Student Retention In Third Level - Have The First Year Experience And College Interventions Impacted Student Retention?

The focus of this paper is on exploring the impact of interventions during the first year of college. The paper considers the performance of students and their points level at entry, their participation in structured learning classes, tutorials etc. and their gender. This analysis will inform the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism strategy around the first year experience. It is also hoped it would provide valuable insights for the Institute as a whole and for developing TU4Dublin first year experience strategy. The school to date has prioritised enhancing student retention in first year with particular emphasis on the first year experience. This study will contribute to a greater understanding of the issues impacting on student retention and the effectiveness of various interventions. A recent report published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA, 2014) on progression in Irish Higher Education Institutions highlighted an area of concern for institutes of technologies, where the non-progression figures increased from 22 percent in 2007/2008 to 24 percent in 2010/2011 and these are also significantly higher than comparable figures for the universities. Thus it is timely to develop informed strategies to enhance student retention and progression within the institute of technology sector

Exploring the Use of Computer Based Exams for Undergraduate Accounting

This paper explores the use of computer-based exams (CBEs) for undergraduate accounting. The primary objective of writing this paper was to establish whether CBEs should be integrated with paper-based exams as a summative assessment in undergraduate accounting modules. Professional accounting organisations and universities and colleges in Ireland were contacted to establish whether CBEs had been adopted and, if so, to take relevant lessons from their experience. The literature reviewed the experiences of students, academics, institutions and professional accounting organisations using CBEs worldwide. Findings from this desk-based research indicated an overall positive experience with CBEs. The professional accounting organisations are continuing to adopt CBEs as a method of assessment, with one professional accounting organisation adopting CBEs for examinations across their entire syllabus. In contrast, four of nine third level institutions in Ireland use CBEs. CBEs are not unique to professional accounting organisations. The adoption of CBEs in undergraduate accounting is an area that needs further exploration. This will help determine best practice to facilitate students who wish to pursue a career in accountancy, and support completion of the professional accounting exams. An area for further research is to interview academics to hear their reasons for not adopting CBEs, and to survey the student experience of CBEs for post-undergraduate and post-professional accounting

A Comparison of the Progression of International Students to First Year Undergraduate Studies by Entry Route in an Irish Higher Education Institution: Part One - A Quantitative Study

Increasing international student numbers in higher education institutions has long been an educational priority internationally due to the cultural, educational and economic benefits it brings (Ireland’s International Education Strategy, 2010). Little research however has been conducted in the area of varying entry routes to higher education by international students and the potential benefits/disadvantages if any of pursuing one entry route over another (Terraschke & Wahid, 2011). This research examines the first year undergraduate progression rates of international students in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in Ireland to determine if students who complete a one year International Foundation Programme (IFP) in DIT progress differently to direct entry international students to the same institution. Results show that there is no statistically significant difference in the progression rates of international students from both entry routes however international students as a whole were found to progress at a lower rate when compared to domestic students on a national level. This research highlights the effectiveness of the DIT IFP in bringing international students up to the required standard to enter their undergraduate studies and informs practitioners and policy makers of the disparities between international and domestic students in terms of progression rates

Progression of International Students through their Undergraduate Studies in an Irish Higher Education Institution: A Qualitative Study

The focus of this paper is on the progression of international students through their undergraduate studies in an Irish higher education institution. Despite the increasing presence of international students in higher education, their perspectives on progression through their undergraduate studies are not adequately explored. Research into the factors that influence international students’ progression is underdeveloped. The paper aims to provide new insights into international students’ perspectives of their progression through their undergraduate studies in an Irish context. This study addresses this gap by exploring what factors international students deem to be significant in terms of successful student progression through higher education in an Irish context. The research involved conducting semi-structured interviews with international students in TU Dublin in Ireland. Five students volunteered to participate in the study. The findings revealed factors that facilitate student progression such as the student’s motivation to study and learn new skills and partake in the class and college environment. The research also revealed factors found to impede progression such as issues relating to the college experience and environment. The results are considered in terms of implications for international student progression. This paper outlines the necessity for those involved in policy and practice to understand and act upon the challenges that international students encounter during their higher education journey

Identifying opportunities to improve patient-provider communication in antiretroviral therapy programs in Bamako, Mali

Ensuring engagement of patients in antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs is critical to controlling the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. However, 25% of patients become lost to follow-up 12 months after initiating treatment. Poor patient-provider communication (PPC)—which may be characterized by stigma, scolding, discrimination, threats and/or misunderstandings—is gaining attention as a significant barrier to retention and adherence. Yet beyond describing negative PPC as a barrier, research has done little to define the characteristics of positive PPC, explore the potential impact of effective PPC on patients, or identify means of improving PPC. The overall objective of this dissertation is to provide a foundation for interventions to improve patient engagement in ART programs in Bamako, Mali through targeted improvements in provider communication behaviors. We first explored positive PPC with qualitative methods, finding that ART patients highly valued providers who forged a human connection, responded to emotional needs, and created an environment of open communication. Resulting conceptual frameworks illustrate that positive PPC can promote engagement and re-engagement not only by increasing a patient’s subjective sense of connectedness to care, but by facilitating partnership to help patients mitigate other barriers they face. Next, we conducted a vignette-based survey to assess patient preferences to different PPC styles extracted from the qualitative data. As opposed to a biomedical style, the majority of patients indicated preference for PPC characterized by high psychosocial regard. Patients were split, however, in their preference for a shared-power versus provider-dominant style and in their preference for a “tough” versus “easy” style of delivering behavior change recommendations. Turning toward identifying intervention opportunities, we aimed to measure attitudes toward patient-centered PPC among medical students in Bamako. Though the widely-used Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale exhibited poor validity, results of selected items suggest that curricula that helps future providers offer patients a more active role may fill an unmet need for many patients in this setting. Our results suggest an untapped potential to improve patient engagement by promoting positive PPC in ART facilities. Interventions for pre-service and mid-service providers should ground trainings in a patient-centered philosophy, yet create curricula and measurement tools based on PPC conceptualizations and patient values specific to their locale.

A comparison of large quantity plain cakes made with liquid homogenized milk, instant nonfat dry milk, and instant nonfat dry milk with additional fat

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1958 H88Master of Scienc

Longitudinal and cross-sectional modelling of health related quality of life in people with cystic fibrosis

People with cystic fibrosis (CF) must endure up to four hours treatment per day to maintain health and are vulnerable to complications. The Cystic Fibrosis Quality of Life Questionnaire was developed to measure health related quality of life (HRQoL) in the UK. Most studies on HRQoL are cross-sectional in design with HRQoL measured once per patient. However, the Cystic Fibrosis Quality of Life Questionnaire has been used to monitor HRQoL longitudinally with measures taken over a 12 year period at one clinic in the UK. These data were modelled with a binomial distribution for a domain score and with fixed and random coefficients for the patient-level clinical and demographic variables. The longitudinal study included 182 patients whose HRQoL was first measured within a single calendar year and were then followed-up. These data provided an opportunity to compare, directly and by simulation, the modelling of a cross-sectional with the modelling of a longitudinal study and so provided insights into the statistical merits of longitudinal studies compared to cross-sectional studies in HRQoL

FOR REAL: Forming Resilience and Employability through Authentic Learning, 2015 action research report

How 'real world' learning aids student learning, resilience and employabilit

A reference relative time-scale as an alternative to chronological age for cohorts with long follow-up

Background: Epidemiologists have debated the appropriate time-scale for cohort survival studies; chronological age or time-on-study being two such time-scales. Importantly, assessment of risk factors may depend on the choice of time-scale. Recently, chronological or attained age has gained support but a case can be made for a ‘reference relative time-scale’ as an alternative which circumvents difficulties that arise with this and other scales. The reference relative time of an individual participant is the integral of a reference population hazard function between time of entry and time of exit of the individual. The objective here is to describe the reference relative time-scale, illustrate its use, make comparison with attained age by simulation and explain its relationship to modern and traditional epidemiologic methods. Results: A comparison was made between two models; a stratified Cox model with age as the time-scale versus an un-stratified Cox model using the reference relative time-scale. The illustrative comparison used a UK cohort of cotton workers, with differing ages at entry to the study, with accrual over a time period and with long follow-up. Additionally, exponential and Weibull models were fitted since the reference relative time-scale analysis need not be restricted to the Cox model. A simulation study showed that analysis using the reference relative time-scale and analysis using chronological age had very similar power to detect a significant risk factor and both were equally unbiased. Further, the analysis using the reference relative time-scale supported fully-parametric survival modelling and allowed percentile predictions and mortality curves to be constructed. Conclusions: The reference relative time-scale was a viable alternative to chronological age, led to simplification of the modelling process and possessed the defined features of a good time-scale as defined in reliability theory. The reference relative time-scale has several interpretations and provides a unifying concept that links contemporary approaches in survival and reliability analysis to the traditional epidemiologic methods of Poisson regression and standardised mortality ratios. The community of practitioners has not previously made this connection

Learning from and Engaging with Assessment and Feedback (LEAF): Growing Practice

The LEAF (Learning from and Engaging with Assessment and Feedback) project addressed a key issue in third-level teaching and learning: assessment and feedback. The LEAF team comprised 18 academics from across the TU Dublin City Campus and representatives from all Colleges, along with the Director of Student Affairs and the Students’ Union Education Officer. This paper presents the findings of the LEAF project. Assessment strategies have been shown to have a large impact on shaping student learning process strategies which feedforward into key employability skills. Learning from best practice, surveys from staff and students and analysis of the quality documents, the project developed a set of recommendations to enhance practices in assessment and feedback. Many challenges were identified over the course of this project in relation to the timeliness, amount and quality of feedback, assessment load, burden on staff and students, student expectations, monologue versus dialogue approach to feedback, inconsistency across programmes and poor integration of assessment and feedback into the academic quality framework. Key drivers identified throughout the project that are necessary to enhance assessment and feedback strategies include adequate resourcing, alignment of assessment with graduate attributes, inclusion of the student voice and more widespread use of technology