Retention Through Curriculum Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-148
Author(s):  
Charles B. W. Prince
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Strategic Vision ◽  
Student Progression ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Retention And Graduation Rates ◽  
The University

Designing university curriculum is an important component to improve student retention and engagement. At the University of East London, the institution took to the curriculum as an opportunity to improve student progression and retention. In a time where UEL needed to make significant changes to the student experience, satisfaction, progression, retention, and graduation rates, bold steps were taken to ensure that their academic offering would support their strategic vision. The chapter provides the context of UEL's curriculum design journey and the results from those changes. A brief literature review is on the correlation between curriculum and retention. Next, the document analysis will show the experience of administrators during this process. The chapter closes by providing replicable and scalable opportunities that can be learned from their experience.

scholarly journals Developing an Independent Curriculum: Village Development Project as an Equalization of Thesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (07) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Joan Hesti Gita Purwasih ◽  
Elya Kurniawati ◽  
Nur Hadi ◽  
Indah Wahyu Puji Utami
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
The Core ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Village

The university curriculum is always required to be able to an-swer future challenges. On the other hand, universities have the responsibil-ity for producing quality human resources in nation-building. Evaluation and development of the curriculum are some of the best ways to improve the quality of education. Therefore, every policymaker needs to make this effort so that these two responsibilities can be fulfilled. In this development re-search, the researcher designed an independent curriculum to actually be implemented. As a result, there are two important aspects emphasized on at the core of the curriculum renewal being developed. The first is to strength-en student capabilities contextually through collaborative projects. The sec-ond is the involvement of partners in order to provide real benefits to the community. In this curriculum design, village development is a superior program that is carried out to integrate these two aspects. This effort is made because the village is one of groups vulnerable to the problem of poverty. The implementation design of these two aspects was finally developed suc-cessfully, and a village development project was offered to students as an equivalent thesis. This policy is a way considered effective and accepted pos-itively by various parties, including government, partners, and also students.

scholarly journals Engineering Student Retention and Attrition Literature Review

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Kuley ◽  
Sean Maw ◽  
Terry Fonstad
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Educational Experience ◽  
Student Characteristics ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Engineering Student ◽  
Retention And Attrition ◽  
The University ◽  
Engineering Schools

The University of Saskatchewan, similar tomany engineering colleges, would like to improve studentretention. With that in mind, a literature review wasundertaken to summarize current peer reviewed literaturerelated to engineering student retention and attrition inan attempt to better understand the potential structuralcauses, processes, and student characteristics that maycontribute to student success or attrition. Through asystematic search of several major databases using thekeywords “engineering and attrition or retention,” andafter narrowing the scope to peer reviewed articleswritten between 2005 and the present, each article’sabstract was read and evaluated. Forty-five papers weredeemed to be highly relevant, and were thus included inthe literature review. Preliminary trends that haveemerged in this review are: the potential causes of highattrition rates in engineering schools, various methodsthat have been used to determine the causes of attrition,interventions that have been implemented and stories oftheir success/failure, and attributes that have been foundto correlate with student attrition or success. This paperis an attempt to organize this body of research into asingular source that can be referenced by engineeringeducators or researchers who wish to increase studentretention and improve the educational experience of theirstudents.

Tshivenda Female Attire: A Socio-cultural Significance

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matodzi Rebecca Raphalalani ◽  
Mashudu Churchill Mashige
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cultural Significance ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Dress Codes ◽  
Verbal Meaning

This study investigated, through observation of the Tshivenḓa female dress codes, the socio-cultural significance of such dress codes as a means of non-verbal communication. The non-verbal meaning embedded in different items of dresses conveys messages from the wearers to observers. The study adopted  a qualitative  design, since it used  document analysis and literature review as a means to adduce evidence that Tshivenḓa dress codes not only communicate socio-cultural meanings to the observer, but also signify gender, age group, rank, authority, status, and identity, as well as power relations—including the supernatural and the sacred. The study also revealed that there are dress codes that are specifically worn during initiation ceremonies among the Vhavenḓa people. In conclusion, we recommend that knowledge of Tshivenḓa dress codes should form part of the overall indigenous knowledge that needs to be studied in institutions of basic and higher education, and that for the sake of preserving this valuable information, communities need to be proactive in disseminating it to the younger generation.

Explaining Student Retention: The Case of the University of Aberdeen

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. David McCausland ◽  
Kostas G. G. Mavromaras ◽  
Ioannis Theodossiou
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
The University

Quality assurance systems: enemies or allies of innovation in higher education institutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Ferreira de Mello Silva ◽  
Eduardo Raupp de Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
University Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Innovation In Higher Education

Purpose This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context. Design/methodology/approach This study selected 63 articles through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases and performed a descriptive and thematic synthesis-analysis on the sample. Findings The research identifies several perspectives discussed on QA systems covering experiences, criticisms and practice implications. The literature review shows there is no clear consensus on whether innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is fostered or hindered by QA processes. However, it seems that the likelihood of innovativeness and positive QA outcomes are directly linked to how these processes are managed in universities. Research limitations/implications This review highlights the university management concerns that emerge with QA issues as it is not yet clear to what extent innovation is actually promoted in scenarios where QA is applied. Hence, this literature review could be considered comprehensive but not exhaustive. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of how HEIs can both innovate and ensure quality at the same time. Originality/value The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by advancing the opportunities and challenges that HEIs face due to QA system features.

Transforming the economics curriculum by integrating threshold concepts

2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 492-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prashan Shayanka Mendis Karunaratne ◽  
Yvonne A Breyer ◽  
Leigh N Wood
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Threshold Concepts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Course Structure ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Entry Level ◽  
Higher Education Economics ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose – Economics is catering to a diverse student cohort. This cohort needs to be equipped with transformative concepts that students can integrate beyond university. When a curriculum is content-driven, threshold concepts are a useful tool in guiding curriculum re-design. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The evidence for this pedagogic need can be seen in the UK’s higher education economics curriculum framework which is formulated around the threshold concepts of economics. Through a literature review of the application of threshold concepts in economics, the researcher has systematically re-designed an entry-level economics course. This research has been applied to the course structure, the learning and teaching activities, as well as the assessments. At the end of the semester, students students were surveyed on the student experience of the curriculum design and the course activities. The course grades noted the achievement of the students’ learning outcomes. Findings – When comparing the survey responses and the student course results to the previous semesters, there is a significant improvement in student experience as well as student learning outcomes of the course curriculum. Practical implications – This research provides curriculum developers with a benchmark and the tools required to transform economics curricula. Social implications – An engaging, transformative and integrative entry-level economics course is often the only exposure most business graduates have to the economics way of thinking and practice. Originality/value – This is the first comprehensive study that applies a curriculum re-design based on threshold concepts across an entry-level economics course.

scholarly journals Curriculum design in theology and development: Human agency and the prophetic role of the church

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
The Social ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
The University ◽  
The Church

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.

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