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Experiencing existing spaces and designed environments, as well as engaging with their possibilities and production, is fundamental to students' learning in construction and built environments disciplines. Site visits serve a range of learning objectives, and offer a place and a mode to practice professional expertise. The major dislocation of learning and teaching precipitated by COVID-19 required reimagining these authentic and valuable site experiences. This article explores the design of virtual site visits (VSVs) through the lens of teaching activities and learning aims, and describes a VSV typology developed through a phenomenographic approach. The typology draws on exemplars and related interviews with designers and educators from across a built environments faculty of a comprehensive Australian university. It distinguishes between those developed to inspire and contextualize; those that demonstrate or demarcate; and those that ground abstract experiences via specific locations. This work suggests complementary roles for virtual and physical site visits within hybrid and flexible learning environments, even while much teaching returns to campus. It is relevant to academic developers who seek to frame the use of VSVs through learning rather than technical lenses, and all educators who aim to incorporate site experiences for student learning ... wherever they are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Site visits (SVs) are a common component of clinical education. The purpose of this paper was to explore clinicians' perspectives regarding SVs, including methods of communication used and their effectiveness, purposes of SVs, and the level of interaction between the stakeholders. Review of the Literature. Several communication methods are used to conduct SVs, with varying levels of "richness" and effectiveness. Previous studies have explored the perceptions of physical therapist (PT) students and Directors of Clinical Education regarding communication methods used during SVs, as well as reporting the purposes, effectiveness, and logistics. Subjects. Clinicians, including clinical instructors (CIs) and Site Coordinators of Clinical Education, from across the United States, representing various geographical locations and settings were invited to participate. Methods. An electronic survey was distributed to participants using information from 2 PT education programs and the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument database. Results. A total of 273 responses were included in the analysis. Clinicians ranked in-person visits as their first choice of communication for future SVs (n = 157, 59.9%) and indicated that inperson communication was "very effective" (n = 143, 52.4%) when compared with videoconferencing (n = 55, 20.1%) and telephone (n = 49, 17.9%). Clinicians ranked verifying the competency level of the student and verifying site resources during the SV as "extremely important" or "important" (n = 257, 94.2% and n = 250, 91.5%, respectively). Answering CI's questions and providing support to the CI were also identified as "extremely important" or "important" (n = 262, 96% and n = 244, 89.4%, respectively). Analysis of open-ended responses revealed 5 themes: Communication is important, flexibility allows best fit for a situation, on-site visits offer a more complete picture, real-time dialog is preferred, and email can lead to misinterpretation. Discussion and Conclusion. Communication is a key component of the clinical-academic relationship. Although clinicians prefer in-person communication, flexibility is necessary when planning and conducting SVs. Future research recommendations include gathering student and clinician perceptions regarding faculty involvement in SVs, as well as gathering faculty perspectives regarding their participation in SVs. In addition, the impact of the pandemic on the future of SVs warrants further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To provide a framework for conducting clinical trial site visits virtually over videoconference, and to report on our experience doing so during the twelve-year follow-up of the Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research (MeTeOR) trial. Design: Using published FDA guidance and prior literature, we created a structure for virtual site visits that prioritized monitoring for protocol compliance, safety, and data integrity. We conducted site visits in three stages: preparation for the visit, the virtual meeting itself, and follow-up. The preparation phase involved a review of relevant site-specific documents and a written report on the findings prior to the visit. The virtual visit itself was focused on any questions the site staff had about the pre-visit report, observing a mock study visit, touring physical spaces, and understanding the site staff's work environment. In the follow-up phase, we wrote a post-visit report summarizing the discussion during the visit and feedback given by the coordinating site. Results: We found that the virtual site visits conducted as part of the MeTeOR trial follow-up ran smoothly. Although we could not directly compare in-person and virtual site visits, site staff unanimously appreciated the efficiency and effectiveness of the virtual site visits. We noted that displaying physical workspaces over videoconferencing was difficult, and a notable drawback to this method. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first published framework for conducting virtual clinical trial site visits. Conducting these visits virtually confer several advantages in terms of time, money, and efficiency.

Accreditation standards and criteria motivate much of the efforts to continuously improve public higher education institutions in the United States. A key mechanism in this accreditation process for many agencies is an onsite physical visitation of the institution and/or program by an accreditation visiting team. This visit can provide tangible information, observation, and characterization of the institution or program under review, which informs a final accreditation decision. Due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing travel and physical distancing protocols, many accrediting agencies were required to hold traditional onsite visits virtually during the spring of 2020. Not only was this an ad hoc transition, but it was also made without full knowledge of the impact that the shift in evaluation mode would have on the effectiveness and quality of accreditation reviews against accreditation standards and criteria. Therefore, a critical need exists to evaluate the efficacy of the virtual mode of accreditation review. This study analyzed the impacts of virtual site visits on accreditation review effectiveness and quality. Using survey data collected from the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE)'s Board of Accreditation, from visiting team members, and from institutional contacts involved in the 2020 accreditation visits, an assessment of the effectiveness and quality of accreditation reviews was performed. Qualitatively, strong themes were found in the data set revealing the impacts of the virtual modality on accreditation review effectiveness and quality; advantages, disadvantages, and opportunities to leverage the remote modality were also discovered and are highlighted. Quantitatively, the virtual modality was overwhelmingly reported to be effective for most accreditation standards, whereas impacts on quality were more negligible. The results of this study help characterize the impacts on accreditation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, provide a picture of lessons learned from the use of this modality, and begin to lay a preliminary foundation for best practices for future virtual accreditation site visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether institutional investors obtain increased profits when they are diligent in site visit and is based on research on fund management corporations in China and their fund performance. We use two methods: one compares the fund performance difference between two adjacent quintiles sorted by fund size, and the other constructs regression model. Our sample consists of the site visit information of 58 fund corporations from 2010 to 2016. After conducting an ordinary least square(OLS) regression, we find that the more frequent fund corporations site visits lead to better fund performance, and that is more evident for moderate‐sized fund corporations. The results suggest that institutional investors obtain increased profit when they are diligent. The statement "more pay, more gain" is evident for fund management corporations during the growth period. For slightly larger and smaller‐sized fund management corporations, the statement "more pay, more gain" motivates fund management corporations to conduct visits. However, more frequent visits are not beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing program evaluation site visits are a critical part of the accreditation journey helping peer evaluators gain a comprehensive picture of a program and determine the program's adherence to accreditation standards. Although a variety of activities are completed as part of site visits, resources provided on site can offer further program information. However, nursing programs may need some help deciding how to appropriately plan site visit resources. Thus, this article provides suggestions for planning and organizing resources, identifying appropriate resources, and offering additional guidance for resource preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has delivered extraordinary challenges across geographies as well as practices, and clearly academia has not been spared. While the events of 2020 and 2021 have revealed some limits to teaching in the ‘old (pre-pandemic) normal’, technology-supported pedagogies have been emerging for several years. This pandemic has been a potent catalyst, not only for ad-hoc adaptation, but potentially for long-term change and improvement. The ‘old normal’ is now long passed, and approaches to learning and teaching continue to explore new ground. This article draws on the work of Built Environments Learning + Teaching (BEL+T), an academic group within the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. The BEL+T group applies creative problem-solving and design-led approaches, evidence-based research methodologies and project-focused consultancy to improve teaching quality and student engagement in built environment disciplines. The following sections introduce a learning design framework – the Delivery, Interaction, Assessment (DIA) framework – which was developed by BEL+T as a tool to communicate with and support staff throughout 2020 and 2021, and continues to be used to support teaching efforts. The translation of the elements of the DIA framework and its related ‘DIAgram’ to specific learning activities are presented in the following sections ‘on the (virtual) ground’. Some emergent pedagogies for virtual learning environments (VLEs) are outlined, exploring relationships between students, teachers, objects, sites and VLEs for learning, alongside implications for teacher presence and performance online. These key factors have influenced online approaches both before and since the onset of the pandemic. They deliver implications for emergent hybrid approaches such as dual delivery and blended synchronous learning, which are in turn driven by the needs of a still-distributed student cohort and the challenges of ongoing unpredictability.

Under-recruitment in clinical trials is an issue worldwide. If the number of patients enrolled is lower than expected, based on the required sample size, then the reliability of the study results and their validation tend to be impaired. The current study therefore evaluated factors associated with accelerating patient enrollment using data from an ongoing multicenter prospective cohort study. The researchers encouraged research institutions to accelerate patient enrollment via e-mail, newsletters, telephone calls, and site visits. We analyzed the relationship between several potential factors associated with acceleration of patient enrollment including site visits and patient enrollment in a real clinical study. Data were collected from 106 research institutions that participated in a multicenter prospective cohort study. Results showed that the following parameters differed in terms of patient enrollment and non-enrollment: urban area (47.2 vs. 67.6%, p = 0.04), clinical research coordinator (CRC) participation in data input to electronic data capture (EDC) (41.7 vs. 11.8%, p < 0.01), and site visit (38.9 vs. 11.8%, p < 0.01). A multivariate analysis revealed that patient enrollment was significantly associated with urban area (odds ratio [OR] 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12–0.86, p = 0.02), CRC participation in data input to EDC (OR 5.02; 95% CI 1.49–16.8; p < 0.01), and site visit (OR 4.54, 95% CI 1.31–15.7, p = 0.01). In conclusion, site visits and CRC participation in data input to EDC had a significant effect on patient enrollment promotion. Moreover, hospitals in rural areas were more effective in promoting patient enrollment than those in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under-recruitment in clinical trials is an issue worldwide. If the number of patients enrolled is lower than expected, based on the required sample size, then the reliability of the study results and their validation tend to be impaired. The current study therefore evaluated factors associated with accelerating patient enrollment using data from an ongoing multicenter prospective cohort study. The researchers encouraged research institutions to accelerate patient enrollment via e-mail, newsletters, telephone calls, and site visits. We analyzed the relationship between several potential factors associated with acceleration of patient enrollment including site visits and patient enrollment in a real clinical study. Data were collected from 106 research institutions that participated in a multicenter prospective cohort study. Results showed that the following parameters differed in terms of patient enrollment and non-enrollment: urban area (47.2 vs. 67.6%, p = 0.04), clinical research coordinator (CRC) participation in data input to electronic data capture (EDC) (41.7 vs. 11.8%, p < 0.01), and site visit (38.9 vs. 11.8%, p < 0.01). A multivariate analysis revealed that patient enrollment was significantly associated with urban area (odds ratio [OR] 0.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12–0.86, p = 0.02), CRC participation in data input to EDC (OR 5.02; 95% CI 1.49–16.8; p < 0.01), and site visit (OR 4.54, 95% CI 1.31–15.7, p = 0.01). In conclusion, site visits and CRC participation in data input to EDC had a significant effect on patient enrollment promotion. Moreover, hospitals in rural areas were more effective in promoting patient enrollment than those in urban areas.

The fellowship in adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology has matured as an accredited program. This special article addresses current challenges in this educational milieu. The first challenge relates to serving as a program director in the contemporary era. The second challenge deals with the accreditation process, including the site visit. The third challenge discusses the integration of structural heart disease and interventional echocardiography into daily practice. The fourth challenge deals with the issues that face fellowship education in the near future. Taken together, these perspectives provide a review of the contemporary challenges facing fellowship education in adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of accreditation is to recognize that an undergraduate program in home economics/family and consumer science in the United States provides a high standard of academic quality, demonstrates accountability, and encourages improvement as needed. The process for accreditation includes several steps that usually occur over an 18‐ to 24‐month period of time. The process includes a Self‐Study Report, a prereview, a site visit and report, and a decision for one of three actions: accreditation, provisional accreditation, or denial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Program Evaluation Committee has an essential role in the quality improvement process of the adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellowship. The annual program evaluation presents all stakeholders with an opportunity to evolve with the changing needs and opportunities of the fellowship milieu. The active engagement of the program in this process is a high-quality approach to successful planning, preparation and conduct of the self-study and site visit that are important extensions of the annual program evaluation and the program evaluation committee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]