Lessons Learned from Clinical and Translational Science Faculty and Student Survey as COVID-19 Pandemic Continues to Shift Education Online

Introduction As the pandemic continues with new variants emerging, faculty and students require support with education's rapid shift to the virtual space. The Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science curriculum team works closely with faculty to support a smooth transition to offering graduate courses in a virtual learning environment. The aim of the present project was to explore faculty and student perceptions of these remote learning strategies to gain an understanding of the innovations required to improve future educational offerings. Methods All faculty and learners involved in nine Clinical and Translational Science courses in spring 2020 were invited to participate in a web-based questionnaire. Quantitative analysis was performed on closed-ended items, including 5-point Likert-scale questions used to assess the range of views. Qualitative free-text responses were independently analyzed for repetitive themes and summarized. Additionally, comparisons of faculty and course evaluations and student grade point averages (GPAs) from the in-person courses and their subsequent virtual course offerings were considered. Results Survey results indicated several positive impacts with moving courses into the virtual environment, including increased accessibility as well as more student-centered education. Learners joining from sites outside of the originating campus were especially grateful for the virtual classroom because they felt newly integrated within classes. Faculty and course evaluations, as well as student GPAs, remained consistent. Conclusion New COVID-19 variants continue to shift education online, and innovative ideas are required to further improve future virtual course offerings. Increased engagement is warranted, both from faculty to incorporate activities designed specifically for a virtual classroom, and from students to increase participation by activating their microphones and webcams. Greater opportunities for global involvement and connectedness arise. Finally, this project advocates for adequate eLearning staffing to support quality online education as the need for pedagogical and technical provision continues.

Accounting Analytics - Leveraging New Opportunities

This article summarizes my own perspective on the importance of accounting analytics and course offerings through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A Step Backward and Forward in an Age-Friendly University Initiative: Adapting a Campus Learning Partnership

The 5-campus UMass system received designation as an Age-Friendly University (AFU) in 2019. AFU Principle 1 highlights the importance of involving older adults in University activities. UMass Lowell’s Center for Gerontology Research and Partnerships collaborated with the Learning in Retirement Association (LIRA) in Spring 2020 to offer aging-related courses around healthy aging. However, due to COVID-19, these were canceled and are re-scheduled for Spring 2021 via Zoom. The paper will describe the process of selecting course offerings with LIRA and the subsequent cancellation/rescheduling process and adaptation needed. A course will focus on AFU initiative and the opportunities and challenges at UMass Lowell. Likewise, the other course will offer a session on technology and aging where age-based digital divide and strategies for reducing it will be discussed. This paper will reflect on how the collaboration with LIRA and course selection process relates to the AFU principles 1, 5 and 9.

Improving Student Pharmacists' Learning Through the Use of Pediatric Simulation

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of low-fidelity simulation on students' confidence, knowledge, and skills in pediatric physical assessments, and to compare students' interest ratings of topics and effectiveness of learning activities between students' who experienced simulation and those who did not. METHODS Within a pediatric elective, a vital signs and physical assessment activity was re-designed to incorporate a low-fidelity heart and breath sounds simulator. Students rated their confidence in completing 9 different physical assessment skills before and after the activity and assessment. Students' perspectives of the activity were also assessed. Course evaluation surveys were compared with prior course offerings (without simulation) to determine a change in students' interest ratings of the topic and effectiveness of learning activities. The Wilcoxon signed rank test, thematic analysis, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze outcomes. RESULTS All 106 second professional year students in the elective completed the pre- and post-simulation surveys and course evaluations for 3 offerings. Students' post-simulation average confidence scores increased statistically on all 9 skills compared with pre-simulation scores. All students agreed or strongly agreed “the lecture and simulation activity done in class helped me overcome challenges I had with learning the skill.” Students (98%) successfully demonstrated competency on the formal assessment. Compared with previous course offerings, students reported higher interest ratings in the topics and instruction effectiveness when simulation was incorporated into the activity. CONCLUSIONS Low-fidelity simulation is an effective teaching and learning approach to increase students' confidence, knowledge, and interest in pediatric vital signs and physical assessment.

Everything old is old again

A purpose of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is to translate theory into practical concepts to prepare leaders of the public and nonprofit sectors. The practice continues to employ entrepreneurial activities throughout the world. The academy has researched, written, and published extensively about entrepreneurship to build knowledge. The author pulled together aspects of the research to build an applicable framework for entrepreneurship—presenting, publishing, and designing an MPA course. This paper discusses that journey. The author sought to find the extent of similar courses in other accredited programs. The findings did not reveal widespread dissemination of entrepreneurship courses. An unintended finding shows that core course offerings appeared to be largely unchanged for decades. Is it time to “reinvent” the MPA program?

A Computer Assisted Decision Support System for Education Planning

The advances in technology are eliminating the demand for certain occupations and creating new opportunities. Thus, the universities, teachers, and students have to collaboratively work together to restructure their departments, course offerings, and course contents. Failure to realize the aforementioned initiatives may lead to a loss of quality and competitiveness. This study proposes a decision support system capable of maintaining the quality and competitiveness of the departments and the course offerings. The proposed system consists of three stages. The first stage is the data collection stage. At this stage, data are collected from the internet using web scraping methods. In the second stage, the collected data are turned into meaningful and processable information by natural language processing methods. In the third stage, the alternatives are ranked using multi-criteria decision-making methods. The proposed decision support system provides useful information to several educational stakeholders. First, universities are informed on which departments to create or close as well as the relevant course offerings. Second, information are provided to the teachers to create new courses or shape the course contents. Finally, students are better informed on how to go about choosing the universities, departments, courses, or career paths to pursue. The applicability and reliability of the proposed decision support system were experimentally proven through the use of computer engineering-related job postings and course contents of the universities in Turkey.

French for Professional Purposes in US Undergraduate Education: An Analysis of Course Offerings and Student Demand

In the past decade, there has been a significant decline in French language enrollments in US higher education institutions, despite a growing demand for French proficiency in the North American job market. These trends illustrate the need to offer French for Professional Purposes (FPP) courses, which allow students to develop language skills adapted to the professional environment. Our research aims to analyze the supply and demand for FPP courses. In this current study, we assessed the proportion of four-year colleges and universities that offer FPP courses, and we compiled the variety of their course offerings. We then conducted a survey of students enrolled in the FPP courses. Among the 545 institutions reviewed, a majority offered at least one FPP course, usually Business French. Institutions offering more than one course and a wider diversity of course topics were less common. Based on questionnaire responses, we found a significant mismatch between the supply of courses and students’ demand for FPP course offerings. We also found that, if given the possibility, most undergraduate students in the first through third years would like to enroll in another FPP course in the following academic year. These results call for further developments of FPP courses nationwide and greater diversification of course offerings.

Collaborative Graduate Student Training in a Virtual World

With higher education increasingly moving online, a 3-year-old interinstitutional graduate student training program offers a model for universities to pool resources and expand course offerings.