Success in higher education is often measured by one's ability to conduct research, effectively disseminate findings, and competently teach in a collegiate setting. These measures are not entirely developed during doctoral school, let alone as a classroom teacher. In order to increase the likelihood of success at the higher education level,…

Meta assessment goes beyond assessment in that it examines not only the elements of assessment but also the necessary and sufficient conditions as well as the needs of the assessment. Meta assessment in education tends to be the domain of course designers, planners and policy makers but rarely that of students. This article examines the role of…

Academic research and newspaper stories suggest that academic misconduct, including plagiarism, is on the increase. This apparent increase coupled with new internet enterprises selling "pass" papers and customized research are worrying trends. Academic misconduct is deeply harmful in a number of ways by devaluing awards, frustrating academics and…

Failure to establish meaningful and effective transition for undergraduates can lead to academic underachievement. Student engagement represents a key component of student success. This study sought to investigate the impact of a bespoke transition programme featuring a wide range of innovative, student-centred activities on enhancing students'…

This article considers the impact of a student peer-mentoring programme (the Mentor Accountant Project, MAP) on first-year undergraduates' academic performance. The development of MAP was informed by reference to extant literature; it relies on the voluntary services of third-year students who then act as mentors to first-year student mentees in…

This exploratory study investigates the academic leadership roles and responsibilities performed by programme directors in higher education (also known as programme leaders or course leaders). It will be argued there has been a lack of recognition and research into the leadership role for programme directors, attention instead focusing on…

As empirical assessments of teaching strategies increase in many disciplines and across many different courses, a paucity of such assessment seems to exist in courses devoted to social science research methods. This lack of assessment and evaluation impedes progress in developing successful teaching pedagogy. The teaching-learning issue addressed…

This article discusses issues relating to the effectiveness of feedback and the student perspective. The study described provides rich data relating to student perceptions of useful feedback, their perceptions of feedback cues and their feelings about the importance of feedback relationships in the process. The outcomes suggest that written…

This article reports a study which sought to evaluate the different learning strategies adopted by students when accessing virtual learning environment (VLE)-hosted resources because, if student achievement corresponds to the learning strategy that is adopted whilst accessing VLE resources, directed tasks can be put in place that will encourage…

Service-learning is a form of experiential learning that combines academic coursework with voluntary service in the community. There is a dearth of critical analysis of the effects of service-learning. To address this issue, this practitioner research aimed to explore and understand its effects. An inductive approach, using qualitative and…

This project examined the relationships between students' approaches to study, conceptions of learning and judgements about the value of networked technologies. For the project 144 first-year students completed the 52-item Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), and a series of focus group interviews was used to assess…

This study examined the frequency of small groups in university students' coursework and how that related to their general attitudes toward learning in groups and their views about different aspects of group work. We administered a survey to 208 students in an upper-division interdisciplinary arts and sciences program. Students reported that they…

The prose essay, case study and laboratory report, composed by individual students in isolation from their peers, used to be the mainstay of undergraduate writing. However, in recent years an array of alternative assignment types such as blogs, letters and e-posters have widened the repertoire of texts expected. This article attempts to describe…

This study examined the differences in male and female students' perceptions of how much they had learned and how fairly their performance had been measured when choice between constructed response, selective response, or mixed testing formats was introduced into different classrooms. Results revealed that introducing assessment choice into a…

This study investigated the degree that social interdependence predicted the achievement of 26 cooperative learning groups. Social interdependence was assessed in terms of postgraduate students' individual orientation (that is, cooperative, competitive, and individualistic). Participants were 84 postgraduate students enrolled in an…