The AEL Measure of Academic Supportiveness and Climate (AEL MASC) was developed as part of the MAACK Pilot Schools project currently underway at AEL. MAACK stands for Maximizing Achievement for African American Children in Kanawha. The AEL MASC was designed to determine students' perceptions about themselves as students and about their school…

Although recent results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) suggest there is considerable variation in levels of undergraduate student engagement within Carnegie institutional classifications, research also suggests different classifications of institutions exhibit different types (Pike and Kuh, 2005) and levels (Pike, Kuh and…

This document discusses a study completed in 2002 about the graduates of the Westchester Community College. The study addresses the effectiveness of WCC in helping achieve goals of the graduates in employment goals, transfer goals, academic goals, and personal goals. Of the 1,802 students that graduated from WCC in the Class of 2002, 317 returned…

This paper draws on the stereotype threat hypothesis and social identity theory to examine the influence of positive and negative ability beliefs on Navajo students' achievement goals. Data were collected on 829 Navajo students in two reservation high schools. The results support the notion that Navajo students hold both positive and negative…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

This present research reveals how beer advertising affects adolescents' knowledge of beer brands, drinking attitudes, and drinking behaviors. In addition to traditional psychological approaches for measuring media effects on alcohol-related behaviors and attitudes, market research advertising tracking methods were included to permit a clearer and…

Bridging courses are courses that prepare adult and other nontraditional students for undergraduate study. Focus groups examined the strengths, limitations, and impacts of bridging courses offered at a rural university campus in South Australia. A survey based on their responses was returned by 12 current students in bridging courses and 2 who had…

There is a growing emphasis in tertiary education that students should develop professional skills as part of their education. Skills such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, interpersonal skills, social skills, and time management are actively being targeted by prospective employers as essential requirements for employability,…

Problem-based learning (PBL) was used as the instructional design basis for a TAFE (Technical and Further Education) unit of competency developed for online delivery. The courseware was commissioned to provide online content for users of the Victorian TAFE Virtual Campus (Australia). The aim of the project was to provide courseware that would…

The development of collaborative studies in learning has led to a renewed interest in the field of web-based education. In this experimental study, a highly interactive and collaborative teaching environment was created using Moodle, a learning management system with two types of Collaborative Tools (CTs): Standard CT and Advanced CT to create a…

In 2004, the Dean of Arts and the Dean of Science at UBC partnered with the Arts Undergraduate Society and the Science Undergraduate Society to gain a better understanding of undergraduate student experiences and outcomes. The Undergraduate Student Survey on Student Satisfaction and Engagement (USS) was administered to all Arts and Science…

This study examined academic library usage and outcomes. The objective of the study was to understand how academic libraries help students learn and assist faculty with teaching and research. From March to May 2005, nine Colorado institutions administered two online questionnaires--one to undergraduate students and another to faculty members who…

Establishing school-based drug prevention programs was the aim of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1986 (DFSCA). The study design and data collection methods for a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of DFSCA are presented in this report. As part of an overall assessment of DFSCA, the report details the methodology used to…

This report presents the results of a survey at Johnson County Community College (JCCC) (Kansas), conducted to determine new students' educational objectives and what factors influenced their decisions to attend JCCC. Questions were also asked about new students' preferences for various media in order to provide information for the college's…

Students' understanding of what science is about and how it is done and their expectations as to what goes on in a science course play a powerful role in what they can get out of introductory college physics. This is particularly true when there is a large gap between what the students expect to do and what the instructor expects them to do. This…