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The need to systematize and formalize soft skills in curricula makes the study relevant. This becomes especially important in the context of a fundamental reform of the national education system in Russia. The reliance on the world's best educational practices will allow creating effective training programs in order to increase the demand for university graduates. In the article the research conducted to assess the satisfaction of university students (on the example of MGIMO MFA of Russia) with the development of soft skills during the mastering of academic disciplines is presented. At the first stage of the research, scientific articles in which the authors classify soft skills were selected and analyzed, and a list of the most professionally significant soft skills was compiled and used as a basis for the developed questionnaire. At the second stage, a survey of students was conducted. There were 135 students who participated in the survey. It was found out that a high percentage of the respondents find soft skills important for their future career. However, according to the students, insufficient attention is paid to the development of soft skills in the process of higher education, so young people mostly do not associate their mastery of certain skills with their studies at university. Despite the fact that in recent years researchers have paid attention to the study of soft skills, university curricula do not regulate the improvement of skills. The missing formalization of soft skills in university curricula creates obstacles for their development in the process of studying at the university. This study confirms the relevance of updating the curriculum and educational framework

This paper examines the experiences of two non-Indigenous academics in a regional Australian university who taught/coordinated a first-year course, Introduction to Indigenous Australia (SCS130). Drawing on our own experiences, we explore the implications and contentious nature of non-Indigenous academics teaching Indigenous Studies and align this discussion with structural critique. As non-Indigenous academics, some argue that it is culturally disrespectful and pedagogically problematic for us to deliver this course. We consider that the work of embedding Indigenous perspectives should not be relegated solely the responsibility of Indigenous academics, and that our teaching contributes to reconciliation and begins to fill a significant gap in awareness and understanding among Australian students in higher education. The course SCS130 aims to introduce students to Indigenous perspectives through narratives, film, documentaries, academic and non-academic texts, biography and art. The objective of the course is to engage students with the complexity of colonisation and its ramifications for constructions of individual and national identities. Student survey qualitative data is used to provide an analysis of the course and to illustrate the conflict between our pedagogic practice, student expectations and the structural impediments to our decolonising teaching aims.

Purpose. To determine the level of students' interest in internal quality assurance, particularly in passing the survey and changing the teaching quality level and improving teachers' pedagogical skills. Methodology. For the data collection, a questionnaire was used which included closed-end questions on the quality of teaching and open questions in terms of comments and recommendations of higher education students on the quality of teaching and several questions concerning the share of classes in the discipline attended by the students, ECTS scores, received by students from the relevant disciplines and the average score for the entire period of study. Findings. Sumy State University (SSU) introduced an online survey of students as the main consumers of educational services regarding the quality of teaching disciplines. Over the last 3 academic years, there has been an increase in the number of teachers whose activities are evaluated by students. There has been an increase in the number of teachers who, according to students, show excellence in teaching, which is a positive trend. If in the 2017-2018 academic year the number of such teachers in SSU was 57 people, then in the 2019-2020 academic year, it increased by 35 % to 77 people. Quality level "Above average" was determined for 120 teachers in the 2017-2018 academic year, and in the 2019-2020 academic year, their number increased by 30 % and amounted to 156 people. It is noteworthy that in the 2019-2020 academic year compared to 2017-2018, there is a reduction in the number of teachers from 71 to 66 people (7 %), who demonstrated the level of teaching "Low". Originality. Survey of students on the quality of teaching educational components, on the one hand, allows monitoring students' satisfaction with methods used by the teacher in training and communicating with students, and on the other hand, it is a method to control the institution's authority over the educational service quality and the HEI's mission implementation. It also indicates an increase in students' interest in participating in higher education's internal quality assurance. An important factor influencing the positive dynamics of the teaching quality level is that each semester teachers receive a detailed analysis of students' answers with a visual display for each questionnaire, as well as their comments and suggestions for teaching the relevant discipline through the information service "Personal teacher's office" based on the results of the survey. Practical value. According to the analysis results of the received information, managerial decisions can be developed and implemented to improve the content and practice of educational components' implementation, improving the professional skills of research and teaching staff, advancement of best pedagogical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Austria, 12% of all students in higher education report a disability that, at least somewhat, limits their study activities. As they still face many barriers throughout their studies, support services play a key part in their academic success. However, data from the Austrian Student Social Survey demonstrate that every second student with a disability is reluctant to contact fellow students, lecturers, or institutional support in case of study-related difficulties. One in four students with disabilities does not seek any assistance because of stigmatisation fear. With respect to these tendencies, our article examines factors that promote or inhibit the reluctance of students with disabilities to seek support due to fear of stigmatisation. For this purpose, we construct a binary indicator of stigma fear, which encompasses items concerning social isolation or drawbacks to academic opportunities, inhibitions about contacting people or disclosing one’s disability. In a regression model, we identify influential factors such as noticeability of disability and degree of study-related limitations as well as social factors like the feeling of anonymity and sense of belonging.

Declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020 forced many schools to switch to emergency virtual instruction. This situation provided an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of online learning from students’ perspectives. To discover best practices for online learning, 584 STEM students at California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) were surveyed about their Spring and Fall 2020 experiences. Some of the obstacles students faced were adapting to a new lifestyle, feeling disconnected, managing schedule and workload, and overcoming distractions. Despite difficulties, 61% of students benefited from the flexibility, convenience, and increased productivity. The time students normally spent commuting to and parking on campus was instead spent getting more sleep, studying, working extra hours, spending time with family, and practicing self-care. Another major benefit was the increased accessibility to course materials posted online. Major themes from students’ responses were belonging, organization and transparency, and the need for real-world applications. Incorporating these strategies enhance the effectiveness of teaching methods. Responses along with some problem-solving suggestions that can improve the effectiveness of both online and in-person learning are discussed.

In the present study, the correlations between selected aspects of e-learning in the blended learning environment and the competencies students should acquire during their study are explored. The research was based on two different questionnaire-based surveys conducted among Faculty of Administration students. In the research 41 2nd year students of the university study programme were involved. We found that the problem-solving competency is highly correlated with the adequacy of e-learning. Our findings also suggest a high correlation between the computer skills competency and the usefulness of e-learning. The results could serve as a guide for the faculty management when further investigating how to enhance the students’ competencies while employing modern solutions in the teaching process.

In the present study, the correlations between selected aspects of e-learning in the blended learning environment and the competencies students should acquire during their study are explored. The research was based on two different questionnaire-based surveys conducted among Faculty of Administration students. In the research 41 2nd year students of the university study programme were involved. We found that the problemsolving competency is highly correlated with the adequacy of e-learning. Our findings also suggest a high correlation between the computer skills competency and the usefulness of e-learning. The results could serve as a guide for the faculty management when further investigating how to enhance the students' competencies while employing modern solutions in the teaching process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many years, Higher education institutions have been engaging with sustainability, many focussing on environmental ones. In this context, two phenomena have arisen that have, usually, been studied separately: (1) engineering schools have been at the forefront of sustainability efforts; and (2) women have tended to be more concerned about of environmental sustainability than men are. This paper is aimed at analysing the differences in perception between engineering students and nursing students at the University of Gävle, Sweden. Engineering and nursing programmes are practice-oriented with different foci on sustainability and usually being dominated by male and female students, respectively. The data for this article were based on two surveys carried out during 2010 and 2013, in which the same students answered the same questions at the beginning and at the end of their studies. Principal component analysis and regressions were carried out to analyse the survey answers. The results show that engineering programmes and gender affect actions positively. The results also show that engineering students increased their sustainability performance significantly more than nursing students. To improve environmental sustainability, it is important to promote the presence of women in engineering schools, and at the same time, social science oriented programmes (such as nursing) could learn from the efforts and action taken by engineering schools, so that sustainability is taught and learnt in a more holistic way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analysed results of students' anonymous survey about Vilnius University meteorology and hydrology bachelor study programme. The survey was conducted in 2014-2016 by distributing questionnaires among 1-year and 4-year students. The students' opinion about the meteorology and hydrology study programme is quite uniform. This is particularly true for the first-year students: more than 50% of the respondents chose the same answer option by answering 10 of 11 questions. In many questions the prevailing opinion of meteorology and hydrology students coincides with the tendencies which were identified in the joint Lithuanian higher schools undergraduate students' survey. The most unambiguous were students' answers about the circumstance of programme selection. Similar approach to questions in this topic was especially frequent among freshmen: 80% of them said that they chose the study programme because they liked it, 73% learned about it on the Internet, 68% marked it in applications as number 1, and 68% could say after admission “I got where I expected”. 4-year students' opinion about most of these issues was similar. Significantly different was 4-year students' approach to programme selection motives and perception of their positions in this programme (only 47% indicated that they chose the programme because they liked it, 52% said they did not know if they chose the right study programme, and 14% said “I did not get to where I expected”). The students' approach to the study programme level is more different. 50% of freshmen rated the programme level as ordinary, 47% as high, and 3% as low. Most 4-year students (54%) also ranked the programme level as ordinary, but a significantly smaller proportion (36%) evaluated it as high, and a still smaller proportion (11%) as low. In describing the potential correction of study programme, the 1-year and 4-year students in 70% of cases indicated that the content of the programme would improve if there were more specialty subjects. This is consistent with the overall opinion of Lithuanian undergraduate students that the essential higher school improvement priority is the greater focus on professional readiness in studies. 1-year and 4-year students' opinion about the corrections of study duration differed significantly: 63% of freshmen believed that there was no need to shorten undergraduate studies and 69% of 4-year students believed that they should be shortened (most students proposed reduction of up to 3 years). Responses of students indicate that professional issues are important for them. The most important source of knowledge about the studies is considered to be the Internet. The substantial priorities of programme improvement are: a) orientation of the programme towards better vocational training of students and b) wider presentation of the programme on web space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an international context, teaching quality is often assessed via student surveys. Yet, there is little empirical evidence for the validity of students' perceptions of teaching quality across education systems. Following an argumentative validation approach, we evaluate the reliability, stability, and international comparability of students' perceptions of teaching quality as well as their predictivity on student outcomes. Based on longitudinal data from six education systems our main findings include that student perceptions of teaching quality are 1) reliable on the class level, 2) stable between two measurements, and 3) metric invariant across education systems, yet 4) their effects on achievement, interest, and self-efficacy vary between the aspects of teaching quality and education systems. Our study provides first substantial empirical findings for the validity of student perceptions across education systems and points towards culture-specific differences in the effectiveness of teaching. • Student perceptions are a valid measure for teaching quality across countries. • We present empirical evidence regarding reliability, stability and predictivity. • Student perceptions of teaching quality are metric invariant across six countries. • Effects of teaching quality on student outcomes are culture-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate how immersive 3D geovisualization can be used in higher education. Based on MacEachren and Kraak's geovisualization cube, we examine the usage of immersive 3D geovisualization and its usefulness in a research-based learning module on flood risk, called GEOSimulator. Results of a survey among participating students reveal benefits, such as better orientation in the study area, higher interactivity with the data, improved discourse among students and enhanced motivation through immersive 3D geovisualization. This suggests that immersive 3D visualization can effectively be used in higher education and that 3D CAVE settings enhance interactive learning between students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE STUDY IS THE INVESTIGATION OF TEACHING QUALITIES OF SOME CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS IN TURKEY ASSESSMENT BY CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS THAT ARE THE MAIN PART OF THIS TEACHING. Also, some solution proposals are offered to improve the quality of the teaching. In this context, students' opinions about the universities; development level of the faculty and the department; quality of courses and summer practices taken throughout their education and teaching programs; academic and scientific capabilities of faculty members and departments; the city and mass transportation opportunities are investigated. The research is a questionnaire-based study and applied on total 301 undergraduate students from 6 different civil engineering departments which are categorized as developed, developing and newly established according to some criteria like as the foundation date of department, number of faculty members etc. Research data is evaluated by IBM SPSS Statistics v.20.0 that is a computer program generally used for survey authoring, data mining and statistical analysis. In this study, a reliable and valid scale is created to specify the current levels of educational environment by defining of students' value criteria that are expected from higher education institutions in learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilised concept mapping software to aid interpretation of the qualitative data from student satisfaction surveys. The analysis revealed differences in student priorities and attitudes across the three years of an undergraduate degree. First-year students were more concerned with social and academic integration and demonstrated an emotional response to their engagement with higher education. Comments from second-year students indicated an emphasis on academic progress and development, while final-year students were focused on achievement-oriented learning. Critical aspects of the student experience hidden between survey questions were also revealed. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for understanding the changing interaction between different aspects of student experience and satisfaction. It concludes with suggestions on how this approach to analysis might benefit the work of quality assurance teams and academic developers in other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020 forced many schools to switch to emergency virtual instruction. This situation provided an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of online learning from students' perspectives. To discover best practices for online learning, 584 STEM students at California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) were surveyed about their Spring and Fall 2020 experiences. Some of the obstacles students faced were adapting to a new lifestyle, feeling disconnected, managing schedule and workload, and overcoming distractions. Despite difficulties, 61% of students benefited from the flexibility, convenience, and increased productivity. The time students normally spent commuting to and parking on campus was instead spent getting more sleep, studying, working extra hours, spending time with family, and practicing self-care. Another major benefit was the increased accessibility to course materials posted online. Major themes from students' responses were belonging, organization and transparency, and the need for real-world applications. Incorporating these strategies enhance the effectiveness of teaching methods. Responses along with some problem-solving suggestions that can improve the effectiveness of both online and in-person learning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Market segmentation in urban higher education has generally divided potential students, primarily based on age, into Direct from High School (DHS) or “Traditional” and adult or “Non-Traditional,” based on differences in scheduling and program preferences and media access. One large urban institution, confronted by new competition, experienced a significant decline in DHS enrollment based on policies derived from this delineation. Enrollment analysis and a survey of current students, grouped according to permanent residence, class enrollment, and participation in campus activities, produces a modified picture: local DHS students tend to be more like adult students than DHS students with more distant permanent residence. Based on this analysis, segmentation concepts of “campus-centered” and “community-centered” are proposed to replace “traditional” and “non-traditional.” Implications of this reconceptualization for programming and marketing communications are developed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]