Understanding social interactions among students comprises a rich area of physics education research. Here we focus on the social interactions in introductory physics laboratories (labs). Most existing research in such contexts focuses on within-group social dynamics, however, we argue that interactions between different lab groups are just as…

Engaging in interactions with peers is important for student learning. Many studies have quantified patterns of student interactions in in-person physics courses using social network analysis, finding different network structures between instructional contexts (lecture and laboratory) and styles (active and traditional). Such studies also find…

The Tech Valley Scholars (TVS) program included 38 students who joined this program over the course of three academic years, from 2009 to 2012. These students comprise the experimental group for this study to determine if participating in the NSF-funded Tech Valley Scholars program improved academic outcomes. The experimental group was compared to…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

The purpose of this study was to select an institution that has mandated mentoring as part of its mission and to examine students' perceptions of the mentoring they received. The study selected Empire State College (ESC), a college that is part of the State of New York University system in the USA. ESC is an institution with a 36-year history of…

The population studied is the group of 2,329 students who entered SUNY/Buffalo as full-time freshmen in the fall of 1974; 89 percent are represented in the study. Data are reported on: major distribution, by both sex and total numbers; certainty of major choice; factors influencing choice of major; academic degree expectations, by program (equal…

One of a series of discussion papers on the history, governance, operation, and development of the State University of New York (SUNY) community college system, this paper examines trends in the characteristics of students, faculty, and programs and the nature of academic planning and evaluation. The first section of the paper highlights the…

Descriptions of characteristics of entering freshmen are useful in identifying an important segment of the university population and in detecting changing trends and attitudes that could significantly affect the functions of the university. In a survey of freshmen at SUNY/Buffalo, results indicated that: entering freshmen are extremely optimistic…

A continuing objective of New York State has been to provide equal access to postsecondary educational opportunity. To meet this objective the State has provided resources for special programs in postsecondary institutions for persons who have been academically and educationally disadvantaged. The four separate programs that serve the needs of…

College and university admissions and enrollment data for New York State for fall 1980 are presented. Fifteen statistical tables pertain to degree-credit and noncredit enrollment; four tables summarize undergraduate and graduate admissions. Tables include the following: trends in degree-credit enrollment in public, independent, and proprietary…