The author compares the efficacy of commercially available and internally developed standardized tests and evaluates their strengths and weakness in assessing student learning outcomes. The author shares the experience of a regional school in developing a standardized test to assess business knowledge. Data from a sample of 268 students were used…

Feedback has been a major area of dissatisfaction according to the UK National Student Survey in recent years, despite general acceptance of its importance. A feedback strategy was implemented in October 2009 at a small specialised higher education institution (HEI). A case study was carried out to assess how satisfied staff and students are with…

This collaborative self-study examines the impact of taking a listening stance in the collegial relationships and practices of three early-career teacher educators within a small, private liberal arts institution. We consider the consequences of a listening stance on students' experiences of our practices and their education program. In…

This paper documents substantial differences across states in their higher education (HE) structures and highlights several empirical relationships between these structures and individuals' HE outcomes. Not surprisingly, individuals who are exposed to more-fractionalized HE structures are more likely to attend small public universities and…

This chapter examines the current state of college unions at small colleges and offers a forecast of their future.

Educational values in both the United States and in China have suffered from the social and political reach of economic markets in each society. The models for counteracting the marketization of values in higher education can however be found in each country's past educational traditions. Surprisingly, the developmental values inherent in…

Increasing numbers of students are experiencing difficulty adjusting to college. Violated expectations of college may increase the stress experienced across the college career. Therefore, 36 college students were assessed prior to matriculation, during the first year and during the senior year. Expectations and experiences of academics, social…

Interactions between students and faculty outside of class appear to be linked to greater achievement during and after college (Anaya & Cole, 2001; Hathaway, Nagda, & Gregerman, 2002). However, sometimes there can be blurred personal boundaries and a lack of autonomy in these relationships, or what has been labeled enmeshment. The purpose…

This study examined whether a large group of postsecondary students participating in a support program for students classified as having learning disabilities (LD) met criteria for five objective diagnostic models for LD: IQ-achievement discrepancy (1.0 SD, 1.5 SD, and greater than 2.0 SD) models, a "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of…

Small colleges and universities, often late adopters of institutional repositories and open access initiatives, face challenges that have not fully been explored in the professional literature. In an effort to gauge the level of awareness of open access and institutional repositories at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC), the authors of…

Selecting, gaining access to and attending college (or university) in the United States involve markers of legitimacy and prestige as understood through symbolic capital. An entire complex of fine differentiations operate to distinguish such capital in both students and the institutions they attend. Drawing on works of Bourdieu, this article…

This study examines senior student affairs leadership through the diverse lenses of subordinates, administrative peers, presidents, and senior student affairs officers (SSAOs). Guided by an interpretive paradigm, a qualitative methodology was employed consisting of a six-case comparative analysis and grounded theory approach. The findings provide…

Simulation games can help overcome student resistance to thinking structurally about social class inequality, meritocracy, and mobility. Most inequality simulations focus solely on economic inequality and omit social and cultural capital, both of which contribute to social class reproduction. Using a pretest/posttest design, the current study…

This report describes private colleges serving adults which since 1936 have been required to register with the provincial government of British Columbia, Canada or, since 1993, with a regulatory body created by the government. The sector has always included career colleges, but registration was expanded temporarily in the 1990s to include all…

Increasing freshmen student retention and ultimately increasing their graduation rates continues to be a critical matter for institutions of higher education. Therefore, colleges and universities are attempting to understand the student service expectations of freshmen students as a primary mechanism to enhance matriculation rates. University…