Decision-Making Strategy for Digital Transformation: A Two-Year Analytical Study and Follow-Up Concerning Innovative Improvements in University e-Services

Universities worldwide strive to provide the best student services possible, particularly those that support student achievements and career goals. Therefore, academic advising continues to be a significant part of the student experience, one which universities need to fully understand in terms of its objectives, application processes, and required skill. As a result of significant technological improvements since the turn of the millennium, including expanding internet applications and digital transformations, universities have established computer information systems that support academic advising and course registration services. This study examined the effects of modifications to the electronic academic advising and course registration systems at King Abdulaziz University in 2018, and then again in 2020, following a university-wide system failure in 2018 resulting from a demand overload. In 2018, a preliminary statistical analysis and student feedback survey were conducted by the authors to measure student satisfaction with the online portal On-Demand University Services (ODUS Plus). In addition to recommendations suggested by the 2018 analysis such as balancing the load distribution of the university’s network, organizational (i.e., non-technical) solutions, rules, and regulations were adjusted such as progressive course registration that prioritized those expected to graduate first. The survey and analysis were repeated by the authors in 2020 to assess improvements in student satisfaction. As a result of the changes, the investigation revealed improved student satisfaction with the performance of ODUS Plus and network access. Overall, students were significantly more satisfied in 2020 than in 2018. This research shows that some technical challenges can be resolved using re-engineered processes and organizational solutions.

GOING FOR ADVANCED DEGREES? A STUDY AMONG THE CURRENTLY ENROLLED INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA USING A SEQUENTIAL APPROACH

Malaysia has positioned itself to be a regional higher education hub and targeted to increase its number of international students to 250,000 by 2025, from 81,424 students in 2013. In the face of COVID-19, Malaysia is expected to experience stiff competitions with other countries in attracting international students. In essence, apart from attracting new students to come and study, pursuing the currently enrolled international students to stay on for advanced degrees is equally crucial to achieving the objective of the internationalisation agenda. Many studies have been done on factors affecting the decision of international students in choosing a host country. However, the retention and its sequential nature have been largely ignored. This paper aims to examine the probability of retention using a sequential approach. The descriptive statistics analysis found that Malaysia could expect that around 42% of its currently enrolled international students will remain in Malaysia. Results of the estimated sequential logit model reveal that university services are the significant factor that influences the probability of retention, whereas the education cost is found to be insignificant. Thus, consumption motives dominate the investment motives in terms of the probability of retention. Based on the findings, various policy implications are suggested to improve the retention rate of international students in Malaysia.

Student Services App

Cross-platform mobile application development is the pressing priority in today’s world and generation. Developers are enforced to either construct the same application numerous times for various OS (operating systems) or accept a low-quality similar solution that trades native speed and accuracy for portability. Flutter is an open-source SDK for developing high-performance and more reliable mobile applications for operating systems like iOS, Android and even windows [1]. Flutter is Google’s UI toolkit for building beautiful, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase. Student Service App is an automation which will provide duplicate degree, duplicate marksheet, migration, transcript, provisional degree and document verification services to all registered the Universities. It will provide University services related to academics to its registered students via mobile devices on their finger tips for which they have to be present physically at respective places. It has Service oriented architecture so that it will be integrated to the existing ERP (Web Portal) of the different universities.

‘Five hours to sort out your life’: qualitative study of the experiences of university students who access mental health support

Background Previous qualitative research suggests that university students feel that current service provision does not meet their needs. Exploring the reasons for this may help to promote service change, encourage the uptake of care, improve outcomes and increase satisfaction within university services. Aims This study aimed to improve the understanding of how students experience the process of accessing and using mental health support, barriers and facilitators to treatment, and how students would adapt provision to improve experiences. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 full-time students who had used mental health services at university. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Five higher-order themes were identified: personalisation and informed choice, simplifying the process, feeling abandoned ignored or invisible, stigma, and superiority of private and external services. Sixteen subthemes were identified within these themes. Conclusions Findings indicate that access to mental health support should be simplified, with collaboration across university and external health and care services, to prevent students feeling lost or abandoned when seeking care. An inclusive approach to support access and provision of services for all presentations of mental health problems should be developed.

Género y capital cultural en estudiantes de educación superior

This work provides an analysis about the gender differences of university students regarding family cultural capital, cultural consumption practices, the use and appropriation of cultural goods and academic services of the university, as well as in the evaluation of university services, spaces and activities. To achieve this purpose, a cross-sectional quantitative study was carried out. The sample was composed of 374 students from the 13 professional options offered at the Ciénega University Center at the University of Guadalajara. The results highlight that women have lower family cultural capital and make less use and appropriation of cultural goods and academic services than men. However, their academic performance is higher than that of men. Furthermore, there are no differences in the institutionalized cultural capital between men and women, nor in the evaluation of the services and resources that the university offers to its students. Regarding cultural consumption, we identify that men spend more hours playing video games, sports and socializing than women.

Psychologo-pedagodical basics for ensuring international students’ successful studying results

The paper deals with the main problems of international students’ study at higher educational institutions and the necessary university services, for example, propaedeutic training and foreign language courses that help foreigners to study successfully in an unfamiliar learning environment. The interpretation of psychological adaptation and academic adaptation is given based on the analysis of the issue source. The work explores specifics of adaptation and favorable conditions for international students in higher education, as well as identifies problems with the adaptation of foreigners in university education. Recommendations for psychological support of foreigners by advisors are given. The university services of the international students’ advisors and other university staff are analyzed concerning assistance on academic adaptation to the different educational system of the country and university requirements to studying. It is indicated that knowledge of the basics of psychology, features of personality psychotypes, and human adaptive abilities is very important for advisors to help students adapt to the academic requirements of a particular educational system. Advisors should act as a mediator to facilitate the learning process of students, taking into account individual worldviews and intellectual development, for example, while developing a personal curriculum and teaching time management. The work also highlights three main forms of counseling by their advisors as seminars, individual assistance or group work. Various student centers and university campus organizations are listed that help foreigners study and live in an unfamiliar academic environment. Keywords: psychological problems of adaptation, pedagogical basics, advisors, international student, university.

Assessment of the region inclusion in university activities (on the example of Primorsky Krai)

The city students are one of the sources of the regional environment development: they are active users of all spheres of the regional economy and services. This implies a two-way relationship between the university and the region: the development of the city and the region largely depends on the influx of students, and the number of students depends on the development of the region. To characterize this connection and effectively adapt the university to the goals and objectives of the region, it is necessary to assess the inclusion of the region in the university development by performing the following roles: the region as human capital provider, the region as a customer of university services, the region as a consumer of human capital, and the region as a university investor. During the study, an algorithm was developed to assess the inclusion of the region in the university activities, which was tested on the higher education system of the Primorsky Territory. Thus, it was concluded that the region roles are changing, as they form the environment in which universities operate.

Student work-placements from the company perspective: a case study

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to report the motivations and perceived benefits of companies that collaborate with universities by offering student work-placement positions.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a mixed methodology based on (1) a literature review on the topic, (2) a case study survey including companies that collaborate with one Spanish university in student work-placements and (3) meetings with collaborating companies in different countries and universities.FindingsThe most important reasons for collaborating in student work-placements were related to social duty, the opportunity of training students in company needs and as a source of staff recruitment. Conversely, the less rated motivators were improving the company's position within the sector, benefitting from university services and saving time in the selection of personnel.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should include a bigger corpus of the number of universities and companies, as well as the type of collaborations with universities, in order to identify any resulting differences.Practical implicationsThe conclusions highlight the need to define/improve the mechanisms that contribute to a win-win context. This is the only way that collaboration can advance towards a genuine partnership that will provide an effective framework for universities and companies to effectively share the same objectives in training future employees.Originality/valueThese results are relevant because of the lack of quantitative and qualitative research on this topic.