The Effects of a Roommate-Pairing Program on International Student Satisfaction and Academic Success

While great attention has been given to the growth of international students at U.S. institutions, there is a gap in the literature examining support for this student population within residence halls. To address the gap, this quantitative study evaluated an international roommate-pairing program (IRP) by comparing the residential experience of IRP participants with a control group. The results showed the roommate-pairing program had a positive impact on the residential experience of international students. These findings suggest physical environment and structured support are critical factors in the satisfaction and success of international students. This research can inform the practice of Residence Life professionals and aid in the establishment of effective support programs

Utilization of the Scheduling Software Platform, YouCanBookMe

Media/Software Revie

Predictors of Student Academic Success in the Corequisite Model

The purpose of this study was to determine predictors of community college student academic success in corequisite English and mathematics courses. Academic success was defined dichotomously on a pass or fail basis. The population included 1,934 students enrolled in at least one corequisite English and/or mathematics course at a community college between the fall semester of 2015 and summer semester of 2018. Binary logistic regression was used to examine the fol- lowing predictors: a student’s sex, race, age at time of enrollment, Pell Grant recipient status, first-generation college student status, high school grade point average (HSGPA), placement test scores, academic major, time spent receiving academic tutoring; and corequisite course faculty employment status. The two strongest predictors of student academic success in corequisite English courses were: (1) HSGPA and (2) being female. The three strongest predictors of student academic success in corequisite mathematics courses were: (1) HSGPA, (2) corequisite course faculty employment status, and (3) mathematics course based on major. The strongest predictor in both logistic regression analyses was HSGPA. It is recommended that educational leaders use HSGPA as a metric for placing students in the corequisite model. Additionally, it is recommended that institutions continue to invest in faculty professional development opportunities as it relates to teaching students who are non-female, minority, economically-disadvantaged, or first-generation

Pedagogical Approach to Developing the Hiring Practices of Higher Education Administrators

Most student affairs professionals will serve in a managerial and/or supervisory role at some point in their careers, but only a limited number of higher education graduate preparatory programs have required coursework focusing on this competency area. This situation is disconcerting, as there seems to be an assumption within the student affairs field that new professionals have the formal training and experiences needed to immediately be placed into these managerial and/or supervisory roles. In an effort to address this discrepancy, and in particular staffing practices, one higher education graduate preparatory program developed a course on staffing practices, using an innovative pedagogical approach rooted in the theoretical framework of experiential learning. Recommendations are provided for faculty members, senior administrators, and a general calling for empirical research

Educational Leadership Doctoral Faculty Academic Qualifications and Practitioner Experiences in Georgia

Aim/Purpose This study examined doctoral faculty of educational leadership within the state of Georgia in the United States. The aim was to illustrate the academic qualifications and practitioner experiences of the faculty that develop students in educational leadership programs to be scholarly practitioners and future educational leaders. Background Faculty of educational leadership programs prepare their students to hold imminent senior leadership roles in P-12 school administration and higher education administration. In this apprenticeship model, doctoral faculty utilize their academic qualifications and/or practitioner experiences to develop students into scholarly practitioners. Methodology A descriptive quantitative study utilizing content analysis was conducted to examine faculty of doctoral programs in educational leadership (n=83). True to this methodology, the inquiry of this study sought to better understand the academic qualifications and practitioner experiences of doctoral faculty in the field of educational leadership. Contribution This study serves as a primer for faculty and researchers to visualize the doctoral faculty of educational leadership programs. It can serve as a catalyst to encourage empirical studies of educational leadership faculty and their effectiveness in preparing scholarly practitioners. Findings Key findings included that nearly 2/3 of the faculty have their terminal degrees from a Research 1 institution, 3/5 hold a PhD, and 3/4 have practitioner experience in their respective field. Recommendations for Practitioners Doctoral programs should examine the diversity of the academic qualifications and practitioner experiences of their faculty and develop strategies to enhance their programs with these complimenting skill sets. Recommendation for Researchers Descriptive studies effectively “dip our toe” into a new area of inquiry. Considerations for future research includes examining student perceptions of their faculty who hold either a PhD or Ed.D, as well as those who are academics versus practitioners to better understand their effectiveness. Impact on Society True to the work of John Dewey, education serves as the vehicle to promote a democratic society. Recognizing these doctoral faculty are preparing the future leaders of education, understanding the experiences of faculty will allow for better insight into those who are ultimately shaping the future of education. Future Research Future research should focus on empirical studies that explore the effectiveness of faculty based on their academic qualifications and practitioner experiences through the lens of student perceptions

Debunking the Myth of Job Fit in Higher Education and Student Affairs (Book Review)

Book review of Debunking the Myth of Job Fit in Higher Education and Student Affairs by Jamie L. Workman, Daniel W. Calhoun, and Steven Tolman

Georgia Management Students’ Perceptions of Faculty Academic Qualifications and Professional Experiences

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of undergraduate management students at one Georgia institution of higher education regarding the importance of academic qualifications and professional experiences possessed by their management faculty. The study addressed the importance of these attributes to include relevant practical experience, traditional academic training, scholarly productivity, higher education institutions attended, and level of engagement with the business community. This quantitative study surveyed 70 upper-level management students using Likert categories to provide an exploratory view of attributes that today’s students view as important in faculty. The findings ranked attributes of relevant professional experience more important than academic qualifications such as scholarly research activities across all demographics as related to their importance of gaining a quality management education. This study may provide insight into the attributes that students deem important in faculty in an effort to support student success, as well as inform accreditation mandates, determine faculty ratios of academic versus professional faculty, make hiring decisions, and address compensation issues of academic versus professional faculty. As well, this study and extended research may provide insight into improving outcomes for higher education’s community stakeholders to meet the dynamic demands of business. Additionally, this research could extend to varied types of industry that require professional experiences such as educational leadership and nursing to better prepare students for the workforce

Energy dependence on fractional charge for strongly interacting subsystems

The energies of a pair of strongly-interacting subsystems with arbitrary noninteger charges are examined from closed and open system perspectives. An ensemble representation of the charge dependence is derived, valid at all interaction strengths. Transforming from resonance-state ionicity to ensemble charge dependence imposes physical constraints on the occupation numbers in the strong-interaction limit. For open systems, the chemical potential is evaluated using microscopic and thermodynamic models, leading to a novel correlation between ground-state charge and an electronic temperature.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs.; as accepted (Phys. Rev. Lett.

Complex mean circulation over the inner shelf south of Martha's Vineyard revealed by observations and a high-resolution model

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): C10036, doi:10.1029/2011JC007035.Inner-shelf circulation is governed by the interaction between tides, baroclinic forcing, winds, waves, and frictional losses; the mean circulation ultimately governs exchange between the coast and ocean. In some cases, oscillatory tidal currents interact with bathymetric features to generate a tidally rectified flow. Recent observational and modeling efforts in an overlapping domain centered on the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) provided an opportunity to investigate the spatial and temporal complexity of circulation on the inner shelf. ADCP and surface radar observations revealed a mean circulation pattern that was highly variable in the alongshore and cross-shore directions. Nested modeling incrementally improved representation of the mean circulation as grid resolution increased and indicated tidal rectification as the generation mechanism of a counter-clockwise gyre near the MVCO. The loss of model skill with decreasing resolution is attributed to insufficient representation of the bathymetric gradients (Δh/h), which is important for representing nonlinear interactions between currents and bathymetry. The modeled momentum balance was characterized by large spatial variability of the pressure gradient and horizontal advection terms over short distances, suggesting that observed inner-shelf momentum balances may be confounded. Given the available observational and modeling data, this work defines the spatially variable mean circulation and its formation mechanism—tidal rectification—and illustrates the importance of model resolution for resolving circulation and constituent exchange near the coast. The results of this study have implications for future observational and modeling studies near the MVCO and other inner-shelf locations with alongshore bathymetric variability.Funding was provided through the Office of Naval Research Ripples DRI, U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program, and National Science Foundation

Academic Dishonesty in Online Courses: Considerations for Graduate Preparatory Programs in Higher Education

While there is a perception that violations of academic dishonesty occur more frequently in online courses, a review of the literature has shown this to be a fallacy. In fact, there is evidence that supports the rate is lower in online courses than in face-to-face. There are many factors that affect academic dishonesty, including the demographics of the population of students enrolled in online courses and the cheating culture of the institution. This paper serves as a primer to encourage educators to begin to think about the challenges of academic integrity within the sphere of online learning. Attention is given to graduate preparatory programs in higher education