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Yes / This study explores the evolution of student-led social networking groups initiated and sustained by a cohort of undergraduate students over a 3-year time frame. The study contributes to this growing area of research by exploring the impact of peer-led, peer-supported informal learning through social media networks. Social capital is a useful lens through which to understand the findings, and particularly in interpreting descriptions of the evolution of the group over time. The findings suggest that students build bridging social capital to support the transition into higher education, form relationships and learn collaboratively through a large cohort-based Facebook group. Over time, this form of social capital and the use of the Facebook group declines due to a lack of perceived reciprocity and an increased perception of competitiveness amongst peers. However, there is accompanied by a subsequent rise in the building of bonding social capital between closer peer relationships facilitated through the use of various WhatsApp groups. The findings have implications for considering how social networking might support the student journey towards more nuanced, more personalised collaborative learning and a move towards more self-directed learning.

<p>Theoretically, the role of higher education in national development has become clearer than before, while empirically the evidence is overwhelming. Elsewhere in the world, countries that have made tremendous strides in both social and economic development invested heavily and strategically in higher education. In Malawi, the role of higher education in national development has always been recognised by development policies since independence in 1964 <span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">However, with the exception of the first 15 years of independence, Malawi&rsquo / s development path has registered abysmal results both on the social and the economic fronts despite undergoing significant socio-economic and political reforms. Malawi remains one of the most underdeveloped countries whether judged by Gross National Product (GNP) per capita, the UNDP&rsquo / s Human Development Index (HDI) or the Human Poverty Index (HPI). One of the factors that is considered as having contributed to low levels of development is the performance of education systems (primary, secondary and higher education) (World Bank, 2009).</span>It is against this background that this study sought to examine how Malawi&rsquo / s higher education institutions (HEIs) have responded to their roles as prescribed by the national development policies with a focus on the period between 2000 and 2010. Four questions guided the study: i) what specific roles do national development policies define for HEIs to ensure that higher education contributes to national development? ii) To what extent are these roles performed by HEIs in Malawi? iii) What factors determine the performance of HEIs in their expected roles? iv) What pattern of response to their (HEIs&rsquo / ) expected roles can be identified? Theoretically and analytically, the study was informed by the two perspectives of the open systems theory, namely the resource-dependency approach and neo-institutional approach. These two approaches contend that actions by organisations are limited and influenced by various pressures and demands emanating from their internal and external environments and that organisations often respond accordingly in order to survive. Methodologically, the study employed a mixed-method design (of qualitative and quantitative) with a dominant usage of qualitative methods. A multiple case study approach was used in which data were collected through unstructured interviews, semi-structured interviews and documentary review. For qualitative data, the analysis was done using a text method while quantitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel to provide simple descriptive analysis through charts, tables and graphs.<span style="mso-fareast-font-family:TimesNewRoman"> Overall, the study found that Malawi development policies expect HEIs to enhance access, equity, relevance, efficiency and quality of higher education as a way of ensuring that higher education contributes to the national development project. However, the study identified several patterns of response by HEIs (towards these expected roles) that tentatively explain the sub-optimal contribution of higher education in national development. These patterns of response include: inclination towards responding to the politically sensitive crises in the higher education system (for public HEIs) and profit-compatible roles (for private HEI) / use of sub-standard resources and methods antithetical to genuine teaching and learning / duplication by private HEIs of the &ldquo / soft&rdquo / roles being undertaken by public HEI / the abandonment of some of the HEIs&rsquo / original ideals and founding pledges, which are compatible with national development roles / and substitution of long-term coherent academic planning by short-term survival strategies. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt / mso-fareast-font-family:TimesNewRoman / mso-bidi-font-family:Arial / color:black / mso-fareast-language:EN-US / mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The study presents a number of implications, lessons and recommendations in the area of higher education and development. These include: the need for the government to recognise the importance and impact of intra-sectoral linkages in the entire education system on the performance of HEIs / the need to enforce the effective participation of private and public HEIs in national developmental project by establishing a proper regulatory framework / the need to enhance regional and internal collaboration among universities if they are to effectively respond to national roles / the need to reduce marginalisation of HEIs by maximising efforts that create linkages with the productive sector / the need to devise a robust public financing mechanism that broadly deals with issues of equity, relevance, quality and access of higher education / and the need to match education investment priorities and sequencing with development policies</span></p> <p>&nbsp / </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">&nbsp / </p> <p>&nbsp / </p>

Thesis advisor: Alec Peck / Time management in faculty online and blended/hybrid higher education is becoming a major concern -- one that is likely complicated by recent growth in demand for these learning opportunities, rapid changes in necessary technologies, and the need for faculty training and development with respect to technology use. Using interview, survey and participant validation activities for gathering data, this qualitative study explored the association between: (1) the use of some specific time management practices (goal- setting; prioritization; delegation; use of supporting technology - including learning the technology; and work-life balance planning) and (2) instructor feelings of success and satisfaction when offering online and blended/hybrid courses. While this study identified valuable insights from current practitioners concerning time management of online and blended/hybrid teaching endeavors, findings were inconclusive with regard to identifying the association of any specific time management practice with success and satisfaction. Specifically, over one-third of participants did not believe their ratings of success and satisfaction related to their experiences managing their time when offering online and/or blended/hybrid course(s). Participant comments did indicate that learning the technology and goal-setting for professional development (two time management activities) were possibly associated with perception of success and satisfaction, but the nature of the association was unclear. Findings suggest the need for sharing practitioner insights on time management detailed herein, as well as pursuing additional research on the effectiveness of faculty implementation of time management practices on improvement of time management in online and blended/hybrid teaching environments. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

The study aimed to determine the drivers of student satisfaction with the services offered by a Caribbean university. The study, premised on the marketing concept of customer satisfaction, used the Expectation Disconfirmation Model, a widely used tool, to operationalise the study. The study sought to determine (i) the level of customer (student) satisfaction with the services offered by a Caribbean university; (ii) the factors that influence customer (student) satisfaction level with the services offered by a Caribbean university; (iii) to provide management of the Caribbean university with a means through which the business performance of the institution might be improved and (iv) to identify the conceptual link between a Caribbean university and students' perception of the service it offers. Weighted Importance Scores, Gap Scores, and Overall Satisfaction Scores were computed on the data obtained from 512 students across the two campuses of the university. The analysis revealed that the majority of students were more dissatisfied rather than satisfied with the services and service providers of the university and that students' overall view of the services was poor or fair and that of the service providers more fair than poor. There were, however, instances where students were satisfied or delighted with the services provided by the university. The study uncovered thirteen dimensions - Attitude, Setting, Tangibles, Deliverables, Copying Facilities, Ergonomics, Utilities Responsiveness, Reliability, Security, Communication, Value for Money, Credibility - which drove student satisfaction. Two emergent dimensions, “Value for Money” and “Credibility”, could be considered overarching drivers of students' satisfaction. The findings have implications for practice since it was able to leverage the marketing theory of customer satisfaction on students at higher education and use the Expectation Disconfirmation Theory to model and ascertain student satisfaction. The study was able to identify dimensions and concomitant factors of importance to students on which the university could direct improvement efforts. The study lays claim to originality owing to the uniqueness of the model and the sample used in the study to ascertain drivers of student satisfaction at higher education.

Since the implementation of the 2012 fee and funding regime in England, that notably increased the maximum undergraduate tuition fees to £9000, the focus of policymakers and those in the higher education sector has been on student participation rates. Thus, to date little is known about the extent to which the 2012 fee and funding changes have affected students’ higher education decision-making. The purpose of this research was to explore students’ study mode, subject and institution choices under the 2012 fee regime, with the aim of contributing new knowledge in this area. To this end, a comprehensive approach to mixed methods was used to generate quantitative and qualitative data on students’ decision-making (Hesse-Biber, 2010a). Two methods were used to generate the data, which were questionnaires completed by 550 students and follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of 30 students. The students, aged 17 to 21, were from six schools and colleges across Greater London and in the final year of their level 3 qualifications (NQF/QCF). The timing of the fieldwork was pivotal to the research and generated data at a specific moment in students’ decisionmaking, after they had submitted a UCAS application (January 2013) and prior to the publication of their level three qualifications (August 2013), which has provided new knowledge of students’ responses to the increased costs of higher education. Informed by Hodkinson and colleagues’ theory of pragmatically rational decision-making (Hodkinson, Sparkes and Hodkinson, 1996), this research provides evidence that the 2012 fee and funding regime has altered and constrained students’ higher education choices. In terms of students’ study mode choices, despite policymakers expectations of increased diversification, the traditional mode of three years of full-time study towards a bachelor degree qualification in a face-to-face teaching and learning environment remains as highly, if not more highly, favoured, with some students avoiding four year courses (typically sandwich courses) to minimise costs. Over half of the students in this research reconsidered and altered their subject choices to those they perceived as improving their graduate employability. This decision was taken by students to ensure that the costs of participating in higher education were beneficial to their future career. The increased costs of higher education has also caused students to live at home whilst studying to reduce their debt and expenses, which was a decision disproportionately made by black and minority ethnic students from all social classes. The findings from this research provide new insights into students’ decision-making that contrast with prior literature, particularly in relation to trends by social class (Bates, Pollard, Usher and Oakley, 2009; Callender and Jackson, 2008; Reay, David and Ball, 2005; Usher, Baldwin, Munro, Pollard and Sumption, 2010). The research argues that the 2012 fee and funding ‘reforms’ have been counterproductive; as opposed to putting financial power into the hands of learners” (BIS, 2010, p.5), the ‘reforms’ have disempowered students by limiting their choices to those that are perceived as affordable.

This study examined an aspect of enrollment management at a private liberal arts college. Factors related to enrollment decisions of students accepted for admission to Milligan College were analyzed by comparing two groups: matriculants and nonmatriculants. The population consisted of 438 traditional-age applicants for the 1995 fall semester. Data were collected from the application for admission, financial aid application, and a survey instrument designed to obtain information relative to influences on the enrollment decision. The Purposes of the research were to determine if significant differences existed between the two groups and to identify the characteristics of the students most likely to enroll at the college. Analyses were conducted by calculating measures of central tendency, the chi-square test of significance, the independent t-test for equality of means, and multiple linear regression. Among the variables considered were financial aid resources, academic achievement, distance from the campus, church affiliation, attendance by relatives, and campus visit. Subjects were also asked an open-ended question on the survey regarding the primary reasons for their decisions. Major findings revealed significant differences between matriculants and nonmatriculants with respect to completion of the financial aid award process, church affiliation, scholarships and grants received, ACT scores, and campus visit. The survey respondents identified as primary reasons for a decision to enroll, the Christian atmosphere, programs of study available, and quality academics. Primary reasons for a decision not to enroll included, distance from the college, high cost, and the desired program of study was not available. Based on the results of the research the following recommendations were made. Steps should be taken to ensure completion of the financial aid award process is a high priority for all applicants. Scholarships and grants should be awarded at the optimum level for each qualified applicant. Recruiting efforts should focus on those areas, geographically and demographically, in which the prospects who are most likely to enroll can be identified, based on selected characteristics.

This study of principal preparation programs composing the Danforth Foundation Program for the Preparation of School Principals (DPPSP) was conducted to identify and compare the perceptions of program faculty and program coordinators of their respective instructional planning and teaching practices, and their like perceptions of department expectations of faculty regarding these same roles. Variables were constructed using a pilot survey with selected faculty who were members of the Southern Region Council for Education Administration. There were three major findings. Faculty and program coordinators ranked their perceptions of their own practice highly. Faculty and program coordinators ranked their perceptions of their own instructional planning and teaching higher than they ranked their perceptions of department expectations of faculty regarding their teaching. Faculty and program coordinators ranked their perceptions of their own practice higher than they ranked their self-reported use of various instructional planning and teaching strategies, and methods and resources. Several recommendations resulted from this study. Among the most notable were the following: faculty and program coordinators in DPPSP programs need to conduct research which focuses on graduate perceptions of the quality of instructional planning and teaching they experienced while in the preparation program: similar research which focuses on other principal preparation program faculty teaching practices needs to be conducted, possibly using a qualitative approach: in light of the disparity between faculty and program coordinator perceptions of their instructional planning and teaching practices, and their self-reported utilization of various instructional planning and teaching methods and resources, it was recommended that DPPSP faculties and coordinators engage in critical assessment of the assumptions under which they plan for and enact teaching and learning activities.