Support For Higher Education Research Articles

The Governor and the State Higher Education Executive Officer: How the Relationship Shapes State Financial Support for Higher Education

ABSTRACTResearchers have shown renewed interest during the past decade in the relationships among politics, policy, finance, and governance of higher education at the state level. Little attention, however, has been paid to state higher education executive officers (SHEEOs), the individuals responsible for leading the agencies that oversee higher education in the 50 states. Of noteworthy interest is the fact that the states vary in regard to the nature of the institutional relationship between the SHEEO and the governor, who has been shown in the literature to exert a strong influence over state higher education policy and finance. To explore the relationship, we developed measures that capture relevant dimensions of the relationship between the 2 actors and tested the impact of these measures on state spending for higher education using a unique panel of state-level data spanning more than 2 decades. We found that the institutional relationship between the SHEEO and the governor has a significant impact on state support for higher education.

Transforming libraries in Myanmar: the eLibrary Myanmar project

Education reform in Myanmar, particularly in higher education (HE), began in 2011. After many years in a closed society, HE was in dire need of co-operation and collaboration with international institutions and organizations. In 2013 Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) began to work with the Ministry of Education to support HE with the provision of rich online resources. EIFL’s eLibrary Myanmar project received funding from the Open Society Foundation’s Higher Education Support Programme. During the period of transition to democracy, the whole of Myanmar had to face many challenges. At the same time, there were a lot of chances and opportunities. For example, introducing the use of e-resources to teaching and learning was a key opportunity to improve the quality of education and research. Based on a breakout session presented at the 39th UKSG Annual Conference, Bournemouth, April 2016

Multistage public education, voting, and income distribution

This paper proposes a theory to study the formulation of education policies and human capital accumulation. The government collects income taxes and allocates tax revenue to primary and higher education. The tax rate and the allocation rule are both endogenously determined through majority voting. The tax rate is kept at a low level, and public funding for higher education is not supported unless the majority of individuals have human capital above some threshold. Although public support for higher education promotes aggregate human capital accumulation, it may create long-run income inequality because the poor are excluded from higher education.

Outsourcing academic development in higher education: staff perceptions of an international program

Increasingly, higher education support services are being outsourced. Our case study was of a program from a global, USA-based, non-profit organisation. From in-depth interviews, we investigated staff perceptions of academic development workshops and the efficacy of outsourcing to a transnational tertiary-support program. We found that interviewees valued the academic development. They believed greater consideration should be given to cultural differences between exporting and importing countries; to evidence-based assessment of, and institutional leadership support for, the program; and to discipline-based and tertiary-level skills. Our preliminary findings may inform university management about improved approaches to outsourcing academic development to international commercial providers.

Gender Differences in the Level of Engagement with Mathematics Support in Higher Education in Ireland

Over the past couple of decades, mathematics support centres have become widespread in higher education, most notably in Ireland, the U.K. and Australia. These centres generally offer a range of free support services to students who feel they need additional help with their mathematics modules. A major large-scale survey of first-year higher education students was undertaken in Ireland to ascertain students’ evaluation of mathematics support. There were significant differences in self-reported attendance between male and female students, with a binary logistic regression model showing that female students were almost two and a half times more likely to engage with mathematics support than male students, while controlling for other factors such as prior mathematical achievement, degree, and institution attended. In this paper, the engagement levels of 1633 students with mathematics support across nine Higher Education Institutes are analysed. The reasons given by both genders for either using or not using the services provided across a range of disciplines and higher education institutes are explored, with the aim of ensuring that the optimum support is provided to all students who may need such help.

Does Postsecondary Education Result in Civic Benefits?

Public support for higher education depends in part on the idea that additional postsecondary education results in civic benefits. Among these civic benefits are voting, volunteering and donating to non-profit causes. Establishing a causal link between additional postsecondary education and the probability of engaging in civic behaviors for any individual is key. We expand on the literature on the civic benefits for higher education by utilizing a rich set of location-based instruments to identify the relationship between additional postsecondary education and civic behaviors, including voting, volunteering and donating money to non-profit organizations. Using data from the National Longitudinal survey of 1997, we estimate the impact of postsecondary education on civic behaviors for a group of young people who were age 29-33 by 2013. These new estimates indicate that an additional year of higher education increased the probability of voting in the 2008 election by 12.8 percent, and by 7.5 percent in the 2010 election. We also find statistically significant impacts of postsecondary education on both voluntarism and donations to non-profits, with effect sizes of .1 for voluntarism and .18 for donations.

Measuring the Impact of Enterprise Education and Entrepreneurship Support in Higher Education

Policy makers and others charged with driving economic growth often assume a link between entrepreneurship education and business start-up. However, there is little by way of supporting literature in this regard, with few studies exploring impact measures that relate to actual venture creation. This paper considers two routinely collected data sets in the UK that directly relate to graduate self-employment and business start-up over a five-year period – the Higher Education– Business and Community Interaction survey (HE–BCI), and the survey of Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education (DLHE) – and explores whether the data can be used to assess impact. There is some evidence that HE–BCI may be affected by changes in data collection requirements, but it remains the most complete, extensive and useful longitudinal data set on graduate business start-up. DHLE would appear to be the best source of data for measuring the impact of both enterprise education and start-up support initiatives at an institutional level.

Maximizing the impact of digital supports in Mathematics Learning Support in Higher Education – An overview of the 9th Annual IMLSN Workshop

In this article we give a short description of the 9th Annual Workshop of the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) Workshop. The workshop theme was ‘Maximizing the impact of digital supports in Mathematics Learning Support in Higher Education’. We briefly describe the Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network (IMLSN) and outline the factors that motivated this workshop theme. We will also discuss the presentations, some of the issues that were raised during the workshop and we close with some brief conclusions on this very successful event.

The Role of Community Colleges in Advancing Upward Mobility: A Demos Perspective

This article provides a short background on Demos, a public policy organization that works on issues of political and economic inequality. Demos views community colleges as a linchpin in the American higher education system, and it has worked over several years to research ways to increase state support for higher education and direct support toward underserved students and under-resourced institutions.

Mature Women Students’ Experiences of Social and Academic Support in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

<p>In the Widening Participation in Higher Education agenda, students’ retention and success should be a matter of concern, since high students’ attrition can negatively affect the reputation of institutions. Mature women students’ juggling roles and academic study place them at a high risk of dropping out or successful completion. Using the guidelines for systematic reviews formulated by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), this review set out to examine institution-based support systems that are available to mature women students and their experiences of the support systems. It found that very few studies focus on women only. In the studies that included mature women or focused on them, support from friends, tutors and administrators emerged crucial in their stories of progression and successful completion, though this was not systematically administered. Overall, institution-based support was not an important source of support, as in most cases, students had no knowledge about it. The paper recommends the provision and systematic administration of institution-based support for mature women students and regular evaluation of such a system.</p>

Quality Evaluation Information Support in Higher Education

Abstract Background and Purpose: The objective of this research was to develop a proposal of the evaluation information support in higher education that encompasses the Quality Assessor’s and Quality Analyst’s work support. Furthermore, the proposal also includes the fields evaluated in the processes of external evaluation of the higher education institutes by the Slovenian National Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (hereinafter referred to as »NAKVIS«). Methodology: The method called the “Multi-Attribute Utility Theory” (hereinafter referred to as “MAUT”) and MS Excel were used for the work support of the Quality Assessors, while the expert modelling in the Decision Expert programme (hereinafter referred to as “Dexi programme”) was used for the work support of the Quality Analysts. Results: The identified criteria allow a uniform evaluation, regardless of the Assessor. The MS Excel template with automatic calculation was made as the technical support for an evaluator and the expert model in Dexi programme was designed for a Quality Analyst. Conclusion: The model of the Higher Education Institute quality evaluation, as presented in this article, can provide a comprehensive and transparent consideration of quality at the Faculty, and, in particular, facilitate the evaluation process due to its information and technical support.

Men of Color in Higher Education: New Foundations for Developing Models of Success ed. by Ronald A. Williams (review)

Reviewed by: Men of Color in Higher Education: New Foundations for Developing Models of Success ed. by Ronald A. Williams David Pérez II Men of Color in Higher Education: New Foundations for Developing Models of Success Ronald A. Williams (Editor) Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC., 2014, 159 pages, $32.50 (softcover) Although students of color have experienced gains in college access, men of color continue to be underrepresented at US postsecondary institutions. Efforts to address these concerns have focused primarily on Black men, which has resulted in at least three unintended outcomes: a dearth of research about other men of color, the premature assertion that Black women are achieving more favorable educational outcomes, and essentialism regarding the plight of students of color. Men of Color in Higher Education addresses these concerns by introducing readers to feminist theories and asset-based perspectives aimed at ensuring that all men of color—Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), Black, Latino, and Native American—succeed in college. This book makes a substantive contribution to discourse about men of color in higher education. In the opening chapter, Gordon and Henery provide the underlying theoretical framework for this book by re-theorizing how patriarchy undermines men of color in the United States. Whereas patriarchy is “the force that has claimed masculinity as the sole property of the male body and how it should be expressed and lived . . . patriarchal masculinity encompasses a set of White heterosexual capitalist values, orientations, and expectations that men [of color] negotiate” (p. 7). Stated differently, patriarchal masculinity intersects with racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression to structure the lives of men of color and our understanding of this population. These authors illuminate how patriarchal masculinity situates Black men in competitive relationships of dominance and subordination with women as well as other men. Their analyses of the crises facing Black men reveals how the problems men of color face in society stem from patriarchal masculinity and how concerns about Black women are often dismissed. The next two chapters focus on AAPI and Native American men, populations that have received less scholarly attention, with the exception of a report published by The College Board (2010). In chapter 2, Teranishi and Pazich critique the categorization of men of color as a monolithic community and emphasize the need for research that addresses the heterogeneity among AAPI males. Contrary to other men of color, specifically Blacks and Latinos, AAPIs are often characterized as model minorities because of their perceived success in the United States. The authors use intersectionality as a theoretical lens to deconstruct this stereotype by analyzing census data on the educational attainment of AAPI students. Their critical analysis illuminates disparities among AAPI students based on gender, ethnicity, and generational standing. In addition to debunking the model minority stereotype, they draw attention to AAPI ethnic groups, such as Cambodians and Laotians, in need of further support in higher education. Bitsóí and Lee, in chapter 3, interrogate the role ahistoricism plays in concealing the deleterious effects of colonialism, patriarchy, and genocide on Native Americans. Similar to AAPI populations, ahistoricism has perpetuated stereotypes about Native Americans, which [End Page 309] have contributed to a lack of awareness of indigenous histories. These factors partially explain why Native Americans continue to be one of the most underrepresented, misunderstood, and underserved student populations in higher education. Recognizing the value of indigenous perspectives, Bitsóí and Lee draw on Tribal Critical Race Theory and Native feminist scholarship to explore how Native American men cope with heteronormative patriarchy and intergenerational trauma. Although the authors present a sobering historical portrait, they highlight the potential of Native American Studies, organizations such as the National Indian Youth Leadership Project, and Tribal colleges and universities in educating young men and reconstructing the Native American community. Before deploying feminist methodologies in the study of Latino male collegians in chapter 4, Sáenz and Bukoski revisit existing notions of masculinity. They provide an overview of feminist movements, acknowledging the significant contributions of Black and Chicana feminists, and juxtapose these movements with the masculinist movement. Although Sáenz and Bukoski acknowledge the risk inherent in using feminism in men’s studies, they illustrate how theories such as materialism and...

British Asian women and the costs of higher education in England

This article will examine Asian women’s experiences of financial support in higher education. The article is based on 30 in-depth interviews with Asian women who were studying at a ‘new’ (post-1992) university in the South East of England. Women identified themselves as Muslim, Hindu and Sikh. The findings reveal that women’s religious and cultural background affects their attitudes towards financial support whilst at university. Through their participation in higher education, women are able to use their social and ethnic capital to enable them to receive financial and other kinds of support necessary for their success in higher education.

Evaluating the success of educational policy in Mexican Higher Education

State support in higher education (HE) is often justified on the grounds that HE is important for the development of the country. However, little analysis is normally done in order to assess the impact of education quality initiatives. The Mexican government has been engaging in a policy of HE quality improvement that can be traced to 1989. In this paper we use data from the period 2007–2010, when the various quality programmes were in action, in order to see if, on the basis of public information, it is possible to trace their impact on Federal, State, and Private Universities in Mexico. The technical approach is based on Multivariate Statistical Analysis, particularly in Ordinal Multidimensional Scaling. It was found that, during the period studied, the performance indicators used in this study show a general quality improvement in Mexican HE, and that this improvement has extended to both the State and the Private sectors. Whether this improvement is just in the data or it is real, we cannot say using published data.

Collaboration: The key to integration of language and content in academic literacy interventions

This contribution enters into dialogue with studies conducted both at school and university level on the effectiveness of interaction between subject teachers and language teachers to improve learners' subject-specific discourse literacies. An overview is given of the key findings of a report by the National Center for Literacy Education (2013) in the USA, and main findings are linked to two recent South African studies on collaborative approaches to academic literacy support in higher education. This is followed by a comparison of the school and university settings under scrutiny, with specific emphasis on the shared success factors. An analysis of two curricula for academic literacy offerings at a university that is in the process of introducing subject-specific academic literacy interventions indicates that the effectiveness of the interventions is not necessarily dependent on team teaching approaches, but on institutionally supported, regular, integrative, mutually consultative planning with all stakeholders involved in an atmosphere informed by study and ongoing review.

The reflective practitioner: the role of a public liberal-arts university in saving liberal education

Purpose – This paper seeks to discuss the role of a public liberal-arts university in education. Design/methodology/approach – The author first defines the principles and definitions of liberal education, then analyses these ideas in relation to public liberal-arts universities. Findings – Liberal education holds enduring value in a world where state support for higher education is steadily decreasing and the author concludes that society needs public liberal-arts universities in order to maintain freedom of thought and democracies. Originality/value – This piece presents a view of public liberal-arts universities in the wider context of liberal education, recession and worldwide threats to democracy and personal freedoms.

Support for students with visual impairment in higher education in Singapore: Considering university publicity materials conveying disability services and support

This paper explores online resources in Singapore that reflect the current state of support in higher education for students with visual impairment. In the six institutions of higher education there was evidence of support being provided for students with disabilities ― but the type and extent of support was variable, and messages conveyed to students were mixed. Provisions tend to be generic in nature, and do not necessarily address needs related to specific disabilities. If students with disabilities are to participate in higher education, clearer communication is necessary to enable them to make informed choices with confidence. Information needs to confirm that they will have the requisite support to afford them the opportunities associated with the university experience.

Characteristics of the research supervision of postgraduate teachers’ action research

Today, many institutions of higher education support students in conducting practice-oriented research. This research refers to a broad array of approaches geared toward practitioners’ practice. The supervision of such research is of crucial importance, but little is known about its nature and characteristics. This study examined what research supervisors and postgraduate, in-service teacher students perceive are key elements of successful action research supervision. Four action research supervisors and eight postgraduate students were interviewed. Data were analysed by using theory and empirical data. Findings reveal 24 key elements of action research supervision, which refer to supervisors’ (1) skills in supporting knowledge development through and about action research and creating a supportive environment for developing knowledge, (2) knowledge and expertise in supervising action research, (3) attitude in the supervision of action research and (4) the motives driving supervisors’ actions in the student-supervisor relationship.

Semantic Wikis as Platforms for Teaching and Learning Support in Higher Education

This paper addresses the need to support learning and teaching in higher education context. We consider the collaboration between instructors and between learners through online communities. We focus on semantic wikis as platforms allowing innovative means for creating and sharing knowledge between members of those communities. We propose an Adaptive Semantic Wiki called EasyLearningWiki, based on the semantic web technologies in order to enhance the knowledge sharing and reuse, offering the functionalities of a wiki together with some knowledge management features. EasyLearningWiki is based on an ontology u sed to describe the learning resources through the objective annotations and to express the member’s feedback through the subjective annotations. Furthermore, we describe the member’s profile in order to allow an adaptive access to the semantic wiki.

Public funding of higher education

Recent criticism from different sides has expressed the view that, with scarce resources, there is little justification for massive public funding of higher education. Central to the debate is the conjecture that colleges and universities use their resources inefficiently and focus insufficiently on their mission to expand students' human potential. Our aim in this paper is to examine the theoretical premises of this conjecture in a small open economy and uncover the conditions under which public investment in higher education is efficient and desirable. We analyze non-stationary equilibria of an OLG economy, characterized by perfect capital mobility, intergenerational transfers and a hierarchical education system. The government uses income tax revenues to finance basic education and support higher education that generates skilled labor. Given this, the following issues are considered: (a) the impact of education and international markets on the equilibrium number of low-skilled and skilled workers in each generation; (b) the economic efficiency of public subsidies to higher education in generating skilled human capital; (c) the endogenous support for a government's educational policies found in a political equilibrium.