Predicting Academic Difficulty in Veterinary Medicine: A Case-Control Study

A veterinary education is costly and time-consuming, so it is in the best interests of applicants and colleges alike that admissions processes be fair and select applicants who are likely to succeed. We employed a case-control study to explore whether any of 28 admissions variables used by a veterinary college located in the Midwest region of the United States predicted which students would encounter academic difficulty in the veterinary curriculum. Participants were selected from the veterinary classes admitted between 2008 and 2017. We defined academic difficulty cases ( n = 55) as any students dismissed from the program or placed on academic probation. Controls ( n = 220) were selected at random from the same classes, excluding the academic difficulty cases, students with honor code violations, or any who had exited the program early for any reason other than participation in a concurrent program. Admissions variables included: gender, citizenship, underrepresented status, state of residence, age, interview scores, GPA (science), GRE scores, undergraduate credits, participation in honors courses, community college credits, repeats/withdrawals of required undergraduate courses, course load, and admissions committee review criteria including work experience, animal/vet experience, references, essays, leadership, personal development, special circumstances, and overall committee score. Zero-order correlations for academic difficulty were significant for underrepresented status, age, GPA (science), verbal and quantitative GRE scores, repeats/withdrawals, and references. When combined in logistic regression, only science GPA, verbal GRE, and references significantly and independently predicted struggler status.

Honors College Faculty Support for High-Impact Practice Participation

Much of the existing research on honors colleges or programs is focused on the student experience, with less information offered concerning the faculty perspective. This study presents findings from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), comparing support for high-impact practices between faculty who teach honors courses and those who do not. Along with core FSSE items, this study uses responses from 1,487 faculty members at 15 institutions on two experimental items about teaching honors courses. A series of ordinary least squares and binary logistic regression analyses suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more likely to supervise undergraduates on research and internships and to think that it is important for students to participate in learning communities, study abroad, and research with faculty. These findings are interpreted within the context of previous research and current theory, bridging knowledge from the fields of higher education and gifted education.

Teaching Honors Courses: Perceptions of Engagement from the Faculty Perspective

Research suggests that honors students are more likely to be engaged in some, but not all, aspects of the college experience, although there is less information available from the faculty perspective. This study presents findings from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), comparing various engagement-related practices between faculty who teach honors courses and those who do not. Along with core FSSE items, this study uses responses from 1,487 faculty members at 15 institutions on two items about teaching honors courses. A series of ordinary least squares regression analyses suggest that faculty who teach honors courses are more likely to encourage engagement in the areas of student–faculty interaction, learning strategies, and collaborative learning, even after controlling for other demographic and institutional variables. These findings are considered within the context of existing research and theory, connecting knowledge from higher education and gifted education.

Exploring the Relationships Between High School Course Enrollment, Achievement, and First-Semester College GPA

This study explored the impact of Advanced Placement and honors course enrollment and high school grade point average (GPA) on first-semester college GPA. Data were collected from 131 college freshmen enrolled at a minority-serving institution who graduated from a public school during the previous academic year. A four-step hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that family structure, college status, enrollment in one or more Advanced Placement courses, and enrollment in five or more honors courses accounted for a significant amount of variance explained in first-semester college GPA, both individually and in combination. High school GPA intervened in these variables relationships with first-semester college GPA accounting for a significant amount of variance. Based on these findings, opportunities for future research and implications for K–12 schools and colleges are provided.

What Boosts Talent Development? Examining Predictors of Academic Growth in Secondary School Among Academically Advanced Youth Across 21 Years

We examined 482,418 students who took the ACT in the seventh grade and again in high school, taking an exploratory analytic approach to examine academic growth trends from 1996 to 2017. Predictors included sociodemographics, interests, high school (HS) characteristics, HS coursework and GPA, and extracurriculars, which explained 25% of the variance in academic growth. Overall, growth improved from 2005 to 2017, but growth for low-income and Hispanic students was stagnant. Catholic and private school students had the highest growth; homeschooled and high-poverty public school students had the lowest. High growth was associated with STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) elective HS courses and advanced AP, accelerated, and honors courses. Students with investigative and conventional interests had higher growth. Some extracurriculars had significant relationships with academic growth, though the effects were small.

Confronting our beliefs about poverty and discipline

Many school practitioners think of poverty as a kind of “culture,” characterized by dysfunctional behaviors that can only be corrected by imposing harsh discipline on students. Further, beliefs about poverty are often used to justify racial disparities in disciplinary referrals, achievement, and enrollment in gifted, AP, and honors courses, as well as to justify harsh punishments for “disobedience” or “disorderly conduct” or “disrespect.” Edward Fergus suggests that educators learn to understand their blind spots related to race and culture and to seek out feedback on the degree to which members of the school community experience bias.

Honors Programs as a Way to Grow the Discipline

Honors programs and courses can be characterized by large impersonal classes with differences in assignments and evaluation criteria compared to non-honors courses. This article begins to tell the story of a nursing honors program in which expert researchers and educators mentor highly motivated students, introducing them to nursing research and to faculty roles. The one-on-one relationships developed during the two-semester program encourage student growth and academic and career success. Mentored students are more confident in their ability to participate in clinical research and pursue advanced education.

An Honors Course on Evolution and Creationism: Teaching Experiences in the Deep South

One of the most stimulating and enjoyable experiences of my teaching career has been an honors course on evolution and creationism, which I developed while a faculty member at the University of Mississippi. At many institutions, honors courses provide the freedom to tackle controversial subjects, employ an interdisciplinary approach, and allow professors and students to take more risks (pedagogically and conceptually) than in non-honors courses. Honors classes tend to be smaller, encourage active learning and critical thinking on the part of students, and emphasize open discussion rather than passive note taking as the faculty member lectures. Such a format is an ideal context for a course on evolution and creationism.