A study of long-term doctoral student persistence patterns at Cornell University (New York) indicates students are more likely to complete their degrees, and in less time, if they receive fellowships rather than research or teaching assistantships, especially if fellowships are awarded in the first year. (MSE)

The evolution of the recent discussion of quality assessment and evaluation of teaching in German higher education is chronicled. Concern began in the 1980s over the length of time to degree and has shifted to interest in improvement of teaching quality and overall system effectiveness. (Author/MSE)

Describes study of undergraduates that investigated learners' preconceptions of the difficulty of interactive video, instructional television, and television. The effects of actively or covertly responding to practice questions on perceived mental effort, recall, and inferences are examined, and correlations between lesson time and inference or…

Describes a study that compared the effectiveness of computer-mediated communication systems for teacher education distance education courses with traditional classroom instruction and a correspondence course at Purdue University. Variables examined are described, including achievement test scores, time-on-task, and students' attitudes; and…

Effects of recent changes in Australian higher education on everyday academic work are examined, including changed emphases in teaching, research, administration, and public service and new demands associated with allocation of time, self-regulation, fragmentation of work into more discrete tasks, greater uniformity of effort, recruitment…

Describes a study that was conducted to investigate the effect of cooperative learning and the need for affiliation on performance, time on task, and satisfaction of undergraduates using an instructional television lesson. Individual measures are described, cooperative versus individual learning strategies are compared, and future research is…

A study applied a human capital model to statistics on part-time adult college/university students in the United Kingdom and finding that part-time students account for approximately 40% of total student numbers of whom 42% are female and that part-time study is of significant benefit to both individuals and society. (Author/MSE)

Describes a study of undergraduates that investigated the use of hypermedia programs by learners classified as active, passive, or neutral. Two instructional approaches were compared, one utilizing instructional cues and one without instructional cues; and dependent variables including achievement, time on task, and frequency of viewing embedded…

Discussion of student assistants in academic libraries focuses on a study of 40 academic libraries in Texas with church affiliations that investigated ways to motivate student assistants to shelve more productively. Student attitudes are discussed, and it is concluded that a small across-the-board pay incentive is an effective motivator. (17…

Describes a study that compared animated demonstrations, procedural textual instructions, and demonstrations combined with spoken procedural text to assess the effectiveness of animated demonstrations for users learning HyperCard. Results of accuracy, time on task, user responses, retention, and transfer are discussed; and future research is…

Using interview data from 42 working, lower- and underclass African-American female college students, this article challenges the primacy of the cultural argument that educational failure of African-American women is primarily the result of their adherence to oppositional cultural forms and a preindustrial sense of time that inhibits success in…

Refutes the statements that (a) community colleges do not provide an equivalent education to that given students native to a university, and (b) community colleges prevent students from earning a bachelor's degree in a timely fashion. Also asserts that the location where transfer students begin postsecondary education accounts for only 8% of the…

The provost of Towson University, a Maryland state university, analyzes why his institution employs part-time faculty, discusses problems and solutions, and makes recommendations for longer-term policy development to assure quality education. It is argued that part-time faculty are critical to university operations, providing an economic base that…

Describes the process of selecting and developing a debate team at the University of New South Wales (Australia) to compete in an international Modern Standard Chinese debating competition. Discusses issues in selecting team members, training needs and strategies (particularly self-directed learning), time pressure, and the success of the…

Anecdotal comments by teachers of English as a Second Language at all levels focus on problems in pay equity, working conditions, opportunities for professional development, and part-time teaching assignments. A Washington state survey of adult ESL program administrators echoed many of these problems and also found wide variation in class size.…