This article explores the relationship between the lack of visible attention to formative assessment in degree specifications and its marginalization in practice. Degree specification documents form part of the quality apparatus emphasizing the accountability and certification duties of assessment. Ironically, a framework designed to assure…

With colleges and universities struggling to minimize the effects of the troubled economy, it certainly isn't an easy time to be a CIO. This article presents an interview with a panel of higher education IT leaders about best practices for steering IT through economic crisis. Panelists included Jan Biros, associate VP for instructional technology…

The university is promoted as "a place from where to speak". Academic freedom is examined as a crucial value in an increasingly uncertain age which resonates with Barnett's concern to encourage students to overcome their "fear of freedom". My concern is that the putative university space of freedom and autonomy may well become constricted by those…

Recent publications and research have warned that student self-assessment practices in higher education cannot be presumed to empower students in ways that enhances their learning. This is partly due to a tendency to speak of power in student self-assessment in general and undefined terms. Hence, there is a need to identify the types of power…

Teaching and learning have been a focus of professional development for community college faculty, yet little is known about the impact of professional development on the instructional practices of part-time community college faculty. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the impact of sustained professional development on the…

Purpose: This exploratory study seeks to identify the factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of instructional technology at five prominent universities in the UK. The study aims to examine the organisational factors that enable and inhibit organisational adoption and diffusion of innovation. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative…

The Maine Center for Workforce Research and Information's website reports a 36% loss of jobs in the manufacturing sector from 2000 to 2010 (over 28,500 jobs). Increasingly, employers are requiring a more educated workforce. With only 25% of Maine's population holding a bachelor's degree, Maine lags behind the rest of New England (at 35%),…

This chapter begins with a discussion of the impact of limited resources on the integrity of transactions between students and student affairs administrators. A framework and guiding principles for maintaining integrity are offered, and then some general principles for transactions with students are presented. Next, the chapter involves integrity…

Despite an increase in higher education uptake in the UK, participation rates for working class students remain low. When working-class students attend university, they are often attracted to lower status universities to enrol in new subject areas, such as media studies. This study uses Bourdieu's theory of stratification, and its reproduction via…

Some historically black schools manage to do quite well despite their circumstances, such as dire poverty. We aim at explicating some of the causal factors regarding the effectiveness of three schools in deep rural Mpumalanga, South Africa by tapping the perceptions of their learners. Data were collected from learner samples (four girls and four…

College and university leaders must remain responsive to their environments by promoting institutional innovation and change. External grant-funders, such as foundations, view themselves as initiators of change. Foundations can provide the necessary tools to jump start innovation within colleges and universities. However, despite the best…

"Space, like language, is socially constructed; and like the syntax of language, the spatial arrangements of our buildings and communities reflect and reinforce the nature of gender, race, and class relations in society" (Weisman, 1992, p. 2). While institutions of higher education have granted physical access to African-American women over the…

With increased competition among higher education institutions for best- fit students, the profession of college admissions is compelled to implement innovative recruiting strategies (e.g. online social networking sites), that may impact college access and persistence in the United States. This qualitative study examined the reasons why two…

The United States is primed to lose its position as the global leader in technology and science, largely due to the diminishing supply of trained scientists, engineers and mathematicians. This shrinkage cannot be reversed if the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) community continually ignore the untapped talent that exists in…

Public higher education is currently experiencing a decline in financial support from state governments, an acceleration of enrollment growth, and a shift from a transformational to a transactional student relationship. Private institutions are also struggling with increasing operational costs, and decreases in revenue from endowments and…