Society is gaining in its ability to produce, but struggling to use the fruits of that productivity wisely. For higher education to play its best and appropriate roles, the capacity for innovation needs to be regenerated and encouraged. Technology will play a significant role in creating opportunities for fundamentally different ways of providing…

Points out that assessment of courses and curricula lags behind implementation and focuses on an evaluation project at the University of Arizona. Describes an effort to determine the effectiveness of science courses for non-majors. (DDR)

Discusses the definition of the academic credit hour and its relationship to current social, political, and educational changes. Today, nontraditional delivery systems affect the way credit is offered and received. Faculty must consider how these changes affect what graduates know. Definition and validity of the credit hour is the key to the…

Presents the results of a two-year project to implement recommendations for reform of college-level introductory science courses. Studies student reactions in a course required for biology majors and concludes that critical thinking skills can be successfully integrated with the study of process in science. (Contains 30 references.) (DDR)

Presents a series of standard demonstrations as examples of activities that can be used to introduce multiple concepts and tie different sections of an introductory physics course together. Contributes to changes in classroom dynamics by stimulating student engagement and encouraging inclusivity. (Contains 23 references.) (DDR)

Educating for civic competence is an important societal mission of the community college. This chapter describes obstacles to and opportunities for the success of this mission.

Three faculty members of Concordia University in Montreal, who played integral roles in the formation of a highly successful core curriculum as part of their institution, discuss the logistics, the politics, and the philosophy behind the founding and growth of their Liberal Arts College. For Harvey Shulman, the program, which has attracted…

This article addresses a number of the theoretical and practical issues raised by using personal development planning (PDP) to enhance employability. It briefly discusses the background, rationale and evidence for PDP. It also considers the problems associated with policy implementation: the practicalities of embedding personal development…

From early 1992 until the end of 2000, over 1,000 academic programmes in public universities in Mexico were externally evaluated by Peer Review Teams. The evaluating organisation decided, in 2001, to invite an independent group to study this exercise in order to assess the state of Mexican Higher Education. As a consequence of such revision, an…

The rapid increase in the number of low-cost computers, the proliferation of user-friendly software, and the development of electronic networks have created the "informatics era." The Internet is a rapidly growing communication resource that is becoming mainstream in the American society. Computer-based electronic political advocacy by social…

Religious denominations have a long history of benevolent outreach to individuals considered "less fortunate." The institution of slavery in the United States created an opportunity for most denominations in the North to advance an image of "patron saint" to an oppressed African American community. Immediately following the…

This article offers an evaluation of the implementation of the American Sociological Association's Integrating Data Analysis Project in a large introductory sociology course. This project was designed following an examination of the curricula of 13 disciplines that revealed that sociology failed to integrate empirical, quantitative literacy…

This article reports the split of Americans on requiring students to take more courses in math and science. In a survey findings released by the American Council on Education, Americans are divided about whether college students need to study more mathematics and science to preserve America's global economic competitiveness. According to David…

The ABET Engineering Criteria Program Outcomes and Assessment presents faculty, department heads, and college administrators with the challenge to actually demonstrate that their graduates have a broad range of abilities. This challenge has precipitated an unprecedented outcomes-based movement in engineering education. One possible course-level…

Context: Medical and allied health professionals who work in agricultural states frequently address the needs of clients who live and work in rural and frontier environments. The primary occupations of those living in rural areas include farming, ranching, or other agriculture-related work. Farming is consistently ranked as one of the most…