James Madison University Research Articles

5 Normative Data Collection for the Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (MUNS)

Objective:Despite the array of neuropsychological tests available, these assessments are largely made and developed for use in WEIRD (western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) societies (Fernandez, 2019; Ponsford, 2017). The Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (MUNS) was developed with underrepresented groups in mind as a universally valid neuropsychological assessment which can be used across cultures and adapted to different languages. To assist with the validation of the MUNS as a cross-cultural instrument, investigators administered the MUNS to a cognitively 'healthy’ college-aged population in the United States as a means of collecting normative data. Results were compared to samples taken from an Argentine university, Universidad Catelica de Cerdoba, and combined with another American university, Marymount Loyola University. The goal of this comparison was to provide evidence supporting the validity of the MUNS as a universal, cross-cultural neuropsychological assessment battery.Participants and Methods:Students from James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia (N = 24, Age = 20.083 1.93, Female = 87.5%) were recruited via a campus-wide email. Students who met inclusionary criteria were selected for MUNS administration. Students completed a background questionnaire and effort measure (REY-15; Rey, 1964) before completing the MUNS battery, consisting of eight subtests with four delayed trials. Descriptive statistics of the group were assessed, and one-way ANOVAs were conducted on the various subtests to determine whether differences exist between the American and Argentine samples.Results:No significant difference between groups was found for seven subtests. A difference existed on the Attention subtest between the American (f (1, 106) = 45.409, p < .001).Conclusions:The results show support for the cross-cultural validity of the MUNS. The only significant difference was found in the Arrows (Old) subtest. This is in alignment with previous administrations of the MUNS (Fernandez et al., 2018). Further studies are needed to assess potential bias within this subtest, as well as to pursue comparison studies for the New Arrows subtest administered within this USA sample. The present findings provide further evidence that the MUNS can be applied as a neuropsychological assessment across a variety of populations.

Unleashing women's philanthropy

Women are gaining power and prominence in almost every corner of society, and philanthropy is no exception. As women's philanthropy continues to grow in all areas such as healthcare, education and humanitarian work, the need for advancement shops to pay particular attention to this phenomenon is critical. At James Madison University (JMU), Women for Madison (WFM), a women-led initiative, was formed in 2013 with a mission to promote investment in the future of JMU. In the last few years, JMU has embarked on a bold initiative to engage its women donors to become a visible and leading force in philanthropy. That effort eventually led WFM to create a women's giving society, the Amethyst Circle. The Amethyst Circle is the first-of-its-kind giving society at JMU. Together, JMU and WFM are harnessing the collective power of women's philanthropy to raise US$1m every two years through 200 women donors. Members will help open doors to high-achieving students who need scholarships to attend the university. This paper highlights what JMU has sought to achieve, and how other institutions of higher education might be inspired to make gender equality a focus of their giving.

The Mid Atlantic Appalachian Orogen Traverse: a comparison of virtual and on-location field-based capstone experiences

Abstract. The Stratigraphy, Structure, Tectonics (SST) course at James Madison University incorporates a capstone project that traverses the Mid Atlantic region of the Appalachian Orogen and includes several all-day field trips. In the Fall 2020 semester, the SST field trips transitioned to a virtual format, due to restrictions from the COVID pandemic. The virtual field trip projects were developed in web-based Google Earth and incorporated other supplemental PowerPoint and PDF files. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual field experiences in comparison with traditional on-location field trips, an online survey was sent to SST students that took the course virtually in Fall 2020 and to students that took the course in person in previous years. Instructors and students alike recognized that some aspects of on-location field learning, especially those with a tactile component, were not possible or effective in virtual field experiences. However, students recognized the value of virtual field experiences for reviewing and revisiting outcrops as well as noting the improved access to virtual outcrops for students with disabilities and the generally more inclusive experience of virtual field trips. Students highlighted the potential benefits for hybrid field experiences that incorporate both on-location outcrop investigations and virtual field trips, which is the preferred model for SST field experiences in Fall 2021 and into the future.

Physical Activity In A University Community Before And After A Covid-19 Shutdown

Achieving recommended levels of physical activity (PA) is important for achieving and maintaining health. Recent guidelines state that any amount of PA has positive effects. With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the transition to remote teaching and learning, as well as changes to the daily work routine of university staff, overall PA levels were likely impacted. PURPOSE: To assess whether a significant change in PA occurred before and after one university transitioned to remote learning. METHODS: Subjects were recruited from the James Madison University (JMU) community who owned and wore a commercial physical activity (PA) monitoring device for 30 days prior to the JMU spring break in March 2020, as well as 30 days after. During the JMU spring break, the campus went from in-person instruction to 100% online instruction. Subjects completed an anonymous online survey and input uploaded step data from their online account. Paired sample t-tests were utilized to examine differences before and after JMU spring break. RESULTS: Eighty-one subjects (age = 32.4 ± 13.6, BMI = 26.3 ± 6.8, 63 female, 17 male) completed the survey. Sample included 42 students, 38 staff and faculty, and 1 family member of a JMU student. The 30-day step average for the 30 days before spring break (8542.1 ± 3215.4) was higher than the 30-day step average for the 30 days after spring break (7116.6 ± 3587.8, P < 0.001). The 7-day mean step average for the week before spring break (8707.6 ± 3348.6) vs. the week after after was also higher (7150.0 ± 3350.0, P < 0.001). Weekday step averages were higher before spring break (8694.5 ± 3182.9) vs. after (6939.5 ± 3481.3, P < 0.001), as were weekend step averages (8145.4 ± 3815.2 vs. 7587.7 ± 4198.9, for before and after break, respectively, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Results found that physical activity levels were altered after stay-at-home orders took effect. Overall PA declined immediately after the week of spring break, as well as for the 30 days after spring break. This change is likely a reflection of the significant amount of everyday transport PA that is needed to navigate daily life on a university campus (walking to class, to work, walking associated with job duties, etc.) that was removed due to stay-at-home orders, and could impact the health of these individuals as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

How The Covid-19 Pandemic Affected The Physical Activity Of Different Members Of A University Community

Adequate physical activity (PA) is important factor for improving or maintaining health and preventing chronic disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a large scale transition to remote learning and working, which may have an impact on the daily PA that individuals obtain, potentially impacting their health. PURPOSE: To examine how the shutdown of a University due to COVID-19 impacted the PA habits of students and faculty/staff, and to explore whether either group was impacted to a greater extent. METHODS: Individuals who wore a commercial PA monitoring device for 30 days prior to, and after, the James Madison University (JMU) spring break in March 2020 were recruited from the JMU community. Spring break is when JMU transitioned from in-person to online instruction. Subjects completed an anonymous survey and input step data from their PA device. RESULTS: Eighty subjects (age = 32.2 ± 13.6, BMI = 26.3 ± 6.8, 62 females, 17 males) completed the survey. 42 were students and 38 were faculty/staff. For the 7 days prior to spring break compared to the 7 days after spring break, there was a main effect for time for steps per day (8688.7 ± 3365.3 vs. 7128.2 ± 3365.3, respectively; P < 0.001), but no difference between students and faculty/staff. 30 days prior to spring break compared to 30 days after, there was a group x time interaction, with the students decreasing their steps after spring break (8307.4 ± 3128.3 vs. 6159.7 ± 2737.6) to a greater extent than faculty/staff (8760.4 ± 3366.5 vs. 8109.8 ± 4160.7; P = 0.002). A group x time interaction was also seen for weekend days (P = 0.01). Students decreased their weekend steps after spring break (7543.6 ± 3291.6 vs. 6391.4 ± 3149.3) whereas faculty/staff did not (8750.0 ± 4305 vs. 8876.1 ± 4874.1). Finally, there was a group x time interaction for weekday steps (P = 0.003) with students decreasing (8621.6 ± 3225.9 vs. 6076.4 ± 2722.4) to a greater extent than faculty/staff (8741.8 ± 3212.6 vs. 7817.2 ± 4015.9). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that when JMU transitioned to online learning, students decreased their daily PA more than faculty/staff. This is likely due to the elimination of daily transport based PA that students would normally participate in, such as walking to classes, etc., whereas faculty/staff likely did less of this type of PA during a regular work day.

Investigation of C-K Theory Based Approach for Innovative Solutions in Bioinspired Design

This paper discusses the investigation of a Concept-Knowledge (C-K) theory based approach for generating innovative design solutions in bioinspired design projects. Undergraduate students enrolled in sophomore engineering design courses at both the University of Georgia (UGA) and James Madison University (JMU) completed bioinspired design projects using C-K theory based templates. Hypothesis testing, principal component analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) techniques were applied on the students’ performance scores of a C-K theory based bioinspired design process to identify the biomimicry attributes which supported the evolution of innovative design solutions. Results from the analysis suggest that the C-K theory based approach is useful for generating innovative design solutions.

CURE-all: Large Scale Implementation of Authentic DNA Barcoding Research into First-Year Biology Curriculum

Growing calls in science education reform have emphasized wide-scale engagement of first-year undergraduate students in authentic research experiences; however, large course enrollments, inadequate student experience, limited resources and departmental inertia often create obstacles to reaching this goal. To help overcome these obstacles, the Department of Biology at James Madison University (JMU) has developed a cost-effective, scalable, and transferable semester-long (14-week) course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) designed for large enrollment introductory biology labs. In this series of labs, first-year students use DNA barcoding to engage in authentic research practices drawn from the fields of ecology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. These labs enable students to identify local species of plants, fungi, and invertebrates using student-generated DNA barcode sequences, which are then shared through a public database. Since their implementation at JMU in 2016, students in these labs have created and shared over 1,500 unique DNA barcode sequences and documented over 300 local species of plants, fungi, and invertebrates. These data are being used in an ongoing project comparing the biodiversity of forest edge versus forest interior habitats, but the labs are adaptable to almost any habitat or taxonomic group. In this article, we provide detailed descriptions of the content, logistics, and implementation of this 14-week series of labs. To our knowledge, this is among the largest-enrollment CUREs being offered to first-year undergraduates in the United States, and we hope that it can be useful to other institutions interested in documenting biodiversity and engaging introductory biology students in authentic research.

Connecting the Libraries and Athletics through Instruction and Outreach

ABSTRACTThis column describes the approaches taken by librarians and staff at James Madison University (JMU) Libraries & Educational Technologies (LET) to extend library support to university athletics. The model resembles that used for outreach to academic programs and was first adapted to the semi-clinical, nonacademic Strength & Conditioning Department, then to JMU Athletics as a whole. Librarians offered targeted instructional sessions, orientations, and asynchronous learning modules embedded in the learning management system. This new relationship has provided an opportunity for broader collaboration, increasing LET’s presence across campus.

Stats Don't Tell the Whole Story: Using Qualitative Data Analysis of Chat Reference Transcripts to Assess and Improve Services

ABSTRACTIn the five years following implementation of a chat reference service at James Madison University (JMU), the service proved very popular but was not closely assessed for quality of service. Using grounded theory and qualitative data analysis techniques, a comprehensive assessment effort was begun in earnest and is in progress. Preliminary results indicate several patterns and difficulties that will inform the staffing model and training for this service and will potentially be generalizable to other similar libraries. Other libraries may find high value in assessing the transcripts of their chat reference interactions to gauge specific trends in their individual libraries.

FIRST Things First: University partnerships bolster VA-DC teams [Pipelining: Attractive Programs for Women

Starting in November 2014, students all over the world took on a shared challenge: to find a better or more innovative way to help someone learn. It's a looking- in-the-mirror moment for the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) program, which sponsors an annual competition tasking students to solve real-world engineering challenges through a research project and the creation, build, and programming of a functional robot. FIRST, which stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, provides a hands-on way for students to see that science and math, subjects taught in school, have real-world application to human problems, says Dr. Bob Kolvoord, dean of the James Madison University (JMU) College of Integrated Science and Engineering and codirector of the JMU Center for STEM Education and Outreach.

The Evolution of Library Instruction Delivery in the Chemistry Curriculum Informed by Mixed Assessment Methods

As information continues to evolve over time, the information literacy expectations for chemistry students also change. This article examines transformations to an undergraduate chemistry course that focuses on chemical literature and information literacy and is co-taught by a chemistry professor and a chemistry librarian. This article also describes results from assessment of both content knowledge and student perception, and discusses how the assessment was used to inform changes to the course. This type of student assessment and evaluation has not previously been examined in the delivery of required undergraduate chemistry information courses. Since this course has used in person, online, and blended delivery methods, the article describes what students can learn from online modules, and where they need more intensive classroom instruction. Introduction Over the last twenty years, there has been a dramatic change in how students acquire the chemical information skills for research or to acquire a job. In the past, searching was the most critical skill. Searching remains important, but now students also need strong filtering skills as the world has moved from information scarcity to information overload. While students feel comfortable with technology, they still need to learn how to differentiate scholarly from popular articles and how to critically evaluate the research claims presented in scholarly articles. While many other chemistry courses offer chemistry information seeking skills, few have Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship | Summer 2014 | DOI:10.5062/F46H4FDD partnered a librarian with a chemistry faculty member to team teach a course, develop an assessment tool to measure learning gains, and understand student perception of the acquired skills. This paper outlines the evolution of such a course at James Madison University. James Madison University (JMU) is a comprehensive public institution with over 18,000 undergraduates in Harrisonburg, VA. The Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, housed within the College of Science and Mathematics, awards B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Biophysical Chemistry and has a strong undergraduate research culture. No graduate degrees are offered in chemistry. The Department is an American Chemical Society (ACS) Certified Program and has graduated approximately thirty to forty majors each year for the past five years. The Literature and Seminar sequence, required for all students earning a B.S. in Chemistry, consists of two one credit courses (CHEM 481 and CHEM 482). There are no prerequisites for the courses, but students typically take CHEM 481 after completing the a year of General Chemistry (CHEM 131 and CHEM 132), a year of Organic Chemistry (CHEM 241 and 242), a semester of Inorganic Chemistry (CHEM 270), the Special General Chemistry Laboratory I and II (CHEM 135L and CHEM 136L) and sophomore-level Integrated Inorganic/Organic Laboratory I and II (CHEM 287L and 288L.) Most students complete the Literature and Seminar courses during their junior year, but 10-20% of the students wait until the senior year. Table 1 shows the progression of courses leading up to the Literature and Seminar Sequence. Table 1: Chemistry major sequence of courses First Year Sophomore Year Junior (or Senior) Year Fall Spring Fall Spring Fall Spring Course CHEM 131 & 135L CHEM 132 & 136L CHEM 241 & 287L CHEM 242, 270 & 288L CHEM 481 CHEM 482 As an ACS Certified Program, the JMU chemistry department is committed to meeting the information literacy standards identified by the society. Chemical information literacy is a well-established domain within the ACS Division of Chemical Information (CINF) and the standards detail the specific skills that chemistry majors are Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship | Summer 2014 | DOI:10.5062/F46H4FDD expected to have (Chemical Information Skills, 2012.) To that end, in 2007 CINF and the Special Libraries Association Chemistry Division first issued “Information Competencies for Chemistry Undergraduates,” a document enumerating skills expected of chemistry undergraduates related to finding, using, and communicating chemical and scientific literature (Craig and Maddox, eds, 2007.) These were updated again in 2011, moved to a wikibook format in 2012 and last revised in 2013. As the expectations of chemistry information literate students evolved, the Literature and Seminar sequence also changed to respond to these competencies. This article presents the evolution of the instructors and instructional delivery methods of the first semester of the Literature and Seminar course (CHEM 481.) These changes in chemical information literacy also address how assessment can be used to identify student strengths and skills to focus course instruction. It highlights the critical role of teamwork and communication between a librarian and chemistry faculty, the development of an assessment tool, and evolution of assignments to address student needs.

Revisiting James Madison University: A Case Analysis of Program Restructuring Following so Called ‘Title IX’ Cuts

The purpose of this study was to revisit one of the most highly publicized cases alleging Title IX harmed male athletes at James Madison University (JMU) following a decision that cuts would be made to the athletic program in 2006. Using budget data and publicly available information about the JMU athletic program, comparisons were made between the academic years 2006–2007 and 2010–2011. The authors conclude that the cuts in the JMU program were motivated far more by forces associated with the upward drift phenomenon in intercollegiate athletics, as evidenced in an institutional commitment to an expansion project costing $62 million for the football stadium in 2009 than concerns about Title IX. As the analysis reveals, despite public concern that Title IX had harmed male athletes, the athletic department restructuring at JMU did not increase opportunities for female athletes, did not result in the disappearance of men’s teams although those teams were demoted to club status, and did not inhibit the assumption of significant institutional debt to support the football program.

Information literacy proficiency: Assessing the gap in high school students' readiness for undergraduate academic work

This study examines how high school students' information literacy (IL) skills prepare them for academic work in the digital age. The project included: (a) an audit of university IL practices; and (b) the administration of the James Madison University (JMU) Information Literacy Test (ILT) to 103 twelfth grade students in Alberta, Canada. Due to the low stakes of the test, there was concern about the reliability of the results. Rapid guessing, response time effort, and motivation filters were applied to confirm the reliability of the results. Results indicate a gap between expectations of high school students and their skills. Using a standardized test, potential incoming undergraduate IL proficiency was identified, including student strengths and weaknesses. The audit identified IL policies and practices at the university, indicating discrepancies in the IL instruction students may receive. Findings indicate that students lack the IL proficiency required to succeed in the post-secondary educational environment, and the libraries are not prepared to effectively address this gap.

Table of Contents

Abstract Cover Story Create buy‐in among faculty to implement a merit‐pay system Conduct research, gain buy‐in for merit pay Review these 10 lessons learned from implementing merit pay News Briefing/Resources College enrolls students with intellectual disabilities ACE, 60 other groups ask ED to rescind regs Louisiana system may cut 138 programs HR survey reveals faculty salaries Protect academic freedom with AAUP guidelines Crisis Management Create an emergency plan to help students traveling abroad Offer immediate assistance for student crises abroad Executive Management Improve leadership by embracing various perspectives What Would You Do? How do you encourage full‐time/adjunct respect? Stress commitment to full‐time faculty; involve adjuncts fully Lawsuits &amp; Rulings Dean &amp; Provost QUICK STUDY Academic Freedom DISCRIMINATION Supervisors' statements might show discrimination against instructor RETALIATION Appeals court upholds instructor's dismissal FACULTY Court dismisses due process claim against private university Disability court cases &amp; rulings Focus on Leadership LINDA CABE HALPERN, DEAN OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES, JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY, PAST CHAIR, AMERICAN CONFERENCE OF ACADEMIC DEANS Reap benefits of association leadership Association leadership brings rewards

In To Africa: Teaching Nanoscience to Undergraduates in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

ABSTRACTThere has been considerable interest in developing curricular programs and materials for teaching undergraduate courses in nanoscience in the United States and other developed countries in the past decade. Materials science and nanoscience research programs are growing in developing countries in South America, Africa and Asia. However, there still exists a significant disconnect between the research efforts in developing countries and undergraduate coursework. This report will focus on the teaching of an upper-division one semester lecture/laboratory course developed at James Madison University (JMU) called “The Science of the Small: An Introduction to the Nanoworld” taught in the School of Chemistry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg (UKZN-PMB), South Africa in 2009 through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar program. We report insights into the preparation needed to teach a cutting-edge laboratory course in South Africa. Also addressed will be some of the challenges of teaching an instrument-intensive laboratory course in a developing country, academic preparation of the typical native isiZulu-speaking UKZN undergraduate student compared to a typical U.S. student, and pre and post attitudes and content assessment of students who were enrolled in the course. Further discussed will be observations of post-apartheid science and math education in South Africa, and the beginning of a pilot program bringing South African undergraduate students to the U.S. to gain undergraduate research experience.

Guest Editor's Note

Guest Editor's Note Donna L. Sundre (bio) Higher education faculty, staff, and administrators are increasingly being challenged to meet new demands in accountability, accreditation, and assessment. The assessment of student learning and development across the general education areas is one of the most demanding tasks that assessment practitioners are mandated to conduct. Not only are the domains to be assessed broad in scope and the instruments designed to measure them few and difficult to properly align with home institution curricula, we also have an additional complexity that most have recognized but few have systematically addressed: the lack of motivation students bring to assessment tasks. General education assessment tests appear to inspire less motivation in students than assessment tasks in the major. This special issue of the Journal of General Education provides an important, and unfortunately rare, opportunity to explore in depth issues associated with examinee motivation. While examinee motivation is widely recognized as one of the most persistent and pervasive problems in education, accountability, and assessment, the literature on the topic is neither broad nor deep with insightful research into the nature of the problem or how to directly address or alleviate it. This special issue was specifically designed to assist in filling this void. For those unfamiliar with assessment practice, an understanding of the very different student orientations and attitudes that students bring with them to assessment testing sessions will prove helpful in forming appropriate interpretations of the assessment results and how administrators and policy makers should also attend to the psychology of examinees. Examinee motivation represents a serious problem in a variety of settings. Low motivation to perform well on tests is particularly manifest when the examination results hold no personal consequences for the students we ask to complete the tasks. College students are particularly adept at understanding when tests count and when they do not. While the test results may contribute to [End Page vii] important considerations, and perhaps high-stakes decisions, about program quality, many students may not put forth good effort. If a meaningful subset of students do not put forth good effort, the result is inevitably an underestimate of true student ability. This systematic error represents bias in measurement. Questions will arise about the nature and impact of low student motivation to perform well on our assessment tasks—such as "How do we know if students are trying?" or "Which students are trying and which ones are not?" or "What can we do to improve student motivation?" or "How much does low motivation negatively impact our results?" or perhaps, "Why should we pay attention to these assessment results when we suspect that many students are not seriously engaged?" Fortunately, the articles in this special issue are directed toward answering such questions. As with all complex real-world problems, there are many remaining research questions, but the four articles included here will provide a solid framework, tools, and methodologies for institutions to meaningfully explore their own assessment settings and examinee motivation. The research reported in this Journal of General Education special issue largely emanates from James Madison University (JMU), where assessment practice has been under way for over twenty years. JMU faculty members and administrators continually asked piercing questions about the validity of interpretations when students were required to participate in the assessment activities but the level of performance had no personal consequences. In other words, the lack of student motivation to perform well threatened the validity of every score interpretation. Due to the data collection strategies employed by JMU via its biannual Assessment Days, systematic research on general education learning outcomes and examinee motivation could be conducted with large, representative samples of students. This research has spanned fifteen years, and many of the highlights of the examinee motivation work are featured in this special issue. The first article by Thelk, Sundre, Horst, and Finney introduces the Student Opinion Scale (sos), an instrument designed to measure examinee motivation. The instrument is freely available, and the article provides the theoretical framework upon which the sos was designed, its psychometric characteristics, and over ten years of validity findings. This essay will provide the seeds for what we hope will be considerable research on other campuses. The...

The Evolution of a Teacher and Collaborator Extraordinaire: An Interview With Virginia A. Andreoli Mathie

Abstract Virginia Andreoli Mathie received her BMath and BA from the University of Waterloo and her MA and PhD in social psychology from the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill. She taught at James Madison University (JMU) for 29 years. In July 2004 she became Executive Director of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She has held several prominent leadership positions in psychology including secretary of the Virginia Psychological Association, president of the Virginia Academy of Academic Psychologists, president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, member of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Board of Educational Affairs, and chair of the APA Psychology Partnerships Project (P3). She has been a Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecturer, received an APA Presidential Citation for her leadership of P3, and received the 2002 APA Distinguished Contributions to Applications of Psychology to Education and Training Award. Peter J. Giordano is Professor and Chair of the Psychology Depar...

General Education Reform: Thinking Critically about Substance and Process

Any institution of higher education intending to conduct a major reform of its general education program inevitably will confront the multiple challenges of designing and delivering a curriculum with understood purposes and proven effectiveness (Reynolds, 1998, p. 150). Successfully meeting those challenges may entail significant alteration of the substance and oversight procedures that typify the program being replaced. The relevant literature avail able for consultation is substantial, but typically offers case stud ies that are success stories. We believe, however, that much can be learned from curriculum reform experiences that are unsuccess ful. Hence, in this essay we pursue two interrelated goals. First, we examine the substance of a new program of general education at James Madison University (JMU) and identify design weak nesses in the new curriculum. Second, by highlighting problems encountered in the reform process at JMU, we infer a set of strat egies for effective general education reform.

A Government—University—Industry Response to Critical Manufacturing Innovation Needs

The mission of Virginia's Manufacturing Innovation Center (VMIC), funded by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology and sponsored by James Madison University (JMU), is to enhance the capability of Virginia's small-and medium-sized manufacturing firms initially in the Commonwealth of Virginia, then nationally and internationally, to meet the competitive challenges of the future. VMIC helps build strong economic foundations with a high-quality, well-trained workforce, accessible technology and modern business practices, and forward-looking infrastructure, while improving the quality of life and maintaining strong economic development programmes. Key strategic goals of VMIC are providing access to existing and new advanced manufacturing technology and innovative workforce training for Virginia.

Quality and assessment

Assessment is used for purposes of accountability and the improvement of teaching and learning. In addition, stakeholders such as employers and government funding councils rely on assessment to provide them with data ensuring quality of provision and standards of education. Illustrates how these seemingly conflicting demands can be met with reference to three empirical sources: interviews with staff at the University of Central Lancashire, England; and fieldwork conducted at James Madison University (JMU), Virginia, and Alverno College, Milwaukee, USA. Makes a case for assessment which is integrated into the learning experience, responsive to student needs, and which is congruent with the aims of individual programmes and the mission statement of the institution.