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In the face of shrinking government budgets and a growing need to train a high-skilled labor force, policymakers have become increasingly interested in cost-effective measures that induce more students to apply to and enroll in college. In this paper, we use a regression discontinuity design to identify the causal effect of students receiving information about their own college-readiness after taking the ACT on their subsequent college enrollment decisions. Using data from Colorado, where all high school students are required to take the ACT, we find that students who receive information that they are college-ready are no more likely to attend college than those that do not receive this information. We discuss possible reasons for these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The female advantage in college enrollment and completion has generated concern among university officials and sparked debate about gender-conscious college admissions. There are a number of explanations for this increasing gender imbalance on college campuses. This paper focuses on the role played by admissions policies that base decisions solely on applicants’ high school grades. Given that females earn higher grades than males, such policies can contribute to growing female shares in admissions. To exemplify this trend, I use publicly-available data from Texas to show that the Texas Top 10% plan, which guarantees public university admission to students who graduate in the top decile of their high school class, led to an increase in the female share of accepted students. The increase was particularly large among black students, where the female share of admitted students was already highest among the major racial/ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University education is crucial for cultural and economic growth. Thus, the academic mission recognizes the achievement of both institutional and social objectives, and research provides the basis for the systematic creation of knowledge and the development of human capital. Universities attempt to manage a global system with a holistic vision based on data and facts and oriented to the continuous improvement of its effectiveness and efficiency. The goal is achieved by implementing a monitoring system based both on internal and external performances. As a consequence, it is necessary to consider both students perspective regarding needs, expectations, level of satisfaction and loyalty and internal key performance indicators. This paper proposes the use of Bayesian networks for jointly monitoring internal and external performance of a Master’s programme of an Italian University in a holistic approach. A Bayesian network is estimated using a learning algorithm able to analyze the association structure among mixed ordinal and nominal variables. Various scenarios are evaluated thanks to efficient computational algorithms of Bayesian networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity consumption in the administration buildings of a typical higher education campus in the UK accounts for 26% of the campus annual electricity consumption. A reliable forecast of electricity consumption helps energy managers in numerous ways such as in preparing future energy budgets and setting up energy consumption targets. In this paper, we developed two models, a multiple regression (MR) model and a genetic programming (GP) model to forecast daily electricity consumption of an administration building located at the Southwark campus of London South Bank University in London. Both models integrate five important independent variables, i.e. ambient temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed and weekday index. Daily values of these variables were collected from year 2007 to year 2013. The data sets from year 2007 to 2012 are used for training the models while 2013 data set is used for testing the models. The predicted test results for both the models are analyzed and compared with actual electricity consumption. At the end, some conclusions are drawn about the performance of both models regarding their forecasting capabilities. The results demonstrate that the GP model performs better with a Total Absolute Error (TAE) of 6% compared to TAE of 7% for MR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relative labor market gains for first-time college students who entered the North Carolina Community College System in 2002–2003. We compare the returns to diplomas, certificates, and degrees to the returns to some college credits. The authors also investigate the returns to subject field, transfer, and the early trajectories of wages. The analysis is based on student-level administrative records from college transcripts, Unemployment Insurance wage data, and the National Student Clearinghouse data across 830,000 students between 2001 and 2010. Findings from this study confirm those from earlier work: The returns to certificates and diplomas were weak, but associate and bachelor's degrees yielded very strong returns; even small accumulations of credits had labor market value; and the health sector credentials had extremely high returns. Returns were higher for female than for male students. Despite the Great Recession, the returns to college remain strong over the late 2000s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community colleges play a major role in postsecondary education, yet previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on four-year students rather than two-year students. Furthermore, researchers have focused on the impact of merit aid on enrollment and outcomes during college, but to my knowledge, none have yet considered the impact of aid on earnings after college. This paper utilizes discontinuities in eligibility criteria for a large merit scholarship to examine the local impact of aid on student outcomes both during college and after college. The findings suggest that reducing the cost of community college does not impact persistence, academic performance, degree completion, expected earnings, or short-term earnings after college for marginally eligible students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a general methodology for measuring the value added of institutions of higher education using commonly available administrative data. Our approach recognizes the data limitations and selection problems inherent in higher education, and highlights the challenges these issues pose for education policy. Combining information from different administrative sources in the state of Texas, we follow the universe of Texas college applicants from the time of application (pre-enrollment) through public college and into the labor market. In specifications that do not control for selection, we find large, significant differences across colleges in terms of persistence, graduation, and earnings; however, these differences decrease substantially when we control for selection. In light of the growing interest in using value-added measures in higher education for both funding and incentivizing purposes, our methodology offers unique evidence and lessons for policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses variation in the timing of parental layoff to identify the effect of parental job loss on higher education enrollment. Unlike research that compares laid-off workers to workers who do not lose their jobs, all families in our analysis experience a layoff at some point. The treatment group (layoff when child is 15–17) and control group (layoff when child is 21–23) have statistically indistinguishable initial characteristics, but substantially different higher education enrollment rates. We find that parental job loss between ages 15 and 17 decreases college enrollment by 10 percentage points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of the choice of location of international students. Building on the documented trends in international migration of students, we identify the various factors associated to the attraction of migrants as well as the costs of moving abroad. Using new data capturing the number of students from a large set of origin countries studying in a set of 13 OECD countries, we assess the importance of the various factors identified in the theory. We find support for a significant network effect in the migration of students, a result so far undocumented in the literature. We also find a significant role for cost factors such as housing prices and for attractiveness variables such as the reported quality of universities. In contrast, we do not find an important role for registration fees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College students are taking longer to earn baccalaureate degrees now than ever before, but little is known about institutional factors that may contribute to this trend. In this paper we investigate an important institutional constraint—course scarcity—that we hypothesize may be associated with increased time to degree. We employ a unique administrative dataset from a large, moderately selective, public institution and use an instrumental variables approach, identifying off the random registration times assigned to students. Results suggest that course scarcity does not delay students' graduation. We explore alternative explanations for our findings and discuss a variety of other factors correlated with time to baccalaureate completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of working during higher education on academic progression, in terms of number of credits acquired by first-year university students in Italy. We discuss different contrasting hypotheses on the role of employment during university on academic outcomes: the zero-sum perspective, the reconciliation thesis, the positive and the negative selection to work hypotheses. In the empirical part we analyze data from the Eurostudent survey, which collected data on a representative sample of university students who were enrolled in the academic year 2002/03, after the implementation of the 'Bologna Process'. We use a negative binomial regression model considering work experience as an endogenous multinomial treatment. Results indicate that, conditional on observed covariates (socio-demographic variables, school-related and university-related variables), there is a positive self-selection into employment, especially for low-intensity work. Traditional multivariate regressions show a penalty in academic progression only for high-intensity workers, but once accounted for unobserved heterogeneity also the low-intensity work experience appears to negatively affect academic progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since higher education institutions are considered relevant catalysts in the formation of future business leaders, the concern for sustainability issues can take place in such institutions through the so-called Education for Sustainability. However, there are challenges higher education institutions face to implement it, as well as facilitating elements to overcome such challenges. In this scenario, this paper highlights the importance partnerships have, as facilitating elements, in all fronts needed to overcome challenges for education for sustainability's implementation in higher education institutions. Also, the role relational capabilities play as key-element for the success of partnership development is proposed. Thus, a Proposition is developed, as well as a conceptual framework for overcoming challenges for the implementation of education for sustainability in such institutions, considering the relevance of using the relational capabilities' perspective to better comprehend and develop partnerships for education for sustainability in higher education institutions. This paper's originality consists in filling a gap in the literature of this research domain, since there are no studies that discuss Education for Sustainability and Relational Capabilities, jointly. It is expected that this paper provides relevant insights regarding the importance of developing the dimensions of relational capabilities to increase the chances of success of partnerships between higher education institutions and other actors with which they relate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As education providers, universities play a pivotal role in developing and delivering quality education that contributes to the achievement of the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and the related "Sustainable Development Goals". Given the large impact of the built environment industry on global emissions and climate change, integrating environmental sustainability principles and architectural education is of paramount importance for the achievement of such targets. Through a systematic and comprehensive literature review, this article explores how and to what extent environmental sustainability considerations have been integrated within architecture curricula in tertiary education providers across North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, highlighting common approaches, future directions and areas that still need further development. Over 500 published refereed research outputs were analysed and 111 selected for inclusion and discussion in this article, with attention given to understanding course structures, pedagogy, relationship with design studios, types of assessment, teaching and learning technologies, and engagement of the wider architecture profession across undergraduate and graduate architecture programmes. 68% of the documents use case study methodologies to evaluate the impact of sustainability education, while theory only papers represent 15% of the total. Studies using a combination of theoretical discussions and applicative evidence are the 17% of the total. Among the case studies category, it is to be noted that the work done at course level (26%) almost equals that done at curriculum level (29%), signalling that attention has been paid to both the macro and micro scale. The research shows that more attention in the past was given to the 'what' (content and structure of courses and programmes), while more recent studies focus on the 'how' (pedagogies and implementation processes for teaching and curriculum development purposes). The latest works, on the other hand, start to be more focussed on assessing students' learning and increase active engagement, in an attempt to shape the profile of future graduates and make them ready to produce the substantial market transformation still needed to achieve environmental sustainability goals worldwide. [Display omitted] • The integration of environmental sustainability within architecture curricula. • A systematic and comprehensive literature review is conducted across continents. • Common approaches, areas to develop and future directions are highlighted. • In the past, attention in architecture curricula was given to the what and the how. • Nowadays, more attention is given to assessing students' learning and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is crucial to understand which conditions or elements are relevant to the development of more holistic and integrative models for implementing sustainability into Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is observed in the literature that there is a mismatch between the highlighted importance of education for sustainability and the actual implementation of its integration in HEIs due to its multifaceted characteristics and complexity. The proposition of analytical models can serve as a very useful tool for successful practical experiences. Therefore, the paper aims to develop a conceptual and analytical framework based on four interdependent dimensions—contextual, organizational, curricular, and pedagogical– that can be used as a guide to integrate sustainability into critical areas in HEIs. We considered four crucial areas: university management, teaching, research, and community outreach. To validate and expand these areas and identify the elements composing them, we conducted a qualitative research based on systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of higher and management education. We explored this integration of sustainability in the context of an emergent country, and for this we performed documental research and interviews with local experts. This study contributes to the field by presenting a multi-analytical model and their specific elements that can guide HEIs to effectively integrate sustainability into management education related to planning and action. Although the results focus on management courses, these elements, if properly adapted, can be used to map and analyze other courses in all types of HEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This brief paper develops a series of provocations against the current forms of Learning Analytics that are beginning to be implemented in higher education contexts. The paper highlights a number of ways in which Learning Analytics can be experienced as discriminatory, oppressive and ultimately disadvantaging across whole student populations, and considers the limitations of current efforts within educational data science to increase awareness of 'ethics' and 'social good'. This culminates in a stark choice: is it possible to substantially improve the field of Learning Analytics as it currently stands, or should we abandon it in favour of new forms of applying data science that are aligned with the experiences of non-conforming 'learners' and un-categorizable forms of 'learning'? • Learning Analytics can be discriminatory, oppressive and ultimately disadvantaging. • Concerns over 'data ethics' and 'social good' do not address these issues. • We need to expand understandings of Learning Analytics 'stakeholders'. • Can data science be reimagined for un-categorizable forms of 'learners'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion and research on the role of 3D virtual learning environments in teaching and learning. It specifically focuses on the use of video games as an enabling technology in construction higher education. As such, it investigates whether task complexity has any influence on an individual's preferred learning style while learning through virtual reality (VR) technology. To answer this question and address relevant issues, an educational experiment has been designed and conducted. An experimental virtual learning environment, the Situation Engine , was set up as a virtual construction site for undergraduate construction students to experience construction work in progress. The design and development of the Situation Engine has drawn on powerful pedagogical theories such as situated and experiential learning. 253 undergraduate students participated in the educational experiment. Three tasks of different complexity levels were designed as the experimental environments; with level of complexity being the independent variable. The hypothesis that students would adopt different learning styles when engaged in learning tasks of different complexities was rejected. No significant difference in the preferred learning styles was identified among the three experimental groups. It was concluded, therefore, that when using virtual reality technology for construction education there is no evidence to suggest the level of task complexity has significant influence on how people learn. The study presented in this paper is the first empirical study in the construction higher education field that reveals the relationship between the task complexity and students learning styles when Virtual Learning Environments are engaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing concern about sustainability issues in society, graduates and postgraduates going into the labour market benefit from the inclusion of sustainability contents in university studies. Visibility of these contents is gained towards a potential employer if they are explicitly mentioned in the university degree title. This is the first paper to explore this trend. More precisely, the purpose of this study is to find explanatory causal combinations of factors for this trend in the Spanish setting. The methodological approach of this paper is based on fuzzy sets. More precisely, it follows fuzzy-sets Qualitative Comparative Analysis, which is an innovative approach in the field of Higher Education yet a consolidated method in Sociology, Marketing or Management studies. This new methodology is well suited for rather limited sample sizes. The findings obtained reveal several causal combinations of internal and strategic factors leading to innovation in university degree catalogues by means of making visible the sustainable focus in the title of the university degrees. According to the results obtained, the public status, prestige and the sustainable profile adequately combined with some other characteristics (for instance large size or age) explain this phenomenon. This article uses an innovative methodological approach and makes a valuable contribution as it identifies the factors behind the early adopters, i.e. universities covering this "green niche" in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to evaluate the relationship between academic optimism and sustainability of higher education. The intervening role of extra role behavior and internal branding is also examined. The data was collected from higher education institutions via randomly selected sample. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to evaluate the model fit and reliability, validity and internal consistency of the measures were evaluated. Further, hierarchical regression analysis was used to test the direct and indirect relationship among the hypothesised constructs. The regression analysis results supported a positive relationship between academic optimism and sustainability of higher education through internal branding and extra role behavior. Internal branding and extra role behavior positively mediated the linkage between academic optimism and sustainability in higher education. The study contributes to the practice as it helps academicians, practitioners, and professionals working in higher education institutions in their decision making. • This research examines the role of the stakeholders towards achieving sustainability in educational institutions. • This paper presents an empirical mediated model towards sustainability in educational institutions. • Using social identity theory, stakeholders' role for sustainability was explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper provides an overview of ISO/IEC 29110 and MoProSoft. • The paper aims to analyze the differences between the software engineering Basic profile of ISO/IEC 29110 and the level 2 practices of the MoProSoft standard related to the software project management and software implementation processes. • The paper provides a comparison between the Basic profile of the ISO/IEC 29110 and the level 2 practices of MoProSoft in order to identify the reasons why a Software Development Center of a university should start with the implementation of a standard, such as the ISO/IEC 29110, targeted for organizations having up to 25 people, before the implementation of a standard, such as the MoProSoft standard, that is targeted at organizations having up to 50 people. • The paper highlights how the Basic profile of the ISO/IEC 29110 reinforce the education and training of students of universities curricula in Computer Science and Informatics and Software Engineering. Software standards, targeted for the software industry, were developed to contribute to the development of quality products within budget and schedule, by optimizing efforts and resources. For small companies, the largest percentage of software companies in Mexico, they are fundamental for their growth and survival. However, academic programs do not always match industry requirements. In previous studies, the curricula in Computer Science and Informatics, and Software Engineering, of 4 Mexican universities, were compared with two software industry standards: the MoProSoft standard, a Mexican standard designed for organizations having up to 50 people and the Basic profile of the ISO/IEC 29110 developed specifically for organizations having up to 25 people. The analysis of the academic programs showed a better coverage of ISO/IEC 29110 than MoProSoft. In this paper, these two standards are mapped to understand the results of the analysis in detail and provide recommendations regarding academic programs. The analysis provides an evidence that the processes of the Basic profile of ISO/IEC 29110 are better covered by the universities curricula because the processes provides the minimal set of practices to be performed while a project is executed from the beginning until the delivery of a software. In addition, this mapping presents a clear differentiation between these two standards that might help Software Development Centers to understand where to start in the implementation of one of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, higher education institutions are challenged to continue providing quality teaching, consulting, and research production through virtual education environments. In this context, a large volume of data is being generated, and technologies such as big data analytics are needed to create opportunities for open innovation by obtaining valuable knowledge. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of big data analytics and evaluate the relationship it has with performance and knowledge management, taking into consideration that this technology is in its initial stages and that previous research has provided varied results depending on the sector in focus. To address these challenges, a theoretical framework is developed to empirically test the relationship of these variables; 265 members of universities in Latin America were surveyed, and structural equation modeling is used. The findings identify compatibility, an adequate organizational data environment, and external support as factors required to adopt big data analytics, and their positive relationship is tested with knowledge management processes and organizational performance. This study provides practical guidance for decision-makers involved in or in charge of defining the implementation strategy of big data analytics in higher education institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the leadership role of higher education in creating a sustainable development has been widely recognized, there is a paucity of studies following a strategic perspective to explain how universities integrate sustainability in the different areas of their activity to gain a competitive advantage and contribute to the sustainable development of a broad range of stakeholders. More empirical research on the design and implementation of strategies and operations developed by universities to re-orient themselves towards sustainability has also been required, as well as systemic frameworks for evaluating sustainability performance in higher education. This paper addresses these gaps by proposing a conceptual framework for diagnosis of the integration of sustainability in universities from a strategic perspective. In particular, the concept of a sustainable business model is first contextualized to higher education and then used for interpreting the core logic through which universities create value for themselves, society and the environment. In order to assess the applicability and usefulness of this framework, a cluster analysis of all the 61 Italian state universities is used to identify business models with different degrees of strategic orientation towards sustainability and to start discussing the relationships between sustainable business models and university size, geographic location and performance. • Higher education has a key role in creating sustainable development. • A conceptual framework of university sustainable business models is developed. • Universities are grouped on the basis of their shared-value creation processes. • Analysis revealed six models reflecting a different approach to sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that a competitive labor market fails to provide first-best incentives to invest in general human capital and this has distributive consequences: college students and firms underinvest in human capital, and this is more pronounced for high-skill students with low-income parents. Long-term contracts, together with privately provided wage-contingent loans, cannot restore efficiency and eliminate the distributive consequences of this labor market failure. Government student loans together with firm subsidies to human capital investments fully solve the market failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates pecuniary and non-pecuniary returns to college education for academically marginal students in South Korea. The Korean government limits the number of admission slots at each college by assigning a quota for each year, and the quota is binding. An increase in the quota allows more academically marginal students to enter college. The IV estimation using differences in the ratio of 4-year college quotas to cohort size across regions and cohorts shows that 4-year college attendance of marginal students increases hourly wages by 60.3%-75.5%. College education also increases fringe benefits, life, and job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The concept and vision of Education 4.0 in higher education are presented. • Four core components are integrated to shape the proposed concept of Education 4.0: (i) Competencies, (ii) Learning Methods, (iii) Information and Communication Technologies, and (iv) Infrastructure. • The components of Education 4.0 can apply to different educational levels and non-formal and informal educational environments. • Three different case studies were presented to illustrate how current programs adopt the concept and vision of Education 4.0. Technological progress and its rapid evolution have positively affected the industrial sector and different productive/service sectors. One of the service-sectors that have benefited the most has been Education. In this sector, the implementation of current and emerging technologies combined with innovative pedagogical procedures and best practices is known as Education 4.0, which, in this paper, is described and mapped according to the well-known periods of the four industrial revolutions and related to higher education. Likewise, four core components of Education 4.0 to be used as a reference for the design of new projects in educational innovation are proposed (i) Competencies, (ii) Learning Methods, (iii) Information and Communication Technologies, and (iv) Infrastructure. Finally, three case studies applied to Engineering Education illustrate how the proposed components are considered in educational programs' designs. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions are among the many public and private sector entities that have committed to long-term sustainability goals in response to the threat of climate change. A key challenge for these institutions is establishing a commitment to make targeted investments in renewable energy technologies in support of emissions reduction goals. Such strategies require a vision to simultaneously coordinate strategic investments in renewable energy technologies with tactical operational decisions to achieve the desired benefits. In this paper, we formulate and solve a least-cost renewable energy capacity investment planning model to determine pathways to achieve emissions reduction strategies. Specifically, we apply our model to Rutgers University to evaluate its target of 100 % carbon neutrality. Using these insights, we share recommendations on how these strategies can be executed. This research serves as a springboard for administrators to assess and deploy their emissions reduction strategies, while ensuring system and financial constraints are satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education has long been praised for its economic benefits, which stem from the developed technical skills and improved health conditions it promotes. Nonetheless, improving the quality of education, including sustainability, has become a policy focus since the Tbilisi Declaration and, more recently, in the Sustainable Development Goals. How to increase the contribution of higher education to sustainability is the subject of a robust debate, not only in terms of graduates' competencies but also in its linkages to society at large. The objective of the paper is to identify the main concerns and proposed strategies in recent literature on this topic to elucidate how to overcome the gap between the actions and desires of international institutions and stakeholders. A systematic review of the literature in the last five years supported with the PRISMA workflow and a check of natural processing language was undertaken. Five main topics were identified, including economic effects from higher education, social impacts, pedagogical-related issues, higher education institutions' environmental behaviour, and their structural challenges when implementing sustainability. The analysis indicated that institutions have focused on environmental measures but have paid scant attention to society, their communities, collaboration with other institutions, changes in the training of managers and lecturers and the proper assessment of internal structures that drive the commitment of institutions and education to embrace sustainability. Drawing from the literature, a set of five strategies is recommended to lessen the reported problems and further embrace sustainability in higher education. Hence, innovation in management, planning, openness, training of stakeholders in sustainability, negotiation, and building multipartner networks seem to be the key drivers for adopting sustainability. • Sustainability in higher education institutions should follow a variety of avenues. • A systematic review aided by AI and following PRISMA guidelines is undertaken. • The results show some environmental measures but a lack of connection to society. • Five strategies to enhance actions have been recently highlighted in the literature. • Innovation in management, planning, openness, training, and networking are key. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations of academic staff to learning analytics services from an ideal as well as a realistic perspective. This mixed-method study focused on a cross-case analysis of staff from Higher Education Institutions from four European universities (Spain, Estonia, Netherlands, UK). While there are some differences between the countries as well as between ideal and predicted expectations, the overarching results indicate that academic staff sees learning analytics as a tool to understand the learning activities and possibility to provide feedback for the students and adapt the curriculum to meet learners' needs. However, one of the findings from the study across cases is the generally consistently low expectation and desire for academic staff to be obligated to act based on data that shows students being at risk of failing or under-performing. • Academic staff perceives LA as a tool to provide students feedback but do not feel obligated to act based on LA data. • LA has potential in supporting learning and teaching but academics are not convinced that ideal expectations are realized. • There is a need to engage teaching staff in LA processes – strategy/policy formation, embedding LA into teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online courses are a growing part of the community college experience, but many students, particularly minority students or students who are more at-risk, face challenges in passing those courses. This paper presents results from an experimental study of an effort to redesign a set of core introductory online courses to include a set of technology tools and instructional practices designed to improve students' experiences in the online environment. Results from the study showed that treatment students were less likely to withdraw, and minority students, specifically, were more likely to pass the class and to persist to the next year of college. • Students in online courses often struggle to successfully complete the course. • Project COMPASS uses technology and instructional strategies to improve student outcomes. • A randomized controlled trial shows positive outcomes for COMPASS students. • Larger impacts were seen for minority students and impacts differed by the course subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lean approach and practices are spread around the world and are gaining space in different areas such as public services and Higher Education. The Lean focus on eliminating waste may be applied in every organization, but it is essential to know the wastes and treat them to create value to final process users. Based on this, the objective of the paper is to propose a lean management framework applied to waste management in public higher education institutions (HEI) and to test it into the field. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology was utilized and applied in a Brazilian Higher Education Institution (HEI). The seven classical Lean manufacturing wastes plus the knowledge waste were taken to make a multi-criteria matrix composed of 24 wastes. The wastes were scored and categorized according to the answers of the directors and vice directors of the HEI studied. As the main result, this study proposes a waste management framework with examples to orientate managers as well as academic and service university staff about wastes. Also, the results demonstrate that loss of knowledge and over-processing wastes are the most relevant to be treated at the university campuses. The waste prioritization allows universities to organize their activities and select tools or practices to optimize their efforts to create value for final users. This study advances in the theoretical and practical field by showing a simple way to incorporate lean practices and values in public service organizations and HEI. • Lean philosophy has a wide little explored field of application in public services and HEIs. • Lean approach allows HEIs to optimize their processes and add value to them. • Treating types of waste is essential in public services and in HEIs. • HEIs are the gateway to the dissemination of best practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies spillovers from older to younger siblings in higher education choices. Exploiting discontinuous admission rules generated by Chile's centralized admission system to higher education, we identify strong sibling spillovers in the choice of college. Having an older sibling enroll in a given college increases by 42% the probability of enrolling in that institution. In contrast, we find no effect on major choices. We show evidence suggesting that sibling spillovers in college choice are mainly driven by siblings deriving benefits from attending college together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last thirty years, sustainability has become an increasing concern for academics, students and policy makers. In this scenario, universities may play a pivotal role in the building of a more sustainable society in two different ways. On one hand, by reducing the negative impacts of their activities on the economy, society and environment; on the other hand, by fostering sustainable practices in curricula and research programs. More precisely, a "green university" implements sustainability in all different dimensions of its activity (i.e., institutional framework, campus operations, teaching, research, community engagement, accountability and reporting). Literature has so far focused on specific aspects of sustainability in the higher education sector, without taking into consideration the simultaneous incorporation of green issues in all abovementioned dimensions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to fill this literature gap by exploring the path toward sustainability of the University of Florence. The results show that the University has defined clear strategies and well-structured initiatives to actually implement sustainable practices; moreover, the current Rector seems to strongly support the journey toward a greener institution. At the campus level, the main projects are related to green buildings, waste management and sustainable mobility, despite financial restrictions. The issues of sustainability are also widely spread both in the educational offer and in the research activity, but systematic coordination between these dimensions and sustainability still lacks. Furthermore, despite the efforts for increasing community engagement, also this dimension needs to be improved. A similar conclusion is possible for accountability and reporting dimension, where one of the weak points is precisely the limited engagement of external stakeholders. • The purpose of the article is to investigate the path toward sustainability in university. • The paper analyzes the six dimensions of sustainability in higher education. • The research analyzes the case of the University of Florence. • The results show the sustainable activities of the University in each dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In higher education, learning activities increasingly take place in online collaborative groups. In this conceptual paper, we explore online collaborative interaction from the perspective of dialogicality. We aim to reconceptualize the notion of "productive interaction" and the typical focus of its research by turning attention to the dialogic features of collaborative interaction, especially the notions of alterity, dialogic attitude, and dialogic orientation. In relation to this, we offer a contextual perspective on collaborative interaction. Relying on data from an online university course, we conceptually analyze specified components of dialogicality. This article illustrates and explores the conceptual framework that connects different contexts in dialogic meaning-making. We also discuss our conceptual and empirical exploration from the pedagogical perspective. • The study reconceptualizes" productive interaction" in online collaboration • The study presents dialogic and contextual perspective on collaborative interaction • A conceptual analysis was conducted to search for elements of dialogicality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education is under mounting pressure to confront student practices of assignment outsourcing to internet services. The scale and buoyancy of this 'essay mill' industry has now been well documented, including its various marketing techniques for urging students to purchase bespoke academic work. However, the inherently suspect nature of such services demands that they adopt a particularly shrewd and empathic rhetoric to win custom from website visitors. In this paper, we investigate how such rhetoric currently constructs a critical version of the student's higher education experience. We present a thematic analysis of promotional text and images as found on a large sample of essay mill sites. Findings reveal how these sites promulgate a hostile and negative attitude towards higher educational practice. Yet these findings may also indicate where the higher education sector needs to reflect on its practice, not least in order to resist the toxic messages of essay mills. • 95 essay mill websites scrutinised in relation to their promotional images and texts. • Analysis exposes hostile and negative narratives of prevailing experiences of students in higher education. • These narratives systematised around six themes. • A platform for the sector to reflect on good practice and how it is projected to students and publlic [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Academic institutions need to be more efficient in supporting students at risk. • Automated machine learning helps in identifying optimal prediction models. • Ensemble models with balanced data enhances prediction using pre-admission data. Students' success has recently become a primary strategic objective for most institutions of higher education. With budget cuts and increasing operational costs, academic institutions are paying more attention to sustaining students' enrollment in their programs without compromising rigor and quality of education. With the scientific advancements in Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning, universities are increasingly relying on data to predict students' performance. Many initiatives and research projects addressed the use of students' behavioral and academic data to classify students and predict their future performance using advanced statistics and Machine Learning. To allow for early intervention, this paper proposes the use of Automated Machine Learning to enhance the accuracy of predicting student performance using data available prior to the start of the academic program. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the impacts of climate change become increasingly visible across the globe, awareness of the need for cleaner energy and demand reduction is growing. Energy literacy offers a strong potential for explaining and predicting energy-related behaviours, yet research and policies focused on this topic remain limited. In this study, energy literacy was measured in a sample of 2806 university students in the United Kingdom and China, in addition to their wider environmental attitudes using the New Ecological Paradigm scale. Findings indicate that energy literacy was relatively high overall, but there were significant differences between the knowledge, attitudes and behavioural intentions of participants in the two countries. Whilst the UK respondents rated themselves significantly more highly on perceived knowledge of energy issues, Chinese respondents provided significantly more correct answers in a knowledge test. UK respondents demonstrated more positive attitudes towards energy conservation than those from China, and were more likely to report energy-saving behaviours. However, Chinese respondents exhibited higher levels of trust in government and businesses to take action on energy issues. This paper provides a novel insight into cultural differences which may be crucial to policy and practice, and evidences the potential benefits of utilising a combination of educational and structural change to support transition to a cleaner, low-energy society. Image 1 • Significant differences in energy literacy arose in 1806 students in UK and China. • Chinese respondents demonstrated more knowledge about energy than UK respondents. • UK respondents demonstrated more positive attitudes and energy saving behaviours. • Cultural context, including trust in government impacts on energy-saving behaviours. • Combining educational and structural change will aid transition to a cleaner world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of higher education on women's fertility decisions. To address the endogeneity of non-compulsory education participation, I focus on an increase in the supply of higher education and a concurrent schooling reform that jointly expanded higher education opportunities in Greece in year 2000. Drawing data from the 10% sample of the 2011 Population Census, I use the exogenous variation introduced by the first grade enrollment age cutoff to apply a Regression Discontinuity Design comparing educational attainment and fertility for women that were just, and just not exposed to the reforms. The probability of giving birth before age 30 decreases by around 20 percentage points for women who completed higher education because they were exposed to the reforms. Career outcomes for employed women with higher education improve, while fertility decreases at ages following graduation, suggesting that the result is primarily driven by the increasing opportunity cost of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine effects of the 1970s and 1980s energy boom and bust on college majors. • We focus on petroleum engineering and geology as energy industry related majors. • The energy boom increased the prevalence of energy-related majors. • The energy bust lowered the prevalence of energy-related majors. • Effects are particularly strong for young people born in energy intensive states. This paper examines how college students in the United States altered their college majors during the energy boom and bust of the 1970s and 1980s. We focus on petroleum engineering and geology, two majors closely related to the energy industry. We find strong evidence that the energy boom increased the prevalence of these two energy-related majors and the energy bust lowered the prevalence of these majors. Effects are particularly strong for young people born in energy intensive states. Thus, college major decisions responded to industry fluctuations with important location-specific effects consistent with frictions to migration and information flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Performance in lower secondary education are higher for migrants who arrive younger ages than their siblings arriving at older ages. • The age at migration effect is larger for those origin from countries with low net enrolment in education. • The difference in the age at migration effect is largest in mathematics. • In language intensive subjects, the impact of age at migration is substantial for all migrants. This paper studies the effect of migration age on school performance. We exploit that siblings have different migration age, but share the same family background to identify the effect of migration age on educational attainment in lower secondary education in Norway. We estimate a separate effect for migrants from countries with low access to a high quality school system. We find negative effects of migration age on exam results, and larger effects for migrants from countries with low school access. Language intensive subjects are substantially affected for all migrants, while there are differences according to school access for mathematics performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a regression discontinuity approach to estimate the causal effect of a governor's party affiliation on higher education in the U.S. The findings indicate that when a Democrat wins a close race for governor, there is an increase in state revenues appropriated to associate's-degree-granting colleges. There is also some evidence that minority-serving institutions receive additional state funds when a Democratic governor is elected. There is little evidence, however, that state partisanship affects other types of outcomes (e.g. enrollment). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated within the broader climate justice movement, the fossil fuel divestment movement calls for both public and private divestment of financial holdings from fossil fuel companies. This paper examines the extent of fossil fuel divestment campaigns at higher education institutions across Canada, examining key actions and tactics through which campaigns are initiated and mobilized, as led by students, faculty, alumni, and climate justice organizations. Findings indicate that out of 220 accredited Canadian universities and colleges, there are 38 active divestment campaigns and 6 institutions that have committed to varying degrees of divestment. Tactics used in these campaigns include signing of petitions, sit-ins, rallies, and protests, facilitated through face-to-face and online platforms. Findings revealed significant borrowing of actions and tactics among campaign actors, including the use of branding and messaging from international environmental organizations, such as 350.org. This research contributes to scholarly knowledge on how higher education divestment movements and related campaigns for institutional change can influence how sustainability and climate change are addressed. Actors can build on this knowledge to develop sustained collaborative systems to address current and future challenges across institutions and in society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the education sector, accountability regulations have been used with the intended purpose of improving student outcomes. In higher education, one such regulation aims to improve the ability of borrowers to repay their student loans by placing sanctions on institutions with excessive student loan defaults. This paper examines whether student loan accountability regulations were able to (1) lower student loan defaults, and (2) address the broader objective of improving repayment ability, by exploiting a change to the period in which the regulation's performance measure was monitored. I find that the change to the regulation resulted in less student loan defaults at for-profit colleges. I also find that this reduction in student loan defaults resulted in a short-term improvement in repayment ability at for-profit, but not nonprofit, institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper documents the level of selection bias in the college scorecard earnings metrics. • More than 70% of the between-school variation in median earnings is explained by observable factors. • Controlling for major composition explains 20–30% of the variation in earnings over and above institutional selectivity and student composition. • Consumers can draw misleading conclusions about institutional quality when using publicly available earnings data to compare institutions. Policymakers are increasingly including early-career earnings data in consumer-facing college search tools to help students and families make more informed postsecondary education decisions. We offer new evidence on the degree to which existing college-specific earnings data equip consumers with useful information by documenting the level of selection bias in the earnings metrics reported in the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Given growing interest in reporting earnings by college and major, we focus on the degree to which earnings differences across four-year colleges and universities can be explained by differences in major composition across institutions. We estimate that more than 70% of the variation in median earnings across institutions is explained by observable factors, and accounting for differences in major composition explains 20–30% of the variation in earnings over and above institutional selectivity and student composition. We also identify large variations in the distribution of earnings within colleges; as a result, comparisons of early-career earnings can be extremely sensitive to whether the median, 25th, or 75th percentiles are presented. Taken together, our findings indicate that consumers can easily draw misleading conclusions about institutional quality when using publicly available earnings data to compare institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite claims of the importance of students developing moral competences in the context of Education for Sustainable Consumption, the literature lacks a systematic perspective that empirically assesses the association between moral competences and sustainable consumption. To address this research gap, the relationship between moral competences, which is operationalized through the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths, and students' adoption of sustainable consumption is examined. This paper contributes to the literature concerning sustainable consumption by enhancing our knowledge of its correlates. This study identifies seven moral competences directly associated with sustainable consumption that, thus, could be included as learning objectives in Education for Sustainable Consumption curricula. Moreover, this study shows that the other moral competences are indirectly associated with sustainable consumption, suggesting that nurturing these competences may also facilitate the adoption of sustainable consumption. Additionally, this study contributes to the development of Education for Sustainable Consumption curricula by (1) providing a comprehensive, theory-based and empirically tested operationalization of moral competences and (2) validating the Values In Action Inventory of Strengths framework as a tool for the operationalization and assessment of students' development of moral competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on sustainability education has neglected to integrate entrepreneurial skills into other relevant competences such as foresight, complex problem-solving, and interdisciplinarity. Previous research highlights possible convergences between sustainability education and entrepreneurship education; however, it does not address how to achieve this integration in practice. To address the gap between the literature and practice, this paper tackles the question: How can entrepreneurial competences be taught in sustainability education programs in higher education? We introduce a teaching framework based on a bibliometric method that combines topic-modeling with a content-analysis of selected articles. The focus of the analysis is the commonalities of both educational fields. Our results introduce a program for entrepreneurial-oriented sustainability education, providing a description of the educational focus, teaching-learning approaches, main themes, and external collaboration. The framework proposes educational for sustainable development across educational programs while implicitly addressing complex community problems through the development of solutions that can change the ways business and consumers relate with sustainability issues. These results contribute to the sustainability education literature by integrating the development of entrepreneurship competences into interdisciplinary programs. The framework could also be used as a practical guide for designing courses, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, that integrate both sustainability and entrepreneurship. Image 1 • Bibliometric and content analysis of entrepreneurship and sustainability education. • Entrepreneurship as a competence within sustainability education. • Teaching framework for entrepreneurial-oriented sustainability education. • Holistic discussion of sustainability education within entrepreneurship. • Heuristic device for planning in sustainability and entrepreneurship education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability in higher education aims to educate learners, as both citizens and future professionals , to build capacity to bring about a more sustainable future. As such, sustainability education can be seen as part of enabling work-ready graduates. Many universities, globally, have begun to embed sustainability capabilities into their degree programs. However, there is a gap in existing methods for assessing graduate application of the associated learning outcomes, post degree-completion. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has been suggested and applied in the development of an assessment tool to address this limitation. The TPB considers human behaviour is influenced by a number of factors, the measurement of which allows one to understand the likelihood of a person executing a particular behaviour. This paper presents an overview and explanation of how TPB could be applied to graduate sustainability capability assessment, thereby, offering insight into how graduate learning is applied in professional settings. • TPB is a valid theoretical foundation to assess graduate sustainability attributes. • Graduate attribute assessment beyond self-assessment is achieved. • Insight into the professional application of sustainability graduate learning. • TPB has the potential to provide graduate data to inform curriculum renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the hype and speculation about the role massively open online courses (MOOCs) may play in higher education, empirical research that explores the realities of interacting and learning in MOOCs is in its infancy. MOOCs have evolved from previous incarnations of online learning but are distinguished in their global reach and semi-synchronicity. Thus, it is important to understand the ways that learners from around the world interact in these settings. In this paper, we ask three questions: (1) What are the demographic characteristics of students that participate in MOOC discussion forums? (2) What are the discussion patterns that characterize their interactions? And (3) How does participation in discussion forums relate to students' final scores? Analysis of nearly 87,000 individuals from one MOOC reveals three key trends. First, forum participants tend to be young adults from the Western world. Secondly, these participants assemble and disperse as crowds, not communities, of learners. Finally, those that engage explicitly in the discussion forums are often higher-performing than those that do not, although the vast majority of forum participants receive "failing" marks. These findings have implications for the design and implementation of future MOOCs, and how they are conceptualised as part of higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]