Institutional Need-based and Non-need Grants: Trends and Differences Among College and University Sectors

This study uses data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey to analyze the use of need-based versus non-need financial aid awarded by colleges and universities in 1989 and 1995. Descriptive and trend analyses were used to examine differences in the use of these types of aid among varying institutional types, and to examine how financial aid awards have changed for full-time undergraduate students from different income backgrounds

Responsive and Responsible: Levels of Faculty Encouragement of Civic Engagement

This study explores how often faculty members encourage students to engage with campus, local, state, national, and global issues. Using data from the 2013 administration of the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), the results show that faculty members are more likely to encourage students to engage in state, national, or global issues than campus or local issues. Differences in faculty encouragement of civic engagement are also presented across gender, racial/ethnic identification, rank and employment status, and institutional affiliation, among other characteristics. Implications for practice are provided

Faculty Use of Collaborative Learning and Approaches to Learning: Examining Social Aspects of Online Learning

This large-scale study expands knowledge of online teaching by comparing faculty practices around collaborative learning and deep approaches to learning in online and in-person courses. Findings indicate that online faculty emphasize deep approaches more than in-person, but use collaborative learning less. Implications for faculty and researchers are discussed

A Multi-Institutional Study of Teaching Development Opportunities & Faculty Practice

To contextualize the myriad of teaching development efforts available to faculty, this large-scale multi-institution study of nearly 4,500 faculty broadens our understandings of who participates in teaching development practices, how their participation relates to their institutional environments, and how their participation connects to their use of effective teaching practices. Results show there are some notable trends by academic field, social identity, the type of courses taught, and institutional characteristics. The overview of professional development participation in this study gives strength to positive findings from smaller-scale research studies and provides a solid base for more specific studies of these practices

Disciplinary Differences in Faculty Emphasis on Deep Approaches to Learning

This large-scale study compares how Biglan and Holland conceptualizations of academic disciplines in their ability to explain differences in faculty emphasis on deep approaches to learning in their courses. To examine these differences, several multiple regressions models are conducted 6,500 faculty and instructor responses to the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), using effect coding to better compare disciplinary categories. Analyses examining disciplines using Biglan’s three dimensions or Holland’s theory suggest differences within each conceptualization that largely align with previous research. Comparisons between these two conceptualizations, while showing some overlap, indicate that Biglan’s dimensions explain slightly more variation, with a slightly greater range of magnitude in some effect sizes. These findings underscore for researchers, faculty, and educational developers the need to examine disciplinary effects on teaching practices while also suggesting for researchers the need to appropriately align disciplinary conceptualizations with their area of study

Person centered approaches to inclusive data analysis

Demographic questions are critical to our understanding of student and faculty experiences, allowing us to learn about marginalized subpopulations, find areas of inequity, and close gaps in achievement. Although this work is necessary, it does present challenges for critical and inclusive approaches to data analysis. Person-centered approaches, grouping people based on similar experiences or outcomes, allow for more nuanced stories of experiences. To illustrate the benefits of this approach, facilitators will guide participants through a series of examples using person-centered explorations, unpacking the challenges and possible solutions for using such methods for more critical and inclusive quantitative analyses and reporting

A multi-institutional study of teaching development opportunities and faculty practice

Research on faculty teaching development is robust, with small-scale research studies on specific teaching development experiences or practices in particular fields. To contextualize the myriad of teaching development efforts available to faculty, this large-scale multi-institution study of nearly 4,500 faculty seeks to broaden our understandings of who participates in teaching development practices, how their participation relates to their institutional environments, and how their participation connects to use of effective teaching practices. Results show there are some notable trends by field, identity, the type of courses taught, and institutional characteristics. The overview of professional development participation in this study gives strength to positive findings from smaller-scale research studies and provides a solid base for more specific studies of these practices

Classifying higher education institutions by their general education requirements

General Education (GE) curricula specify requirements, most often fulfilled through coursework, that undergraduate students need to satisfy in addition to and often preceding a specialized major or program. Due to the decentralized nature of the American higher education system and lack of national requirements or guidelines, however, GE requirements vary from one institution to another. This exploratory study investigates patterns of GE requirements among a selection of 154 institutions and determines whether and how institutions could be grouped or classified by their GE requirements. Our five-dimension typology is parsimonious and meaningfully distinguishes between GE patterns giving us insightful information about the values and goals of institutions that are not communicated through our traditional categorizations

Two Sides of a Coin: Patterns of Student & Faculty Participation in High-Impact Practices

The higher education community continues to perpetuate high-impact practices as means for improving student success. Yet, challenges exist for assuring all students participate equitably in these beneficial educational experiences; one inhibiting factor may be a lack of faculty support. We examined the responses from 12,147 faculty and 28,504 seniors at 83 institutions to better understand the relationship between faculty who emphasize or participate in high-impact practices and students who do participate. Results indicate potential inequities in faculty participation in engaging students in high-impact practices. Faculty values of importance in participation relates to whether they participate reveling implications for future conversations about faculty hiring and development