Report on the 2011 International UDC Seminar, "Classification and Ontology: Formal Approaches and Access to Knowledge", which took place on 19-20 September 2011 in the National Library of the Netherlands (The Hague).

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify and explore the relationship between state appropriations and freshman to sophomore retention at public, four year institutions of higher education. Additional questions concerning the users of retention programming learning centers, summer bridge programs, and freshman seminars emerged during the analysis of the initial question. Data sources included the College Board annual survey of institutions, WebCASPAR, Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, and email surveying of the 271 institutions included in the sample for the years 1991 and 1996. The data was used in a series of multiple regressions and fixed effects regressions. The fixed effects method was viable since the same institutions provided observations for two points in time. The choice of independent variables was informed by retention theory and prior quantitative research into the retention question, as well as by the small body of literature addressing the efficacy of retention interventions. The new independent variable was the state dollars allocated per FTE student at each institution in 1991 and 1996.The multiple regression analyses confirmed that state dollars have a statistical impact on freshman to sophomore retention. In addition, the analyses suggested that summer bridge programming is the most effective of the three retention interventions considered, despite the small size of these programs relative to learning centers and freshman seminars. However, learning centers were the most numerous of the three programs and freshman seminars were the fastest growing. Descriptive statistics suggested that institutions using these three programs have higher populations of students of color and also were more selective than those institutions not using the programs.The fixed effects regressions, however, returned very different results, with freshman seminars showing a strong, negative effect on retention rates and state appropriations no apparent effect. Data limitations may have resulted in these disparate results. Implications of this work include a stronger case for institutions to lobby the states and the suggestion to implement summer bridge programming prior to the other two interventions while additional research should employ a more robust data set and focus on disaggregating state money into its primary beneficiaries.

No description available.

The International UDC Seminar 2009 “Classification at a Crossroads - multiple directions to usability” took place in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague on 29-30 October 2009. It was a truly international event as it attracted 135 delegates from 32 countries comprising librarians, LIS lecturers, researchers, information consultants, Web technologists and indexing specialists.

Thesis advisor: John Cawthorne / As a student at one of the nation’s leading universities, Boston College, it seems imperative to look at the university’s aims and accomplishments with a critical eye. The conceptual goals of higher education, particularly liberal arts education, have been the object of philosophical and political conversations for centuries, and it is important that universities continually assess their status through deliberative discussions. This paper seeks to analyze the liberal arts education provided at Boston College in relation to historic conceptions of higher education, current understandings on methods of this education, and the possibility of disparities between what Boston College claims to provide and what students, in reality, receive. Further, this report seeks to make comparisons between the liberal arts education provided by the honors program at Boston College and that which is delivered in the regular core program. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Lynch School of Education.

Performance-based funding is becoming the norm in higher education. High-impact practices like first-year seminars hold promise for improving some of the key metrics in the funding model, such as first-year retention rate and first-year institutional GPA. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of retention rate and institutional GPA between first-time-in-college (FTIC) students who completed a first-year seminar and those who did not. Additional data regarding pre-college experiences and expectations for college were investigated to gain insight into retention and academic success behaviors of FTIC students. Three years of data including institutional Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) scores, high school GPAs, enrollment data, and student grades were collected. Due to a significant difference in high school GPA between summer and fall admits, all analyses were conducted separately for each group. For both summer and fall admits, results from the chi-square tests of homogeneity and independent samples t tests indicated no significant difference in retention rates or mean institutional GPA between FTIC students who completed a first-year seminar and those who did not. Logistic and multiple linear regression tests were conducted to determine whether FTIC student retention and institutional GPA could be predicted by pre-college experience and expectations as measured by the BCSSE. For fall admits only, two of the nine BCSSE scales, expected academic perseverance and perceived academic preparation were significant predictors for retention. For predicting institutional GPA, summer and fall admits shared two significant predictors from the BCSSE: high school learning strategies and importance of campus environment. For fall admits only, there were three additional significant predicators: high school quantitative reasoning, expected collaborative learning, and perceived academic preparation. The results of this study may encourage higher education institutions to consider assessment of their own first-year seminars. The impact of a first-year seminar may be improved by developing curriculum that addresses the skills, experience, and expectations unique to each institution’s first-year students.

Das zum dreizehneten Male durchgeführte interuniversitäre Doktorandenseminar der Universitäten Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg, Halle-Wittenberg, Jena und Leipzig repräsentiert eine Kooperation mehrerer Wirtschaftsinformatik-Professoren. Es hat sich als Forum des fruchtbaren Austausches zu Forschungsthemen etabliert, die gemäß der Brückenfünktion der Wirtschaftsinformatik ein breites Spektrum zwischen Betriebswirtschaft und Technik aufspannen.

Das zum dreizehnten Male durchgeführte interuniversitäre Doktorandenseminar der Universitäten Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg, Halle-Wittenberg, Jena und Leipzig repräsentiert eine Kooperation mehrerer Wirtschaftsinformatik-Professoren. Es hat sich als Forum des fruchtbaren Austausches zu Forschungsthemen etabliert, die gemäß der Brückenfünktion der Wirtschaftsinformatik ein breites Spektrum zwischen Betriebswirtschaft und Technik aufspannen.

Σκοπός της εργασίας-έρευνας είναι η αξιολόγηση των προγράμματων Συνεχιζόμενης Κατάρτισης που υλοποιούνται σε πιστοποιημένες δομές, από καταρτιζόμενους-εργαζόμενους. / The object of the project is the survey of the programmes of continued seminars that take place in certificated areas, from the employed

Das zum neunten Male durchgeführte interuniversitäre Doktorandenseminar der Universitäten Halle-Wittenberg, Jena und Leipzig repräsentiert eine Kooperation mehrerer Wirtschaftsinformatik-Professoren. Es hat sich als Forum des fruchtbaren Austausches zu Forschungsthemen etabliert, die gemäß der Brückenfünktion der Wirtschaftsinformatik ein breites Spektrum zwischen Betriebswirtschaft und Technik aufspannen.