This paper documents the initial phase of a research project to improve peer interaction in a discussion forum for a Spatial Sciences class (unit) at Curtin University. A number of strategies were implemented to redress the low levels of online participation prevailing for a number of years. Three research questions were formulated to evaluate the…

In 1979, less than 30% of full-time university students in Canada worked for pay during the academic year. By the mid-2000s, this had risen to 45%. This trend to increasing work among full-time students is also evident in other countries, and may be a concern if it reduces students' investment in human capital during their studies. I find that,…

The purpose of this study was to use data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) to (a) conceptually identify and empirically establish student, family, and school constructs; (b) explore the degree to which the constructs can be measured equivalently across disability groups; and (c) examine latent differences (means,…

Since 2003, Chinese university students have faced a dangerous level of unemployment after graduation. Current trends indicate that the situation is likely to remain at this level for some time. This article argues that it is difficult to generalize that there has been a decline in the competitiveness of all university students in the job market…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" investigates the number of attempts it takes students to complete all developmental education courses to which they are referred. Subsequent gateway course completion and overall persistence are also examined. Three-year outcomes were analyzed and…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" looks at three-year enrollment and attainment outcomes of students who persist through their first year. Additionally, first-year persisters (FYPs) were grouped based on the interaction of several student characteristics; analysis was conducted to…

Now in its 35th year, Monitoring the Future (MTF) is a long-term program of research conducted at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research under a series of investigator-initiated research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study is comprised of several ongoing series of annual surveys of nationally…

Selection of items for analogy tests according to the Rasch item probability of "goodness of fit" to the model is compared with three commonly used item selection criteria: item discrimination, item difficulty, and item-ability correlation. Word, picture, symbol and number analogies in multiple choice format were administered to several…

Nearly one-quarter of students in community colleges leave school during the first year of enrollment for reasons other than transfer or credential completion. Generally, nontraditional community college students drop out within their first year at higher rates than do traditional students. Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges…

The data and computational procedures used by the IDEA system at Kansas State University (during the 1976-77 academic year) to interpret ratings of teacher performance are described in this technical report. The computations for each of the seven parts (evaluation, course description, students' self ratings, methods, additional questions,…

The data and computational procedures used by the IDEA System during the 1977-78 academic year at Kansas State University to interpret ratings of teacher performance are described in this technical report. The computations for each of the seven parts (evaluation, course description, students' self-ratings, methods, additional questions, diagnostic…

The data and computational procedures used by the IDEA System to generate IDEA Reports from information collected on the Standard Form of the IDEA Survey Form are described in this technical report. The computations for each of the seven parts of the IDEA Report are explained. The data base used for this 1978-79 Kansas State University study…