The Black Student Experience: Comparing STEM Undergraduate Student Experiences at Higher Education Institutions of Varying Student Demographic

Author(s):  
Racheal Greaves ◽  
Bozhena Kelestyn ◽  
Richard A. R. Blackburn ◽  
Russell R. A. Kitson
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (20) ◽  
pp. 9543
Author(s):  
Nicolás Matus ◽  
Cristian Rusu ◽  
Sandra Cano

Students’ experiences have been covered by a large number of studies in different areas. Even so, the concept of student experience (SX) is diffuse, as it does not have a widely accepted meaning and is often shaped to the specific purposes of each study. Understanding this concept allows educational institutions to better address the needs of students. For this reason, we conducted a systematic literature review addressing the concept of SX in higher education, specifically aiming at undergraduate students. In this work, we approach the concept of SX from the perspective of customer experience (CX), based on the premise that students are users of higher education institutions’ products, systems and/or services. We reviewed articles published between 2011 and 2021, indexed in five databases (Scopus, Web of Sciences, ACM digital, IEEE Xplore and Science Direct), trying to address research questions concerning: (1) the SX definition; (2) dimensions, attributes and factors that influence SX; and (3) methods used to evaluate the SX. We selected 65 articles and analyzed various SX definitions, as well as scales and surveys to evaluate SX, mainly relating to satisfaction and quality in higher education. We propose a holistic definition of SX and recommend ways to achieve its better analysis.


Big Data ◽  
2016 ◽  
pp. 1717-1735
Author(s):  
Paul Prinsloo ◽  
Sharon Slade

Learning analytics is an emerging but rapidly growing field seen as offering unquestionable benefit to higher education institutions and students alike. Indeed, given its huge potential to transform the student experience, it could be argued that higher education has a duty to use learning analytics. In the flurry of excitement and eagerness to develop ever slicker predictive systems, few pause to consider whether the increasing use of student data also leads to increasing concerns. This chapter argues that the issue is not whether higher education should use student data, but under which conditions, for what purpose, for whose benefit, and in ways in which students may be actively involved. The authors explore issues including the constructs of general data and student data, and the scope for student responsibility in the collection, analysis and use of their data. An example of student engagement in practice reviews the policy created by the Open University in 2014. The chapter concludes with an exploration of general principles for a new deal on student data in learning analytics.


Author(s):  
Paul A. Temple ◽  
Claire Callender ◽  
Lyn Grove ◽  
Natasha Kersh

This paper reports on recent research aimed at assessing how the management of the undergraduate student experience in English higher education is changing in the light of the new tuition fee regime introduced in 2012, as well as other government policies aimed at creating market-type pressures within the higher education sector. A distinction was observed between the research-intensive universities studied – defined here as institutions where research income comprised 20 per cent or more of total turnover, with correspondingly strong positions in published research-based rankings – and universities largely dependent on income from teaching, with weaker market positions. Broadly speaking, the latter group were responding to market pressures by centralizing services, standardizing procedures, and strengthening management controls over teaching processes. The research-intensive universities tended to work within existing institutional cultures to respond to students' needs. Organizational change here usually took the form of creating more coherent functional groupings of student services, rather than comprehensive reorganizations. It appears to us that these different responses to a changed environment point to the creation of two distinct English university types, one strongly managerial with 'student as customer' orientations, and a smaller group with less centralized, more collegial cultures.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yajing Chen ◽  
Heidi Ross

This paper draws on the theory of ethnic enclaves to study Chinese international student communities and their role in constructing Chinese undergraduate student experiences on US campuses. Enclave theory has primarily been used by sociologists to study immigrant and diaspora populations, but it can also provide an important analytical tool for scholars examining the internationalisation of student populations in higher-education settings. Student interviews and participant observation at a representative research-intensive, doctoral-granting institution in the American Midwest indicate that institutional and media characterisations of Chinese international student communities as closed and segregated are far too simplistic. Chinese student enclaves provide their members with crucial information, support, and social spaces that help them adapt to – and in turn change – their host institutions. Chinese students are active participants in and creators of campus cultures that are often invisible to university administrators, faculty, and peers.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 459-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon O'Leary

This paper reports on an assessment of how enterprise initiatives develop graduate employability attributes, exploring the use of client consultancy projects as a platform for such enterprise provision in higher education. The study was based on reviews of recent literature and an appraisal of an institutional initiative using live projects as an alternative to the more traditional final dissertation. Enterprise initiatives exist in many forms and the final semester postgraduate students in this research are shown to enhance their understanding of client needs, their individual confidence and their team-working abilities. After five years of the programme, and with 60% of students choosing the consultancy project option, the study is offered as a platform for other higher education institutions to use as a basis for enhancing graduate employability and the student experience. It is argued that enterprise activities, in addition to enhancing the student experience, are also of substantial value to higher education institutions themselves and their associated funding bodies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Dart ◽  
Belinda Spratt

Widening participation initiatives in higher education have grown overall student numbers while also increasing the diversity of student cohorts. Consequently, enhancing student experiences and outcomes has become increasingly challenging. This study implemented personalised emails in two first-year mathematics courses as a scalable strategy for supporting students with diverse needs. Impact on student experience and outcomes was assessed through surveying and statistical comparisons to previous cohorts. It was found that students perceived the personalised emails favourably and believed the intervention would contribute to them achieving better grades. This translated to a statistically significant improvement in both student experience and academic performance in one of the courses. The results imply that personalised emails are well-suited to courses taken in students’ first semesters of university study, aiding those transitioning to the higher education environment by fostering feelings of belonging, supporting effective engagement, and easing navigation of university systems and processes.


Author(s):  
Corey Carpenter ◽  
Peter D. Bradley

The field of Higher Education is experiencing a revolution spurred on by the expanding frontier of technology. Leaders of higher education institutions seek to improve student communication processes which will positively impact the student experience. Effective communication strategies are needed which can effectively be used in times of conflict at institutions of higher education. This quantitative study examined a series of predictors, both individually and collectively, as they related to the number of additional classes students completed after the conflict had occurred.


Author(s):  
Cathy Stone ◽  
Sarah O'Shea

The university student population in Australia contains increasing numbers of older students returning to learning after a significant gap in their educational journey. Many are choosing to enrol online to combine their studies with other time-consuming responsibilities. This article examines the nature of this online student experience with a focus on those aged 25 and over who are the first in their families to embark on university studies. Drawing on interviews conducted with both staff and students operating in this virtual space, as well as other related research and literature, this article offers recommendations to higher education institutions and educators on ways to improve retention and ongoing participation of this cohort.


Author(s):  
Rahul Choudaha

In search for solutions to overcome financial challenges, higher education institutions have spotted the opportunity of recruiting international students as a new source of cash flow. Many institutions are on a slippery slope of milking international students as cash cows without investing in their success. Institutions must innovate to balance recruitment with reinvestment in student experiences and outcomes. 


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