perspectives of students, staff, administrators and senior university officials. To investigate the appropriate support for distance education students, this research was conducted in four sample regions. Two were selected from areas of sparse population where the terrain makes transport difficult and two from areas that are more densely populated and where transport is easier. A questionnaire survey and focus groups were conducted with students, focus groups with local staff and interviews with Regional Directors within the four sample regions. Interviews were also undertaken with central University senior staff to get their perspectives on current and future policies for student support

Promoting Affirmative Action in Higher Education: A Case Study of the University for Development Studies Bridging Programme

Despite various campaigns for gender equity through affirmative action programmes, there still remains the challenge of bridging the gender gap in education, especially at the tertiary level. In view of the idea that mainstream literature has much to offer on advocacy issues on affirmative action for gender equity in education rather than reports on progress, this paper contributes to filing this gap by presenting a descriptive coverage of practical application of the concept of affirmative action by a case study report on the University for Development Studies’ Bridging Programme for girls. Methodologically, this paper is an outcome of both descriptive and applied research methods, in the sense that it describes the implementation process of the gender gap bridging programme for university admissions through a female centered approach by the University for Development Studies, by adopting existing research methodological procedures such as interview and review of secondary data. The findings were also presented using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The major findings indicate that before the implementation of the affirmative action measures in the university, there was a very wide gap between the male and female student populations in favour of males, but after the bridging programme, there was a reduction in the gender gap. It was also observed that though female beneficiaries came in with weak academic backgrounds; usually from poorer households and/or deprived rural areas, they competed favorably with those who were admitted with the normal admission requirements once mainstreamed into the system.  The paper concludes that affirmative action is an important tool for bridging the gender gap in education, and recommended that the local government should support affirmative action programmes such as that of the University for Development Studies by sponsoring needy female students to benefit from the programme. KEYWORDS: Affirmative Action, Gender Parity, Enrolment, Gender equality

11,664 kilometers across the sea: Bridging the student support gap to the Pacific Islands

Presentation for the 2013 International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers (IAMSLIC) Conference. This presentation discusses the LEAP program at UNT and bridging the student support gap to the Pacific Islands

Bridging the Gap Between Preservice Teacher Education and Induction: NSTA Student Chapters as a Transitional Support

This is a conference paper that was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Science Teacher Education in Sacramento, California.NSTA initiated the student chapter program in 2001 to “maintain a connection to future teachers as they enter the profession and create a conduit as the 'new' teacher workforce enters the classroom” (NSTA, 2009, p. 1). The purpose of the student chapters is to provide preservice teachers of science opportunities to access and use support resources and enhance their professional development (NSTA, 2009). The role of professional organizations in the development of preservice teachers has been largely unexplored in the science education literature. As such, we sought to understand how a NSTA student chapter supported preservice teachers' professional development and the implications for teacher education

What\u27s News @ Rhode Island College

Illegal parking means ticket, maybe tow -- Are wealthy colleges the best? / LaTour, George -- $85K granted to train ELS teachers -- Egyptian chief justice here Sept. 26 -- Request for proposals -- Family Violence: New Perspective -- Frosh can expect an \u27academic calendar of stress\u27 -- Wins award to study in England -- Student aid debts limit post-grad plans -- New fee charged to support public interest research -- Bridging the culture gap Darker Senegal -1943 -- Shades \u27Chorus Line\u27 -- Film to benefit Alzheimer\u27s Association -- Calendar of Eventshttps://digitalcommons.ric.edu/whats_news/1301/thumbnail.jp

Bridging the Support Gap for First Generation College Students with Community Mentor Programs

The purpose of this research study was to determine the support and resources needed by first generation college students and how community mentor programs could bridge the gaps in existing support. A purposeful sampling method was used to select three first generation college student participants who had personal experiences in community mentor programs. All three of the first generation college student participants are now college graduates. Two of the three participants currently work with a local community mentor program. Demographic data was collected prior to the semi-structured interview. After each interview was transcribed, each participant performed member checking for accuracy of the transcribed interview data. Thick description, data auditing, and reflexivity were also used as forms of data validation. Analysis revealed several common themes from the first generation college students on the supports needed in college, the impact of community mentor programs on meeting those needs, and the role community mentor programs can play in bridging the support gap for first generation college students

«I Can?t Get the Practical Hours» : Care, Course Choice and Role Conflict Among Student-Mothers in Higher Education in Scotland

Mothers who study at a higher education level face many challenges that traditional students do not. They have less time to study and must negotiate their different commitments and responsibilities, which includes taking care of their children. This article reports on qualitative research conducted with a small group of mothers that study at a prestigious university in Scotland to understand their experiences of belonging to the space of the institution and their perceived learning challenges. Four interviews and one focus group were organised, voice recorded and their transcripts were thematically analysed and engaged with the research questions. It has found that they experience limited support from the institution which is compensated by family and peer support, changes in courses to accommodate their needs and varied levels of emotional distress. Experiences of student-mothers remain largely invisible in scholarly research and higher education policy. Thus, this paper contributes to a bridging of this gap by bringing the voices of student-mothers to the foreground

Teacher professional development to support teacher professional learning: Systemic Factors from Irish case studies

Teacher professional learning is widely accepted as a mediating factor for enhancing student outcomes. While many teachers across the world engage in professional development (PD) to enhance their professional learning, what is 10 less evident is how to support that learning to result in change following teacher PD. Acknowledging that not all teacher PD needs to result in new practices and change this paper focuses on a transformative model of PD, focused on implementing and sustaining change. This paper offers evidence of successful implementation and sustainability of practices by drawing from in-depth 15 semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals in five Irish case study schools. It reports on the Systemic Factors to support implementation and sustainability of change: Support, Initiative design and Impact and Teacher Agency. Implications are drawn for bridging the gap between knowledge and practice or teacher PD and change within schools

Community Colleges: The Next Frontier of Recovery Support at Institutions of Higher Education

In 2016, TYR could identify only six community colleges offering recovery support programs and services. Based on this finding, TYR identified a need for pilot programs to better understand programmatic models that may be effective for supporting students in recovery at community colleges. TYR’s Bridging the Gap grant program supports these pilot programs and is intended to act as a catalyst for building capacity for recovery support on community college campuses across the U.S. The goal of the program is two-fold; first, to help more 2-year institutions initiate recovery support programs and services and second, to study what programs and services are viewed as helpful and useful to students in recovery so that best practices can be shared as the field develops. This session provided a recap of TYR’s 2016 research, observations from Year 1 of the grant program, and a discussion on survey responses on institutional attitudes and student engagement in recovery support on 2-year campuses

Bridging the gap: a novel approach to mathematics support

The ever growing gap between secondary and university level mathematics is now becoming a major concern to higher education institutions. The increase in diversity of students’ background in mathematics, from students who have studied the more traditional A-level programmes to students with BTEC or international qualifications and part-time students who have been out of education for long periods, means that they are often unprepared for the marked shift in levels and catering for all abilities is difficult in the normal lecture, tutorial format. Lack of sufficient mathematical knowledge not only affects students’ success on courses but also leads to disengagement and thus a high drop-out rate in the first 2 years of study. Many universities now offer a maths support service in an attempt to overcome this but their success is varied. This paper presents a novel approach to maths support designed and adopted by the University of Lincoln, School of Engineering, to bridge this transition gap for students, offer continued support through assessment for learning (AFL) and Individual Learning Plans (ILP’s) and ultimately increase student success, engagement and retention. The paper then extends this proven approach and discusses proposed enhancements through the use of on-line diagnostic testing and implementation of a ‘student expert’ system to harness mathematical knowledge held by those gifted and talented students often overlooked by higher education institutions and to promote peer-to-peer mentoring. The paper shows that with the current support system in place, there is a marked increase in student retention, compared with national benchmark data, and an increase in student engagement and success measured through student feedback and presented retention data