scholarly journals Leveraging Higher Education Departments to Promote Institutional Change for Equity and the Public Good

10.28945/4511 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 039-055
Author(s):  
Michele Tyson ◽  
Cecilia M. Orphan ◽  
Judy Marquez Kiyama ◽  
Chris A Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Workforce Development ◽  
College Access ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Education Department ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
University Of Denver ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology

Aim/Purpose: Neoliberal ideology in U.S. society and globally is transforming post-secondary institutions into economic drivers of their public purposes, that of promoting societal betterment and educational opportunity. Attendant with the neoliberal transformation of higher education’s purposes has been an erosion of the equity pursuits of postsecondary institutions as they privilege enrolling less diverse students more likely to persist and graduate. Background: Neoliberalism has also distorted the college access imperative and divorced it from addressing historic inequities and marginalizations present in higher education. Instead, the college access imperative is largely situated in the need to meet workforce development needs. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness about how Higher Education preparation programs resist the neoliberalism transformation to higher education by describing how one specific such program, the Higher Education Department at the University of Denver, is actively resisting the influence of neoliberal ideology in campus life. Methodology: We offer examples drawn from our curricula and co-curricula in which departmental faculty, staff and students embody and enact grassroots leadership focused on advancing equity and the university’s public purposes. Recommendations for Practitioners: We conclude by describing recommendations for other Higher Education departments interested in promoting their institution’s public purposes and equity pursuits while resisting neoliberalism. We also offer reflections intended to encourage other Higher Education departments to take up this vital work Impact on Society: Our hope is that this paper serves as a call to harness the power and expertise within Higher Education department to actively resist neoliberal practices and center equity and social justice. Our intent is to spark ideas, offering organizing practices, and research focused on examining the role of Higher Education departments and degree programs in leading postsecondary institutions in society.

Truth without Action

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 93-96
Author(s):  
Theodore Sawruk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Education Department ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Spellings Commission ◽  
Education Report ◽  
Federal Agents ◽  
Tuition Costs

This reflection utilizes Kevin Casey’s 2007 article, Truth without Action, as a springboard to address contemporary issues related to autonomy, accountability and accreditation in higher-education. With escalating costs, rising unemployment and deepening consumer debt, it is natural for government officials to seek out a cause, or more accurately, a scape-goat for the evolving crisis. Over the last few decades, starting with A Time for Results in 1980, following with The State Post-secondary Review Entities (SPREs) in 1992; and continuing with the Spellings Commission on the Future of Higher Education Report in 2006, federal agents have politicized American education and issued indictments against higher-education. Tuition costs are too high, graduation rates are too low and student learning-outcomes remain ineffable. With the recent re-election of President Obama, “the Education Department will continue to play an active role in regulating and attempting to influence colleges and universities.” (Nelson, 2012) Amy Laitinen, deputy director for higher-education at the New America Foundation and former Education Department policy advisor, recently stated, “The President himself, not just his advisors, is very interested in the college cost and the college outcome issue.” (Nelson, 2012)

scholarly journals state of post-secondary food studies pedagogy in Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phoebe Stephens ◽  
Lucy Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Canadian Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Programs

To date, there has been little empirical research on how food studies pedagogy has developed in Canada. Yet, across Canada, more and more postsecondary institutions are offering food studies in formalized programs and individual courses to undergraduate students. This paper contributes to the literature on food studies pedagogy by gathering insights from interviews with key faculty in food studies undergraduate programs at Canadian higher education institutions, and other food studies scholars in Canada. The purpose of this empirical research is to provide clarity regarding the ways that food studies programs are conceptualized and taught to better understand the evolution and future course of food studies pedagogy. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the normative commitments and philosophical underpinnings of food studies programs; various ways that scholars scope food studies; and challenges faced by food studies programs. We found that food studies programs in higher education in Canada and their associated pedagogy do not have a set of fixed attributes, but they do share common threads. Transformation is a defining characteristic of food studies and its pedagogy and puts critical thinking at the core of how food studies are taught in Canada at the undergraduate level. Interviewees also emphasized the importance of moving beyond critique towards solutions in their teaching to facilitate a transition towards more socially and ecologically just food systems.

From Scarcity to Abundance: Achieving Quality-Assured Mass Higher Education

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter P. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Secondary System ◽  
Mass Higher Education ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
One Year ◽  
The One

The United States is in a bind. On the one hand, we need millions of additional citizens with at least one year of successful post-secondary experience to adapt to the knowledge economy. Both the Gates and Lumina Foundations, and our President, have championed this goal in different ways. On the other hand, we have a post-secondary system that is trapped between rising costs and stagnant effectiveness, seemingly unable to respond effectively to this challenge. This paper analyzes several aspects of this problem, describes changes in the society that create the basis for solutions, and offers several examples from Kaplan University of emerging practice that suggests what good practice might look like in a world where quality-assured mass higher education is the norm.

From Teen Parent to Student Parent: Latina Mothers’ Persistence in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 153819272098030
Author(s):  
Giselle Emilia Navarro-Cruz ◽  
Brianne A. Dávila ◽  
Claudia Kouyoumdjian
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Adolescent Mothers ◽  
Transition To Parenthood ◽  
Social Experiences ◽  
Latina Mothers ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Teen Parent ◽  
Academic And Social Experiences ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Persistence In Higher Education

Less than half of adolescent mothers graduate from high school and fewer obtain a post-secondary degree. The purpose of this study is to understand how Latina mothers who experienced childbirth during adolescence transition to parenthood and higher education. We conducted 13 in-depth interviews with Latina mothers enrolled in higher education. We found that Latina mothers’ persistence in higher education is influenced by psychosocial factors, initial commitments, academic and social experiences in college, and final commitments.

scholarly journals Understanding Students’ Experiences of Well-Being in Learning Environments

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alisa Stanton ◽  
David Zandvliet ◽  
Rosie Dhaliwal ◽  
Tara Black
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Interview Protocol ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Qualitative Exploration ◽  
Insight Into

<p>With the recent release of a new international charter on health promoting universities and institutions of higher education, universities and colleges are increasingly interested in providing learning experiences that enhance and support student well-being. Despite the recognition of learning environments as a potential setting for creating and enhancing well-being, limited research has explored students’ own perceptions of well-being in learning environments. This article provides a qualitative exploration of students’ lived experiences of well-being in learning environments within a Canadian post-secondary context. A semi-structured focus group and interview protocol was used to explore students’ own definitions and experiences of well-being in learning environments. The findings illuminate several pathways through which learning experiences contribute to student well-being, and offer insight into how courses may be designed and delivered in ways that enhance student well-being, learning and engagement. The findings also explore the interconnected nature of well-being, satisfaction and deep learning. The relevance for the design and delivery of higher education learning experiences are discussed, and the significance of the findings for university advancement decisions are considered.</p>

scholarly journals Accounting for institutional variation in expected returns to higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Dorius ◽  
David Tandberg ◽  
Bridgette Cram
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public University ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Expected Returns ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Institutional Variation ◽  
Returns On Investment

This study leverages human capital theory to identify the correlates of expected returns on investment in higher education at the level of institutions. We leverage estimates of average ROI in post-secondary education among more than 400 baccalaureate degree conferring colleges and universities to understand the correlates of a relatively new metric of institutional ROI. Results indicate that a diverse undergraduate student body, high graduation rate, and public university status are strong, positive, and robustly associated with institutional ROI. The model accounts for more than 70% of inter-university variation in ROI, suggesting that the factors we have identified are among the most important correlates of institutional ROI. We discuss the policy implications of these findings for institutions of higher education in the context of institutional rankings and a rapidly evolving education landscape, giving special attention to student body characteristics colleges and universities.

scholarly journals HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE GROWTH OF MENIAL JOBS

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-20
Author(s):  
Łukasz Albański
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Iron Cage ◽  
Graduate Unemployment ◽  
Almost All ◽  
University Degree

Young people are confronting a world in which they may not achieve economic strides their parents did. Almost all will have been awarded university degree, worth far less (in the terms and conditions of their employment) than that of their parents, if they themselves graduated from university. In the article the author discusses the relationship between higher education and stratification. The concepts of meritocracy and credentialism are considered and a particular attention is paid to an equal/unequal access to education dilemma. Discussed is why a liberal arts education is losing ground and why it is being made a scapegoat for graduate unemployment. Does the nightmare of Weber’s “iron cage of rationalization” come true and is the contemporary university in the service of an economic order with all the related technical requirements of machine production? In the second part of the article the role of meritocratic discourse and educational credential inflation is considered as well as the growth of menial jobs for young people as a case in Poland. Key words: education at post-secondary level, liberal arts, youth unemployment, inequality, Poland.

scholarly journals Resuming In-Person Classes under COVID-19: Evaluating Assigned Seating Protocols in Limiting Contacts at Postsecondary Institutions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Daly-Grafstein ◽  
Patricia Daly ◽  
Reka Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Returning Students ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Severe Illness ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
Enrollment Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Reducing Potential

In order to limit the spread of COVID-19, Canadian postsecondary institutions are offering the majority of classes online for the 2020-21 academic year. The goal of Canada's public health pandemic response is to reduce severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 while minimizing social disruption. To achieve this goal, post secondary institutions need practical tools to limit COVID-19 spread and facilitate contact tracing while returning students to in-person instruction. In this paper, we explore the impact of assigned seating for students attending in-person classes in reducing potential contacts. We conduct a variety of seating simulations using student enrollment data and measure the number of potential contacts under each scenario. We find that assigning seats to students significantly reduces the expected number of contacts relative to random seating, making the return to in-person classes more feasible under these scenarios.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document