Increasing Institutional Effectiveness: A Continuous Effort after Accreditation.
West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVUP) is a separately accredited campus of the University offering 2 baccalaureate, 10 associate, and 2 certificate programs. In response to concerns raised in a recent accreditation report, WVUP conducted a study examining student attitudes toward facilities, course scheduling, student advising, registration, and tutoring. Questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of students in April 1995, receiving usable responses from 1,149 students representing 34% of the total population. Results of the study indicated the following: (1) about 80% of respondents had met with their advisors, while 857 of these were satisfied with the service; (2) only 77. of students had used WVUP's child-care facilities; (3) 567 of respondents had used the computer labs on campus, but many felt that the facilities should be made more available; (4) the majority of students (56%) preferred a 2-day weekly course schedule, while one-third preferred a 3-day schedule; (5) 527 of students felt that WVUP's baccalaureate programs should be expanded; (6) 527 supported a Saturday registration alternative; (7) 36% felt that some courses that are offered only once a year should be offered in both semesters, 30% felt that some additional courses should be offered during the summer session in addition to the normal academic year, and 18% indicated that many required courses were not offered in the evenings; and (8) students supported adding varsity sports teams (49%), student lockers (38%), off-campus housing (28%), and public transportation (18%). (The survey instrument, student comment summary, and student ranking statistics for facility expansion and recreational programs are appended.) (MAB) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. * ********************************************************************** Increasing Institutional Effectiveness: A Continuous Effort after Accreditation U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Cr.ce Flucar-ona Resea., and 1,proverlent EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy HongYu Chen, Ph.D. Director, Institutional Research WVU at Parkersburg Parkersburg, WV 26101 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY H. Chen TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERICI:Presented at the Southeastern Association for Community College Research Twenty-fourth Annual Conference Asheville, North Carolina August 6-9, 1995
Differences in Traditional and Nontraditional Students' Preferences for Advising Services and Perceptions of Services Received
When traditional students' perceptions of advising were compared to those of nontraditional students, the traditional students placed more value on developmental advising. Overall, traditional stud...
Science fairs as learning tool for teaching excellence
Science fairs are usually considered to be a pedagogical and cultural activity that involves the students actively. Gifted students need challenges to further develop their skills while maintaining the motivation level. Science fairs may provide the informal environment that will request and allow these students of excellence to challenge themselves by developing a scientific research project. Despite being well known in different countries, in Portugal first steps are being made on the use and implementation of science fairs as effective pedagogical tool. In this work, we will present a 4 years study that was developed on a Portuguese school with the main goal of evaluating the advantages of this informal way of teaching. The study includes an analysis of the evolution of the students’ knowledge that have participated, or visited, the different science fairs. Some advices for the implementation of these projects will be given. The motivation of the students was monitored as well as the knowledge and skills effectively improved by this activity.