Search

Starting this year, tens of thousands of Russian freshmen found themselves attending a new mandatory course -- "Foundations of Russian Statehood." Swiftly designed under the auspices of Putin's administration, this ideologically charged course aims to position Russia as a unique civilization-state, bolstering Putin's political narrative and providing justification for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Consider, for example, this excerpt from the course's instructional video: "The 'Russian world' extends beyond current Russian borders, transcending ethnicities, territories, religions, political systems, and ideological preferences." As this curriculum becomes standard in Russian universities, it contributes to the emerging trend of weaponizing Russian universities and turning them into instruments in Russia's war of attrition with Ukraine and its broader stand-off with the West. This report discusses this weaponization process and the impact it is having on Russian universities, faculty, students, and the academic communities they belong to. It is regrettably a story of back to the future, reminiscent of the Soviet era of repression and attempts at control and manipulation of academics.

In the discourse that swirled in the mid-1800s around the creation of new American public universities, three major and interrelated tensions became evident: the first related to the continued debate regarding the proper curricular balance between practical education and classical studies; the second focused on the appropriate autonomy of institutions intended to serve the public interest in a society often racked by sectarian and class conflict; and the third centered on the degree to which these public institutions should be selective in their admissions and representative of the state's population. Reflecting the diversity of cultural and political differences of the states, a variety of organizational approaches could be found in mid-century America. However, by the 1870s, a distinct path did emerge, influenced by the passage of the Land-Grant College Act of 1862. The act forced states to more actively define the character of their state education systems and the purpose of their public universities. The origins and early development of a state university in Michigan offers an informative window into each of these tensions. The responses offered by Michigan significantly influenced the rise of the American public university, and the character of its social responsibilities.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are often the center of discussion among faculty in higher education during discourse about curriculum conceptualization, design, planning development, and implementation. This commentary offers a functionally-centered framework that places faculty feasibility, fluidity, freedom, and flexibility around a core conceptualization of SLOs in the context of overall alignment within the college curriculum. The framework could be useful to readers failing to have shared governance over the curriculum, readers facing accreditation adherence, as well as readers confronting the sensitive topic of instructional quality, credibility, and integrity.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce--the world's largest business federation--and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation have for the past five years been attempting to bridge the gap and address trust issues between the postsecondary education community and employer community. Rather than placing limitations on the curriculum or taking away academic freedom from faculty, such a partnership has the potential to unlock new learning pathways that can meet the needs of today's diverse learners. With this in mind, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation created the Talent Pipeline Management® (TPM) movement as an effort to bridge the divide between postsecondary education and the employer community. TPM® provides a framework for re-imagining the partnership of these two communities, co-designing learning pathways, and developing authentic, performance-based challenges and learning experiences that address the demonstration of learning gap. In this Occasional Paper, we describe the unique challenges a dynamic, changing labor market poses for employer-education partnerships; including the inherent limitations of current alignment practices and tools. Then, we introduce TPM as a partnership model that allows employers to more meaningfully signal their competency needs to educators and how educators can, in turn, describe their evidence of learning in ways that are understood by employers relative to those competency needs. The latter half of the paper explores how employers and education partners can use TPM as a framework for engaging one another in co-designing learning pathways that produce evidence of learning that is meaningful to both sides. [Foreword by Natasha A. Jankowski.]

Fintech describes new technology aimed at improving and automating the delivery of financial services. The term encompasses a wide variety of finance industry segments, such as crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, payments, data collection, cryptocurrency, credit scoring, cybersecurity for finance, thematic investing, algorithmic asset management, stock and bond investing, private securities transactions and more. New technologies compete with traditional finance models and change the internal processes of financial companies. Universities around the world are beginning to examine fintech preparedness and some are attempting to create coursework to fill the skills gap. Characteristically, the majority of university fintech programs in existence have focused on regulation, security considerations and understanding the impact of technology on the market. This high-level approach does not go into depth about individual technologies, leaving students to learn on the job or pursue additional elective coursework. This white paper recommends some ways public universities can prepare students in fintech. For example, public universities in Massachusetts can strive to offer coursework that gives a broad overview of fintech and regulation by examining in-demand skills as well as the pioneering efforts of early movers in academic fintech. For students, a key goal of fintech education is to develop the tools to think ahead of the curve. In addition, Massachusetts public universities can begin a process of examining their elective coursework across disciplines, identifying areas of opportunity for business students to gain further fintech-related skills. University administrators could consider expanding some elective course opportunities, setting up new tracks for business majors or developing certificate programs for business students to package their additional course experiences for potential employers. Also while business students may feel the impacts of fintech growth most directly in their chosen field, computer science students at Massachusetts public universities may find themselves working for companies providing fintech software or within existing financial services companies doing software design, development and configuration. Academic leaders can begin -- or expand -- a process of assessing current coursework and degree paths, potentially creating new prerequisites or entirely new avenues to degree completion for business and computer science students. By working to understand shifts in the market brought on by fintech and their implications for job skills demand, public universities can endeavor to better prepare undergraduate and graduate students for the future and strengthen one of the core industries of Massachusetts.

How does a large research university establish a culture supporting student-centered evidence-based teaching? In this paper, we describe Purdue University's "Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation" (IMPACT) which has involved 321 instructors and 529 courses. Of every first-time undergraduate student, who first enrolled at Purdue West Lafayette in fall 2011 to summer 2018, 95.1% of them enrolled in at least one IMPACT course in any academic period during that time. We describe the history and evolution of the program, from its roots in National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) models and Faculty Learning Communities to an innovative adaptation of Self-Determination Theory principles. The program aims to maximize autonomy support for instructors, as they design classes to meet their instructional goals and student needs. IMPACT uses assessment on multiple levels: What should we examine in addition to grades to document achievement of learning outcomes in individual courses? How do we measure the learning climate and student engagement in a class? Most important, how does a faculty development program focused on course redesign lead to meaningful and lasting institutional change? In telling this story including lessons learned, readers will discover ways to enhance and evaluate their own faculty development programs to effect evidence-based and teaching-centric culture changes on their own campuses. [Foreword by George D. Kuh.]

This ESIR Focus Paper provides a 'deeper dive' into the role of European Universities in achieving systemic change in the post-pandemic economy and society. It builds on and complements ESIR's second Policy Brief, which offers guidance on how a 'protect-prepare-transform' approach in the post-pandemic Europe can ensure fast learning from innovation by relying on smart and coherent policies, collaborative efforts across levels of government and decentralisation of governance, and most importantly the courage to direct research and innovation at the transformations Europe is facing.

The employability of college students is one of postsecondary education's most pressing concerns in the United States and China, especially when it comes to the possible over-production of bachelor's trained students and "skills gaps" where jobs go unfilled due to inadequately prepared graduates. In response, policymakers are focusing on developing students' human capital, in the form of credentials and cognitive skills acquired in technical colleges, so that higher education becomes more aligned with workforce needs. However, the focus on completion and pathways overlooks the role that non-cognitive skills and contextual factors may play in student employability. In this exploratory study we use a cultural capital framework to examine how a group of technical college educators and employers in a large eastern Chinese city conceptualize skills, cultivate them via teaching and training, and utilize them when making hiring decisions. Inductive thematic analyses of interviews, classroom observation, and notes from factory tours with eight educators and two employers revealed the importance of a cultural perspective. Findings include a shared view that both cognitive and non-cognitive skills are essential, a cultural predisposition to lecturing but also a growing use of active learning techniques, and the importance of "cultural fit" during the hiring process. The data are used to advance a new cultural framework for conceptualizing college student employability, which indicates that improving students' prospects in the labor market requires integrating non-cognitive skills development in technical college classrooms, and advising students about the cultural underpinnings of the job search process. Finally, implications of different approaches to correcting "skills gaps" in China and the United States, particularly the varying emphases on structural and/or pedagogical reform strategies evident in each country, are considered in light of the need for all students to acquire both cognitive and non-cognitive skills for long-term success.

The European University Association (EUA) Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Internationalisation in learning and teaching" considers strategic and comprehensive internationalisation as a fit-for-purpose and timely means for universities to address global challenges and provide high-quality education. This paper presents the work and conclusions of the group. The group found that while mobility and language issues are central aspects of an internationalised education, many institutions place too much focus on these while neglecting other means of ensuring the provision of internationalised education designed to educate globally minded and skilled citizens. These alternative means are further explored in the paper.

Student assessment is integral to curriculum design and to the learning journey of all students. Assessment is about process and outcomes. It enables a learner to determine their progress through the medium of ongoing feedback, and it also determines whether a student has met the intended learning outcomes. The focus on assessment in higher education is increasing, being closely linked to the enhancement of learning and teaching strategies and the emphasis on student-centred learning. There is political and institutional high-level commitment to promoting an assessment design which is holistic and based on co-creation between students and academic staff. Core practices in student assessment often remain problematic, and teachers and institutions face diverse challenges in using research to improve assessment and feedback practices. Crucial challenges include approaches which take into consideration increasingly diverse student cohorts, ensuring the integrity of assessment, and being mindful of the workload for both teachers and students. The EUA Thematic Peer Group "Student assessment", composed of academics, institutional management and students, was invited to examine how student learning can be assessed in a way that takes into account both qualitative indicators and pedagogical progress, including peer and self-assessment, and caters for students' individual needs. This report is the product of the discussions and conclusions of the group. The report aims to encourage further reflections and conversations around student assessment, and to provide tools to support development of assessment feedback at the institutional level.

University learning objectives and the curriculum have evolved to include more knowledge, skills and aptitudes related to the increasingly international nature of a broad range of professions and occupations. More broadly, graduates are expected to know more about the world outside their home country in order to be informed and responsible citizens and to function personally and professionally in international contexts. There is, however, very little systematic assessment of international learning and programming. A review of the literature indicates that studies of institution level objectives and outcomes are few in number and studies that involve more than a single institution are also relatively rare. There is also a lack of consensus about the goals, nature and importance of the international dimensions of higher education despite a near universal realization that globalization requires institutional changes. As a result, there is no common language or set of concepts that are broadly accepted or shared by academics, institutional leaders or students within and across institutions regarding globalization and international education. Most of the research literature that is applicable to the international programs and curricula of the university appears to be concentrated in two main domains: 1) student mobility/study abroad (including foreign language acquisition and inter-cultural relations) and 2) the international student experience. Some recent research on international students and the larger student body at universities has focused on the campus climate and its effect on the social integration, intercultural contact and learning outcomes of what is often an increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse student and faculty population. The challenges to research related to international curricula and programs at universities are many. To improve research, we need a strong theoretical foundation where the logic and normative assumptions are clearly explicated and the concepts used are coherent and understandable in light of the theoretical approach taken. In addition, researchers and practitioners should strive to develop some degree of common language and common concepts that can serve to develop more opportunities for finding relationships and links between the broad range of disciplines, theories and methods that are present in the field. More research and high quality studies should be pursued at multiple levels of analysis beginning with the individual learner, the course or degree program, the institution, the broader state or regional system, the national level and the international or global level. The capacity to study and assess international curricula at multiple levels across different student populations, institutional forms, and national cultures can only strengthen the quality of the research.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English and math were finalized in 2010 and, as of July 2012, have been adopted in full by 45 states. These standards provide a framework that is intended to ensure that all students who graduate from high school in the United States have attained the knowledge and competencies that prepare them well for college and for their future careers. Two sets of assessments that map to these standards are currently under development by two consortia of states and are expected to be deployed beginning in 2014. Based on a review of literature and on interviews with individuals involved in the CCSS nationally and in Washington, Florida, and Kentucky, this paper outlines the development of the CCSS and the CCSS-aligned assessments, the involvement of higher education representatives in their design and implementation, and how the CCSS and the aligned assessments can be used to support the mission of community colleges. The authors recommend that community colleges use the CCSS 11th grade assessment as one in a set of multiple measures used in placement decisions for students entering college directly after high school, align developmental education and introductory college-level courses in math and English composition to the CCSS to smooth the transition for recent high school graduates entering college, and work directly with local K-12 partners to help more graduating high school students enter college without needing remediation. The following are appended: (1) Overview of the Common Core State Standards; and (2) Comparison of CCSS Assessment Systems.

For many students at community colleges, finding a path to degree completion is the equivalent of navigating a shapeless river on a dark night. While academic preparation and financial supports are critical components of student success, subtle institutional features may also play an important role. This paper thus reviews the evidence for what is called the "structure hypothesis: that community college students will be more likely to persist and succeed in programs that are tightly and consciously structured, with relatively little room for individuals to unintentionally deviate from paths toward completion, and with limited bureaucratic obstacles for students to circumnavigate". This review of the literature inside and outside of higher education suggests that the lack of structure in many community colleges is likely to result in less-than-optimal decisions by students about whether and how to persist toward a credential. Though there is no silver-bullet intervention to address this problem, this paper highlights several promising programs and suggests directions for future experimentation and research. (Contains 8 footnotes.)

Smaller, private, independent institutions of higher education across the United States are facing challenging times. This white paper by Edwin H. Welch, president of the University of Charleston, shares lessons gleaned from the institution's innovative efforts over almost 30 years. Welch's hope is that the experiences at the University of Charleston will help other colleges and universities innovate more quickly. While confronting the headwinds of today's higher education environment, many small, private colleges and universities are held back by their own culture and history. Nevertheless, each institution has the option to change its condition, actions, and operational course. Changing the culture, Welch notes, is the biggest hurdle for any institution seeking to adjust, grow, and innovate.

This paper describes the development of a course in Chicano/Latino psychology by a professor of a mixed Chicano and Anglo ethnic background at Washington State University. The course objectives include: examination of the current psychosocial literature related to Chicano/Latino populations; issues of acculturation and ethnic identity; the relationship of these variables to underutilization of psychological services; culturally appropriate counseling models and strategies for intervention; and the current sociopolitical environment including issues of racism, ethnocentrism, and political power. The professor's personal narrative portrays the academic politics, resistance, and barriers encountered in the effort to gain approval as a permanent course. These were the result of ethnocentric/racist assumptions that there was not enough literature to warrant a course in Chicano/Latino Psychology, and reflected the overall neglect and negative attitudes towards the Chicano/Latino community. Recommendations are offered for overcoming the maze of academic politics. An appendix presents course objectives, course requirements, grading/evaluation, texts, readings, and topics/assignments. (Contains 27 references.) (TD)

In a 3-year program, the National Center for Schools and Communities enabled nine universities (Boston College, Massachusetts; California State University, Long Beach; Clark Atlanta University, Georgia; Eastern Washington University; Howard University, District of Columbia; University of Houston, Texas; University of Utah; Washington University, Missouri; and Wayne State University, Michigan) to develop curricula and internship experiences to prepare social work and education students for collaboration in public schools. Most programs included didactic course work and a joint internship for small cohorts of 4 to 40 students. Interview and focus group data suggest that while university faculty felt the personal costs of collaboration outweighed the personal benefits, public school teachers and graduate students generally felt the exchanges were worthwhile. Two major lessons were learned: (1) establishing goals that can be operationalized in common requires sustained, focused dialogue whereby parties experience each other's special capabilities and come to understand the limits for action imposed by each other's organizational context; and (2) interorganizational collaboration is the responsibility of leaders and cannot be delegated. The paper also addresses whether comprehensive approaches will enable more children to succeed in school, whether public school principals should assume primary responsibility for service integration, and whether university preparation for work in collaboration is a good way to advance collaboration in later practice. (MDM)

Over the last decade, there have been rapid developments in field methodologies within participatory approaches to rural and agricultural development. At the same time, the use of "soft systems" methodologies for bringing potentially conflictual or disparate actors together for action has spread from the business world to other applications. These new methodologies are based on the ideas that: (1) action for change and impossible as a voluntary process without a commitment to change and that participation is a necessary condition for commitment, and (2) complex decisions in conditions of uncertainty and immediacy are best handled from a systems perspective. Information about and competence in using and adapting these methodologies remain largely in the store of "craft knowledge" of professionals. Academic institutions have been slow to train students in the emerging professionalism of systems management and participatory research and extension, and have tended to view such professional work practices and skills as best developed in the field. This paper outlines reasons why such a view is no longer viable; outlines principles and goals for training and practice in rural development, agricultural research, and extension; describes efforts of a few universities worldwide to address these training needs; and examines questions about whether the needed skills can be taught in the classroom. Two university innovations in this area are described: systems-based curricula at the University of Western Sydney (Australia) emphasizing experiential learning, student reflection, and problem solving; and an intensive 3-week course on participatory research and extension at Guelph University (Ontario). Contains over 100 references. (SV)

The report describes the educational system of Kuwait from primary school through university. An introductory section gives an overview of the system, and subsequent sections detail curricula at each level, pre-university (including primary, intermediate, and secondary) and university-level. Pre-university education is divided into four instructional sectors: general, vocational, religious, and special education. University-level education includes applied education and undergraduate and graduate study at Kuwait University. A brief section on private education describes four school types, following either the British, French, or American educational systems or the Ministry of Education curriculum. Samples of student records are reproduced. Two appendixes provide notes on what happened to the educational system during the Gulf War and the names of private schools. (MSE)

This report describes the first year activities of the Project on the Implementation of General Education. The research examines how general education programs are actually developed and implemented on college campuses that have limited resources, specifically focusing on comprehensive doctorate-granting institutions in New England. It is noted that when a change process is initiated, usually at the insistence of an administrator, it takes an average of over 3 years to complete. Several variables are described that appear to contribute to the successful design and implementation of general education curricula on college campuses. They include the need to obtain initial agreement about the reasons for change early in the design process and the critical role that faculty development activities and extrinsic rewards for involvement play long after the changes are implemented. Results from two case studies and site visits are discussed. These studies show that in each of the situations examined, the success of the process depended upon the ability of campus leaders to acknowledge the tensions in the process and to develop mechanisms that could mediate the differences that arose. Contains eight references. (GLR)

There is widespread concern that economics does not attract as broad or diverse a pool of talent as it could. For example, less than one-third of undergraduates who receive degrees in economics are women, significantly lower than in math or statistics. This article presents a case study of a new introductory undergraduate course at Harvard, "Using Big Data to Solve Economic and Social Problems," that enrolled 400 students, achieved nearly a 50-50 gender balance, and was among the highest-rated courses in the college. We first summarize the course's content and pedagogical approach. We then illustrate how this approach differs from that taken in traditional courses by showing how canonical topics -- income inequality, tax incidence, and adverse selection -- are taught differently. Then, drawing upon students' comments and prior research on effective teaching practices, we identify elements of the course's approach that appear to underlie its success: connecting the material to students' own experiences; teaching skills that have social and career value; and engaging students in scientific investigation of real-world problems. We conclude by discussing how these ideas for improving instruction in economics could be applied in other courses and tested empirically in future research. [Additional funding for this research was provided by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and Harvard University.]

Over the past twenty years, universities have increasingly employed credit-­based modular curriculum structures in an attempt to cater to the needs of more diverse student groups and to allow students greater flexibility and choice in managing their studies. With the increasing pressures placed on Australian universities to better support teaching and learning while also creating greater efficiency, the possibility of adopting modularised course structures is likely to emerge as an issue facing higher education institutions in this country. It is therefore timely and relevant to examine the possibilities and challenges that modularisation presents. This paper outlines the background and rationale behind modularisation of university curricula and discusses both the potential benefits and possible disadvantages of modular course structures.

Issues concerning the influence of college curricula are considered as part of a background briefing paper for a special panel of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. The objective was to examine features of contemporary college studies to determine what should be protected or changed to improve the quality of postsecondary education. Attention is directed to the following concerns: (1) the shape of college curricula as reflected in program and degree requirements, the ways in which content is delivered to students, and the grounds for credentials; (2) the influence of college curriculum on secondary schools and secondary school students; and (3) the assessment of the effects of curriculum requirements and delivery on what college students learn. Specific issues include: the influence of the changing student constituency; modes of teaching and learning; the potential and limitations of educational technology; the value of various new forms of assessment, particularly "value-added"; factors accounting for the proliferation of courses and degree programs; whether personal improvement courses should be credited toward baccalaureate degrees; whether class contact hours is a justifiable criterion; and whether there are regional variations in college exit standards. A list of papers commissioned for the panel is included. (SW)