Large Research University Research Articles

From pandemic crisis to recovery and resilience: lessons from COVID-19 at a large urban research university

ABSTRACT The abrupt onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a dramatic shift in higher education. Over time, the prolonged and cyclical nature of public-health restrictions conditioned students, faculty, and staff to adopt a crisis mindset as their baseline. Moving from crisis to recovery therefore posed unique obstacles at both individual (e.g. anxiety, exhaustion, and post-traumatic stress) and organizational levels (e.g. transition logistics, labor market changes, and student preparation). Using case study methodology, this paper describes an effort to directly address the evolution from pandemic crisis to recovery and future resilience at large, urban, research-intensive university spanning three campuses. Consultation meetings in the form of individual interviews and focus groups with 301 academic leaders, staff leaders, and student leaders across the institution raised critical insights into the process of adapting to change in an institution of higher learning. The analysis of discoveries and resulting actions clustered into four themes: fatigue, loss, and pride in the aftermath of crisis; moving forward (including recognizing efforts and challenges to integration); innovation out of adversity caused by COVID-19; and future-proofing by seizing opportunities for creating resilience. Despite the chaos that crises may introduce, this case study illustrates how they carry unique opportunities for growth. As the future will continue to present all manner of challenges, the willingness and ability to adapt will define future outcomes for higher education.

Evaluating an Instructional Intervention for Research Data Management Training

Objective – At a large research university in Canada, a research data management (RDM) specialist and two liaison librarians partnered to evaluate the effectiveness of an active learning component of their newly developed RDM training program. This empirical study aims to contribute a statistical analysis to evaluate an RDM instructional intervention. Methods – This study relies on a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental intervention during introductory RDM workshops offered 12 times between February 2022 and January 2023. The intervention consists of instruction on best practices related to file-naming conventions. We developed a grading rubric differentiating levels of proficiency in naming a file according to a convention reflecting RDM best practices and international standards. We used manual content analysis to independently code each pre- and post-instruction file name according to the rubric. Results – Comparing the overall average scores for each participant pre- and post-instruction intervention, we find that workshop participants, in general, improved in proficiency. The results of a Wilcoxon signed-rank test demonstrate that the difference between the pre- and post-test observations is statistically significant with a high effect size. In addition, a comparison of changes in pre- and post-test scores for each rubric element showed that participants grasped specific elements more easily (i.e., implementing an international standard for a date format) than others (i.e., applying information related to sequential versioning of files). Conclusion – The results of this study indicate that developing short and targeted interventions in the context of RDM training is worthwhile. In addition, the findings demonstrate how quantitative evaluations of instructional interventions can pinpoint specific topics or activities requiring improvement or further investigation. Overall, RDM learning outcomes grounded in practical competencies may be achieved through applied exercises that demonstrate immediate improvement directly to participants.

Assessment, credential, or both? Higher education faculty’s design principles for micro-credentials

The rise of small, skills-focused credentials, also known as micro-credentials, has garnered considerable attention in recent years. By offering micro-credentials, institutions of higher education can provide additional credential options, thereby attracting more diverse audiences beyond degree-seekers. However, amidst their growth, fundamental questions surrounding their effective design and pedagogical implementation remain. This lack of clarity may inadvertently hinder their effectiveness. To address this gap, there is a need for studies that examine the perspectives and practices of faculty involved in micro-credential development and delivery. This study employed a single-embedded case design to investigate the perceptions and practices of faculty members who implemented micro-credentials for a pilot program at a large public research university. Specifically, this study aimed to identify faculty perceptions of the assessment and credentialing affordances of micro-credentials, and strategies employed to integrate these affordances into the design of micro-credentials. In-depth interviews were conducted with faculty members representing a diverse array of academic disciplines. Findings revealed that faculty need support in recognizing and integrating certain characteristics of quality assessments when designing micro-credentials, including aligning of assessments with a micro-credential’s delivery method, and integrating equity-oriented assessments into the design. These findings underscore the necessity for interventions and training programs aimed at integrating quality assessment practices into micro-credential design.

Human behavior outcomes at point of disposal of a biodegradable plastic cup at a U.S.-based university campus

Human behavior outcomes at the point of waste disposal are a complex and often neglected area of life cycle assessment modeling of single-use products. To fill this data gap, waste audit data was collected from two campus facilities of a large research university located in the midwestern United States (U.S.). In these facilities, “compostable” plastic cups made of polylactic acid (PLA) are offered by vendors. Eight distinct waste audit trials were completed throughout the course of 15 months. Two different waste streams were sorted: recycling and landfill. This study considered all plastic cups, both PLA and non-PLA (PETE, PP, and PS). Observed disposal percentages in ‘correct’ bins were 67 % for PETE, 36 % for PP, 40 % for PS, and 52 % for PLA. Waste audit findings reveal that individuals likely do not know or do not act on what they know when disposing of PLA, PP, and PS cups in a U.S.-based campus location.

Tensions affecting law teachers’ collaborative practice around teaching: a study of beliefs and practices

ABSTRACT Collaborative practice among teachers, where teachers collaborate around their teaching practice, is known to optimise student learning in primary and secondary schools, where they are encouraged to create shared conceptions of vision, purpose and means. In higher education, however, studies on teachers working as teams and abandoning traditional norms of isolation and individualism around teaching are scarce. This study examines law teachers’ perceptions about teaching collaboration and the value of the collaborative process, as well as how and to what extent their beliefs are reflected in workplace practices. The study adopts a mixed method approach with a survey questionnaire and follow-up interviews with course directors at a large research university in Sweden. The findings show a mismatch between the espoused values and tacit assumptions regarding collaborative practice in relation to teaching, and they are discussed in relation to systems theory and literature on teaching teams and collaborative practice in higher education. The study provides important guidance for future leaders of higher education who are interested in the development of teaching and learning.

Justice, Labor, Research, and Power: The Significance and Implications of Parent-Reported Outcomes in Medical-Legal Partnership.

As a legal aid union president in New Haven, laboring within shouting distance of a different large research university, I recall how our membership rolled our eyes when Professors Greiner, Pattanayak, and Hennesy of Harvard published their study providing evidence, through a randomized control trial, that law clinic housing work made no difference for clients.1 Representing, as I was, "lawyers, secretaries, and paralegals who have dedicated their careers to serving poor clients in crisis,"2 the authors' conclusion generated first shock, then denial, and then an anxious realization that somebody's job was to research and disseminate such conclusions. In a 2013 United States where there was one legal aid lawyer for every 8,893 people who qualified,3 where federal Legal Services Corporation funding had dropped 40% over ten years in real dollars,4 and in an America that spends as much on Halloween costumes for its pets as it does legal aid for the poor,5 the inquiry felt like a pile-on. It made no more sense to us than asking if a teacher is "good for students," a nurse "good for the sick," or a chef "good for the hungry."6.

Major Selection as Iteration: Observing Gendered Patterns of Major Selection Under Elective Curriculums

Social scientists have long recognized field of study as an important mechanism of gender differentiation and stratification in U.S. higher education, but they have rarely attended to how elective curriculums mediate gender differentiation in major selection. Under elective curriculums, major selection is an iterative process, in which students select courses in stepwise fashion at the beginning of each academic term, and are able to change majors early in their undergraduate careers. We observe how an elective curriculum mediates gendered patterns of major selection, using a novel data set describing 11,730 students at a large public research university. We find (a) gender and intended major are strongly correlated upon college entry; (b) large proportions of students change majors between entry and declaration; (c) because most changes are to academically adjacent fields, gendered patterns in field of study persist through the undergraduate career. Findings suggest the value of an iterative conception of major selection and offer tractable means for intervening in the process through which students select majors. JEL codes: I21, I24, I26, J16.

Making hybrid work for diverse staff in higher education: A behaviour change approach

AbstractDespite being considered the ‘new normal’ for many workers since the COVID‐19 pandemic, there is a dearth of applied research on hybrid working, especially in the context of inclusivity. This study uses the Behaviour Change Wheel to examine barriers, which hinder, and enablers, which help, to support hybrid working after the COVID‐19 pandemic and then identifies intervention strategies for its improvement. Data included 36 open‐ended questionnaires and 20 interviews from diverse (gender, sexual and ethnic identities; age; job role/grade scale; caregiving responsibilities and disability status) academic and professional staff at a large UK public research university, collected in May–July 2022. Barriers included the lack of technological skills, lack of clarity and application of the hybrid working policy, childcare and travel issues, no suitable space and equipment, managers' lack of understanding of specific needs, feeling lonely and isolated, and fears and uncertainty. Enablers included self‐management skills, purposeful office days, positive feelings, work/life balance, productivity and support from others. Issues related to equity and inclusivity were highlighted based on disability status, caregiving responsibilities, age and job role. Strategies are offered to improve hybrid working, such as training, organisational infrastructure and practices and policies to enable a collaborative, cooperative and inclusive hybrid work environment.

Contract Grading and the Development of an Efficacious Writerly Habitus

Contract grading has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, promote self-directed learning, and disrupt unjust educational norms (Cowan, 2020; Inoue, 2019; Medina & Walker, 2018). Yet, there is growing recognition of challenges associated with the approach, including the unintended effects of deemphasizing grades (Inman & Powell, 2018) and the possibility that labor-based contracts, in particular, may put some students at a disadvantage (Carillo, 2021). This article reports selected findings from an IRB-approved multi-semester, comparative study of labor-based and labor-informed contract grading in first-year writing courses at a large private research university. The study affirms several findings from existing research on contract grading. In particular, it shows the approach mitigates students’ stress and anxiety and increases their overall satisfaction with grading. Contract grading shifts the assessment ecology of the first-year writing classroom so that the challenges and rewards of writing take priority over the pressures and limitations of grades (see Inoue, 2015). Drawing on the literature of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 1994, 1997; Pajares, 2003), the authors theorize that contract grading encourages students to develop an efficacious writerly habitus grounded in self-motivated effort, increased confidence, and heightened understanding of writing as a mode of thinking. 

Capitalizing on Gen Z students’ interests and motivations to develop Global Citizenship Education in VEs

The article reports on the outcomes yielded by two different virtual exchanges conducted before and after the forced closures of academic institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They were designed considering interests and motivations of Gen Z students (Seemiller & Grace, 2016) and aimed at including a Global Citizenship Education approach to deal with contemporary world challenges. The current article details these telecollaborations between two cohorts of a large private research university in Eastern North America and two large research state universities in the Southern part of North America and Western South America that were brought together to deepen their understanding on the migration phenomenon by performing collaborative tasks. Throughout these exchanges and at the conclusion of the courses, students reported common and divergent perspectives on issues discussed. Although there were more points of coincidence in their understanding of the phenomenon, when learners did not agree, they sought to see the other’s perspectives and strived to find common ground. Overall, the evaluation of these virtual exchanges was considered a beneficial and rewarding experience that not only made their learning easier but gave access to more global perspectives about the migration phenomenon. The terms virtual exchange and telecollaboration are treated synonymously.

Time and day: trends in student access to online asynchronous courses in communication demonstrate time poverty in action

ObjectiveAs changes to higher education following the rapid transition to online learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students and their perceptions of what is possible in scheduling their daily lives around school, this study investigates trends in student access to online asynchronous courses.MethodsThis study utilized course reports of student access from the learning management system for thirty-one sections of eleven different online asynchronous communication courses taught by ten different faculty members over the fall and spring semesters at a large research university in the southwestern United States. A total sample size of 1,201 students were involved in the study.ResultsProfile Analyses indicate clear curvilinear trends for time of day and day of the week in student course access. Repeated Measures ANOVA results indicate those trends vary significantly from a no effect condition, suggesting that students: (a) schedule their course activities around personal schedules, and (b) that time bound synchronous course may not work for them.ConclusionRecommendations for class management by instructors relating to student time poverty need regardless of teaching modality, and future directions for research on time poverty in higher education, are provided.

“I have my family right here”: Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and peer support among a cohort of fosterscholars

This paper presents findings from a focus group conducted as part of a larger Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) study with a cohort of university students with experience in foster care. Six foster scholars (ages 18–21) participated in a research collective offered as a collaboration between the School of Social Welfare and the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) at a large Northeastern public research university. Over the course of several semesters, students received an overview of research methods, evaluated existing research regarding the educational outcomes of youth with foster care experience, then designed an interview guide for a focus group that they later participated in. Focus group data was transcribed and then analyzed in two ways, first through thematic content analysis using ATLAS TI qualitative software, and simultaneously through participatory narrative analysis using an adapted version of Carol Gilligan’s Listening Guide. The cluster of findings presented in this paper highlights co-researchers’ experiences of a YPAR approach to research. Three themes emerged: validation of experience and peer support, connection to available resources, and YPAR as a tool of collective action and empowerment. An overview of the significant actions and change efforts associated with the YPAR process is also provided. Findings highlight the importance of peer support and the possibility of participatory research approaches in catalyzing peer connectivity and agency among foster scholars in higher education. Integrating youth voice and perspective to the existing body of knowledge about youth with foster care experience in higher education adds an important perspective needed to more holistically understand what resources and supports are most critical in ensuring their success. Recommendations are made for both universities and child welfare scholars desiring to center the voices and experiences of youth with foster care experience.

A comparative case study of the accommodation of students with disabilities in online and in-person degree programs.

Fully online degree programs are an increasingly important part of the higher education ecosystem. Among the many challenges raised by the growth of fully online courses and degree programs is the question: Are institutions providing online students with disabilities accommodations that are comparable to those provided to students in traditional in-person degree programs? To explore this question, we compared students in a fully online biology degree program to students in the equivalent in-person degree program at a large research university. For each group, we assessed the frequency with which students register with the disability resource center, the range of specific accommodations provided, and course grades. Results show that students in the in-person program were nearly 30% more likely to be enrolled with the disability resource center, and that students in the online program were offered a narrower range of accommodations. However, in relative terms (i.e., compared to students without disabilities in their degree program), online students with disabilities perform better than in-person students with disabilities.

Tracing Information Use Over Time: A Comparative Study of Undergraduate Engineers

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the patterns of undergraduate engineers' information use as they transition from students to emerging professionals. We administered a questionnaire to 54 undergraduate engineers at a large research university, and compared the information use of 2nd and 4th year students. The results showed that 4th year students reported using more genres associated with professional contexts, such as technical reports, and fewer classroom‐based genres, such as textbooks, than 2nd year students. However, a significant proportion of all students reported that they do not frequently use professional genres. These findings have implications for information literacy instruction by highlighting students' need for further training on the relationship between genres and tasks.

Innovating Teaching Practice Through Professional Learning Communities: Determining Knowledge Sharing and Program Value

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model has been used to help faculty develop innovative teaching practices and diffuse effective strategies and resources throughout K-12 schools. Yet, whether and how PLCs influence research-focused higher education institutions remain unknown. Drawing on existing research on PLCs and the social network theory, this mixed-methods study investigated how participants shared what they learned during their time in the program to build greater capacity and the perceived benefits and weaknesses of the PLC model. We conducted semi-structured interviews ( n = 8) and a survey ( n = 77) among current PLC fellows and alumni at a large research university. The results based on social network analysis showed that PLC fellows shared knowledge and resources across departments and offices at the university, and these efforts led to additional collaborative research and grant applications. Results also indicate that PLC fellows valued the diversity of the program, developed skills that they used in their courses, gained confidence in their ability to share knowledge and resources, and appreciated the accountability the program provided. Furthermore, respondents rated the program positively and indicated that they were currently using the knowledge and skills gained to further develop innovative teaching practices as well as planning to continue to do so in the future. These findings suggest that the PLC model can be an effective way for universities to empower faculty to develop innovative teaching practices, and, by sharing what they have learned with others, to build capacity for innovative teaching and research practices across the institution.

COVID-19 pandemic effects on trajectories of college students' stress, coping, and sleep quality: A four-year longitudinal analysis.

College students' stress levels, coping strategies, and sleep quality are important indicators of functioning and further predict their health and well-being. The current study utilises data repeatedly collected over more than 4years from students enroled at a large public research university in the Midwestern US. Our data collection period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic's onset, facilitating systematic examination of whether and how college students' trajectories (i.e., level and slopes) of stress, coping, and sleep quality changed as the pandemic progressed. Across five waves, surveys assessed multiple outcome and predictor domains every 6months. Analyses revealed differential courses of change for the outcomes. Stress levels were overall lower immediately after the onset but trended upwards as the pandemic continued. Reported coping reduced significantly after the onset and showed a steeper decline as the pandemic wore on. Sleep quality showed no significant pandemic changes over time, though sleep duration and timing showed initial onset effects. College students' stress, coping, and sleep changed in complex and nuanced ways after the pandemic's onset and findings from our longitudinal analyses expand upon those from previous limited repeated measure and cross-sectional studies. Altogether, findings demonstrate multifaceted changes that may have ongoing effects to affect well-being during key developmental stages.

Subliminal voices: barriers to healthcare and proposed interventions by international students and their families at a large research university in the Midwest

Despite the vast numbers of international students in the U.S. as well as their contribution to the economy, their voices are rarely heard within the discursive spaces of the American academe. This study takes a step toward filling that gap and seeks to open up a platform where married, international graduate students at a large Midwestern university could communicate, in particular, the barriers they faced while accessing healthcare facilities for their families. Using a culture-centered approach to health communication, through focus groups and in-depth interviews, this study provides a discursive space where 22 international students and spouses articulate vivid narratives of the problems they encountered while negotiating the American healthcare system, revealing a basic issue of unaffordability of students' spousal health insurance, accompanied by a dire need for better communication between international students and the university, with there being a need for the latter to better explain to international students a healthcare system that is new to them, as well as communicating with them, with better clarity, the available healthcare options for them and their spouses. The participants also proposed interventions to redress the problems, including the need for better dissemination of information regarding healthcare.

Unincorporated

In this paper, the authors take part in a duoethnographic dialogical and reflective conversation about their experiences in mathematics teaching and learning in two unincorporated United States (US) territories (Guåhan and the US Virgin Islands) and discuss how such differed from experiences since moving to the US mainland. The two authors are in a professional mentor-mentee relationship and currently work at a large research university in the central US. Informed by recent experiences since living in the US mainland, the authors used the edited book, “Rehumanizing Mathematics for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx Students” by Goffney et al. (2018) to ground their reflections and discussion. The Rehumanizing Mathematics conceptual framework was used as a sociopolitical lens to guide their dialogic exchange. As duoethnography was used as the methodological approach to analyze the discussion and reflections, the authors were the focal sites of research. Findings from this duoethnography revealed three themes: (1) a recollection of race, culture, language in mathematics; (2) math classrooms as familial community; and (3) culturally responsive mathematics. The paper concludes with implications of these findings for researcher and practitioner communities.

Lived experiences of diverse university staff during COVID-19: an examination of workplace wellbeing

ABSTRACT Survey research has evidenced the work-related stresses reported by higher education staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with indications that some groups may have been more vulnerable than others. However, for the most part, this research has not taken into account individuals’ intersecting identities and their circumstances, which are likely to influence the strategies which are best placed to support their wellbeing. This qualitative study contributes to this area of research through an examination of workplace wellbeing for diverse professional and academic staff, providing a more in-depth understanding of their lived experiences during the pandemic. Data were 36 open-ended questionnaires and 20 interviews from diverse academic and professional staff, in terms of their intersecting gender, sexual and ethnic identities; age; job role and grade scale; caregiving responsibilities and disability status, at a large UK public research university. Using inductive thematic analysis, the findings support key influences identified in the quantitative studies but also highlight new themes such as the salience of ethnic, religious and gender identities and anxiety and trauma from the pandemic. The findings further emphasise the importance of the organisational infrastructure to support staff welfare. Evidence-based, workplace strategies are offered to address the key findings. Overall, our study highlights the importance of providing targeted support and acknowledging the traumatic experiences of university staff during crisis situations and underscores how equity, diversity and inclusion are key considerations for wellbeing practices and policies in the workplace.

Academic data science: Transdisciplinary and extradisciplinary visions.

As a nascent field within the academy, the contours, attributes, and bounties of data science are still indeterminate and contested. We studied how participants in an initiative to establish data science at a large American research university defined data science and articulated their relationships to the field. We discuss two contrasting visions for data science among our research participants. One vision is a transdisciplinary view portraying data science as a phenomenon with transcendent, appropriative, and impositional qualities that sits apart from academic domains. Another view of data science-one that was far more prevalent among our research subjects-casts data science as grounded, relational, and adaptive, emerging from crosspollination of numerous academic domains. We argue that this latter formulation represents a more quotidian reality of data science and positions the field as an extradiscipline, defined as a field that exists to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills, tools, and methods from an indeterminate and fluctuating set of disciplinary perspectives while conserving the boundaries of those disciplines. We argue that the dueling transdisciplinary and extradisciplinary visions for data science have important implications for how the field will mature, and that the extradiscipline concept opens novel directions for studying academic knowledge production in STS, contributing additional precision to the literature on disciplinarity and its permutations.