Non-profit Universities Research Articles

Partnership to Develop and Deliver Curriculum Supporting Student-led Air Quality Research in Rural Washington State.

This article describes the process and educational materials developed and implemented for high school students through a partnership between an urban public university and a rural, non-profit university. This specific partnership was novel but originated within a long-standing community-academic partnership. This project took place in a rural community impacted by air pollution and a higher asthma hospitalization rate compared with the rest of the state. The objectives of this article are to describe the development and implementation of a high school program where students conducted their own research on local air quality using low-cost monitors with the guidance of undergraduate student mentors. University faculty, researchers, and students collaborated to develop an air quality curriculum relevant to local issues. This curriculum was delivered to high school students through an existing after school program, and guided students in conducting their own research on community air pollution. The students used university-provided low-cost monitors for their research, and presented their research to community members. Student learning was supported through hands-on activities and conducting research projects. Student projects examined air quality variation indoors within their school, outdoors in their community, and at home. This curriculum can be adapted for use with students in many different communities. It will likely be most successful and engaging if adapted to local air pollution sources and issues, and implemented through an existing programmatic structure with a high mentor to student ratio.

The diffusion of federal Title IX complaints throughout U.S. colleges and universities, 1994–2014

This article uses an original dataset of federal Title IX complaints to assess whether and how mobilization of the law to confront sexual harassment has diffused throughout four-year (and above) nonprofit colleges and universities. Event history analyses show that complaints spread more rapidly among schools of similar selectivity as well as among institutions linked by a new indicator for social proximity—school Twitter ties—that encompasses multiple forms of social proximity simultaneously. The same diffusion patterns do not emerge for other types of sex discrimination complaints filed under Title IX, indicating that networks channel the capacity to mobilize law differently across different types of claims. The findings illuminate a dramatic transformation in the deployment of Title IX that has reshaped how colleges and universities govern gender relations.

Patterns of Two-Year College Library Websites

Trends in website design among libraries of two-year academic institutions have been under-studied. These libraries are a unique population because they have different goals and challenges than other types of academic libraries. Data were gathered from the library websites of 264 randomly-selected, two-year, nonprofit colleges in the United States. The data were then analyzed to assess the frequency of multiple basic web design elements. Some were common across the sample, such as database lists, and some were infrequent, such as social media integration. The data also showed some relationships between features, for example the presence of a database list tended to be a good indicator of whether a website would have course guides or subject-specific research guides.

A longitudinal descriptive assessment of US college COVID-19 dashboards

Background The purposes of this study were to (1) longitudinally examine US college and university COVID-19 dashboard content and (2) explore county-level population health and COVID-19 community indicators where colleges with large undergraduate enrollments were located. Methods We identified 10 colleges with the largest undergraduate enrollments. Next, we located all public and private two- and four-year nonprofit colleges (n = 58) in each respective county. We assessed active COVID-19 dashboards using established criteria from We Rate COVID Dashboards in March 2021 and February 2022. Results In 2021 and 2022, two-thirds (n = 38/58) of colleges had an active COVID-19 dashboard. While most COVID-19 dashboards were easy to read, they were less likely to include updated daily infection rates and testing frequency details. Conclusion Overall quality, content, and features of COVID-19 dashboards varied greatly across colleges. Future COVID-19 dashboard designs should focus on providing evidence-based information with the goal of promoting and supporting informed decision making.

Telemedicine services in higher education: a review of college and university websites

Objectives To identify rates of telemedicine provision during the COVID-19 pandemic and predictive institutional factors among 4-year and graduate colleges and universities. Participants The study (n = 364) included the websites (.edu) of accredited public nonprofit, private nonprofit, and private for-profit institutions of higher education in the United States that award bachelors, masters, or doctoral degrees. Methods Using digital content analysis, human coders analyzed institution websites for informational text indicating student telemedicine services. Results Findings indicate that a minority of 4-year and above institutions offer telemedicine access. Institution type, institution size, and the presence of campus student health services were predictive. Endowment size and Minority Serving Institution status were not predictive. Conclusion This study illustrates the ongoing need for increased access to remote health services across higher education, especially among smaller private and public nonprofit colleges and universities and all private for-profit institutions.

Indirect Effects of Forgiveness on Psychological Health Through Anger and Hope: A Parallel Mediation Analysis.

Forgiveness often discussed as a religious idea is also a popular topic in psychology. Empirical studies have shown that forgiveness decreases anger, anxiety, and depression and increases self-esteem and hopefulness for the future. However, research on the relationship between various outcomes of forgiveness is scarce. Thus, we aimed at examining the mediating roles of anger and hope in the relationship between forgiveness and psychological health outcomes. A sample of college students from a large non-profit university (N = 202) filled out self-report measures on forgiveness, anger, anxiety, depression, hope, and self-esteem. A parallel mediation analysis examining the role of anger and hope in the forgiveness-psychological health link was conducted. Results supported the indirect effect of forgiveness on psychological health through anger and hope, and the two mediators had a comparable size of magnitude. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Doing Well by Doing Good? – Venture Capital Mission Investments by Charitable Nonprofit Foundations and University Endowments

Doing Well by Doing Good? – Venture Capital Mission Investments by Charitable Nonprofit Foundations and University Endowments

Teacher motivation in online teaching: A case study of EFL instructors

The recent pandemic (COVID-19) forced major changes in education which led institutions to shift teaching from classrooms to virtual platforms. Considering the responsibility of teachers for successful implementation of this transformation, the study aims to investigate motivational reasons of instructors working in the school of foreign languages at a non-profit university for online teaching and the differences of their incentives in terms of synchronous and asynchronous teaching. To collect data, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 5 participants. Their answers were coded and categorized based on the research questions. The content analysis revealed that instructors had both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational reasons for both synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Also, the consequences of the recent pandemic were regarded as motivational factors for the participants. The changes in the society and technological advances indicated a reform in education was realized by the participants as an extrinsic motivation and it could be internalized and turned into an intrinsic motivation.

Survey of Available Information on the Risks and Contraindications of Oral Hormonal Contraceptives on Higher Education Websites

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders after myocardial infarction and stroke. Primary manifestations include deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, which are often preventable and often underdiagnosed. Patients with inherited thrombophilia or family history of VTE are at increased risk for VTE. Acquired VTE risk factors include the use of oral hormonal contraceptives, such as combined oral contraceptive pills (COCPs) containing estrogen and progestin. Women with a family history of VTE are advised not to take COCPs; possible alternatives include use of progestin-only contraceptive pills or non-oral contraceptive methods. Currently it is unknown if young women at college are given information regarding this potential risk when seeking oral contraceptives. Thus, higher education websites can provide a potential venue to promote awareness of this risk. In this study, we reviewed a sample of higher education websites in the US to assess availability of information on oral hormonal contraceptives and their risks for young women.Methods: US higher education institutions for this survey and categorized into 5 major types: community colleges, liberal arts institutions, private for-profit institutions, public non-profit institutions, and private non-profit institutions; 25 institutions from each category were included for analysis. The study was conducted using the Google search terms “birth control pills,” “oral contraceptive pills,” OR plus the university name. Mention of contraindications, risk factors, and blood clot warnings was noted for each website and categorized as to whether the information appeared on the institution's webpage or as a link to an external reference source. Information listed was further classified by risk factors and contraindications mentioned.Results: A total of 125 US higher education institution websites were assessed. Eighteen (14.4%) of the 125 offered information on COCP-related clotting risks. Community colleges and private, for-profit institutions had no information on birth control available either on their webpage or through an external link. Only 3 of 25 (12%) liberal arts institutions discussed clotting risk information. Five of the 25 (20%) public, nonprofit institutions surveyed provided information on their student webpages; three of these 5 offering information through their website as well as through a link to an external website. Of the private, non-profit institutions surveyed, 2 (8%) provided information through their institution's website and 4 (16%) provided information through external sources. Regarding contraindications, 2 (8%) liberal arts schools provided information on their website only, identical to the percentages seen with private and public non-profit institutions. Additionally, 4 (16%) private non-profit universities and 2 (8%) public, non-profit institutions provided information only through external sources. Two (8%) public non-profit institutions provided information both on their website and through external links. Overall, only 6 (4.8%) of the 125 institutions described family history or inherited prothrombotic blood disorder as a potential contraindication or risk factor for COCP-related clotting, all 6 of which were public or private non-profit institutions.Conclusion: The results of this study raise the question of whether higher education institutions are providing the appropriate risk and contraindication information for women considering oral contraceptives as a birth control method. This suggests that there is an opportunity for more birth control education to be provided by higher education institutions. [Display omitted] DisclosuresSarmiento: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment. Sahud: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment. Wong: Quest Diagnostics: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company.

How Much Do They Know? An Examination of Student Perceptions of University Cutbacks

Before the reality of COVID 19 surfaced, many universities faced economic uncertainties due to decreased revenues. Small, private, nonprofit universities are tuition-dependent and must lower costs to remain financially viable. This study investigates how much students understand about the financial situation of their University and how the decrease in university spending impacted student experience. We surveyed a sample (n=30) of recent graduates from the business department of a small, private, nonprofit university to gain a better understanding of how recent graduates perceived the financial decisions made by the administration and the outcomes of those decisions on their experiences. Questions asking about program cuts and other substantial decreases showed that these actions were widely recognized by students, even as the administration worked hard to limit their effects on the overall student experience. The findings indicate that most students are aware of the University's financial state, so leaders must develop communication strategies for current students and alumni built on trust and transparency as part of an overall strategy for long-term financial sustainability.

Student Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Male Faculty Teaching Female-Specific Sex and Gender Health Topics

Objective. The primary objective of this study was to assess perceptions of second year pharmacy students regarding predominantly male faculty instructing them regarding female physiology, pathophysiology, and gender health topics.Methods. A cross-sectional survey was administered to second year pharmacy students at a small, private, non-profit college of pharmacy at the conclusion of their women's health integrated pharmacotherapeutics course. Students were asked to rate their level of agreement with various statements using a five-point Likert scale on which 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree.Results. Forty-seven students completed the survey (26 female and 21 male). The students indicated high agreement with statement: "Prior to the lectures, I felt comfortable having male faculty teach the majority of women's health topics" (median=5, IQR=4-5). Students also indicated neutrality towards the statement: "The gender of the instructor is of importance in the didactic instruction of women's health topics" (median=3, IQR=1-3). No significant differences were observed regarding student gender.Conclusion. Pharmacy students were generally amenable to male faculty teaching female-specific sex and gender health topics. This pattern was observed in both male and female students.

CUREing Ocean Plastic in Pandemic Times

“The CUREing Ocean Plastic” project, an NSF-funded initiative addressing microbial colonization of ocean plastic, is a collaboration between a private non-profit university serving non-traditional students (National University, NU) and a world-renowned research-oriented institution (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, SIO). Over two years it has consistently shown significant gains in student knowledge of scientific research, laboratory techniques, and appreciation of science. In 2020, the SARS-Covid-19 pandemic effectively stopped in-person classes and field trips to SIO. The goal of this study was to 1) adapt content to online delivery, and 2) test the hypothesis that an online experience would result in comparable increases in student engagement and knowledge. In our original design, students in onsite classes were shown a documentary describing the background to the project, assessed by a low-stakes quiz. The day of the field trip, students visited the SIO pier and observed sample deployment and collection. Presentations addressed the research project, its experimental design, and updates about current ocean plastic research, culminating in a Q&A session with NU and SIO researchers and students. Afterward, students in the lab analyzed the collected plastic samples according to the course, from simple colony observations to DNA extraction, 16S PCR, and blast analysis. Introductory biology lab courses were selected for the online pilot. We developed video content of lectures presented during the field trip experience and footage of deployment and collection of samples. The material was scaffolded over 3 weeks of the course. At the end of the third, students participated in a live Zoom session with NU and SIO scientists and research students. The panel answered questions about the project, science skills and careers, the state of plastic pollution, and possible solutions. The intervention was assessed via retrospective surveys and focus groups. Survey results of the online students (N=24) were compared to those of previous onsite students (N=83) using paired and unpaired t-tests with Bonferroni corrections. For both groups, the “after” scores were significantly higher for all questions than the “before” scores, as students rated their knowledge of scientific design, basic laboratory techniques, SIO and NU research, and ocean plastic research. Interestingly, the “before” scores of online students were significantly lower compared to the onsite students, but there was no significant difference was found in the “after” scores. Focus group interviews of nine students reflected a deep appreciation of both the experience and the knowledge gained regarding the real-life relevance of plastic pollution. The results show that carefully designed virtual experiences can substitute in-person science experiences with comparable effect on student engagement and perception of knowledge. While limited in the hands-on and informal social aspects, the virtual field trip is an accessible alternative that can reach larger student audiences.

The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make by Ron Lieber

Reviewed by: The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make by Ron Lieber Emily C. Chen-Bendle, Ed.D. and Gregory C. Wolniak, Ph.D. Ron Lieber. The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make. New York: Harper, 2021. 368 pp. $27.99. ISBN: 978-0062867308 In recent decades, the conspicuous rise in tuition, fees, and out-of-pocket costs associated with attaining a four-year college degree is among the most well-documented and heavily researched trends in higher education. For example, after adjusting for inflation, average tuition and fees at private nonprofit colleges and universities in 2020–2021 are twice what they were in 1990–1991; at public four-year institutions, tuition and fees for in-state students have grown 2.78 times since the early 1990s (Ma et al., 2020). Concerns about the implications of this growth have made their way into the popular press, with The Atlantic lamenting the advent of “Six-Figure Price Tags” at selective universities (Wong, 2019). Much of these concerns center on issues of access and equality of educational opportunity, where large segments of the college-going population are effectively priced out of attending many higher education institutions, particularly the more selective schools. College tuition and out-of-pocket costs present challenges for many, including those in the middle class (Zaloom, 2019). These challenges have social justice implications for students from lower-income families, from underresourced high schools, and who are members of historically underrepresented ethnoracial groups within U.S. higher education. It is in this context that Ron Lieber, personal finance columnist for the New York Times, authored The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Roadmap for the Biggest Financial Decisions Your Family Will Ever Make. The book explores college as a consumer (i.e., private) product and aims to help readers more fully understand the complex processes used by selective institutions to determine which applicants are admitted. The book ultimately aims to help students and families navigate the process of selecting and paying for college. Drawing on publicly available data, research published in academic journals, the popular press, and his own experience, investigations, and interviews, Lieber’s text is the work of a journalist rather than an academic or policy expert. However, the careful curation of external sources and Lieber’s own astute interviews signal the depth and breadth of knowledge that Lieber, who has extensive experience writing about personal finance, brings to his work. The book is divided into five large sections, each of which is subdivided into bite-sized chapters addressing specific topics. The book does not need to be read as a whole to be useful; in fact, its structure suggests that Lieber intended his audience to read applicable sections as needed. Many sections function well as standalone works. Together, these sections present an overview of college pricing and merit aid (Chapters 1–5), the emotional aspects of paying for college (Chapters 6–8; note that while Lieber focuses on this largely and explicitly from a parent’s perspective, the text may be useful to guardians as well), what students get out of college (Chapters 9–20), money-saving strategies (Chapters 21–27), and guidance about how to approach the college search and financial aid process (Chapters 28–35). [End Page 267] Lieber successfully delivers a robust and interesting discussion of pricing and offers a useful personal finance text. However, to fully contextualize the book, one must recognize that Lieber has targeted readers who have significant resources at their disposal, including time and finances. A discussion of this book cannot be separated from a discussion of the implications of targeting such a book to such an audience. Lieber begins his book (Part I: The Price and Cost of College and the Systems Behind It, Chapters 1–5) by discussing well-known concerns about the rising costs of college to families and students—a concept he is careful to refer to as pricing—and the prevalence of financial aid, noting, “89 percent of students at private colleges get a need-based or...

Gender stereotyping: beliefs and practices of Turkish EFL instructors at a non-profit university

The study investigates the beliefs of instructors working in a school of foreign languages of a non-profit university in Turkey towards gender stereotyping, how often they encounter gender-biased behaviours among students and their perception of gender stereotypical practices in the classroom. Data from a questionnaire of 54 teachers were analysed through SPSS. The results reveal that the majority of the participants disagree with stereotyped beliefs. Almost all of them encounter gender-biased behaviours in class and they put gender equitable language into practice.

Effects of simulation-based learning on nursing students' perceived competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction: A repeat measurement method

BackgroundSimulation-Based Learning is beneficial to nursing education. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown a side effect of being overwhelmed by repeated exposures to simulation. Thus, how many times simulation scenarios should be provided to students remains a question for nursing faculty. ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to (1) explore the changes in nursing students' perceived competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction after repeated exposures to simulations, and (2) determine the acceptable frequency of SBL in the ‘Integrated Care in Emergency and Critical Care’ course. DesignA one-group repeated measurement experimental design with self-administered questionnaires in a convenient sample of senior nursing undergraduate students was used. SettingsDepartment of Nursing at a nonprofit university in southern Taiwan. ParticipantsSeventy-nine out of 84 senior nursing students who enrolled in the course in 2019 volunteered to complete all measurements. MethodsAfter taking the baseline measurements (T0), students were exposed to 75-min simulation scenarios from Time 1 (T1) to Time 3 (T3) three weeks apart throughout the semester. Students' nursing competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction were measured immediately after each exposure. Descriptive statistics, t-test and repeated measurement analysis of variance were used for data analysis. ResultsThere were statistically significant improvements from T0 to T3 (p < .001) in nursing competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction scores after repeated exposures to simulation. When comparing scores from T1 to T2 and from T2 to T3, there was no significant difference. ConclusionSimulation based learning is effective in improving nursing students' perceived competence, self-efficacy, and learning satisfaction. While the primary changes occur at the first simulation effort, it is the accumulated multiple exposure experiences collectively improve students' learning outcomes. Multiple instructional strategies besides simulation are recommended to maintain nursing students' learning interests to achieve optimal learning outcomes of the course across a semester.

Campus Governance in U.S. Universities and Colleges

The governance of universities and colleges in the United States basically follows the concept and spirit of democracy embraced by the nation from its birth. The systems and practices in place at most U.S. institutions of higher learning include collaborative, representative, or collective decision-making arrangements known as shared governance. However, these systems and practices are hardly uniform due to the diversity of governance patterns that reflect the unique and different history, needs, and mission of a particular institution. Sometimes they are differentiated from, and contrasted with, corporate, business, and more authoritarian or centralized forms of institutional governance.&#x0D; In contrast with university governance elsewhere in the world—that can range from strong central government control to private self-regulated operations—the U.S. forms of campus governance have emerged in a country that does not have centralized authority over education. U.S. institutions of higher learning respond to a variety of controls and interests that are on display variously at public, private non-profit, private for-profit, and religious universities. Governance, authority, and administration are spread across a wide spectrum of players, including governing boards; presidents, chancellors, and other administrators; the academy/faculty; administrative staff; campus committees; students; and, even some external factors.&#x0D; Shared governance is not a perfect formula or panacea for university administration and decision-making. It does, however, provide a methodology, system, and concept that can help guide the leadership of a university as it approaches the administration and conduct of its educational responsibilities. In today’s higher education environment, the term governance is rather expansive. In one sense, it means top-down governance that is the rightful role and authority of an institutional board charged with overseeing policy, programming, performance, and executive guidance and evaluation. But, it also variously means the use of institutional strategies, operations, and components to distribute, disseminate, and “share” authority and responsibilities for a university’s administrative, management, and decision-making functions, i.e., “on-campus governance.” In this respect, shared governance “borrows” many of the attributes and principles of democratic government. In any case, shared governance, in its many forms and applications, is widely practiced in U.S. universities, including Delta State University.&#x0D;

The Multiplier Effect of Education Expenditure

This paper examines the short-run effects of federal education expenditures on local income. We exploit city-level variation in exposure to national changes in the $30-billion Federal Pell Grant Program, which is the largest program to help low-income students attend college in the U.S., to calculate fiscal multipliers of education expenditures. An increase in Pell grants by 1 percent of a city's income raises local income by 2.4 percent over the next two years. This multiplier effect is larger than estimates for military spending (1.5 on average). Multipliers are higher when grants are awarded to students at non-profit colleges, as for-profit colleges absorb most of the grant increases with raises in tuition. Multipliers are also higher during recessions than in expansions: Pell grants can be an effective tool for countercyclical policy that adds to already established benefits, such as, increasing the affordability of college and fostering long-run economic growth.

Estudantes universitários e as percepções de seus estilos de aprendizagem

Em um universo de avanço da tecnologia a aula universitária precisa se reinventar. Sendo assim, para compreender se estudantes se beneficiam ao reconhecer seu estilo de aprendizagem (EA) e a partir disso, aprendem com técnicas específicas correspondentes a cada estilo, foram realizadas intervenções em disciplinas dos cursos de Psicologia e Nutrição em uma universidade comunitária na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RS. No total, participaram 22 estudantes que foram avaliados através do Levantamento das Preferências Perceptuais em Estilos de Aprendizagem de Joy Reid. Achados revelam que 57% dos estudantes participantes têm estilo de aprendizagem do tipo auditivo. A partir de abordagens interventivas distintas em sintonia com os estilos de aprendizagens dos estudantes, a grande maioria deles se beneficiou e respondeu positivamente aos métodos propostos.

Objectives Driven Participatory Evaluation Model

The ability to complete program evaluations of educational programming is typically restricted by the availability of resources, such as time, money and a trained evaluator. Although not a replacement for trained evaluators, promoting evaluative capacity and evaluative thinking within an organization can help mitigate this gap between talent and resources. Participatory evaluation is purported to increase organizational learning and promote evaluative thinking within an organization (Cousins and Whitmore, 1998). Objectives oriented evaluation is an easily understood evaluation method which provides a refined focus program outcome (Madaus and Stufflebeam, 1989). Using an internal evaluation of a new faculty onboarding course at a private non-profit college system, a mixed methods study was completed to explore the use of a participatory evaluation program evaluation with the use of the program objectives as an advanced organizer. An explanatory sequential design was employed utilizing quantitative findings to collect qualitative data to further explore the participants’ experiences completing the program evaluation. This combined evaluation methodology met the criteria posited in Daigneault and Jacob (2009) and Toal (2009) to be considered participatory in its implementation. It also involved participants in ways which provided them experiences which helped develop evaluative thinking, skills, and beliefs.

Partnerships between universities and nonprofit transition coaching organizations to increase student success.

This study aims to understand the motivations and benefits for universities and nonprofit college access and success organizations to develop formal partnerships. Participants in this study were staff from a major urban research university (n = 22) and four nonprofit organizations (n = 17) that promote college access and success among underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation college students. Participants engaged in an audio-recorded interview that was transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Data suggested that staff from the universities and nonprofit organizations were both holistic in their understanding of college student success. In addition, they were both motivated to form partnerships in an effort to reduce barriers to success, although they, at times, identified different barriers that they wanted the partnership to address. Both university and nonprofit staff saw increased effectiveness of their practice as a result of partnering and university staff gained a better understanding of the greater nonprofit college access and success community. Given the intense support that nonprofit organizations are able to provide with their level of funding, partnerships with universities can increase the success of underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation college students.