The Insecurity of Higher Ed Research

Academics are often characterized (and caricatured) as pompous, confident that they are the smartest people in the room and eager to prove it. But arrogance and insecurity are sometimes flip sides of one coin, and the professoriate has seen a rash lately of scholars expressing dismay at their perceived marginalization -- sociologists awaiting calls from the Obama administration, for instance, and political scientists reiterating calls for more grounding for their discipline in "the real world."
When it comes to a field with an inferiority complex, few have it over scholars who study higher education. They, like many of their colleagues in the social sciences, yearn for more attention from and influence with policy makers, as was the subject of numerous discussions at last week's meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education here.
But higher ed researchers also feel as if they get short shrift from other scholars within the academy, several of them argued at a panel called "The Trouble With Higher Ed Research" at the ASHE meeting on Friday. Lisa Wolf-Wendel, a professor of higher education at the University of Kansas, said she was stunned when she went on the job market and an interviewer, impressed, asked her why she had sought a Ph.D. in higher education. "His implication was that I should have gotten a degree in a real discipline," she said.
Inside Higher Education

Fans and Fears of 'Lecture Capture'

If professors record their lectures and put them online, will students still come to class?
That question came up in two different sessions at the 2009 Educause Conference here on Friday. And in both cases, the panelists cited research indicating that students’ likelihood of skipping class has no correlation with whether a professor decides to capture her lecture and post it the Web.
Attendance is much more contingent on whether the professor is an engaging lecturer, said Jennifer Stringer, director of educational technology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, at one of the sessions. “Well-attended lectures were well-watched; poorly attended lectures were not watched,” Stringer said, pointing to research she had conducted at Stanford. "If you’re bad, you’re bad. If you’re bad online, you’re bad in lectures, students don’t come.”
....The technology known as “lecture capture,” which is offered in many forms by more than a dozen vendors, has been getting more and more attention in higher education as the software becomes more sophisticated and studies suggesting it could boost retention and performance continue piling up....
Inside Higher Education

The Survey of Higher Education Faculty: Level of Faculty Satisfaction with the Academic Library

The report details the level of faculty satisfaction with library creature comforts, information literacy efforts, hours of access, research support for faculty, collection adequacy and other areas. Data is presented in the aggregate and for 12 criteria including academic field, size of college, type of college, academic title and other factors.
Just a few findings of the report are:
- 28.44% of faculty said that they were highly satisfied with their academic library's level of physical comfort.
- Satisfaction was high on the issue of the library staff's capacity to deliver help when needed. More than 47% said that they were highly satisfied and 38.53% said that they were satisfied with their library's capacity to deliver help when needed.
- Only 14.33% of the faculty in the sample said that they were highly satisfied with the adequacy of their college library's materials collection for their own personal scholarly pursuits.
- More than 44% of US-based faculty but only 30.77% of Canadian faculty were highly satisfied with their academic library's inter-library loan services.
- 27.44% of faculty in the sample felt that their library should increase spending on traditional print books.
Research and Markets

Online Programs: Profits Are There, Technological Innovation Is Not

Online programs are generally profitable. But despite the buzz about Web 2.0, the education they provide is still dominated by rudimentary, text-based technology.
Those are two key findings in a recent report, “Benchmarking Online Operations: Snapshots of an Emerging Industry,” produced by the consulting firm Eduventures.
Online education has grown in popularity, yet it remains dependent on learning-management systems, with content-delivery built around text, says Richard Garrett, an Eduventures managing director.
“The underlying delivery model or pedagogical model hasn’t really changed much in the last five, 10 years,” Mr. Garrett says.
Chronicle of Higher Education

Education (VCs Pledge to Enhance Quality of Teaching and Research)

Higher Education Commission (HEC) will meet the challenging targets for higher education as put forth in the National Education Policy-2009. This was stated by Dr. Javed R. Laghari, Chairman HEC here Friday while addressing a media conference at the conclusion of the two-day Vice Chancellors Committee Meeting hosted by the HEC.
Further, the Vice Chancellors of public and private universities also pledged to enhance teaching quality and research despite the financial crunch that faces them.
Individual

Open Text: Wikis, Blogs, Collaborative Document Management and Twitter Drive Enterprise

Findings from independent IT industry analyst research firm, Hydrasight, confirm that a growing number of organisations in the Asia Pacific region have already adopted enterprise web 2.0-based solutions. Almost a third of respondents to the online survey conducted in September 2009 indicated they already have enterprise web 2.0 implementations in place....
...The study reveals the top three enterprise web 2.0 applications are wikis, blogs and collaborative document management. Twitter is also cited as a significant tool based on its potential marketing value. Given these approaches are all publishing related, the preliminary report suggests that organisations are continually looking for ways to streamline content production, knowledge availability and information dissemination. Organisations also appear to be more aware of, and interested in, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of their information management practices....
Individual

Few Teachers are Black Men

Lenny Macklin made it to 10th grade before having a teacher who looked like him — an African-American male. Gregory Georges graduated from high school without ever being taught by a black man.
Only about 2% of teachers nationwide are African-American men. But experts say that needs to change if educators expect to reduce minority achievement gaps and dropout rates.
The Associated Press

School Choice Would Reshape U.S. Education

Tomorrow in Philadelphia, two of politics' most interesting personalities - the Rev. Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich - are expected to join Education Secretary Arne
School choice would reshape U.S education...
Philadelphia Inquirer

Elsevier Launches SciVal Funding Solution to Help U.S. Research Institutions Better Compete for Grants

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, today announced the launch of SciVal Funding, a comprehensive funding intelligence solution for U.S. research institutions. The platform helps researchers locate the most appropriate grant opportunities in order to maximize their potential to receive funding
The Chronicle

Study: Making Financial Aid Process Easier Opens Up Access To Higher Education

For years, studies have shown that young people from low-income households across North America are less likely to apply to college or university than peers from higher-income families. Now, a groundbreaking new study shows the solution may be as simple as helping students with the financial aid process.
Inquisitr

Dragon Peter Jones on unlocking the potential of future entrepreneurs

Dragons Den tycoon Peter Jones, who based the trial for his National Enterprise Academy in Bucks, explains why he believes so strongly in the need to teach budding entrepreneurs real-life business skills.
Bucks Herald

Clark will miss Basset

When John Bassett took me on a tour of the campus of Clark University recently, I had no idea that he was going to step down from the presidency of the school any time soon. He seemed very much at home
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

GSE heads new international effort

In collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Graduate School of Education will head an international effort to expand research in math and science education. Researchers from
Daily Pennsylvanian