Trends in Undergraduate General Education in the U.S., the Texas Core Curriculum, and Communication Course Requirements

In October 2011, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board revised Texas Core Curriculum (TCC) rules impacting all public higher education institutions in Texas. The new rules were implemented in the fall semester of 2014. In this study, we review the history of undergraduate general education requirements in the United States and recent changes to the TCC. Then to determine how recent changes reflect historical trends in general education and affect the course offerings of departments of English and communication, we use descriptive statistics to examine courses included under the TCC Communication Foundational Component Area of 37 state universities and 53 community colleges. Findings indicate the number of re-quired English and speech communication courses decreased both at community colleges (-11.5%) and universities (-15.9%), signaling a shift toward providing students greater choice in course selection which could impact academic programs in the years to come.Educatio

Chemistry Departments in Predominantly Black Institutions

Chemistry programs in 87 predominantly Black institutions were compared by questionnaire survey. Advanced undergraduate courses were offered for chemistry majors by 86% of these schools, but only 28% offered research and independent study for undergraduates. Although there were extremes, most of the faculty taught 15 to 18 contact hours and their median salaries were below the national median. Library support seemed adequate with 1 to 1.5% of the total library materials being chemistry books, texts and reference, and the libraries of most schools had holdings of 15 principal chemistry-related journals. More than 90% of the schools were well-equipped with laboratory instrumentation for the undergraduate program. One-third of the schools were recipients of current grants, but less than 50% of these grants were for research. At the time of the survey there was a median of 13 chemistry majors in the schools, but this has been increasing since. On the basis of 45% response from individual faculty members of these schools, all faculty members had post-baccalaureate degrees, with 2/3 holding the doctoral degree. Only about 2/3 of the respondents indicated professional activity via scientific meeting attendance and/or recent publication. Most respondents (92%) were members of the American Chemical Society, but membership in other professional societies was much less common. Responses by these faculty members indicated that up-to-date instructional methods were generally being used

The Status of Business-Teacher Education in 20 Selected Negro Degree-Granting Institutions

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Curricular offerings in seventy-five independent schools in New England.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

A Study of General Education Curricula in Selected Small Colleges

Given the distinctiveness of small colleges, the primary purpose of this study was to gain a more complete understanding of general education curricula of selected small colleges in terms of the colleges\u27 stated goals, their process of developing and modifying, and the stucture and content of their present general education curricula. A second purpose was to propose a model for developing general education curricula. Three research methods were employed: a review of related literature, an analysis of written institutional documents, and campus interviews. Two groups of small colleges, with enrollments of less than 2000, participated. Data from the first group of ten colleges, identified as exemplary based on a national survey, were collected from catalogs, mission statements, and responses to questions. Data from the second group, four Midwestern liberal arts colleges, were gathered from institutional documents and interviews. The intention of the study was not to compare the two groups, nor to contrast approaches to general education in small versus large institutions, but to combine the various data to develop a fuller understanding of current practices. The data showed several common goals: developing students\u27 learning skills and intellectual curiosity, increasing students\u27 knowledge of the liberal arts, and preparing them for service to society. Other stated goals were to provide students with broad academic exposure, encourage their aesthetic appreciations, and develop their values and acceptance of cultural diversity. The study revealed many similarities in the stucture and content of general education and in the total number of required general education credits. All but two curricula studied have a restricted distribution type of general education structure. Coursework in advanced learning skills, the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences is required by all of the institutions studied. Publishing a new catalog or preparing for an accreditation visit may prompt a general education review. A bottom-up process of revision is common: suggestions are initiated by faculty and/or academic departments; recommendations go to the college\u27s Curriculum Committee; and final approval is granted by the full faculty. The model focuses on three significant areas in general education and reflects a consistency in the data

The place of business education in the community college

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Getting in Sync: Revamping Licensure and Preparation for Teachers in Pre-K, Kindergarten and the Early Grades

Outlines the challenges in teacher preparation and licensure, with a focus on pre-K through third grade; promising practices such as increased classroom experience and selectivity; and suggestions for improving teacher preparation programs and policies

Another Brick in the Wall: An Exploratory Analysis of Digital Forensics Programs in the United States

We present a comprehensive review of digital forensics programs offered by universities across the United States (U.S.). While numerous studies on digital forensics standards and curriculum exist, few, if any, have examined digital forensics courses offered across the nation. Since digital forensics courses vary from university to university, online course catalogs for academic institutions were evaluated to curate a dataset. Universities were selected based on online searches, similar to those that would be made by prospective students. Ninety-seven (n = 97) degree programs in the U.S. were evaluated. Overall, results showed that advanced technical courses are missing from curricula. We conclude that most degree programs evaluated offer legal/cyber law & ethics, investigative processes, and lab & forensic operations courses. The courses offered the least were memory forensics, Internet of Things (IoT) forensics, and program & software forensics. The data shows that some universities with the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC) accreditation are lacking instruction in timely digital forensics topics such as memory forensics (0%), hardware security (0%), program & software forensics (0%), and ethical hacking (0%). Investigative processes (100%), network forensics (100%), lab & forensic operations (100%), and a senior design/capstone project (100%) are offered at all FEPAC accredited universities in digital forensics and digital evidence. Undergraduate degree programs with the National Centers of Digital Forensics Academic Excellence (CDFAE) designation had over a 50% offering rate for 11 out of the 22 courses we evaluated. However, memory forensics (0%) and IoT forensics (12.5%) were largely underrepresented. Our work provides an overview of the current state of digital forensics programs and discusses the importance of these courses to educate the next digital forensics workforce

Variables influencing recent high school graduates\u27 choice of postsecondary proprietary schools or community colleges: A study of business administration and related curricula at the Virginia Beach campuses of Commonwealth College and Tidewater Community College

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons why recent high school graduates choose to attend a postsecondary proprietary school or a community college. Choice models based on the choices of prospective four-year college and university students provided the basis for the study. Three sets of variables--significant persons, relatively fixed institutional characteristics, and other institutional characteristics--were analyzed in order to determine students\u27 choice of the two types of institutions.;The populations of this study were a group of 22 students in business and related curricula at the Virginia Beach Campus of Commonwealth College and a group of thirty randomly selected students in similar curricula at the Virginia Beach Campus of Tidewater Community College. The participants had to have graduated from high school during the spring of 1986 or 1987 and had to be enrolled in an associate degree program in business or related curricula. They did not have to be enrolled full-time. These participants responded to a survey addressing variables which caused them to choose a postsecondary proprietary institution or a community college. Interviews were conducted with five survey respondents from each of the populations.;Data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance to investigate the differences between the two institutions. Statistically significant results were established at the.05 level of confidence. The results support the theory that recent high school graduates planning to matriculate at four-year colleges and universities choose their institutions for some of the same reasons that students planning to enroll in proprietary institutions or community colleges choose their schools. Differences were also identified.;Future research on student choice in higher education is needed in localities across the country. More information is essential regarding students who intend to enroll in local/regional proprietary schools and community colleges so that institutions may respond to the needs of prospective students