Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sustainability-focused, cocurricular, interdisciplinary programming for graduate students at creating future leaders in sustainability, i.e. did interdisciplinary sustainability programming further prepared graduate students in sustainability leadership beyond the scope of the…

This report evaluates the impact of intensive student support services provided by Communities in Schools of Kalamazoo (CISK) to elementary students of Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS). These intensive services typically follow a case-management format and include activities related to academic assistance, basic needs, enrichment/motivation, and…

Scientists need to engage stakeholders in natural resource management; however, few graduate programs prepare students to conduct outreach and engagement. Given this need, the authors' goals were to (1) create a one-credit course that introduced outreach and engagement practices and participatory approaches, (2) improve the quality of graduate…

In April 2006, the Michigan State Board of Education and Michigan Legislatures adopted a rigorous package of high school graduation requirements, one of which made Michigan the first state that incorporated an online learning graduation requirement into the K-12 curriculum. All Michigan's students entering high school during 2008-2009 school year…

Researchers examined the impacts of the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship program on academic and behavioral outcomes of students in grades 9-12 in Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS). The Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship program offers college scholarships to graduating high school students in the KPS district. The percentage of tuition and fees covered is…

Many young adults enter college without the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine if 4-H helps develop life skills needed for the transition to college and overall college success. An online survey was sent to college-attending 4-H alumni and a comparison group, with a final sample size…

The Pittsburgh Promise is a scholarship program that provides $5,000 per year toward college tuition for public high school graduates in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who earned a 2.5 GPA and a 90% attendance record. This study used a difference-in-difference design to assess whether the introduction of the Promise scholarship program directly…

The Educational Technology Certificate (ETC.) courses at Michigan State University are a set of three courses that can be taken as a standalone qualification or as the first three courses in the Master's of Educational Technology degree. Together, the courses emphasize the development of technology skills and advanced mindsets for technology…

The current analysis examines the relationship between measures (R-scores, S-scores, faculty productivity) utilized in the recently published National Research Council NRC report and communication doctoral programs' centrality in the faculty-hiring network. Correlations among the network indicators and the NRC ratings were generally moderate and…

In July 2008, Riverbend Public Schools (RPS) in Western Michigan and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) received a grant from the Wallace Foundation that supported the development of a specialized educational leadership program. The project was designed to customize an existing degree program in the university's College of Education, focusing on…

A number of academic, public, regional, and state libraries use WorldCat Local (WCL) as a resource location tool that enables users to search, find, and gain access to a range of print and electronic resources. This article describes a study undertaken to assess a Research I university's implementation of WCL. The study sought to understand the…

Every year 1.3 million U.S. high school students drop out of school with one quarter of female students failing to graduate on time. Female dropouts are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less when they are employed, to become pregnant before the age of 20, to become obese, to smoke, and to drink more heavily than their male counterparts. This…

This issue of "Assessment Update" presents the following articles: (1) Mission Accomplished! The Development of a Competence-based E-portfolio Assessment Model (Shelley Schuurman, Scott Berlin, Jamie Langlois, and Julie Guevara); (2) The Third Rail of Assessment--Dangerous but Powerful (Dale L. Mort); (3) Video Killed the Radio…

The Geosciences Institute for Research and Education at the University of Michigan-Dearborn has been an example of a successful and effective model in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the geosciences. The program emphasizes involving middle school and at-risk high school students from the Detroit area public schools,…

Background: Recent research on the preparation of graduate students in education for research has focused on general matters of epistemology, curriculum, and teaching. What should researchers know, how should research courses be designed, and what instructional approaches are most effective? Purpose: This article addresses the problem of the…