<p> The purpose of this descriptive research was to create awareness and an understanding of how participation in campus recreation contributes to students&rsquo; wellness, and how students can create healthy lifestyles throughout and after their college experience. This study was designed to examine the benefits of participation in campus recreation for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of South Florida. This study investigates the dimensions of wellness in campus recreation and explains how the wellness components of campus recreation have the ability to benefit a student&rsquo;s quality of life during their college years. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered and used to help determine the benefits of participating in campus recreation facilities, programs, and services. A random sample of students was chosen to participate in the NASPA Recreation and Wellness Benchmark used to gather data about campus recreation users and their attitudes and opinions on campus recreation at the University of South Florida. A purposeful, convenience sample of students participated in focus groups providing qualitative data. The data showed that students at USF receive benefits from participating in campus recreation; several questions stand out to show students attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about how and why participation in campus recreation is benefiting their wellness and quality of life. This study may leave a footprint for other growing universities in evaluating the importance for students and the benefits of campus recreation departments.</p>

<p> Changes in the field of education require teachers&rsquo; acquisition of specific knowledge of technology and the skills of its effective use in the classroom. With the expansion of the traditional classroom to include virtual learning environments, concern still exists regarding characteristics necessary for quality teaching and learning.</p><p> This research is an examination of pre-service teachers&rsquo; needs relevant to integrating technology in an online learning environment. It is a first step toward acknowledging the responsibility teacher preparation programs have in the formation of educators equipped to instruct in dual learning environments, thus providing pre-service teachers with opportunities and experiences to become fluent in the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) required for online learning environments as well as the traditional face-to-face instruction. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to determine if active engagement with content of an online instruction module would affect the attitudes, knowledge and skills, and instructional centeredness of pre-service teachers&rsquo; towards technology integration in an online learning environment. A mixed-methods concurrent triangulation design procedure was utilized to measure characteristics of pre-service teachers in a teacher preparation program. A two-way within-subjects analysis of variance was conducted to evaluate the effect of engagement with the content of the online instruction module for all three domains. Participants began the intervention with limited knowledge and skills of technology integration and online learning environments; however, they made statistically significant gains upon completion of the intervention. The implementation of an intervention such as this online instruction module may support other teacher preparation programs in identifying strengths and weaknesses of their pre-service teachers and provide valuable information necessary to guide program goals.</p>

<p> The purpose of this case study was to investigate the experiences of first-year African American males who participated in a Living Learning Community (LLC) while attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), to understand how, if at all, the program had any impact on the participants&rsquo; retention. The conceptual framework for this study was derived from the student integration model (Tinto, 1993). </p><p> Research was conducted on the campus of a mid-sized HBCU located in the southeastern region of the United States. Over a period of four weeks, data were collected from students participating in the LLC. Data collection methods included 12 in-depth interviews, 12 residence hall observations, 4 classroom observations, and information from reports obtained from the institution. Themes and subject categories from the interviews and observations were determined using a combination of In Vivo (Creswell, 2013; Saldana, 2013) and open coding (Corbin &amp; Strauss, 2007). </p><p> Findings from the case study showed students in the LLC perceived they experienced and/or received several academic benefits associated with their participation, such as knowledge and use of academic support services including academic advising, tutorial services, and supplemental instruction. The students also perceived they experienced more social connectivity with their fellow LLC members and participated in more social events compared to those not in the LLC. Additionally, the participants commented the program made it easier for them to make friends, which facilitated a smoother transition to college. Students also directly associated their LLC participation with increasing their likelihood of being retained. </p><p> Based on these findings, a foundation for understanding how LLCs on HBCU campuses can positively impact first-year African American males will be established. The conclusions drawn from the study will advise higher education practitioners on methods to enhance outcomes for African American male students on HBCU campuses using LLC programming.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the factors that contribute to or detract from the educational preparation of graduates between associate (AD) and baccalaureate degree (BD) respiratory therapy programs through the use of graduate and employer survey ratings, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credentialing success, and document analysis of various institutional and program mission, course content, and goals.</p><p> This study employed quantitative analyses to compare the perceptions of AD graduates and their employers with the perceptions of BD graduates and their employers regarding the educational program&rsquo;s ability to prepare graduates for entry into the profession. Graduate and employer ratings of cognitive, psychomotor, and affective competencies obtained from the follow-up surveys from 16 BD and 88 AD respiratory therapy programs were analyzed to determine whether there were perceived differences in preparation of associate and baccalaureate degree graduates. Credentialing success data for graduates of 361 AD and 57 BD respiratory therapy programs were also analyzed to determine whether differences in program type had an effect on RRT credentialing success. Multivariate analyses of variance, Welch&rsquo;s F tests and Mann-Whitney two-sample test were used to analyze the data. Additional information obtained from 22 AD and 22 BD institutions were also analyzed to explore similarities and differences in mission, vision, learning outcomes and coursework.</p><p> The three most significant findings in this study were that (1) Employers rated BD graduates higher than AD graduates in the cognitive (mean ratings 4.442 and 4.256 respectively) psychomotor (mean ratings 4.508 and 4.308 respectively) and affective domain (mean ratings 4.642 and 4.496 respectively); (2) BD employer survey ratings were also higher than AD employer ratings (mean ratings 4.49 and 4.21 respectively) on the mean rating for the single item that asked graduates to rate the overall quality of their preparation for entry into the profession and (3) Findings from the document analysis revealed that BD programs required courses beyond the minimum general education, prerequisite and RT course requirements. Thus, the results of this study support the &ldquo;2015 and Beyond&rdquo; recommendation that the BD be the minimum entry-level education required for entry into the profession.</p>

The growth in numbers of Kenyans seeking study opportunities in international settings has increased in the last ten years. Despite this growth, there is a clear and growing epistemological gap on student’s expectations and their experience, practice by host institutions and countries and how this impacts on students experience and study outcomes. To gain knowledge in this grey area, a case study design using a cross-sectional and a mixed data collection method was adopted. Data was collected in three stages beginning with a survey where questionnaires (N=300) were administered to Kenyan students pursuing higher education in the UK. In stage two, interviews were conducted with Kenyan students, Kenyan education policy makers and staff from UK universities. Stage three involved analysis of policy documents. Findings showed that many of the students had a positive study and living experience while for others it was negative characterised by study extension, leaving without an award, dropped out or did not socially adapt owing to practical challenges associated with living abroad. Government systems to support students during the pre-departure phase were lacking and those that provided information to potential students had an economic interest in their recruitment. Evidently, studying abroad for some was based on uniformed decision making. On arrival in the UK, some of the students did not use the university’s and Kenya Government support services as they were not aware that they were available. The main implication of this study is the need for a comprehensive policy and a code of conduct to guide the activities of various stakeholders involved in international education in Kenya, provision of support systems that meet the needs of international students’ and sensitisation of students to their use and availability. Key recommendations that aim to enhance the quality of experience of Kenyan students are made. This is to ensure the realisation of the potential benefits of an international education to the Kenya Government, UK institutions and the students. The recommendations relate to induction in Kenya and the UK, sensitisation, monitoring and information dissemination prior and during the study period. A department to coordinate and manage international education in Kenya is proposed with more stakeholder involvement.

The concept of uncertainty plays a significant role in higher education in the 21st century. However; the pedagogy of uncertainty tends to focus on ontology and the feelings of uncertainty experienced by teachers and students, as opposed to treating it as an epistemological concept. This research considers the epistemology of uncertainty in the context of climate change and investigates how it is conceptualised and taught by academics working in the subject area. The theoretical frameworks of troublesome knowledge and threshold concepts are employed to aid the characterisation of uncertainty as a concept in higher education. Following a methodology based on grounded theory, interviews were undertaken with 10 academics involved in teaching climate change. The interview data was analysed and categorised according to the interview participants' conceptions of uncertainty and the implications for teaching uncertainty. The research found that uncertainty in the context of climate change is a complex and multivariate concept and this was reflected in the interview data, with many of the participants holding several different conceptions of uncertainty simultaneously. In terms of teaching uncertainty, the concept also aligns with the theoretical frameworks, in that it is troublesome knowledge and a threshold concept in the context of climate change, with broader implications as an interdisciplinary threshold concept arising from the difficulty encountered when attempting to integrate diverse conceptions of uncertainty. Maturity and personal development were also found to play a role in teaching uncertainty. Several strategies and approaches to teaching uncertainty are discussed, and a critical reflection on the pedagogy of uncertainty is offered. The critical reflection proposes a pedagogy for teaching uncertainty whereby the concept is situated centrally in the higher education curriculum and taught explicitly through student-centred approaches that take into account issues of personal development and variation.

No description available.

<p> A new organization often encounters the &ldquo;liability of newness&rdquo; that increases its chance of failing as a start-up enterprise (Freeman et al, 1983). New organizations located in a foreign country also face the &ldquo;liability of foreignness&rdquo; (Zaheer &amp; Mosakowski, 1997). By gaining legitimacy, organizations can obtain the resources they need to become sustainable. The liabilities of newness and foreignness aptly describe the international branch campuses that have been set up in China.</p><p> Scott&rsquo;s (1995) institutional legitimacy pillars and Suchman&rsquo;s (1995) legitimacy theory are combined to form a new conceptual legitimacy framework to understand legitimacy issues in China. This qualitative study selects seven cases to answer this research question: What strategies do the international branch campuses use to gain social support from different constituencies? The institutions studied are: The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Xi&rsquo;an Jiaotong Liverpool University, New York University Shanghai, United International College Shenzhen, Dongbei University of Economy and Finance Surrey International Institute, Southeast University-Monash University Joint Graduate School (Suzhou), and The Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies.</p><p> Fifty-two interviews were conducted with senior institutional leaders, faculty, staff, students, parents, scholars, and employers. The research found that these international institutions did face the twin liabilities of newness and foreignness. However, being new and foreign could actually give these institutions legitimacy as well. The international institutions used all four strategies identified in the literature to gain the four pillars of legitimacy. An important caveat of the study is that the environment is significant in institutions gaining legitimacy, but the primary factor in acquiring legitimacy is the quality of their product.</p><p> This study has several limitations, including one missing case, fewer foreign interviewees, the uneven amount of information available at each institution, translation difficulties between two very different languages and cultures, and data provided by the institutions might be self-serving. The results indicate four avenues for further research. They are legitimacy thresholds; legitimacy from the perspective of the home institutions; the failed international branch campuses; education quality at these IBCs; and the evolving political dynamics in China.</p>

<p> Study abroad has been a part of the curricular and co-curricular programming of higher education since 1875. Yet, despite the long history, a literature search revealed that study abroad is the least examined of the high impact practices (HIPs) related to engagement theory. Further, despite its promise as a retention strategy, study abroad has never been fully explored as a solution to the retention ills of higher education. Therefore, using data from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study analyzed the engagement and retention value of higher education, principally through the use of MANOVAs and Mann-Whitney U tests. To learn more about the engagement practices of students who study abroad and elucidate learning style characteristics of study abroad participants, an analysis using Chi-square testing was conducted about students&rsquo; participation in study abroad, other voluntary high impact practices, and co-curricular activities. The results of the analysis illuminated that study abroad participants have a significant, impactful tendency to hyper-participate during and after their study abroad experience, suggesting an overall positive effect on the outcome variables. Students who studied abroad made significant gains in relation to Tinto&rsquo;s construct of social integration; this was consistent across race/ethnicity, academic major, and gender factors. The students made different gains in retention, albeit to varying degrees, as measured by level of academic integration and positive feelings about institutional actions. Finally, students demonstrated engagement gains that were mostly significant; these differed by race/ethnicity, academic major, and gender. As a result of these findings, leaders in higher education should consider study abroad as a tool to help students socially integrate, increase their engagement, and, among certain student populations, increase retention. If study abroad were integrated as a part of the core curriculum, study abroad would stifle the high dropout rates currently plaguing American higher education.</p>

<p> In 2010, the United States ranked fourth among the Organization for Economic Development member-nations in overall educational attainment. This has been attributed to the lower rates of sub-baccalaureate degree and certificate completion for students attending public community colleges, especially Black and Hispanic who attend these colleges in increasingly higher proportions than other racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of the current study was to determine if specific fixed, compositional, and financial characteristics of community colleges have a significant influence on the success rates gaps between White students and their Black and Hispanic peers. This seminal exploratory study used a quantitative correlational prediction design and a hierarchical multiple regression technique to show the relationships between these characteristics and the success rate gaps for Black and Hispanic students attending community colleges in Florida and Texas. The researcher found that these characteristics had minimal correlation with the success rate gaps between these students, with the exception of Black students attending community colleges in the state of Texas. Hispanic students showed a widening gap in both states during the decade of data analyzed for the current study. The findings would suggest that a different set of quantitative factors, and even qualitative information, should be explored to determine what institutional characteristics had a significant influence the success rate gaps between majority and minority students attending two-year colleges in Florida and Texas. Keywords: Blacks, community colleges, educational attainment, Florida, graduation rates, Hispanics, institutional characteristics, minorities, student success, success rates, Texas, transfer rates.</p>