scholarly journals What Works for Underrepresented Groups? Identifying Effective Measures for Enhancing Access to Higher Education in Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 177-196
Author(s):  
Simona Torotcoi ◽  
Delia Gologan ◽  
Anastasia Kurysheva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Underrepresented Groups ◽  
What Works

Abstract Over the last three decades, policy-makers have developed numerous measures, policies, projects and programs with the intention to increase the enrolment and participation of underrepresented groups, however, little is known about the ways in which such initiatives shape opportunities for potential students. Knowing which of these initiatives work and whether they are achieving their intended goals is of utmost importance for policy-makers across Europe. This paper aims to collect, document, scrutinize and critically analyze the current research literature which assesses the effectiveness of different public initiatives at Higher Education Institutions’ (HEIs) level for widening access for underrepresented groups and, at the same time, to identify gaps and make recommendations for potential further research. The 17 identified studies can be categorized based on the access measures they analyze: (1) outreach, counselling and mentoring of prospective students; (2) financial aid measures, and (3) preparatory courses and programs. The findings show that there are little research and information about the actual outcomes of most measures to increase access to HE. We found a lack of adequate, reliable and consistently collected data about the policy instruments already put to practice. Since there is no excuse for the lack of effective action towards more equitable educational systems, more evidence-based approaches will be necessary to learn from these specific access measures and move forward towards more efficient equity policies.

Access for Refugees Into Higher Education: A Review of Interventions in North America and Europe

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Streitwieser ◽  
Bryce Loo ◽  
Mara Ohorodnik ◽  
Jisun Jeong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
North America ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Delivery Method ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Barriers To Access ◽  
Success In Higher Education ◽  
Political Economic

This paper examines current interventions to reduce barriers to access into higher education for refugees in North America and Europe. We analyze a diversity of interventions sponsored by host governments, higher education institutions, foundations, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals. These interventions differ in size, delivery method, focus, and extent of support, and range from a single language course or limited online learning opportunity to fully accredited higher education programs. However, significant problems hamper the efficacy of many current interventions. We examine providers’ rationales for working with refugees using Knight and De Wit’s rationales for internationalization of higher education, later reconceptualized in four interrelated groups of rationales: academic, political, economic, and socio-cultural. To these, we propose adding a fifth category: humanism. To widen refugee participation and success in higher education, we suggest that policy makers and administrators should adopt a longer-term perspective, increase transparency, and use evidence-based approaches to develop and evaluate refugee programming.

scholarly journals When Developing Countries Meet Transnational Universities: Searching for Complementarity and Dealing With Dual Embeddedness

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Guimón ◽  
Rajneesh Narula
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Branch Campuses ◽  
International Branch Campuses ◽  
The Past ◽  
Foreign Universities

During the past two decades, a growing number of universities, mainly from developed countries, have established branch campuses in developing countries. From the developing country perspective, attracting foreign universities can help mitigate financial constraints and capacity shortages that impair the state’s ability to provide greater access to higher education, while also improving teaching and research in general. However, foreign universities may also be detrimental if they crowd out their domestic counterparts. We explore different scenarios and policy options for developing countries aiming to attract foreign universities, building upon a review of four case studies from Chile, China, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia. Our analysis illustrates how host countries can provide incentives to align incoming foreign universities to complement and strengthen the areas of weakness in their higher education systems. We also reflect on how policy-makers can deal with the challenges associated with the dual embeddedness of international branch campuses.

scholarly journals One Size Does Not Fit All: Toward an Evidence-Based Framework for Determining Online Course Enrollment Sizes in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan H. Taft ◽  
Karen Kesten ◽  
Majeda M. El-Banna
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Class Size ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Specific Class ◽  
Higher Education Journals ◽  
Literature Class

Class enrollment sizes for online learning in higher education, a topic of persistent interest in the academic literature, impact student learning, pedagogical strategies, school finances, and faculty workload. Yet in the research literature class size is addressed with insufficient specificity to provide enrollment direction. Seeking guidelines for determining online class sizes, the authors conducted a qualitative research synthesis from 43 recent higher education journals, yielding 58 evidence-based articles. It is clear that no one size fits all. Findings reflect that large class sizes (≥ 40 students) are effective for foundational and factual knowledge acquisition requiring less individualized faculty-student interaction. Small class sizes (≤ 15 students) are indicated for courses intending to develop higher-order thinking, mastery of complex knowledge, and student skill development. Pedagogical intent should dictate class size. Using well-established learning theories, the authors describe current understandings of online enrollments and propose an analytical framework for pedagogically-driven numerically-specific class sizes.

scholarly journals AN OVERVIEW OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION POLICIES IN PUBLIC FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTHEAST BRAZIL

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (173) ◽  
pp. 184-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme Henrique Gomes da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Affirmative Action ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Underrepresented Groups ◽  
Southeast Brazil ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Brazilian Students

Abstract This article deals with how Brazilian students from underrepresented groups have access to higher education, and how is their permanence in it. It aims to provide an overview of the treatment of affirmative action policies in federal universities in southeastern Brazil. A wide range of official documents of all nineteen federal universities in this Brazilian region was analyzed. After data analyses, three categories were constructed: admission, post-admission support, and pedagogical programs for student permanence. This study indicates that a broader understanding of how affirmative actions are treated is critical if they are to achieve their goals, particularly with regard to the permanence of benefited students.

Introduction: Connecting Student Loan Research and Federal Policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 671 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hillman ◽  
Kata Orosz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Federal Policy ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Higher Education Act ◽  
Education Act

This article introduces this volume, which is dedicated to expanding a theory- and evidence-based understanding of student loan problems. The authors review evidence to address fundamental questions related to student loan research: who borrows, why, and the consequences of debt for specific student populations. The authors outline how the articles collected in the volume address these fundamental questions, and discuss ways in which federal policy-makers may build on the insights that can be gained from this volume as they work on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

Input resources indicators in use for accreditation purpose of higher education institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yazid Mati
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accreditation Standards ◽  
Key Indicators ◽  
Students Satisfaction

PurposeHigher education is a complex system that involves multiple inputs and outputs, where various activities and processes are performed. The purpose of this paper is to monitor the input resources used for executing various activities of higher education institutions. These resources are classified into three types: human resources, physical resources and financial resources.Design/methodology/approachThe author examines various national and international accreditation standards to determine their requirements for key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor input resources. Moreover, the author uses implications proposed by previous research and best practices.FindingsA set of appropriate and generic KPIs is developed for each type of these resources leading to a total of 72 key indicators. These indicators are easy to measure, which makes them practical to be adopted by a large scale of institutions.Practical implicationsThe proposed indicators provide adequate information to administrators and policy-makers, accrediting bodies and stakeholders to identify the progress and achievements. These indicators are also used for benchmarking purposes by comparing the institution’s performance against their comparable institutions counterparts. Moreover, they are used for marketing purposes to commercialize the institution by attracting prospective students and teaching faculty in addition to increasing current students’ satisfaction.Originality/valueThe paper gives special attention to developing a set of generic KPIs for assessing the availability and quality of input resources used for carrying out various activities of higher education institutions for the aim of improving their performance and hence helping them comply with the requirements of accreditation standards.

scholarly journals The Case for Pragmatic Evidence-Based Higher Education: A Useful Way Forward?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Newton ◽  
Ana Da Silva ◽  
Sam Berry
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Teaching Quality ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
What Works ◽  
Practical Teaching

Arguments for and against the idea of evidence-based education have occupied the academic literature for decades. Those arguing in favor plead for greater rigor and clarity to determine “what works.” Those arguing against protest that education is a complex, social endeavor and that for epistemological, theoretical and political reasons it is not possible to state, with any useful degree of generalizable certainty, “what works.” While academics argue, policy and practice in Higher Education are beset with problems. Ineffective methods such as “Learning Styles” persist. Teaching quality and teacher performance are measured using subjective and potentially biased feedback. University educators have limited access to professional development, particularly for practical teaching skills. There is a huge volume of higher education research, but it is disconnected from educational practice. Change is needed. We propose a pragmatic model of Evidence-Based Higher Education, empowering educators and others to make judgements about the application of the most useful evidence, in a particular context, including pragmatic considerations of cost and other resources. Implications of the model include a need to emphasize pragmatic approaches to research in higher education, delivering results that are more obviously useful, and a pragmatic focus on practical teaching skills for the development of educators in Higher Education.

The fair share dimension of tertiary educational distribution

2021 ◽  
pp. 146499342096865
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Odaga ◽  
Esther Kibuka-Sebitosi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Development Approach ◽  
Third Dimension ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
Development Resource ◽  
Equity Index

This article presents the fair share methodology, a new development approach and perspective for policymaking, for countries struggling to achieve higher returns in higher education. The methodology involves the use of the fair share index as a measure to account for the rising trend of inequality and how its impact on societal well-being and community productivity to rise above poverty can be limited. The approach is innovative as it uses district-level empirical data to calculate the fair share index, the equity index and the equity gap in access to higher education as a development resource across time and space, allowing for inter-district and inter-temporal comparisons in trends of inequality/deprivation and what can be done to limit it. It offers policy makers, in developing countries an effective tool to ensure the benefits of development are more equitably distributed, such that no one is left behind. The methodology incorporates ‘equity’ as a third dimension of resource distribution, placing the discours of fair share in development literature and practice in ways not previously reported.

scholarly journals Structural changes in the landscape of Spanish distance universities

Open Praxis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Daniel Domínguez Figaredo ◽  
José Francisco Alvarez Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Methodological Procedures

The main national distance learning universities were launched before the emergence of the Internet. In order to adapt to digital connectivity, these universities had to modify their organizational and methodological procedures. But in recent years important changes have emerged in the field of educational technology, and this has significantly altered the higher education sector.This work analyzed the recent updates that distance-learning universities in Spain have undertaken in order to adapt to the current higher education landscape. The evolution of enrolment rates in distance universities in Spain in the period 2003–2017 was taken as a reference. Based on the available data, the factors that explain the enrolment gap between types of entities are analyzed and key actions for the evolution of distance learning universities in Spain are suggested. This provides an evidence-based approach that aims to contribute to the reflection of academics, institutional managers and policy makers who are called upon to reorient the strategy of distance universities to make them sustainable in the medium and long term in the new landscape.

scholarly journals Threshold of Adversity: Resilience and the Prevention of Extremism Through Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-218
Author(s):  
Saija Riikka Benjamin ◽  
Liam Gearon ◽  
Arniika Kuusisto ◽  
Pia Koirikivi
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Turning Points ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Conceptual Frame ◽  
Policy Relevance ◽  
Starting Point

This article introduces the concept of ‘threshold of adversity’ as an, at present, tentative means of understanding the turning points to radicalization and extremism within educational systems. The conceptual frame is, we argue, of pedagogical and policy relevance across and beyond Nordic countries. Across Nordic countries, the main objective for the prevention of radicalization and extremism through education (PVE-E) is to strengthen the students’ resilience against ideological influences. Given the specialist complexities of the interdisciplinary research literature on terrorism, from which much PVE-E derives, for teachers and policy-makers, understanding the theoretical contexts, which underlie such policy innovations and their pedagogical implementation, are, understandably, problematic. To discuss extremism and the possibilities of its prevention especially in the education sector, an understanding of what exactly is being prevented or fought against is needed. Our conceptual ‘threshold of adversity’ model offers at least a starting point for a more practicable pedagogical implementation.

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