Student Exit Survey Research Articles

Using a Structured Research Framework to Improve Mentoring Capacity in a Biophysics Research Lab

ABSTRACT Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) cultivate workforce skills, such as critical thinking, project management, and scientific communication. Many UREs in biophysical research have constraints related to limited resources, often resulting in smaller student cohorts, barriers for students entering a research environment, and fewer mentorship opportunities for graduate students. In response to those limitations, we have created a structured URE model that uses an asynchronous training style paired with direct-tiered mentoring delivered by peers, graduate students, and faculty. The adaptive undergraduate research training and experience (AURTE) framework was piloted as part of the Brown Experiential Learning program, a computational biophysics research lab. The program previously demonstrated substantial increases and improvements in the number of students served and skills developed. Here, we discuss the long-term effectiveness of the framework, impacts on graduate and undergraduate students, and efficacy in teaching research skills and computational-based biophysical methods. The longitudinal impact of our structured URE on student outcomes was analyzed by using student exit surveys, interviews, assessments, and 5 years of feedback from alumni. Results indicate high levels of student retention in research compared with university-wide metrics. Also, student feedback emphasizes how tiered mentoring enhanced research skill retention, while allowing graduate mentors to develop mentorship and workforce skills to expedite research. Responses from alumni affirm that workforce-ready skills (communicating science, data management, and scientific writing) acquired in the program persisted and were used in postgraduate careers. The framework reinforces the importance of establishing, iterating, and evaluating a structured URE framework to foster student success in biophysical research, while promoting mentorship skill training for graduate students. Future work will explore the adaptability of the framework in wet lab environments and probe the potential of AURTE in broader educational contexts.

Charting the course for student success: harnessing the potential of an accreditation-focused hospitality student-exit survey

PurposeThe purpose of this research is two-fold: first, the researchers will create a reliable and valid hospitality senior exit survey by conducting a Delphi panel of experts and second, the researchers will pilot-test the instrument with students from a four-year university. The data will be (a) assessed to determine the retention of knowledge by four-year students, (b) used by academicians to make changes to course material and (c) used to help with the accreditation assessment process.Design/methodology/approachA Delphi panel of hospitality educators was used to validate the items, and graduating hospitality students were used to calculate reliability.FindingsBy embracing the hospitality exit survey (HES), institutions can effectively evaluate and enhance their programs. With its ability to gauge students' knowledge retention, the study findings serve as a powerful tool for shaping the future of hospitality education.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's findings might be somewhat limited in representing a broader range of perspectives within hospitality programs. Another limitation stems from the structure of the survey itself. The survey included numerous items requiring two inputs for each item. This format has the potential to introduce certain biases among participants.Practical implicationsIn a positive statement, organizations can use this information to discover why employees stay and then continue to develop goals/strategies to ensure this process stays up to date. Academia is no different. Academia also wants to produce the best product, and since the students are to become the next set of leaders, these programs need to know what is successful and what needs to be adjusted.Social implicationsA strategic exit interview program should 1)Uncover issues relating to human resources/students; 2) understand employees'/students' perception of the work; 3) managers'/directors' leadership style and effectiveness; 4) human resource/college/departments benchmarks and 5) improve the organization.Originality/valueThis research holds significant importance as it focuses on developing the senior HES and its potential utilization within hospitality programs. The HES serves as a valuable tool for these programs to evaluate the knowledge levels of their graduating students and collect data necessary for assessment and accreditation purposes.

Students from the Future Education Model Graduate Programs Felt Confident and Ready to Practice as Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists: The 2021 Student Exit Survey

Students from the Future Education Model Graduate Programs Felt Confident and Ready to Practice as Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists: The 2021 Student Exit Survey

Immediate impact of bringing a school to the community with a new community-based clinical education program.

To examine the implementation of a community-based clinical education (CBCE) program at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry (SOD) and the preliminary outcomes on dental students and affiliated clinics. A retrospective review was carried out of SOD CBCE program implementation and program data between March 2018 and June 2019 related to patient encounters, pre- and post-rotation student self-assessments, student exit surveys and surveys administered to faculty within affiliate clinics. In five academic quarters, 133 students delivered care for 7556 patients and completed 12,467 procedures in underserved communities. Students reported increased confidence across 14 areas of self-assessment. The percentage of students reporting future plans of working in public health clinics upon graduation increased from 6% to 19%. Affiliate clinic faculty indicated increased care delivery for underserved patients, appointment availability, and job satisfaction. The newly implemented UCLA SOD CBCE program preliminarily yielded immediate positive outcomes for SOD students and affiliate community clinics.

Student Success Factors in a Nurse Practitioner Program

Student exit surveys are a unique means of extracting data for program evaluation. An exploratory study of 5 years of data (n = 440) from a 115-question Master of Science in Nursing student online exit survey examined whether race, sex, age, and prior work experience as a registered nurse predicted academic success. Findings indicated a statistically positive relationship between self-reported outcomes and prior registered nurse work experience. There were significant findings related to the effect of race and years of nursing experience on students’ self-reported learning outcomes. Ongoing evaluation can bring successful course redesign and curriculum transformation to students.

A biomedical Engineering Laboratory module for exploring involuntary muscle reflexes using Electromyography

BackgroundUndergraduate biomedical engineering (BME) students interested in pursuing a career in research and development of medical or physiological monitoring devices require a strong foundation in biosignal analysis as well as physiological theory. Applied learning approaches are reported to be effective for reinforcing physiological coursework; therefore, we propose a new laboratory protocol for BME undergraduate physiology courses that integrates both neural engineering and physiological concepts to explore involuntary skeletal muscle reflexes. The protocol consists of two sections: the first focuses on recruiting soleus motor units through transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), while the second focuses on exploring the natural stretch reflex with and without the Jendrassik maneuver. In this case study, third-year biomedical engineering students collected electromyographic (EMG) activity of skeletal muscle contractions in response to peripheral nerve stimulation using a BioRadio Wireless Physiology Monitor system and analyzed the corresponding signal parameters (latency and amplitude) using the MATLAB platform.Results/protocol validationElectrical tibial nerve stimulation successfully recruited M-waves in all 8 student participants and F-waves in three student participants. The students used this data to learn about orthodromic and antidromic motor fiber activation as well as estimate the neural response latency and amplitude. With the stretch reflex, students were able to collect distinct signals corresponding to the tendon strike and motor response. From this, they were able to estimate the sensorimotor conduction velocity. Additionally, a significant increase in the stretch reflex EMG amplitude response was observed when using the Jendrassik maneuver during the knee-jerk response. A student exit survey on the laboratory experience reported that the class found the module engaging and helpful for reinforcing physiological course concepts.ConclusionThis newly developed protocol not only allows BME students to explore physiological responses using natural and electrically-induced involuntary reflexes, but demonstrates that budget-friendly commercially available devices are capable of eliciting and measuring involuntary reflexes in an engaging manner. Despite some limitations caused by the equipment and students’ lack of signal processing experience, this new laboratory protocol provides a robust framework for integrating engineering and physiology in an applied approach for BME students to learn about involuntary reflexes, neurophysiology, and neural engineering.

SIX DEGREES OF CHEM & BACON

Some courses are just not of interest to some students but are nonetheless important to their education as engineers. First-year chemistry for engineers has been shown to be one such course; student exit surveys at graduation indicate that students from some programs didn’t see how the course connected to their program or into their careers as engineers [1]. Gamification is a popular technique where game elements, like point systems, are integrated into a course structure to motivate student learning and participation [2]. In the offering of this first-year chemistry course in the summer of 2019, the instructor applied gamification techniques in the course design. The major changes to the course structure included the ability to “unlock” an alternate grading scheme if at least five of seven tasks were completed, at least three of which were the completion of a “Six Degrees of Chem & Bacon” challenge. These challenges required the students to think about a core topic in the course module and find a practical application from their discipline of engineering. The experiences of the instructor and a student in the Spring 2019 class are shared here. The big take-aways are 1) to consider the benefits of reflection in learning, and 2) to consider the workload, both of the students and of the teaching team, when adding this type of activity to a course.

Mastery learning in a bachelor\u2019s of nursing program: the Roseman University of Health Sciences experience

BackgroundRoseman University of Health Sciences (RUHS) developed and delivers a mastery learning curriculum designed for students to acquire the knowledge and skills to become competent nurses. Despite a trend in nursing education to adopt competency-based education (CBE) models, there is little in the nursing literature about programs based on a mastery model. The aim of this study is to describe an undergraduate nursing program built on a mastery learning model and to report on program outcome measures.MethodsThe 18-month BSN nursing program is divided into blocks, varying in length and focusing on a single subject. Students must demonstrate mastery, defined as ≥90% on an assessment, to pass a block. Recognizing the critical nature of health care, educators seek methods to assure that practitioners become competent to perform the services they provide.Program outcomes reported include comparisons to national standards and RUHS student exit survey data.ResultsFrom 2013 to 2017 the RUHS College of Nursing students’ pass rates ranged from 82 to 97% for the National Council Licensure Examination exam compared to national pass rates between 81.8–84.5% during the same time frame. The program completion rate ranged from 86 to 100% and employment rates exceeded accreditation standards. Students reported overall satisfaction with their education as 4.38 and with the block system as 4.74 (5 point Likert scale).ConclusionsRoseman University’s mastery learning model appears successful as measured by high levels of student satisfaction, outcomes on exams, and degree completion when compared to national averages. The results suggest that other nursing and health profession’s programs can develop a successful mastery based learning model.

Evaluating university leadership performance using Lean Six Sigma framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate university leadership performance using the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) framework. University leadership performance management (PM) framework incorporates strategy formulation, lecturers, administrative services and the learning outcomes to achieve service quality excellence. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical investigation in literature was accomplished comparing PM and LSS frameworks. Through extant literature review, the authors identified five constructs (lecturers, administration staff, projects, programs and facilities) being offered by a university to evaluate the service quality excellence. Using these constructs, a student exit survey was conducted yielding a response rate of 56%. Five hypotheses were tested. The survey results evaluated reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity of the constructs and were found to be satisfactory. To test the model fit and hypotheses between the constructs, the authors used structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings The LSS framework was found to be effective when compared with the PM framework, and for aligning university processes to achieve service quality excellence. The SEM result shows that there is a strong evidence to support the hypothesized model where facilities, projects and program had significant relationship with service quality excellence. The empirical evidence strongly supports that there is a relationship between the PM and the LSS frameworks. Research limitations/implications This research is based on a cross-sectional exit survey; future research could explore a longitudinal survey with treatment conditions to consider different genre of university leadership. Practical implications To achieve service quality excellence, university leadership will need to embrace LSS framework to satisfy their stakeholders. This could bring multifold organizational and social benefits. Originality/value Not too many studies have used the PM and the LSS framework to evaluate university leadership performance in terms of service quality excellence. This study identified constructs associated with LSS and empirically validated the scales to build on theory.

Community of Inquiry in online education: Using student evaluative data for assessment and strategic development

This study examined the strategic and administrative elements of an online sport management graduate program through the lens of Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 1999). The authors evaluated quantitative and qualitative information from student exit surveys from an online professional graduate degree in sport management using modified CoI principles in order to improve the program's content, structure, and delivery. The quantitative results indicated that students rated the program highly in almost all measured aspects of CoI. The qualitative data revealed that students engage in the three main areas of CoI (i.e., cognitive, social, and teaching presence). Qualitative data support the quantitative results and demonstrate the program operates on CoI principles. Findings inform academic leaders and faculty about CoI elements and the nature of holistic assessment of academic programs.

Assessment Tools for the Evaluation of the Level of Attainment of a Student Outcome Related to Entrepreneurial Activities

Mechanical engineering department at the United Arab Emirates University has added to the ABET student outcomes an additional outcome - “l: a recognition of the need for and an ability to engage in entrepreneurial activities”. This paper details the assessment tools employed in measuring the level of attainment of this student outcome as well as implementation approach. Several direct and indirect assessment tools are developed for measuring the level of attainment of this additional outcome. Direct assessment is carried out through courses, graduation project, and industrial training while indirect assessment is executed through student exit survey, employer survey, alumni survey, and faculty opinion. The average achievement level of this additional outcome, between 2011 to 2014, among graduates is 3.8/5.

First year English at the College of The Bahamas: Student Perceptions

The report presents the findings of a student exit survey of the largest first-year writing course at the College of the Bahamas, a study designed to measure students’ perception of learning in the course. To facilitate comparison, the survey instrument generally followed publicly-available survey studies of first-year composition students at other pots-secondary institutions. While exit survey suggests that students perceive the course as a whole to be beneficial for their development as academic writers, there is some evidence that students over-represented their learning in the class in their responses to the survey. Based on the data, the authors make several suggestions for improving student experience and outcomes in first-year writing courses at the College of the Bahamas.

The problem of student attrition in higher education: An alternative perspective

Student attrition continues to be a significant and costly challenge for higher education institutions across the globe. In Australia, universities cite the importance of addressing student attrition through strategic statements and policy documents, and expend time and resources on the problem. Despite vast expenditures, they have made little impact on student attrition, which continues to negatively impact reputation and revenue. Using a regional Australian university as a case study, this paper analyses a student exit survey to identify the complex and inter-related array of factors that contribute to student attrition. It was found that attrition would be better conceptualised as a wicked problem, which is one that cannot be strategically addressed using traditional approaches to problem-solving. The practical implications of these findings reinforce that current approaches to attrition are likely to fail. Therefore, the wicked nature of the attrition problem needs to be taken into account when developing strategies or policies within higher education.

Music Industry Internship Administration: Overcoming Common Administrative Obstacles That Hinder Student Learning

IntroductionInternships are a critical component of music industry education. This form of experiential learning provides students important opportunities to put into practice theory learned in the classroom. In many programs, internships also serve as the capstone experience to the degree program. These capstone internships often serve as a stepping-stone for students transitioning from the classroom to the workplace.1Internships also represent an important opportunity for employers to train assess potential employees. The digital revolution has torn down many historic barriers of entry into the music industry reinvigorated the do-it-yourself' entrepreneurial spirit.2 The lowering of these barriers has precipitated an explosion of small, entrepreneurial startups, and a lot of startups with unstable cash inflows usually need interns.3 With the increasing number of entrepreneurial startups flooding the marketplace, the demand for college-educated music industry interns is growing, a cursory internet search will reveal a multitude of postings, listings, advertisements for music industry internships.While much has been written on the value effectiveness of students interning in the music industry, there has been little formal discussion on the administration of these experiences how common administrative obstacles hinder student learning. Overcoming common obstacles in music industry internship administration is critical in achieving the student's learning objectives. Successful internship administration requires both the academic worksite supervisors to work together to co-educate the student during the transition from academia to the working world. With enough cooperation, communication, regular touch points between the academic worksite supervisor, common administrative obstacles can be overcome thereby making the internship a positive rewarding experience for all concerned. Not overcoming these obstacles can result in a poor internship experience that fails to achieve the student's learning objectives, potentially damages the relationship between academic worksite internship supervisors, which in turn could limit the internship opportunities for future students.MethodologyObstacles in music industry internship administration were identified using qualitative methods that included the observational study of over 250 undergraduate internships in which the authors participated as either the worksite or academic supervisor. Observational research was supplemented through the review of interns' reflective writing assignments, worksite supervisor evaluations, student exit surveys, interviews with academic worksite internship supervisors. Internships surveyed were conducted primarily in the Los Angeles market from 2001 through 2015 spanned five different music industry sectors: music publishing, recorded music, live music, music in media, music products.Motivated by the need to overcome these administrative obstacles help students achieve their learning objectives, the authors first describe the differing perspectives on interns internships held by the academic worksite supervisor. Next, they identify the theoretical mod- el used to frame their observations recommendations. Finally, they identify, describe, offer recommendations to overcome ten common obstacles to music industry internship administration.Supervisor Perspectives on Interns InternshipsAcademic supervisors are frequently full-time faculty members who have at least one area of expertise in the music industry. They often work to strike equilibrium between achieving the student's learning objectives, meeting the needs of the company offering the internship opportunity, minimizing the liability risk management concerns of the university. Worksite supervisors are frequently junior-level industry employees with little to moderate experience working with interns. …

EXAMINING FOURTH YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES: YEAR TWO

As the Engineering Faculty at the Universityof Manitoba shifts its curriculum from an input-based toan outcomes-based pedagogy, data from diverse sourcesare being collected. Among them, indirect data are beinggathered from students using a student exit survey. Thesurvey has been developed over the past three years toexplore graduating students’ perceptions of theiraptitudes and their engineering program’s strengths andweaknesses in regards to the 12 CEAB graduateattributes. It is comprised of the 12 attributes, with eachattribute further defined by six indicators. Theseindicators reflect the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy ofEducational Objectives in the Cognitive Domain:knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis,synthesis and evaluation. The student exit survey was firstadministered to graduating mechanical engineeringstudents at the end of Fall semester 2012 and then at theend of Fall semester 2013. This paper describes thesecond year of the study, and discusses the datacomparatively with the findings from the first year. Thisstudy offers the Engineering Faculty an understanding oftheir Mechanical Engineering students’ experiences withand perceptions of the CEAB graduate attributes. It willbe used to provide feedback at instructor, program andfaculty levels as the University of Manitoba’s Faculty ofEngineering continues to implement its cycle of programdevelopment and improvement.

EXAMINING FOURTH YEAR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES: YEAR THREE

This paper describes the third year of amixed methods explanatory case study to examine fourthyear engineering student perceptions of the CEABgraduate attributes in the Mechanical Engineeringprogram using a student exit survey and student focusgroup interviews. The purpose of this paper is to reportstudents’ perceptions of their graduate attributecompetency levels and the program’s graduate attributestrengths and weaknesses in a three-year continuum,supporting the findings with the data from three studentfocus group interviews. This investigation offers thefaculty an understanding of its student engineeringstakeholders’ perceptions of how the CEAB graduateattributes are manifest in the Mechanical Engineeringprogram. It will be used to provide feedback atinstructor, program and faculty levels as the Universityof Manitoba’s Faculty of Engineering furthers its effortstowards achieving a continuous cycle of improvement

REDESIGNING THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE: ONE PROFESSOR’S EFFO2 RTS TO DEVELOP AN ACTIVE AND ENGAGING FIRST YEAR THERMODYNAMICS COURSE

Active learning is a pedagogicalmethodology that research has shown both engages andmotivates students. This paper reports on one professor’swork to infuse active learning into his first yearthermodynamics course. Based on the results of a pilotstudy aimed at exploring the use of active learning in afirst-year thermodynamics course to engage students andimprove their learning, a problem-solving learningapproach was designed for a subsequent offering of thecourse. Mini-lectures were interspersed with tutorials,and active learning and pedagogical tools and strategieswere employed with the intent to increase studentengagement and enhance learning. At the conclusion ofthis course, a student exit survey and a student focusgroup were conducted, and students’ course marks werecompared to their cumulative grade point averages toexamine their course performance. Findings showed thatstudents were engaged by the active learning design andevidence of learning was found. This is the second phaseof a practical action research study to turn a traditional,lecture-based course into an active learning arena forfirst year engineering students at the University ofManitoba.

Implementation of a Project-Based Telecommunications Engineering Design Course

This paper describes and discusses the implementation of a project-based graduate design course in telecommunications engineering. This course, which requires a combination of technical and soft skills for its completion, enables guided independent learning (GIL) and application of technical knowledge acquired from classroom learning. Its main implementation challenge is the need for instructors to define graduate-level GIL activities that are unique for the project objectives and scope. This process is required at both the system and subsystem levels. These activities must also satisfy the program learning outcomes and course outcomes (PLOs and COs). The course initiation, implementation, and management are first described from the instructor's perspective. Technical specifications and outcomes from a recently implemented project titled “A Human-Inspired Telecommunication System” is taken as a case study. Besides explaining the methodology used to evaluate both the course and the students, an empirical assessment of PLOs and COs against the associated educational activities is also presented. Results of a student exit survey, in which each instrument was mapped to specific COs, indicated that the intended course objectives had been accomplished and that there was a good level of student satisfaction.

SURVEYING FOURTH YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE COMPETENCIES

As the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Manitoba begins to emphasize outcome based teaching and assessment along with the traditional input-based teaching and assessment, data are being collected in a variety of forms. Some of the indirect data being gathered comes from students in the form of the Student Exit Survey. This survey was developed to measure students’ perception of how well their program prepared them with regards to the CEAB twelve graduate attributes. The survey asked students to consider a large number of indicators for each of the graduate attributes.The indicator list was originally constructed with the intention of sufficiently defining each attribute for the five engineering programs in the faculty while providing variety and choice. Therefore, the list was fairly extensive, and at times iterative and unwieldy. When revisiting the original Student Exit Survey, two factors ascended in importance: student feedback on their personal attribute competencies as developed within their program, and how to define attribute competency levels.To establish competency levels and make indicators more manageable for faculty and students, the indicators for each attribute were revised to reflect the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the Cognitive Domain: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. This new attribute/indicator format was then developed into theStudent Exit Survey and given to fourth year Mechanical engineering students in Fall 2012. This paper describes that effort and analyzes the initial data from this first pass. This data will be used to inform the continued revision of the Student Exit Survey until it is a reliable and valid instrument for providing feedback at instructor, program and faculty levels as the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Engineering forges ahead with its continual cycle of improvement.

An Exit Survey Project for a Social Psychology Laboratory

A Laboratory in Social Psychology course project allowed students to design and conduct an exit survey of graduating psychology majors. During the 6-week project, survey research issues were illustrated by active-learning activities. Nine months later, students indicated that the exercise enhanced their critical-thinking skills, understanding of survey research, and interest in and enthusiasm for research. Another benefit was that the student exit survey assisted the faculty in generating questions for a departmental exit survey.