Affiliated Colleges Research Articles

Crisis of Meaning: Compassion and Community Engaged Learning

This research paper explores the relationship between compassion, meaning-making, and curricular community engaged learning (CEL) in a university setting. We contend that CEL, as a key form of community-focused experiential learning (EL), can play an important role in helping address the well-being of students, faculty, and staff by providing opportunities to engage in what they consider to be meaningful activities. Our critical examination of this relationship draws on primary research conducted in Winter and Spring 2022 with members of a large Canadian university and its affiliated colleges. This mixed-methods research includes a Qualtrics-based survey with over 2,500 respondents, combined with a series of interdisciplinary, online focus group discussions with faculty, staff, and students. Our findings reveal that many participants have experienced a “crisis of meaning” in their academic and work lives. They thus seek avenues to engage in meaningful, creative, compassionate, and community-focused activities that provide them with opportunities to foster their overall well-being. Participants emphasized the heightened importance of such endeavours after the COVID-19 pandemic as they pursue deeper connections with others and a stronger sense of purpose beyond utilitarian academic or employment performance.

Missing the Link: Stakeholders’ Perception Towards Agriculture Academic Institutions Contribution to Integrate Research Extension and Education Institutions in Nepal

Currently, thirty Agriculture Academic Institutions (AAI) in two broad categories: constituent campuses and affiliated colleges under six universities are executing agriculture and veterinary science programs nationwide. All these universities have different course curricula, faculties, academic resources, and research & outreach capacities. Literature show that Nepalese AAIs have minimal activities to engage their graduates in communities and service learning. In this sense, AAIs are missing the opportunities to connect farming communities, enterprises and industries. Similarly, faculties of AAIs are mostly confined to classroom teaching and their competencies of engagement in the policy arena are under-utilized. Further, faculties and researchers because of their limited participation in policy engagement are missing the opportunities to share their evidence, expertise and experiences in the (Agriculture Research, Extension, and Education) AREE network. On this ground, a study was designed to capture the AREE stakeholders’ opinion that ‘Should academic institutions be a part of agriculture research, dissemination of technologies and policy engagement along with the teaching-learning activities?’ A cross-sectional perceptual survey was conducted (n=250) using a five-point Likert scale. Cross-tab analysis and one-way ANOVA were conducted to assess the difference in the stakeholders’ opinions. The reliability coefficient (0.633) was calculated using Cronbach alpha reliability methods. The findings showed that stakeholders perceived AAI should not be confined merely to teaching-learning activities. It means the stakeholders desire to review the existing mandates of education institutions and expand their roles in the tripartite functions of research extension and education. The stakeholders are not in favor of establishing an arrangement for the apex agency to integrate all of these institutions. To connect and strengthen linkage and integration between AREE institutions, classroom components should be connected with farming & business communities, and industries through service learning in community multi-stakeholder platforms.

Justus Buchler and the Community of Query

Before he originated the field of philosophy for children, Matthew Lipman spent nearly twenty years teaching at Columbia University and its affiliated colleges under the tutelage of the American philosopher Justus Buchler. In those years Lipman’s scholarship focused on Buchler’s naturalist metaphysics, which was informed by Buchler’s scholarship on the philosophy of Charles Peirce. In this essay I relate Lipman’s relationship with Buchler, summarise Buchler’s theory of human judgement, and indicate key parts of that theory that influenced Lipman’s own theory of judgement and multidimensional thinking. I then discuss the pedagogical turn Buchler made with his theory, including his conception of classroom discussion as a mode of ‘community of query,’ which became the prototype for Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp’s theory of ‘community of inquiry’ as a protocol of classroom dialogue and a paradigm of philosophical practice and democratic decision-making.

Effective Implementation of Semester System in Colleges: A Case Study of the Affiliated Colleges with the University of Malakand

This research aimed to investigate the measures required for the effective implementation of a semester system for undergraduate education in graduate and post-graduate colleges affiliated with the University of Malakand. The study mainly focused on physical requirements (lecture rooms, laboratories, library), human resource requirements (faculty members, staff), issues in the curriculum, and major issues in the assessment system from the perspectives of teachers of public sector colleges affiliated with the University of Malakand. A mixed-method research design was used for data collection. First, qualitative data was collected, and analyzed through thematic analysis, and then a questionnaire was developed for quantitative data analysis. The findings of the study showed that there were several issues in the implementation of the semester system in the affiliated colleges. These included lengthy courses, outdated content, irrelevant content, lack of space such as classrooms, science labs, etc, need for curriculum improvement, poor assessment system, lack of training for teachers, and lack of regular monitoring from management and the university side. Based on the results it is suggested that the implementation of the semester system in the colleges needs to be reviewed and improved for the affiliated colleges and to ensure quality education.

Utilization Of Information Literacy Skills Of The Faculty Members In Affiliated Colleges Of Tumkur University In Karnataka

Utilization Of Information Literacy Skills Of The Faculty Members In Affiliated Colleges Of Tumkur University In Karnataka

Empowering Engineering Education: The Evolution and Impact of the EPICS Program in India

This paper chronicles the implementation of the Engineering Project in Community Service (EPICS) course within a curriculum, highlighting its journey of evolution from a Non Mandatory Course – Mandatory Course – Credit course for engineering students. The EPICS program was introduced in 2016 by one of the affiliated colleges in India, started this initiative to overcome employability issues, and for developing leadership skills, team work, problem solving skills in students. The goal was to inspire students to actively engage in real-time, community-oriented projects, shifting their focus from theoretical concepts to practical application. This change aimed at addressing employability concerns in India by fostering a more hands-on and service-oriented approach to engineering education. Studies the implementation of EPICS in engineering education effectively to address employability issues in India while enhancing students' technology-based learning and other skills, analyses academic performance of student whether increased after introducing the EPICS program? outcomes. As of now, the program has successfully completed its eighth iteration. In the first iteration, EPICS was introduced as a non-mandatory course, offering an opportunity for interested students from various disciplines to participate by registering in the course voluntarily. The EPICS program, spanning four years of engineering education, has yielded positive outcomes for its students. An analysis of the program's impact reveals that 60% of students secured placements in reputed companies, 35% pursued higher studies, and 5% ventured into their own startups. Throughout the iterations, the program has actively collected reflections from students and alumni, as well as valuable feedback from parents and industry experts. Based on the insights gathered, the course structure and delivery have undergone significant changes from the initial iteration to the current one. These refinements aim at enhancing the effectiveness of the program, ensuring a more enriching and impactful learning experience for the participating students. Keywords— Assessment, Design thinking, EPICS

Physical and Psychological Well Being among Full Time Research Scholars

In today's globalized world, the role of research in an academic institution is critical for its long-term viability and development, and knowledge-driven growth based on innovation is essential. The core concept of research is the pursuit of knowledge. Research scholars play a crucial role in advancing knowledge and contributing to the academic community. However, the demanding nature of their work, including long hours of study, research, and academic responsibilities, can potentially impact their physical and psychological well-being. In Bharathiar University, at present 106 affiliated colleges including 93 Arts and science colleges, 1 Air Force administrative college, 12 Institutions of Information science and management and 30 Research Institutions. The researcher selected 10 Arts and science colleges for this study. The main aim of the study is to know about the perspectives of the research scholars from different disciplines or academic institutions regarding their physical and psychological well-being. Descriptive research design was used in the present study. 40 PhD research scholars were selected from the different disciplines of Arts and Sciences colleges in Coimbatore district. The tool which was developed for the collection of data was a self-structure questionnaire and has been constructed by the researcher based on the key objectives of the study.

Effectiveness of Flipped Classrooms in Promoting Student Learning at the Tertiary Level

The study sought to explore the Effectiveness of Flipped Classrooms in Promoting Student Learning at the Tertiary Level. The objectives of the study were to explore the perceptions of students regarding the flipped classroom approach and to find out the effectiveness of flipped classrooms in enhancing students’ learning. All the female students studying in the affiliated colleges of the University of Swabi comprise the population of the study. The number of female students was 273. Out of the total population, 100 female students were randomly selected from the sample institutions. A close-ended questionnaire containing 12 items on the Likert scale was used as a tool for gathering information. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the majority of the participants agreed that the flipped classroom approach can easily be implemented in classrooms. Most of the participants agreed that the video the lecturer provided to us as a home assignment was easily understandable. All of the participants were student agreed that the topic became easy after watching its videos or lecture notes. All participants agreed that the technological facilities available at school and home are necessary for implementing Flipped Classroom. All the participants agreed that the institution may arrange training workshops for teachers and students to enhance the implementation process of flipped classrooms.

Body mass index, aerobic fitness, and eating habits for affiliated colleges students to King Fahd University at Hafr AL Batin: cross sectional study.

Body mass index, aerobic fitness, and eating habits for affiliated colleges students to King Fahd University at Hafr AL Batin: cross sectional study.

UNDERGRADUATE AGRICULTURE EDUCATION IN NEPAL: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

Higher education is perceived as a capital outlay and a potential transformer of the socio-economic and cultural development of a nation. Nepal has a very brief history of modern educational systems which traces back to 1959 when Tribhuvan University was established as the first university in the country. Though the formal education in agriculture began in 1968 with the upgrade of the School of Agriculture into the College of Agriculture launching a two-year Intermediate of Science in Agriculture program, the institutes offering the undergraduate-level Bachelor of Science in Agriculture are recorded to stretch out only after the 1990s. The trend of establishment of undergraduate agricultural colleges has faced many ups and downs but the highest number of agricultural colleges were found to be established in the year 2018 i.e., 10. In the current situation, seven universities and their thirty-three constituent and affiliated colleges are offering bachelor’s degree in agriculture. Regardless of the ample expansion of agricultural institutes throughout the country, agricultural education is still an underrated subject in comparison to other fields. There is limited information available about the current status of the agricultural education system in Nepal; in fact, the secondary-level graduates lack proper information and guidance related to higher education in agriculture. This paper explores the history of agricultural education in Nepal; trend of agricultural institutional development; quota distribution, eligibility criteria and admission procedures for undergraduate studies in different universities; and has been prepared with a motive to shed light on agricultural academics, and guide students who are seeking a bright future in the agriculture sector.

Problem Faced by Students of SKNAU, Jobner Regarding Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE)

The students READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana) programme aims to provide rural entrepreneurship awareness, practical experience in real-life situation in rural agriculture and creating awareness to undergraduate students about practical agriculture and allied sciences. The SKNAU, Jobner started this programme from the year 2020-21. It is not only an essential requirement for the completion of B.Sc. Agri. Degree but also is a golden opportunity for the students to develop skills and confidence to discharge their responsibilities as extension workers. The study was conducted in 4 constituent and 4 affiliated colleges of SKNAU, Jobner and a sample of 60 students from both types of colleges were selected using simple random sampling through proportional allocation method. It was found that there is a significant difference in the problem faced by the students of constituent and affiliated colleges regarding most statements of RAWE. The ranking level of the problem faced by the students of constituent and affiliated colleges was found significantly negatively correlated. The results could be improved using the increase in sample size and the sample taken from other universities too.

Use of Technology by Higher Education Students

The purpose of the study is to explore the extent to which higher education students use technology. It also intends to find out the difference between male and female students in their use of technology. The sample of the study constituted 200 undergraduate students of University of Lucknow and its affiliated colleges. An inventory was prepared by the researcher for data collection. Results are presented in percentage and t-ratio. Findings are that more than 50% higher education students use technology for different purposes. The significant difference is found between male and female students in use of technology for Socialization and Informative purposes. More female students use technology in comparison to their counterparts. Educational implications are mentioned.

Mapping the Social Virtue of Youth as a Catalyst in the Dynamics of Eye Donation

Background: The dynamics of eye donation and corneal transplantation is a beacon of hope in the life of a corneal blind person for sight restoration. Social virtues like altruism and helping others are reflected in the promotion of organ donation and in the metaphorical reference ‘gift of life’. Youth is not merely a future potential donor, but also a transmitter of eye donation. Aim: The aim of the study was to outline various facets of eye donation among students using KAP model, to explore the role of youth on eye donation and to measure the relationship between the willingness for eye donation and different components of students. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire administrated to 1179 students of Panjab University and its five affiliated colleges in Chandigarh, India. Results: Only 3.5% of respondents were found to have a good level of knowledge regarding the subject. Nearly 21.8% of respondents expressed a positive attitude towards eye donation. There were only 2.6% of respondents who showed a high level of practice. Over 92.6% of respondents indicated that youth could play a positive role in the promotion of eye donation. The socio-demographic variables of the respondents, such as age, gender, and education level had a linear relationship with the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: Findings showed a hypothetical relationship between knowledge, attitude and practice in context of eye donation. There was a poor level of knowledge, neutral attitude and low level of practice among students regarding eye donation.

Issues of Teaching Practice in Master of English Education: Supervisors’ Perspectives

This study analyse on the issues of teaching practice through the lenses of internal supervisors. It is an attempt to explore whether the pre-service teachers were provided with adequate comments and feedbacks from their supervisors during on-campus and off-campus activities; whether the assigned tasks were appropriate for them and what challenges of teaching practice existed in Master of English Education. Phenomenological research design was adopted to carry out hits study. Ten English teachers were selected non-randomly from constituent and affiliated colleges of Tribhuvan University as a sample to elicit data to address the research questions of this study. The findings of this study showed that there were lack of proper feedbacks and comments both from their peers and supervisors; teaching practice has been taken as rituals; the pre-service teachers could be engaged professionally through proper management of teaching practice; the main root causes of being ineffective of teaching practice were lack of proper exposure of item construction and analysis, inadequate amount of remuneration to supervisors. It is concluded that the course of teaching practice under the Faculty of Education should be revamped and revisited in order to produce competent efficient and professional English teachers in both content and pedagogical techniques.

Analyzing the Mediating Effects of Social Capital and Sense of Community Between International Student’s College Sports Team Identification and Acculturation

Previous studies focused on the role of leisure activities, such as physical activity participation, to analyze how international students can receive social support from their communities to better acculturate in the U.S. This study focused on the role of college sports in providing social support and its effect on international student’s acculturation. Four hundred eighty-seven international students enrolled in 25 Power-5 affiliated colleges participated in this study to analyze the acculturation path model suggested by the primary researcher. The initial path model did not show a statistically significant model fit, which led to modifying the model once following the available theory in academia. As a result, the proposed model resulted in a good model fit (RMSEA = .03, SRMR = .01, CFI = 1.00, TLI = .98). Discussions on utilizing spectator sports to promote international students’ acculturation, suggestions for future study options, and limitations of the study were provided.

"Admission Plus: The Flutter based student Enrolment System"

Admission Plus is online student registration system project developed using Flutter framework. It is a mobile application for students and Anna University affiliated colleges that facilitates online application process. It reduces the manpower needed to facilitate an enrolment process. This mobile application can be accessed by student and all the affiliated colleges. Our application has two types of accessing modes, administrator and student. Student application management database is managed by the college administrator. It is the job of the administrator to admit and monitor the whole application process. Student’s login facilitates to apply for desired colleges by setting preferences and uploading the needed documents.

Techniques Used by College Level English Teachers to Assess Interactive Speaking: A Phenomenological Study

Interactive speaking is a crucial component of speaking skill. It is essential for effective and successful communication. Assessment of students’ interactive speaking helps teachers to enhance students’ overall speaking proficiency in a second or foreign language. Several techniques can be used to evaluate interactive speaking and the application of techniques may vary according to the forms of speaking. The present article focuses on exploring the techniques used by college level English language teachers to assess the interactive speaking of the students who study major English at the bachelor's level. The study was conducted using qualitative approach and descriptive phenomenology design. The sample population included 13 English language teachers who taught English at affiliated colleges in the Banke district. I used convenience sampling to select the colleges and simple random sampling to select the sample population. The only technique used for collecting data was structured interview. Each of the interviews was recorded using an audio recorder and transcribed verbatim. The data was analyzed using thematic approach to qualitative data analysis. The study revealed that oral question and answer, formal and informal debates, interviews, role plays, and discussion are the most commonly used techniques to assess interactive speaking skill at the college level. The study concluded that the techniques used in assessing interactive speaking may slightly vary depending on the level of the students but the teachers can use these techniques to the students of all levels.

Examining the Impact of UCC Administered End of Semester English Examinations on the Teaching Practices of English Specialism Tutors in Foso College of Education

The study found out that at the beginning of every semester, tutors sell course handouts which are examination-oriented with a lot of past questions to the pre-service teacher on which the latter becomes over-reliant for their preparation towards examination. These factors, the study observed, have made tutors pedagogy tilted from TPCK deliveries to examination preparation activities with little or no emphasis on equipping the pre-service teacher with lesson facilitation and class management strategies. This is gradually killing the college tutors’ innovations in the Lecture Theatres which reflects on a statistically significant difference in the impact of end of semester examination among year 1, year 2 and year 3 English language specialism students. It was concluded that UCC administered End of semester examination as a high-stakes test influences teaching and learning negatively as pre-service teachers focus more on passing examination than equipping themselves with pedagogical practices for the delivery of the SBC Curriculum in the basic schools of Ghana. It was therefore recommended that UCC should consider integrating pedagogy with content questions to promote positive or beneficial impact on teaching and learning. Also, principals of UCC affiliated colleges should put measures in place to strengthen Teacher Professional Learning Sessions (TPLS) in their individual colleges, for it provides a fine opportunity for staff and pre-service teacher development

Learn, Earn, Return

Recently, I attended the 25th anniversary celebration for the Power of Nursing Leadership event hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Nursing (CON). Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Joan Shaver, dean of the CON, observed that across the greater metro Chicago-land area, there were many integrated health care delivery systems, community and public health agencies, and large academic teaching hospitals with affiliated colleges of nursing (in addition to other nursing colleges and schools); however, there was little formal acknowledgment in the area about the contributions nurse scientists, leaders, faculty, and staff were making.

Socio-Economic Diversity and Inclusion in MBBS Graduates in Nepal

The purpose of this research is to investigate caste and ethnic composition of in MBBS graduates in Nepal. The researcher undertook the study of MBBS education provided by two universities TU, KU and their affiliated colleges. In total, eighteen medical colleges offering MBBS were finalized. Specifically, the study was undertaken to fulfill the following objectives: to analyze socio-economic inclusion in MBBS education in Nepal and to examine socio-economic diversity in terms of caste and ethnicity of MBBS students. Secondary data, of four admission cycles (2015-2018) of MBBS students obtained from University Dean’s office, were used for the study. Admission to medical school today determines the composition of medical professionals in then future. Caste/ethnic inclusion in medical professionals helps to fully understanding diversity of health problems. Biased medical education affects clinical practice. To address complex and diverse health problems, the medical professionals must become more diverse. The year-wise observation of caste and ethnic inclusion reflects some improvement. Comparatively, 2018 is the most inclusive year in relative term, but disparity still exists. This gets compounded when marginalized communities added on. MBBS education attainment is significantly different among caste and ethnic groups. BCTD is the most represented in MBBS education with 53.2% share, whereas, Dalits are underrepresented ethnic groups with 2.6%. In caste and ethnic inclusion, private medical colleges are better than public ones. Government shouldprovide subsidy to the deserving students from marginalized communities in order to increase their access to medical education. The Government and medical colleges should work to establish inclusive policy that enhance equal opportunities.