The following work investigates the state of undergraduate mentoring at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in January 2013. It goes on to investigate the impacts of those mentoring experiences on students' academic performance as measured by Dean's List attainment and graduation. The primary source for data is a researcher-designed survey that was administered to over 1000 undergraduates. It also uses publicly available records obtained from SIU-C. After a survey of relevant literature, the construction and administration of the survey are presented as well as what records were obtained from SIU-C. This is followed by a presentation of the dataset as a whole, with emphasis on how representative it is of the undergraduate student body. Summary statistics and correlations of explanatory variables are provided. The document then presents three chapters of empirical analysis. These three chapters all follow a pattern of first establishing the research questions and hypotheses to be investigated, an exploration of data that particularly applies to this section of analysis, and a brief explanation of the major methodology followed. Each empirical chapter finishes by showing how each hypothesis was specifically investigated, the results obtained, and a discussion on the validity and application of those results. Avenues of future research are also presented when applicable. The first empirical chapter delves into what type of student receives what type of mentoring. The document contributes to the literature in its investigation of how previous mentoring experiences impact the incidence and type of mentoring utilized by students at the university level. The next section looks services provided by mentors and how these impact a student’s attitude about the institution and their place in it. Finally, the investigation turns to how mentoring impacts academic performance. The primary measure of academic performance is the attainment of the Dean's List, a measure not seen in previous literature. The document ends with a brief conclusion where policy ramifications are discussed. The extensive appendix included empirical tables not included in the text of the document, human subject committee approval, and the survey and its consent form.

The purpose of this mixed method study was to better understand undergraduate students' perceptions of international teaching assistants (ITAs) at a major research institution. For the purpose of this inquiry data were collected from surveying a sample of 436 of undergraduate students from different colleges and at different class levels. Survey data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Through the qualitative analysis of the open-ended survey data, undergraduate students' perceptions were derived from their responses, which resulted in themes both established in previous research (e.g., language), and original ideas (e.g., learning to understand ITAs language). Qualitative analysis of the survey data revealed that undergraduate students' perceptions of ITAs were varied and complex. For example, one perception identified was the connection of language to pedagogic difficulties, while another perception focused on the interactive construct of communication. Further, the quantitative analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between these two relational perceptions and undergraduate students who reported having experienced problems with ITAs in their classes. More specifically, students who indicated that they did not have problematic experience with ITAs were not very likely to articulate perceptions that were relational, whereas more students that did report having a problem in courses taught by ITAs articulated perceptions that involved an interaction (e.g., communication and language as a barrier interfering with pedagogic performance of ITAs). The findings from this study thus provide a critical understanding of undergraduate students' perceptions from their perspectives. In addition, the finding that language-pedagogy and communication were connected by undergraduate students who had encountered problems with ITAs, suggests that instead of ITA education programs addressing the challenges of accommodating the needs of individual departments and/or colleges in a university (Jia & Bergerson, 2008), ITA education would benefit more from focusing on language in relation to pedagogy.

Class of 2016 Abstract / Objectives: To first educate undergraduates involved in social sororities about prescription stimulant medications and to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention in influencing the attitudes and beliefs regarding prescription stimulant medication use of undergraduates involved in social sororities. Methods: The intervention, an educational session, was presented to undergraduates involved in social sororities. The questionnaire collected demographic data regarding gender, age, ethnicity, race, undergraduate year, grade point average, type of sorority member, history of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis, and previous or current non-medical use of prescription stimulants. The participants’ attitudes and beliefs on nine statements regarding prescription stimulants were queried pre- and post-intervention using a four-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. To analyze changes in attitudes and beliefs, Mann-Whitney test was used. Results: One hundred sixty-three sorority members participated in the study. The average age of participants was 19 years with the majority of respondents identifying as an active sorority member (81%) and in their first year of undergraduate study (69%). There was a statistically significant change in beliefs regarding the safety (p < 0.01) and health risks (p = 0.02) associated with prescription stimulants. There was no significant difference in topics relating to addiction, legal issues of taking someone else’s prescription medications, emotional and academic outcomes from the use of prescription stimulants. Conclusions: The educational program presented by pharmacy students was effective in changing the beliefs and attitudes regarding safety and health risks of prescription stimulants among undergraduate students involved in social sororities.

Student retention in higher education has become a national problem. At a small midwestern university, the retention rate has been declining, and the freshman to sophomore retention rate was 64% in 2013. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to investigate ways to improve student retention. Tinto's theory of integration was used to explore the students' and administrators' perceptions of the factors that contribute to poor student retention to graduation. This study analyzed 519 student exit-forms from 2012-2015, 6 semistructured interviews from a purposeful sample of 10 administrators, and an analysis of university archival data. A thematic analysis of the data was completed. The following themes emerged from the analysis: financial problems, academic concerns, and social concerns. Based on the research findings, a 3-day professional development workshop was developed for university administrators, faculty, and staff to help increase their knowledge of retention, reasons why students are not staying, and strategies to academically and socially integrate students into the campus community. The workshop included strategies and activities designed to increase student retention. This study provided administrators, faculty, and staff with strategies and resources to help increase student retention, which may lead to improved graduation rates and less time to graduate.

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Throughout the past few decades, as global health trips for undergraduates and medical students began to increase in popularity, so did the topic of global health ethics. While there has been much research on the regulations for medical students' global health experiences, the same cannot be said for their undergraduate counterparts (Mccall & Iltis, 2014). Given the numerous pre-medical students attending these trips, it is vital to understand their motivations and bring light to the ethical issues that might occur. Intense literature analysis and a global health survey completed by students at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine were used in this paper to weigh the benefits against the costs of these trips. Although there are ethical dilemmas, comparing undergraduate global health trips to medical school trips shows that there may be steps that can be taken to improve trips and avoid severe ethical issues. Undergraduate universities and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) could vet and post approved programs for their pre-medical students. This and increased efforts to inform people of ethical problems associated with global health would allow students to benefit from their trip while minimizing ethical costs to the country and themselves. / Urban Bioethics

Previous research has shown that excessive levels of stress can have a significant, negative effect on one’s overall cognitive efficiency and that stress levels are negatively correlated with various self-care practices. The present research was designed to build upon this body of knowledge by gathering data from an undergraduate sample (N = 200) with 44 males and 156 females (MAge = 21.22). Participants’ stress levels and self-care practices were measured at weeks 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 of a standard semester using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale and the Mindful Self-Care Scale. We hypothesized that increased stress would result in decreased self-care practices and that predisposed levels of self-care at time 1 could be used to predict stress levels at times 3 and 5. A cross-lagged panel analysis supported this hypothesis, indicating simultaneously that self-care was significantly correlated with stress and that the two factors were significantly predictive of one another at later time points.

There is national attention and concern from industry leaders, educators and politicians that the United States will not be able to maintain its competitive edge due to the lack of students prepared for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (Hurtado et al., 2008; Kuenzi et al., 2006; Kuenzi, 2008; Laursen et al., 2010). Student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE), has been shown to be a high impact activity leading to greater student interest in STEM careers. A closer look is needed to get an idea of what types of experiences during UREs impact a student’s interest in persisting into a STEM field career and to understand what are the key mechanisms of the experience that make it meaningful. The findings in this study add to the literature by exploring participants views of the undergraduate research experience at non-doctoral-granting universities and by supporting the idea that UREs can be effective in these settings as well. Further, this study puts forward a theoretical explanation about how and why UREs promote a student’s interest in persisting to a STEM field career. The purpose of this qualitative study using critical incidents was to identify experiences during a URE that students perceived to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify causal mechanisms for why these experiences made a difference in their interest. This study was designed to use a qualitative approach consisting of individual interviews and a focus group with a total of 31 participants from three institutions to identify and come to a more complex, multi-layered understanding of the undergraduate research experience. A card sorting technique where participants assigned each card to the encouraged an interest, deterred an interest, neither encouraged nor deterred an interest, or did not experience category was used initially to generate a conversation about what individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Follow-up interview questions guided the participant in explaining the incident and how and why it impacted their interest in a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that all participants began their URE with an interest in science. No one set of critical incidents was identified to encourage or deter an interest as the same incident could have positive and negative outcomes. Because of the initial strong interest in science, incidents identified in the literature as deterring an interest in STEM often served to help participants refine the field or topic in STEM they wanted to pursue rather than causing them to leave STEM altogether. The individual critical incidents during the URE in totality, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career. It is a combination of multiple experiences or events that help students gain a greater sense of self and to refine career and research opportunities. The main contribution of this study is a theoretical model of the mechanisms by which a variety of incidents during a URE can impact an interest in STEM. This model identifies underlying causal mechanisms on how UREs can promote an interest in STEM. The model is similar to a grounded theory model in that it highlights student characteristics, contextual factors, mechanisms, and outcomes that help to refine STEM field career interest. The URE incidents in totality provide mechanisms resulting in outcomes that refine a career interest in STEM. As all participants were still involved in their URE, this study is limited in that we do not know with any certainty if the participants will enter a STEM field career. Future research designed with a longitudinal time frame could follow participants throughout the URE then into their career thus allowing greater understanding as to why some students may choose to leave the STEM pipeline. In-depth case studies would allow for testing of the conceptual model to identify turning points in an interest in a STEM field career and how interests in a STEM field career are refined. Further, case studies would allow researchers to compare the conceptual model in different settings. The goals of UREs can be advanced in settings where there is a central organizing office on campus that makes visible that the institution values research and STEM and creates opportunities where students can to connect to a wider community of researchers. Faculty mentors guiding UREs can advance a commitment to pursue science by continually articulating the importance and wider social significance of the research. Further, faculty mentors play an invaluable role by providing information about the range of opportunities to pursue research, connect students with other research, and encourage URE student attendance at professional conferences in order to begin identification with a wider community of like-minded individuals. / Ph. D. / Educators, industry leaders and politicians are concerned about the lack of students prepared for STEM field careers and the United States being able to maintain its competitive edge globally. One opportunity to prepare students for STEM field careers is through student-faculty research, such as is done during an undergraduate research experience (URE). This study was designed to identify and understand critical incidents in undergraduate research experiences that students perceive to encourage or deter their interest in pursuing a STEM field career following graduation and to identify why these experiences made a difference in their interest. An incident sorting process was used to identify individual experiences that students perceive encourage or deter them from pursuing a STEM field career following graduation. Participant interviews and a focus group were conducted to understand how and why the identified experiences had a bearing on the student deciding to pursue a STEM field career following graduation. Findings of the study indicate that incidents during the URE combined, not individually, had an impact on participants’ interest in pursuing a STEM field career.

No / Across the UK, many anatomy departments possess historical potted wet cadaveric specimen collections, such as organs preserved in fluid-filled jars. Although considered obsolete by some for anatomical education, there is immense potential for their utilisation in teaching, particularly in institutes that have limited access to cadavers or have had body donation rates impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Another benefit of historical potted cadaveric specimens is that severe pathology, often not seen today, can be observed by the student. The aim of this study was to understand students' opinions and attitudes towards the use of historical anatomical and pathological potted wet specimen collections in undergraduate science teaching. Following their integration into the anatomy program of a Clinical Sciences degree, seventy-seven undergraduate students completed a five-point Likert questionnaire on their perspective for the integration of the historical potted specimens in anatomical education. This study was approved by the Research Ethics committee at the University of Bradford RESULTS: The study demonstrated that 90 % of students found the collection useful in teaching, 92 % would like to see the collection used more in teaching, and 76 % of students found that the collection encouraged them to consider medical ethics and the donor. In conclusion, the survey findings suggest that further utilisation of historical potted wet specimen collections would be useful in the teaching of anatomy and that these collections could potentially encourage conversations on post-mortem bodily integrity, ethics, and organ donation.

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