Non-profit Universities Research Articles

Providing an Ethical Marketing Model for Non-Profit Universities in Iraq

The purpose of this study is to develop an ethical marketing model for non-profit universities in Iraq. A qualitative approach, specifically the strategy of grounded theory, is used. The research began with in-depth interviews with 15 nonprofit university administrators, staff, and marketing experts to develop the initial model. Then, using the grounded theory research strategy, the steps of open, central and selective coding were completed and the initial model of the research was obtained. Based on this model, the research findings were categorized into groups of causal conditions, central phenomena, contextual factors, intervening conditions, strategies and consequences of ethical marketing. The central phenomenon in this mixed study is ethical marketing, which is influenced by several causal conditions such as: increased awareness and social demand, competition in the educational market, and legal and regulatory pressures. The findings of this study contribute to the development of an ethical marketing framework suited to the unique context of non-profit universities in Iraq. The purpose of this framework is to enhance their marketing strategies and promote their social and educational missions.

The impact of an online hybrid reading intervention on the reading comprehension and strategy use of Iranian English for specific purposes students in relation to an evaluated researcher-made ESP textbook

Research suggests that English for Specific Purposes (ESP) students in English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) contexts have difficulties understanding the passages in technical English textbooks of various fields of study including computer software engineering. Few experimental studies to date have investigated the effect of an online hybrid reading intervention on the reading comprehension performance of these students. To fill this gap, the present experimental study sought to assist these students with comprehending the passages of an ESP textbook entitled ''Technical English for Computer Software Engineers'', developed for computer software engineering students of a non-profit university in Babol, Iran. In doing so, an 8-session online hybrid reading intervention featuring cognitive and metacognitive strategies was administered to an experimental group (n = 30) of ESP students, while the control group (n = 30) followed the conventional approach to teaching the reading skill. To track the participants' reading comprehension, International English Language Testing System (IELTS) reading tests were used before and after the intervention. Results showed that the treatment led to a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the reading comprehension and strategy use. In addition, the teachers' and students' perceptions with regard to the whole textbook were reported. Findings bear pedagogical significance for all the stakeholders.

Navigating Higher Education Insurance: An Experimental Study on Demand and Adverse Selection

We conduct a survey-based experiment with 2,776 students at a non-profit university to analyze income insurance demand in education financing. We offered students a hypothetical choice: either a federal loan with income-driven repayment or an income-share agreement (ISA), with randomized framingof downside protections. Emphasizing income insurance increased ISA uptake by 43%. We observe that students are responsive to changes in contract terms and possible student loan cancellation, which is evidence of preference adjustment or adverse selection. Our results indicate that framing specific terms can increase demand for higher education insurance to potentially address risk for students with varying outcomes.

Competition Between For-Profit and Non-Profit Universities

Competition Between For-Profit and Non-Profit Universities

Predictors of Digital Entrepreneurial Intention in Kuwait

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to explore students’ digital entrepreneurial intention (DEI) in Kuwait. Specifically, the aim is twofold: (i) to identify and examine the factors influencing and predicting students’ DEI, and (ii) to validate a model of DEI. Background: The advent of modern digital technologies has provided entrepreneurs with many opportunities to establish and expand their firms through online platforms. Although the existing literature on DEI has explored various factors, certain factors that could be linked to DEI have been neglected, and others have not been given sufficient attention. Nonetheless, there has been little research on students’ DEI, particularly in Kuwait. Methodology: To fulfill the research’s aims, a study was conducted using a quantitative method (a survey of 305 students at a non-profit university in Kuwait). Contribution: This study aimed to fill the research gap on the limited DEI research among Kuwait’s students. Several recommendations were suggested to improve the DEI among students in Kuwait. Findings: The study identified five factors that could influence an individual’s intention to engage in digital entrepreneurship. These factors include self-perceived creativity, social media use, risk-taking and opportunity recognition, digital entrepreneurship knowledge, and entrepreneurial self-perceived confidence. Significant solid correlations were between all five identified factors and DEI. However, only self-perceived creativity and entrepreneurial self-perceived confidence were identified as significant positive predictors of DEI among undergraduates in Kuwait. Nevertheless, the main contributor to this intention was the students’ self-perceived confidence as entrepreneurs. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should conduct further longitudinal studies to understand better the dynamic nature of DEI and execution. Future Research: Additional research is required to utilize probability sampling approaches and increase the sample size for more generalizable findings.

Sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty in Haiti: sharing knowledge and shaping understanding of food systems at the University of Fondwa

The Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF), a grassroots organization led by a visionary Haitian Spiritan priest, established the private nonprofit University of Fondwa (UNIF) in Haiti in 2004. The University aims to fill a gap in educational opportunities for rural youth and to develop community leaders able to steward food security, sustainable farm animal husbandry, and small business development. Since the institution’s foundation, University faculty members have explored low-input sustainable agriculture techniques, which were inspired by strategies shared earlier by Cuban agronomists and adapted to the Fondwa region’s mountainous terrain. While the University has faced and continues to confront many challenges related to its sustainability as an institution, this article describes the processes by which its faculty and students have conducted diagnoses of soils and crop choices, the innovations they have developed and introduced to improve harvest productivity in rural Haiti and, especially, the ways and means by which they have sought to share such (re)thinking of traditional practices with local farmers. We argue that the University of Fondwa faculty’s close collaboration with local farmers and the agricultural techniques they have refined thereby have not only improved food security for the families involved but have also contributed to the creation of social capital in the countryside and enabled participating Haitian farmers to imagine a path toward food sovereignty. In addition, by educating farmers and providing them tools to improve their food production, the University has worked to close the deep inequality gap that exists between urban and rural Haiti.

SPARC as a platform to advance tokamak science

The unique capabilities of the SPARC tokamak mean that it has the potential to contribute significantly to tokamak science and plasma physics, motivating further collaboration and broader data access beyond the CFS and MIT teams. SPARC is a compact, high-field tokamak that is currently under construction and is predicted to achieve burning plasma conditions once in operation. SPARC experimental data has the potential to advance the understanding of many aspects of tokamak physics, including but not limited to confinement and stability at high field and high density, burning plasma physics, disruption physics, and boundary physics and heat flux management in power plant-relevant conditions. The SPARC team is already a combination of members from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a privately funded company, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a non-profit university. This article describes the opportunities for the SPARC team to work with other researchers to advance toward a fusion power plant on the fastest possible time scales and to simultaneously broaden scientific understanding of plasma physics, meeting the missions of both CFS and academic partners.

A quantitative study on students’ perception of online versus face-to-face education

There are different opinions existing about the leadership crisis relating to the quality of education (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Several authors believe that the role of contemporary business in HE plays a significant role in resolving the leadership crisis (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016; Bettinger & Loeb, 2017; Grincewicz, 2017). The focus of HE in this field also presents significant challenges to those who are responsible for developing the leadership curriculum in the HE context (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Literature shows that business schools have long struggled with the problem of teaching leadership and developing suitable curricula to help graduates become skilled leaders, primarily through online programs (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Moreover, with the coronavirus disease pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, the online platform has proven to be an effective education delivery tool, but COVID-19 has challenged education for learners of all ages (Hoofman & Secord, 2021). Relatively little research has explored the way students’ performance in non-profit institutions is influenced by participating in an online course versus face-to-face course. As a result of research completed on this topic, it is evident more in-depth information is needed regarding evidence to understand the impact of online learning versus face-to-face learning today and their effect on students’ performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the way students’ performance in non-profit institutions is influenced by participating in an online course versus face-to-face course. The Online and Face-to-face Education Evaluation Tool (OFFEET), developed by this researcher, was chosen as the measurement instrument for this study. Participants of this study were university students at non-profit universities/colleges, for this study, there were 314 participants. One-way multivariate ANOVAs were computed with scores on the researcher-developed instrument, OFFEET and the independent variables (i.e., two covariates (gender and age), household income, type of device used, and region within the United States. The results of this research determined that there is a statistically significant difference in the relationship between online versus face-to-face student performance in nonprofit universities.

A Novel Strategic Approach to Evaluating Higher Education Quality Standards in University Colleges Using Multi-Criteria Decision-Making

Universities worldwide strive to achieve excellence in research, learning, teaching, and community services, which are the pillars of their strategic plans. However, satisfying international ranking criteria might not directly result in achieving their strategic objectives. This paper proposes a new approach to rank university colleges by evaluating their educational quality. Standard sets of criteria from multiple international university ranking systems and a university’s strategic plan’s Balanced Scorecard perspectives were cross-mapped for the evaluation. A new multi-criteria decision-making-based framework was applied to six colleges of a non-profit university in the Middle East. It revealed their performance rankings and contributions to the university’s educational quality objectives. This paper offers a novel approach for universities to develop strategies that satisfy multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals concurrently and as per their priorities. Implications include informing university leaders on the most contributing colleges and assisting in pinpointing quality shortcomings and their causes. This helps universities design better performance indicators and allocate resources to achieve educational excellence. This paper puts forward a new approach for universities to unify their efforts in satisfying the requirements of multiple international ranking systems while achieving their strategic goals.

Promising or Predatory? Online Education in Non-Profit and For-Profit Universities

Abstract Online education is a rapidly growing segment of the postsecondary system, and recent growth is concentrated at non-profit universities. Research shows that Black and low-income students are disproportionately represented in online programs; however, research on the outcomes of exclusively online education, especially at four-year non-profit universities, has been limited. Two narratives have emerged about the consequences of the access that online education provides: one describing it as promising and the other describing it as predatory. We harness both institution-level data and individual-level data to intervene in this debate. We show that online education is related to worse educational outcomes in non-profit and for-profit sectors, including lower retention and graduation rates. A sensitivity analysis suggests that selection into online education is unlikely to explain these results. Attending online is also related to some less desirable student loan repayment outcomes across sectors. Our results suggest that online education is a form of “predatory inclusion,” in that access is coupled with increased risks for students relative to comparable peers attending in-person. In light of our findings, we propose that the provision of online education by for-profit entities—even in the non-profit sector—may play a central role in producing poor student outcomes.

Non-suicidal self-injury in a college sample: Intrapersonal and family factors

Objective: Adolescents and young adults are at risk for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal behavior. This study examined intrapersonal (depressive symptoms, self-criticism) and family (perceived family functioning, parenting style, parental attachment) factors associated with reported history of NSSI in a college sample. Method: Participants included 111 undergraduate students (Mage = 20.2) from a private, nonprofit university. Data were collected via online survey. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted. Results: The final model was statically significant, Nagelkerke R 2 = .40, suggesting a robust association between the predictors and history of NSSI. Self-criticism and unhealthy family functioning were significant predictors of NSSI behaviors after controlling for study variables and demographic characteristics. Reported history of engaging in NSSI was positively correlated with parent alienation, unhealthy family functioning, self-criticizing behaviors, and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: College mental health providers should be familiar with risk factors of NSSI as well as strategies to address self-criticism.

The Effects of Higher Student Loan Limits on Access to High-Earnings Graduate Programs

Graduate student debt is the predominant form of financial aid for postbaccalaureate students and represents almost half of outstanding student debt, yet little is known about the effect of publicly funded graduate loans on student outcomes. To fill this gap, we examine the creation of the federal Graduate PLUS Student Loan program, which effectively eliminated loan limits for graduate students. Using a difference-in-difference identification strategy and administrative data on graduate students entering public and nonprofit universities in Texas, we show that access to additional liquidity through Grad PLUS had no effect on underrepresented students' access to high-earnings graduate programs.

A quantitative study on students’ perception of online versus face-to-face education

There are different opinions existing about the leadership crisis relating to the quality of education (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Several authors believe that the role of contemporary business in Higher Education (HE) plays a significant role in resolving the leadership crisis (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016; Bettinger & Loeb, 2017; Grincewicz, 2017). The focus of HE in this field also presents significant challenges to those who are responsible for developing the leadership curriculum in the HE context (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Literature shows that business schools have long struggled with the problem of teaching leadership and developing suitable curricula to help graduates become skilled leaders, primarily through online programs (Muenjohn, Pimpa, Montague, & Qin, 2016). Moreover, with the coronavirus disease pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19) crisis, the online platform has proven to be an effective education delivery tool, but COVID-19 has challenged education for learners of all ages (Hoofman & Secord, 2021). The move to online education during COVID-19 resulted in negative educational changes and health implications for children and young adults enrolled in elementary, middle, high, college, and professional institutions (Hoofman & Secord, 2021). The consequences varied according to age, maturity level, and socioeconomic status. There is limited data on outcomes at the moment, but several oversight bodies have attempted to set recommendations, voiced concerns, and extrapolated from prior experiences (Hoofman & Secord, 2021). According to research, at least 50% of students participate in online courses as opposed to face-to-face courses in non-profit, Higher Education (HE) institutions. Relatively little research has explored the way students’ performance in non-profit institutions is influenced by participating in an online course versus face-to-face course. As a result of research completed on this topic, it is evident more in-depth information is needed regarding evidence to understand the impact of online learning versus face-to-face learning today and their effect on students’ performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the way students’ performance in non-profit institutions is influenced by participating in an online course versus face-to-face course. The Online and Face-to-face Education Evaluation Tool (OFFEET), developed by this researcher, was chosen as the measurement instrument for this study. Participants of this study were university students at non-profit universities/colleges, for this study, there were 314 participants. One-way multivariate ANOVAs were computed with scores on the researcher-developed instrument, OFFEET and the independent variables (i.e., two covariates (gender and age), household income, type of device used, and region within the United States. The results of this research determined that there is a statistically significant difference in the relationship between online versus face-to-face student performance in nonprofit universities.

Who Governs American Nonprofit Private Universities? An Analysis of Board Composition

Private universities’ governing board members, commonly described as “the guardians of universities'', play a vital role in directing and connecting the universities with external organizations. However, despite their important roles, we know very little about who are board members. Hence, this study seeks to bridge that knowledge gap by examining the governing board’s demographics, more specifically their social backgrounds, professional affiliations, managerial positions, and political involvement. Fifteen US non-profit private universities with the largest philanthropic donations are selected for this study. In addition to the gender inequality in board representation, our main finding is that people with business backgrounds are pre-dominant in non-profit university boards. This provides empirical evidence for the much-discussed affinity between higher education and businesses, and thus urges scholars, policymakers as well as the public in general to rethink the role of higher education.

Psychiatryai.com: An exploratory online Artificial Intelligence and Data Science platform to enable near real-time psychiatry and mental health evidence-based medical research and data dissemination

IntroductionPsychiatryai.com is a prototype Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science (DS) platform and research project developed for my Evidence-Based Healthcare (EBHC) course at University of Oxford in MSc studies (Kellogg College). This is a singular, multi-disciplinary, and beta-testing project in Computing Science, Psychiatry, and Mental Health for oral presentation at EPA 2023.ObjectivesAI and DS in Psychiatry and Mental Health have emerged as important research areas in the post Covid-19 pandemic era. This prototype University project (Psychiatryai.com) was launched on 22nd November 2021. It aims to develop a free, secure, and open access platform in near real-time about psychiatry and mental health evidence-based research - for healthcare professionals, doctors, and researchers in psychiatry. The project also aims to integrate findings from the Goldacre Review (2022) into practice and develop novel computing solutions utilising AI and DS, and present findings.MethodsA WordPress site (Psychiatryai.com) was developed with syndicated RSS feeds across 330 psychiatry topics and refreshed by data servers hourly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A total of 43 WordPress plugins were utilised to develop this secure platform. The site is powered by intuitive data modelling and analytics in near real-time and available in open access coding format for peer-review, future development, and research. The primary sources of live evidence for the project are PubMed and University of Helsinki, Finland. The server performance data analytics will be available for poster presentation at EPA 2023. This includes full statistical results and discussion since its inception and launch (including traffic, MESH tags, and PubMed ID), and robust technical analysis and performance outcomes - available freely online to promote research in psychiatry and mental health.ResultsKnowledge Synthesis and Dissemination:Total Words: 4356886 *Live Psychiatry and Mental Health Citations from PubMed: Exceeds 325000Total Evidence Alerts Published: 54391 *Total Algorithms/Topics: 330Total site visitors: 8023 ** Since launch of Psychiatryai.com on 22 November 2021 inclusive to 31 October 2022ConclusionsPsychiatryai.com was able to demonstrate succesful development of an effective and viable platform to study AI and DS in Psychiatry and Mental Health, as evidenced by results table. The platform has also incorporated findings from the Goldacre Review (2022) and aims to continue to collect valuable insights towards full real-time data analytics and dissemination of peer-reviewed current evidence in the future. The emergence of these technologies will be useful in settings such as disaster psychiatry, psychiatry e-training and research, and e-mental health awareness/promotion ahead.Disclosure of InterestP. Naik Consultant of: Dr Paras Naik (Psychiatryai.com) Non-profit University Project

Exploring patient response towards hotline-based telemedicine service in Bangladesh

BackgroundTelemedicine system enables doctors and patients to communicate while staying afar which can be helpful for areas with lesser health facilities and at times of natural or health disasters. In developing countries like Bangladesh, telemedicine service offers the potential for wider health access and equity if effectively implemented. Therefore, the response and acceptance of care receivers who are the main beneficiaries of the service should be explored. As Dhaka University Telemedicine Programme (DUTP) is a non-profit University project-induced successful telemedicine service in Bangladesh, our study was conducted on the DUTP hotline-based telemedicine programme aimed to explore patients’ prior knowledge and response (experience, satisfaction and acceptance) about the service. MethodThe cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing 200 participants over the phone with a structured questionnaire to analyze their knowledge and response. Participants were selected by randomization from the patient pool of hotline-based DUTP telemedicine service. The data was analyzed using SPSSv20. Results and discussionAmong the participants, 41% of total participants knew about telemedicine services before COVID-19. Average patient satisfaction was well above moderate level (p-value< 0.01; mean 3.88). 16.5% respondents mentioned about having any problem while availing the service where ‘treatment or service related problem’ was the most common. Significant association was found between people's ‘occupation’ and ‘knowledge before COVID-19’ (p = 0.002) indicating to the probable role of profession or occupation in molding people's health-service related knowledge. Patient-doctor communication [‘perception about doctor's adequate evaluation (Q3)’ and ‘understanding doctor's advice properly (Q4)’] was found to be significantly associated with ‘age’ and ‘location (division)’ while most respondents (around 90%) perceived the communication as effective. ‘Age’ had also an association with ‘treatment or service related problem’. 80.5% were willing to take the service in the future even by paying fees. All participants appreciated telemedicine service in general when they were asked about its possible inclusion in mainstream primary healthcare. ConclusionThe overall response of patients toward DUTP hotline-based telemedicine, in general, came out to be positive. Concerned authorities and policymakers may exploit this accepting attitude of people toward developing effective telemedicine services in order to ensure wider health and well-being of population.

Structural Relationships between brain- behavior systems and Cloninger Temperament and Character model with Tetrad dark sides of personality

Background and Aim: It seems that one of the important factors affecting the dark dimensions of personality is brain-behavioral systems and dimensions of temperament and character, so the purpose of the present study is the relationship between brain-behavioral systems and temperament and character with dark dimensions of personality in students. Methods: The design of this research was a correlation method in terms of applied purpose and in terms of controlling variables. The statistical population of the study was all male and female students of national, free and non-profit universities of Tabriz in the academic year 2021. From this population, 450 people were selected by cluster random sampling and studied. The questionnaire of dark personality traits, brain-behavioral systems and temperament was used to collect data. Data has been analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation methods. Results: The results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between behavioral activation system and dark dimensions of personality. There is also a significant negative relationship between behavioral deterrence system and war and escape with the dark dimensions of personality. On the other hand, innovation, self-avoidance, reward of dependence and self-escape with the dark dimensions of personality have a positive relationship and there is a negative and significant relationship between perseverance, self-direction and cooperation with the dark dimensions of personality. On the other hand, the results of path analysis showed that the variables of behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition play a mediating role between temperament and character with dark personality traits. Conclusion: The results of this research show that paying attention to the variables of behavioral brain systems and temperament and character play an important role in the dark dimensions of personality.

Resetting Prices: Estimating the Effect of Tuition Reset Policies on Institutional Finances and Enrollment

Private nonprofit colleges are increasingly using tuition resets, or a decrease in sticker price by at least 5%, to attract new students and counter declining demand. While discounting tuition with institutional aid is a common practice to get accepted students to matriculate and to increase affordability, a tuition reset is a more transparent approach that moves colleges away from a high aid/high tuition model. The authors find minimal evidence that these policies increase student enrollment in the long run, but that there may be short-term impacts. As expected, institutional aid decreases and varies directly with the size of the sticker price reduction. The average net price students pay decreases, but this effect may be driven by changes in the estimated non-tuition elements of the total cost of attendance. Finally, net tuition revenue appears unrelated to tuition resets. These findings call into question the efficacy of this practice.

Investigating the Relationships Between SAT Scores, High School GPA, Undergraduate Precalculus Grade, and Calculus Grade

ABSTRACT In this paper, we study how well SAT scores, high school GPA, and undergraduate precalculus grades relate to undergraduate calculus grades at a 4-year private nonprofit university that does not have a placement exam. In addition, we compare the success in calculus of two groups of students, both of whom require two semesters to pass calculus. The first group takes calculus twice (failing the first attempt) and the second group takes precalculus followed by calculus.

$ over Ethics: Higher Education and the Private Prions Industry, a Symptom of the Theology of Neoliberalism.

Neoliberalism’s impact on our everyday lives, culture, and institutions is powerful and ubiquitous. One might suspect that higher education, especially non-profit colleges and universities, would be less affected and more resistant to the expansion of market-driven logic and the hyper-capitalist ethos of neoliberalism, but much evidence points to college and university subscription to the tenants of this ideology and practice. This is especially the case as state policy leaders, particularly conservative and neoconservative Republicans, are aggressively disinvesting in higher education, reducing or removing completely governmental responsibility to ensure an educated population in favor of market-driven forces. While we provide a brief overview of the corporatized universities of today and its problematic nature, we focus on the impact of corporate donations on universities, with particular attention to the private prison industry’s intertwinement with higher education, and specifically the relationship between the GEO Group and Florida Atlantic University.