Underutilized in higher education, soft systems thinking can mitigate common challenges in implementing instructional design and technology initiatives. A valuable approach is soft systems methodology (SSM), which captures multiple stakeholder perspectives in rich pictures and activity models to support structured conversations about how to…

Many geoscience education initiatives now involve cross-departmental or multi-institutional programs. However, the geoscientists who lead such programs typically have little experience or training in program design, leadership, or evaluation. In this commentary, we make the case that geoscientists taking on these ambitious leadership roles can…

This article draws from narratives of 14 slum dwellers of Christian Colony, Islamabad, Pakistan, to explore their struggle through a web of barriers and enablers to participate in higher education. Using the qualitative approach, primary data was collected through in-depth interviews. The respondents were mostly from the families where males…

Purpose: Food waste represents a major sustainability challenge with environmental, economic, social and health implications. Institutions of higher education contribute to generating food waste while serving as models in championing sustainability solutions. An experiential learning project was implemented as part of two university courses in a…

This article presents a compelling case for the increased role of social workers in work with individuals with autism and Asperger's syndrome in secondary school settings, specifically in transition planning for postsecondary educational pursuits. Social work education prepares social workers to address micro, mezzo, and macro levels of practice…

Purpose: An increase in the number of disruptive and violent events on college and university campuses instigated this review of the methods used to interrupt the trend, with the goal of identifying a preliminary model for systematic management of such threats. The intent is to instigate research, review and discussion in order to decrease the…

Student retention is the field of institutional research that has (deservedly) had the most attention. Besides the models proposed by Tinto (1975, 1993), there have been many theoretical and applied papers on many aspects of student retention. These include demographic characteristics, scholastic scores, financial and residential considerations,…

This paper examines the potential of critical systems thinking enacted through "total systems intervention" to explore quality and to promote improvement in a university academic department. Critical systems approaches, building on commitments to the systems idea, sociological awareness, methodological pluralism and human improvement,…

Three intervention schemes for diagnosing management development needs are examined: one for formal management systems, one for management training to accompany such systems, and the third examining different institutional change strategies. The general management development model is derived from research on developing institutions. (MSE)

This guide presents a comprehensive strategy, called "environmental management," for alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention in institutions of higher education. The environmental management approach utilizes, in addition to educational programs, changes in the physical, social, economic, and legal environment accomplished through a…

Rational decision making by leaders in higher education and similar institutions suffers from both a lack of relevant data and the failure to use data when it is available. The purpose of this paper is to describe a process which when applied seems to facilitate the rational decision making processes of an institution's leadership. The process…