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The quality of business processes has been recognized as an important factor for modeling success in several domains, especially in higher education. In fact, quality of business process model could be the object to various interpretations; it must be treated in the most objective way, by using measures. Consequently, this paper presents an overview of the criteria and measures for quantifying the various aspects of business process models quality by citing the concepts that have been used for defining quality software programs. After that, these measures have been applied to a real business process model related to the tracking of curriculum offer process more commonly named “habilitation process”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many students who enter college are insufficiently prepared to follow a demanding college-level curriculum. Thus, higher education institutions often require low-performing students to repeat failed courses, a full term, or even a full year. This paper is the first to investigate the effects of such a “(grade) retention” policy on student performance in higher education. We study a setting where first-year undergraduates who fall short of a pre-defined performance requirement have to repeat all first-year courses before they can proceed to the second year. To determine the causal effect of retention and repetition on student performance, we apply a sharp regression discontinuity design to administrative data from a Swiss university. Based on a sample of 5000 students, we find that grade retention increases dropout probabilities after the first year by about 10 percentage points. Repetition of a full year persistently boosts grade point averages by about 0.5 standard deviations, but does not affect study pace and major choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several countries successfully use centralized matching schemes for school or higher education assignment, or for entry-level labour markets. In this paper we explore the computational aspects of a possible similar scheme for assigning teachers to schools. Our model is motivated by a particular characteristic of the education system in many countries where each teacher specializes in two subjects. We seek stable matchings, which ensure that no teacher and school have the incentive to deviate from their assignments. Indeed we propose two stability definitions depending on the precise format of schools' preferences. If the schools' ranking of applicants is independent of their subjects of specialism, we show that the problem of deciding whether a stable matching exists is NP-complete, even if there are only three subjects, unless there are master lists of applicants or of schools. By contrast, if the schools may order applicants differently in each of their specialization subjects, the problem of deciding whether a stable matching exists is NP-complete even in the presence of subject-specific master lists plus a master list of schools. Finally, we prove a strong inapproximability result for the problem of finding a matching with the minimum number of blocking pairs with respect to both stability definitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a large-scale field experiment assessing the impact of an intervention providing evidence-based information about costs and returns to higher education. Treatment impacts are evaluated through university enrolment, choice of field of study, and performance either at university or in the labour market. Thanks to the large sample size, treatment effects can also be assessed for subgroups (by gender and parental education). We find that treated females from high-educated families chose more economically rewarding fields of study, while treated males from low-educated families were more likely to enter the labour market. Although not necessarily in line with policy goals, choices induced by additional information were not detrimental to students' opportunities, as treated students displayed a similar academic performance and higher employment rates. [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]

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]

Reorienting teacher education should be placed at the heart of reorienting education towards sustainable development. This requires that teacher education institutes reorient and redefine their outcome standards as well as redesign their training programs accordingly to incorporate and implement Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Although many efforts have been made to promote ESD in teacher training, little information is available regarding to what extent ESD is integrated in teacher training programs or curricula. This study examines how ESD is incorporated in teacher training programs in terms of learning content, learning outcomes and didactic approach, through analyzing 429 course syllabi offered by the Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) in Vietnam. HNUE training programs were found to contain some elements of ESD but they lack coherence or systematic inclusion. The results suggest needed strategic changes at organizational (university) and individual (instructor) levels to improve ESD in teacher education. This paper contributes to the discussion on the implementation of a holistic curricular assessment approach for three aspects of ESD (learning content, learning outcomes and didactic approach) and highlights the ongoing need for improving curricular assessment strategies for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In their recent paper “(Un)informed College and Major Choice: Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data,” Hastings, Neilson, Ramirez, & Zimmerman (2016) provide an informal costly-information model, linking family background to students’ beliefs about educational costs and benefits. They verify predictions of their model using a data set of beliefs about college institutions and majors among Chilean college applicants and students. I test some of those same predictions using a data set of beliefs about college institutions and different levels of college education among high school students in the United States. I verify their predictions, with some exceptions, supporting the use of their costly-search model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability in Higher Education has been investigated mainly through examining institutional approaches, curricula content, or students' and teachers' perceptions of sustainability in practice. However, a deep characterisation of the foundations of this phenomenon is lacking. This article aims to address the existing lack of depth and comprehensiveness by identifying and categorising the critical attributes of Sustainability in Higher Education. Categories are the basic levels for knowledge classification, and critical attributes relate to the main perceived characteristics within categories. Both were structured through a literature review and a systematic analysis using the Proknow-C method. A set of 2513 studies on sustainability in education and related fields, published between 2000 and 2015, enabled the identification of 259 as appropriate for devising four categories: foundations, knowledge, personal, and integrative assets with 4, 4, 4, and 3 attributes respectively. From these, 129 papers presented at least four relationships among attributes of all categories. An assessment between the attributes identified for the selected studies delivered 85 analyses, with the following findings: (i) epistemologies of Sustainability in Higher Education develop in learning context; (ii) creativity should better link foundational and personal assets; (iii) transdisciplinarity is an epistemic transgression; (iv) resilience of active learners emerges in knowledge and personal assets relationships; (v) knowledge deconstruction and affectiveness form active learning; (vi) personal assets need to fit to complex dynamics of reality. Our analysis provides a means of benchmarking existing practice for Sustainability in Higher Education, and can be used as the basis for building capacity in a systematic way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to report the influence of self-control and self-regulated learning on a group of tertiary students' learning outcomes in a blended learning environment. In this project, 74 second-year students who were enrolled in a blended course of ICT in Education completed a questionnaire survey on self-control and self-regulated learning skills at the beginning of the course and weekly reports about their learning experiences during the course. It was found that self-control (as a dispositional personality trait) and self-regulated learning (students' capability of using effective strategies to achieve their learning goals) would predict the participants' course outcomes that were indexed by their final grades in the course. The impact of self-control on the participants' learning outcomes was mediated through their self-regulated learning and course participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using student evaluations of their instructor as an outcome measure, we estimate and compare class size and teacher effects for higher education, with an emphasis on determining whether a comprehensive class size reduction policy that draws on the hiring of new teachers is likely to improve educational outcomes. We find that first time teachers perform significantly worse than their peers, and we find substantial class size effects. Hence higher education institutions face a tradeoff if they wish to increase admission. This tradeoff implies that as class size increases, at first the negative class size effect is smaller than that of introducing a first time teacher. However, beyond a certain level, the class size effect dominates and it is better to create a new class with a first time teacher. 1 1 We would like to thank Matías Covarrubias and Fernanda Rojas for excellent research assistance. We would also like to thank comments received in the internal workshop of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile’s Economics Department and in the 2011 Yearly Congress of the Economics Society of Chile. We also thank two anonymous referees whose advice greatly improved the paper. The usual disclaimer applies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities and colleges have many global and local imperatives that attend the design of courses. These include industry-linked curriculum, institution wide graduate attributes, learning-focused approaches, professional accreditation requirements and increasingly, the need for work-ready graduates who are able to become lifelong learners on their exit from formal studies. Approaches to the design of study units in higher education has been the subject of considerable scrutiny over recent decades. This paper presents a framework which seeks to capture the ‘lived experience’ and practice wisdom of educational design. It situates the framework for contemporary learning design in the context of the various imperatives within higher education, offering some points of entry by which educators may draw together the many, sometimes competing, requirements and syntheses these with good practice in curriculum and pedagogy. It is envisaged that the use of this framework, by academic in the development, renewal and delivery of their higher education course and programs, will result in learning design and delivery that will build the confidence needed not just in our graduates but in our institutions and their profound and crucial role in the contemporary world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste generation is an intrinsic part of human existence. Waste materials are usually characterized by their nature, components and quality. Variations in quality, quantity and composition of solid waste can be linked to various factors such as cultural, economic, social and financial status of inhabitants of the particular space being studied. These distinct factors will also determine the best waste management practice to adopt. This paper captures the current institutional solid waste management in a Nigerian Private institution of higher learning. Using key-informant interview and personal field observations, the waste generation rate, pattern and characterization was made. Results showed that between 0.3 and 0.4 kg/capita/day was generated daily by the students in their respective halls of residence, with population ranging from 762 – 848 students in each of the halls. All the solid wastes generated were collected using appropriate waste collection bags and mobile bin positioned at strategic corners of the university premises. The waste materials after collection were segregated into plastics, bottles, nylon and organic materials by scavengers. After these non-bidegradables were sold in the secondary market, an estimated total sum of 639,900 naira (2908.6USD) was realized daily. At this rate a total sum of 230 million Naira (1,045,454.5 USD) is realizable yearly as wealth from waste. It was concluded that if all the organic waste streams from kitchens, cafeteria and animal houses are utilized for bioenergy and organic fertilizer, the wealth to be generated would be phenomenal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implementation of sustainability in higher education has been advanced over at least the last two decades and brought sustainability assessment on the research agenda of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and sustainability science. Participatory approaches have gained increasing attention in these endeavours, but remain often vague and less addressed in sustainability assessment procedures. To fill in this gap, an indicator-based model, INDICARE, was developed that can assist in assessing participatory processes within higher education's sustainability initiatives. The objective of this paper is to introduce and discuss the model's theoretical background, its structure, applicability, and how it can broaden the perspectives on participation and sustainability assessment in the university context. Embedded in a cross-sectional qualitative research design, the model was developed in iterative stages and was presented and adjusted along six feedback loops, having been presented to 98 persons during conferences, workshops and university meetings. Inspired by biophilic ideas, transformative learning theories and participatory evaluation, INDICARE follows an ecocentric and integrative perspective that places the earth and its community at the centre of attention. A preliminary set of thirty indicators and practices, grouped in three categories of context, process, and transformation, is proposed. The assessment process itself is considered as a thought-provoking exercise rather than as a control tool and emphasizes the interplay of personal reflection and action-oriented outreach. INDICARE intends to invigorate the sustainability debate in higher education, in particular by proposing a more holistic approach to assessment that underlines experiencing the interconnectedness of human–nature relationships, combined with reflective exercises that can respond better to the call for transformation on individual and institutional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to predict what university course a student may select has important quality assurance and economic imperatives. The capacity to determine future course load and student interests provides for increased accuracy in the allocation of resources including curriculum and learning support and career counselling services. Prior research in data mining has identified several models that can be applied to predict course selection based on the data residing in institutional information systems. However, these models only aim to predict the total number of students that may potentially enrol in a course. This prior work has not examined the prediction of the course enrolments with respect to the specific academic term and year in which the students will take those courses in the future. Moreover, these prior models operate under the assumption that all data stored within institutional information systems can be directly associated with an individual student's identity. This association with student identity is not always feasible due to government regulations (e.g., student evaluations of teaching and courses). In this paper, we propose an approach for extracting student preferences from sources available in institutional student information systems. The extracted preferences are analysed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), to predict student course selection. The AHP-based approach was validated on a dataset collected in an undergraduate degree program at a Canadian research-intensive university (N = 1061). The results demonstrate that the accuracy of the student course predictions was high and equivalent to that of previous data mining approaches using fully identifiable data. The findings suggest that a students' grade point average relative to the grades of the courses they are considering for enrolment was the most important factor in determining future course selections. This finding is consistent with theories of modern counseling psychology that acknowledges self-efficacy as a critical factor in career planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational data mining is a growing field that uses the data obtained from educational information systems to discover knowledge and find answers to questions and problems concerning the education system. High dropout rates and poor academic performance among students are examples of the most common issues that affect the reputation of an educational institution. Students’ academic records can be analyzed to explore the factors behind these phenomena. This paper discusses the building of a model to predict the performance of students in a programming course based on their grades in courses in other subjects. A classification based on an association rules algorithm is used to build a classifier to help evaluate the student's performance in the programming course. This model aims to reduce dropout levels by helping student predict their likelihood of success in a course before they enroll in it. In addition, course instructors will be able to enhance student performance in the course by better estimating their abilities to learn the subject matter and adjusting their teaching strategies and methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education has become a cornerstone in the arise of knowledge society conceptualization. This concept covers a new type of social configuration that puts knowledge as the main value in human interaction for future social and economic development and also as one of the main actions to improve in order to gain a better quality of life. In this paper we discuss the importance of this structure and its characteristics, then we focus in the need to generate a higher education curriculum that fits this emphasis in social development of a new knowledge-based society. Finally, we use complex systems simulation to analyze six agents including: 1) Students; 2) Teaching - Teachers; 3) Training plan - Teachers; 4) Scientific research, IT development, innovation and professional performance; 5) Management - Managers; and 6) Environment and relevance or External Agents and five variables for this study: 1) Teaching; 2) Extracurricular activities; 3) Research and development; 4) Management; and 5) Educational culture. The final goal is to propose a curriculum that includes a projection to create knowledge-based society from higher education as a main factor to achieve this objective [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors previously proposed a framework for institutional BL adoption (Graham, Woodfield, & Harrison, 2012), identifying three stages: (a) awareness/exploration, (b) adoption/early implementation, and (c) mature implementation/growth. The framework also identified key strategy, structure, and support issues universities may address at each stage. In this paper, the authors applied that framework as well as Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory to determine the degree to which institutional strategy, structure, and support measures facilitate or impede BL adoption among higher education faculty. In addition, the authors explored whether higher education faculty's innovation adoption category affects which measures facilitate or impede BL adoption. To achieve these objectives, the authors surveyed 214 faculty and interviewed 39 faculty at a school in the adoption/early implementation stage of BL adoption. The authors published the survey results in a prior article. The current article explores the results of the interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In designing and manufacturing such robotic and mechatronic systems, the engineers need a wide range of knowledge that includes electronics, mechanical engineering and information engineering. The purpose of this education is for students to give active learning for robotics and mechatronic techniques such as embedded controllers, motor driver circuits, sensors and to create structural drawings. To realize this goal, “an interest in creation” of student is regarded as an important educational method. In this paper, a systematic educational method for robotics and mechatronics education using “their interest” was introduced. The method is to hold robot competitions every year between 1st and 3rd year students as a regular part of the curriculum. To confirm the educational effect of this curriculum, the result of the Rescue Robot Contest that students participated were introduced. In addition, the educational curriculum was award as a good engineering education from Japanese Society for Engineering Education. As a result, it can be confirmed that the robot competition is a useful method to make students study more actively robotics and mechatronics technology by themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a Web-based intelligent tutoring system, called Remote Laboratory (RL). It is a computer-based learning environment that allows students from anywhere to access and perform experiments on real laboratory equipment from a distance via the Internet. As such, RLs are excellent platforms for students to network and collaborate with students from other. The project creates a platform in higher education sector, to be used to support student collaborative activities in RLs in a structured way that will enable students to develop in technical skills. We discuss how to employ facial expression recognition (FER) to develop an intelligent system to guide the students and also help them to improve the teaching and learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic information sharing is a key to effective sharing the public sector's information by using technologies. Most of the electronic information sharing studies did not focus on effect of the participation behaviour of employees. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the factors of electronic information sharing that influence the participation behaviour bases on theories and previous studies. Understanding of these factors can increase the information sharing among the employees in higher education sector. Thirteen domains of factors that are discovered in this study are benefits, risk, social network, Information stewardship, information quality, trust, privacy, reciprocity, complexity, expected rewards and associations and perceived effort . This paper proposes electronic information sharing factors in public sector to increase the participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question of “How to teach TRIZ” has been the subject of much discussion and debate. Bruner [1] argued that children should be encouraged to “treat a task as a problem for which one invents an answer, rather than finding one out there in a book or on the blackboard”. This statement was taken from Dehaan's [2] article, published in 2009, on “Teaching Creativity and Inventive Problem Solving in Science” (p. 174), in which Altshuller's “Theory of inventive problem solving” has not been mentioned. This demonstrates only one aspect of why teaching TRIZ in educational systems is a challenging mission. This paper describes the process and method used for developing the Development thinking skills and problem solving course in academic settings. The proposed program is a combination of a generic design and problem solving process thinking methods. The course was developed using 4 main thinking methodologies: Mayer's general problem description, Polya's algorithm for problem solving, Altshuller's Theory of inventive problem solving and System thinking. The new “Development thinking skills” course program is expected to overcome teaching and studying difficulties in acquiring advances problem solving skills in higher education setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting equity, equal opportunities to all and social inclusion of people with disabilities is a concern of modern societies at large and a key topic in the agenda of European Higher Education. Despite all the progress, we cannot ignore the fact that the conditions provided by the society for the deaf are still far from being perfect. The communication with deaf by means of written text is not as efficient as it might seem at first. In fact, there is a very deep gap between sign language and spoken/written language. The vocabulary, the sentence construction and the grammatical rules are quite different among these two worlds. These facts bring significant difficulties in reading and understanding the meaning of text for deaf people and, on the other hand, make it quite difficult for people with no hearing disabilities to understand sign language. The deployment of tools to assist the daily communication, in schools, in public services, in museums and other, between deaf people and the rest may be a significant contribution to the social inclusion of the deaf community. The work described in this paper addresses the development of a bidirectional translator between Portuguese Sign Language and Portuguese text. The translator from sign language to text resorts to two devices, namely the Microsoft Kinect and 5DT Sensor Gloves in order to gather data about the motion and shape of the hands. The hands configurations are classified using Support Vector Machines. The classification of the movement and orientation of the hands are achieved through the use of Dynamic Time Warping algorithm. The translator exhibits a precision higher than 90%. In the other direction, the translation of Portuguese text to Portuguese Sign Language is supported by a 3D avatar which interprets the entered text and performs the corresponding animations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational ERP of business activities in higher education go through a different modules. ERP in higher education should respond the real requirements of education system. Enhancements or mere adaptations of legacy solutions, which stemmed from the experience in business practice, are not always successful. The current paper shows the contents of the ERP that serve the education system successfully also shows the needs and future expectations of higher education institutions and the current business oriented ERP system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of social media networks by organizations has been increasing, mainly by using more social networks but also by constantly increasing on the number of messages and received comments posted on these channels. Interestingly, this process apparently has not been accompanied by a carefully planned and strategically design process to provide the essential alignment with organizational goals. This study is framed in the tertiary sector, the Higher Education Sector (HES), which despite its peculiarities, is no exception to the above limitations, and is facing an increased competitive environment. In this paper we present a sector benchmarking process, and the respective analysis, to provide insights on the sector's tendency, as well as a threefold classification of the sector's social media strategies being pursued. The analysis builds upon a regulatory communication framework and respective editorial model. We describe the results of our automatic text-mining and categorization information system, specifically developed to address and analyze the seven categories of HES’ social media messages. Our results show that social media strategies have been focusing essentially on mediatization and building/maintaining the organizational image/reputation as well as on advertising educational services, but completely neglecting the dialogical dimension intrinsically linked to social media environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores whether university education provides young graduates studying subjects related to the environment with relevant knowledge and strategies for sustainability actions that they can put into practice in the workplace. It also reveals the difficulties and obstacles that graduates encounter in their professional careers to promote pro-environmental strategies in their companies or to maintain sustainable behaviours. Information for the qualitative research was obtained from semi-structured interviews with 70 graduates from eight assorted faculties spread across three campuses at the University of Zaragoza. The paper categorises the most widely detected barriers impeding the application of pro-environmental strategies in the workplace and considers whether these barriers are connected with university education. One of the most relevant conclusions is that a small number of graduates were involved in pro-environmental strategies and only when such strategies were promoted and developed by the firm itself. In these cases the graduates felt that they had been well prepared at the University. However, the majority had not participated in pro-environmental strategies and felt that their university education did not equip them properly for their involvement in environmental projects. This barrier is thus considered a very significant one. A previous research study developed with the same graduates tested a causal model that explained environmental attitudes and their connection with environmental behaviour. In the model, the intention or willingness to act came between attitudes and behaviours. In this work, the unwillingness to act is also shown to be a significant barrier to participating in pro-environmental strategies. As a conclusion, changes are suggested in the curriculum to include core competencies in sustainability in all degrees. It is also proposed that firms and universities establish organisational structures to promote effective sustainability and pro-environmental actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of how to assess sustainability in universities has produced a growing body of literature with meta-analyses on methods in national, regional or local settings. Yet, there is relatively little on global campus sustainability rankings in higher education. This paper addresses that need. It presents a critical review of GreenMetric World University Ranking. The considerations and ranking systems that influenced its original design are given, as well as a framework to allow comparison with these. The ranking is critiqued in relation to the varying concepts of sustainability, challenges to university ranking, and the trade-off between scientific and practical concerns. The article shows how methodological choices in the ranking are explained by the intended users, goals and mission of the ranking. The analysis focuses on conceptual issues surrounding the meaning of sustainability and helps to enhance understanding of the term. Considerations for global campus sustainability rankings are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, e-learning systems have played an increasingly important role in higher education and, in particular, in enhancing learning experiences for individuals who have learning difficulties. However, it appears that many of the people involved in the development and implementation of e-learning tools overlook the needs of dyslexic students. As such, these students lack access to the resources on offer to other students and this leads to a disability divide. In order for educational initiatives to be effective, learning experiences need to be tailored to the individual needs of each student and the materials and tools employed should be aligned with the student's needs, capabilities and learning objectives. The objective of this research was to propose an ontology that will facilitate the development of learning methods and technologies that are aligned with dyslexia types and symptoms. The paper commences with a discussion of domain ontology and examines how learning objectives that take into consideration a student's capabilities and needs can be matched with appropriate assistive technology in order to deliver effective e-learning experiences and educational resources that can be consistently employed. The ontology employed within this study was developed using Ontology Web Language (OWL), an information processing system that allows applications to handle both the content and the presentation of the information available on the web. Two characteristics were employed within this research to describe each resource: dyslexia type and the features of assistive technologies that were deemed to be most appropriate for educational experiences targeted at each dyslexia type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many universities have started to measure sustainability, and many tools have been developed to assist them in this process. For universities at an early stage of sustainability implementation, choosing a tool that fits their specific context is an important step in their assessment process. The goal of this paper is to introduce an Adaptable Model for Assessing Sustainability into higher education institutions that enable the assessment of sustainability within different implementation stages and data availability scenarios. The model's design was based on previous experiences in the field of sustainability in higher education, and takes into account international declarations and other assessment models. The result is a model based on a four tiered hierarchy, with three main criteria: institutional commitment, example setting, and advancing sustainability. In order to establish the weight assigned to each tier of the proposed hierarchy, the analytic hierarchy process was applied. The results of this process showed a preference for institutional commitment and example setting/leadership criteria, with weights of 36.1% and 38.2% respectively, and less preference for the advancing sustainability criterion, with a weight of 25.7% . The resulting model enables the assessment of sustainability within different contexts while maintaining a universal methodological approach; this allows for comparison within a cluster of institutions with similar contexts. The assessment model could be used to improve other assessment tools by following the same process used to build the model, facilitating the participation of stakeholders and experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, sustainability reporting (SR) has gained importance in both profit and non-profit environments. In spite of the slowly emerging trend of SR in higher education, it is still unclear for certain actors within this field what SR entails. This paper offers a comprehensive review of the existing literature on SR in higher education, aimed at providing guidance on the topic, uncovering gaps and inconsistencies in the literature, and finding new paths for research. The findings show that the topic of SR has been approached in a rather fragmented way in the literature, while the scientific field would benefit from more in-depth studies, preferably supplemented by empirical evidence. Important issues for future research are: the potential of SR for organisational change, the influence of stakeholder engagement processes on SR, the link between SR and general sustainability management, and the link between existing reporting indicators, tools, and management standards. Structuring and defining these topics can stimulate scholars to further study them in depth, leading to a better understanding of the dynamics of the reporting process, and in a broader sense of the process of sustainability integration in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers have always had to deal with complex challenges. However, a profound change has occurred over the last two decades with a realization of the need to transition from a focus on technical issues to sustainability problems that require an integrated, adaptive and participatory approach. Such an engineering approach does not only necessitate new methods and tools, but also the consideration of epistemology to deal with different kinds of knowledge and high uncertainties. The concept of paradigms can support the case-specific analysis of concrete solution strategies based upon an understanding of the epistemological dimension of sustainability issues. A systematic and integrated discussion of paradigms and their interactions in engineering practice is currently lacking in the scientific literature. This paper examines the role of paradigms in engineering practice and presents a system science approach for the analysis of paradigms. A case study on sustainable flood management and a literature analysis are provided to show the relevance of multiple paradigms in sustainable development issues. Engineers should be aware of paradigms and their respective application context, as well as the particular role of the “community involvement” paradigm for sustainable development. We propose an iterative learning approach to continuously deepen students' understanding of participatory processes and develop their ability to facilitate stakeholder processes. An overview and some reflections on the experiences of the authors in the teaching of these new paradigms at McGill University, Canada, and the University of Osnabrueck, Germany, are provided. In particular, group model building exercises were found to provide students with important experiences regarding stakeholder interaction in the safe space of the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In research and literature about integration of sustainable development in higher education, particular attention is given towards barriers for change and critical success factors, mainly with a focus on organisational aspects. Implementation models and integration guidelines are defined in order to guide sustainable development integration in higher education at the level of a single higher education institution. These initiatives look at factors that influence the integration process, however seldom from the perspective of change management and the impact of human factors on organisational change. This paper studies higher education from the perspective of organisational change management and, more specifically, focuses on analysing the human factors in this process: resistance, communication, empowerment and involvement, and organisational culture. A conceptual model, which links human factors to the sustainable development integration process, is presented. The model structures and supports the analysis of this integration process in a higher education institution. It is applied in a specific case study of a Belgian university college. The results indicate that the conceptual model helps to get a profound understanding of human related barriers for integrating sustainable development in higher education, as well as to understand the underlying reasons for these barriers and linkages between them in different stages of the integration process. Another main lesson learned is the importance of continuously supporting ambassadors of sustainable development integration in higher education. These and other insights from the case study are valuable for supporting future integration processes in higher education. Next to that, the model supports scholars to study the integration process of sustainable development and gather profound insights on what and why changes happen. This can trigger individual and collective reflexivity on sustainable development in higher education. Future research includes further improvements and application of the model in other cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental Impact Assessment is well established in higher education worldwide, with a history going back to the 1970s. In contrast, the teaching and training of Strategic Environmental Assessment is a relatively novel, less consolidated and implanted, but of growing importance as a decision support tool in planning and policy. Therefore, training needs in this domain have grown accordingly, demanding new answers from higher education institutions. Despite the existence of relevant work on sustainability in higher education, and on impact assessment education, there is a dearth of research on education of environmental assessment approaches for strategic levels of decision making. The goal of this research paper is to characterize the profile of Strategic Environmental Assessment in higher education in two distinct situations; Portugal and Brazil. Surveys were conducted to assess Strategic Environmental Assessment integration in their higher education institutions' curricula. Bachelor and masters' programmes and course curricula were analysed through a content analysis based approach. The main results showed a medium state of integration for Strategic Environmental Assessment, while stressing that it is still an unconsolidated area. These results also emphasized that there is a need to discuss the design of Strategic Environmental Assessment specialized courses that respond to societal needs, rethinking the impact assessment educational initiatives and approaches. The integration of this assessment instrument in curricula could have significant implications for the enhancement of higher education practices for sustainable development, by promoting better assessment and management of strategies, policies, legislation, plans and programmes and the decision-making processes involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key factors affecting the sustainability of our society are research, conversion, delivery and the efficient use of energy resources. The expertise, attitudes and sustainability awareness of decision-makers determine far-reaching political decisions made regarding whole energy systems as well as the choices available for individual consumers. Despite the significance of education with respect to renewable energy and sustainability, the position of these topics remains unclear in degree programmes. Measuring the relevance of these subjects can be considered a central issue in terms of promoting a more sustainability-oriented perspective on education strategy formation. Therefore, this paper presents a new curriculum development method for stimulating discussions about the learning outcomes of the degree programmes. This method has been used to calculate a proposed relevance ratio (RR) index, which indicated the relative weight of renewable energy and sustainability topics for energy studies in Aalto University's energy degree programme. The benefits of this RR index include the ability to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of selected contents in the curricula. However, more research is needed to integrate wider working life skills with the students' learning path as a means of promoting student expertise. This new tool will be universally applicable and quantify the desired contents of learning outcomes in degree programmes at universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented in this paper emerged from the need to identify the factors influencing academic staff members when engaging in Education for Sustainable Development in real practice. The aims of this study were to explore: (i) the factors influencing academic staff engagement in Education for Sustainable Development; and (ii) the views and vision of academic staff in relation to Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Southampton. This research was conceived as an exploratory action research study and consisted of two differentiated research stages. In Stage I fourteen academic staff members from different disciplines were interviewed as a reconnaissance phase of a typical action research cycle. In Stage II a facilitator role for curriculum development was adopted by one of the authors as part of her doctoral studies. An interdisciplinary group of five academic staff members from different subject areas was created with the aim to support the group's critical reflection and action. This research was undertaken between October 2011 and May 2013. This study suggests that although academics might have a personal interest and motivation to engage in Education for Sustainable Development, factors such as the lack of time and financial resources, lack of deep understanding of sustainability, current curriculum structures and ways of delivery, academic pressures, external factors, lack of organisational support and existing organisational conditions block their engagement in Education for Sustainable Development. Organisational support and leadership, quality assurance processes, professional development and creating reward structures are necessary strategies towards academic staff engagement in this agenda. This study provides evidence on different views and visions of academics in relation to Education for Sustainable Development and a number of contradictions between its principles and the role of Higher Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability issues in higher educational institutions have attracted increasing levels of attention from both the public and policy makers in recent decades. A number of previous studies have called for a more comprehensive integration of sustainable development into mainstream university operations and curricula. However, there is a lack of sufficient studies that investigate sustainable development in higher education in Spain. Therefore, the present paper has two goals: First, the study analyses the extent to which Spanish universities have implemented sustainability practices in their institutions. To accomplish this task, data were collected using a survey distributed to rectors and senior management at Spanish higher education institutions. The second goal is to examine the main factors that might explain the implementation of sustainability practices in Spanish universities. For this purpose, Pearson chi-square tests were used to analyse the data collected in the survey. Key findings show the slow rate of progress of many Spanish universities with regard to implementing sustainability practices, a fact which could indicate that there are clearly a number of obstacles to overcome. Additionally, there were no factors influencing the implementation of sustainability practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability has received increasing attention in management education over the past ten years. This article reviews a decade's worth of research in a systematic analysis of 63 articles published in international higher education and management education journals between 2003 and 2013. The purpose of this article is to map and review the publications based on the analysis according to the following four categories: (1) Types of papers, (2) Challenges, (3) Teaching techniques, and (4) Curriculum orientation. The scientific value of this article focuses on three main contributions to management education. First, while most articles are descriptive, focusing on specific, unique experiences in a given institution or with a particular teaching method or tool, few situate themselves within the broader philosophy and design of management education. The second contribution is an evaluation of the status of sustainability in management education as a field of study. This systematic review highlights the lack of consistency in the concepts used: no stable categories emerge from these articles and very few studies integrate the three levels of educational philosophy – teaching, program design, and learning. Third, this review highlights future directions for sustainability in management education institution-wide. While all articles highlight the need for curriculum change, very few specify how this change could and would be achieved by course design or explicit educational paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to analyze DMUs efficiency from the perspective of variable returns to scale. Thus, a case study is proposed, where the efficiencies of DMUs suffer variation according to the methods used in the analysis. The classic models of DEA, CCR and BCC, and a new model proposed by the authors, will have their results compared to classical foundations of the economy. The case study will examine the efficiency of administrative units selected of Undergraduate Higher Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We estimate the impact of a learning community on first-year college retention at a four-year public research university using a randomized control trial. • Intent-to-treat and local-average-treatment-effect estimates reveal no discernable programmatic effects. • Observational approaches find impacts that are positive, large and statistically significant. • Decomposing the observational estimates reveal that non-random selection into the experimental sample accounts for the major difference in the two estimates. • This exercise cautions against generalizing the RCT result for populations outside the experiment. In this paper, we estimate the impact of a learning community on first-year college retention at a four-year public research university using a randomized control trial (RCT) for those students who opt into the experiment. Intent-to-treat and local-average-treatment-effect estimates reveal no discernable programmatic effects. We also generate estimates of program impact using observational techniques and find estimated impacts that are positive, large and statistically significant. We explore a variety of selection processes to better understand the differences between the RCT and observational estimates and to reflect on the generalizability of the RCT results for various other populations of interest. Non-random selection into the experimental sample accounts for the major difference in the two estimates and also cautions against generalizing the RCT result for populations outside the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 400 colleges and universities have signed carbon reduction pledges through Second Nature. Nonetheless, a review of their greenhouse gas inventories shows that many universities continue to show limited or no progress in terms of renewable energy deployment and generation. One study from 2019 shows that it is now cheaper to build new renewable energy projects than it is to continue operating existing coal-fired power plants (for 74% of existing fleet). Meanwhile, another study shows that universities rarely achieve a positive economic net benefit when deploying solar on their campuses, despite the cost declines in solar and rising utility prices. This same study finds that these same projects accrue a positive social and environmental net benefit for the surrounding community that outweighs current economic subsidies, implying that increased subsidies for college solar deployment would, more often than not, pass cost-benefit analysis. This present study builds on the previous two studies and explores the question of whether state-level financial incentives have a meaningful impact on the deployment of renewable energy on college campuses. The thesis guiding this research is that universities in states with certain state-level financial incentives will be more successful in deploying renewable energy and in meeting their clean energy goals. The financial incentives being studied are limited to grants, tariffs, net metering (at retail rates), and solar renewable energy credits. This research paper shows that the presence of these financial incentives is positively correlated with renewable energy deployment across colleges, providing a starting map for policy-makers interested in supporting universities' renewable energy deployment in their states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent popularity of social technologies has motivated some university lecturers to use them for Online Social Networking (OSN) educational activities. These technologies have enormous potential to enhance the teaching and learning experience. However, there have been limited studies assessing how to effectively use social technologies and what the impacts are on students' learning experience, particularly with regard to their value in enhancing interactions. This paper focuses on students' experiences with using OSN for student–student and student–lecturer interactions. A total of nine focus group discussions with 46 students were held in Malaysian and Australian universities. A thematic analysis revealed that students identified a number of positive outcomes from using OSN to interact with each other and with their lecturers. The findings contribute to current understanding about how students leverage social technologies to enhance interaction among themselves, with their lecturers, and with the content of the course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last years, the global university rankings appeared in order to measure the performances of higher education institutions from all over the word after some pre-established indicators. The rankings make it possible to evaluate complex information according to various combinations of various factors. In this paper, I described and analyzed three of the most known, influential and widely observed international university rankings, in order to identify the similitudes and especially the differences between them regarding the methodology, criteria and weights, top universities, research and educational process or the global outlook, using the public and available information from their web-sites. Also, I want to see the impact of these rankings and how they influence the stakeholders, which are winners of each of these global university rankings, from want countries or regions. Global university rankings tend to focus more on the research area and less on teaching and learning environment. After the results of these rankings and others, all universities whether small or large, can improve practices that will make them stronger. For the contemporary society it is also important for a university to be able to innovate and help industry and businesses with consultancy and innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

With the advent of K-economy, all leading business organizations are incorporating knowledge management as an integral part of their functioning. Education sector, though a non-profit domain has also witnessed increase in the implementation of business intelligence and knowledge centric processes over the years. The paper exemplifies the importance of knowledge evaluation in higher education organizations, through measures developed using data mining techniques. Applying these knowledge measures or indicator in the education domain eventually help the higher education organizations to establish themselves as knowledge centric higher education organizations (KCHEO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]