scholarly journals First year student expectations: Results from a university-wide student survey

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Crisp ◽  
◽  
Edward Palmer ◽  
Deborah Turnbull ◽  
Ted Nettelbeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Student Expectations ◽  
Constructive Dialogue ◽  
First Time ◽  
First Year Student

Although much has been written on the first-year experience of students at higher education institutions, less attention has been directed to the expectations of students when they enter an institution for the first time. This paper provides additional insights into the expectations of students at an Australian university and highlights areas in which students’ expectations may not necessarily align with the realities of common university practices. By providing opportunities for students to articulate their expectations, staff are able to use the responses for a constructive dialogue and work towards a more positive alignment between perceived expectations and levels of student satisfaction with their experience.

scholarly journals Investigating Determinants of Student Satisfaction in the First Year of College in a Public University in the State of Qatar

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bothaina Al-Sheeb ◽  
Abdel Magid Hamouda ◽  
Galal M. Abdella
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Current System ◽  
College Experience ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Social Engagements ◽  
First Year Student

Purpose. A first-year student’s life is a web of interrelated academic and social experiences. Most universities have rigorous processes to achieve excellence or reach high-quality standards, with “Student Satisfaction” being the central focus of all of higher education aims for excellence. This study examined the influence of various academic, social, and environmental aspects on the overall satisfaction of first-year students. Design. A questionnaire was designed and administered to first-year students, and the resulting data were analyzed using correlation, linear regression, binary logistic regression, and artificial neural networks. Findings. The findings suggested that three of the five factors explored—100-level course satisfaction, a sense of belonging, and citizenship knowledge and skills—were the best determinants of the level of first-year student satisfaction. Originality. This study examined the influence of academic, social, and environmental factors on overall student satisfaction with the college experience. Many studies have focused on how factors such as student attitudes, perceptions, and academic and social engagements impact first-year student success and retention; however, few studies have attempted to explore the influence these factors have on student satisfaction and their overall perceptions of the college experience. Discussion and Conclusion. This study has provided a snapshot of some of the key determinants of the overall student satisfaction of the first-year experience. This study can assist college administrators and instructors in their quality assurance initiatives which may include reviewing the current system, setting college priorities, and planning and allocation of future resources to better achieve higher levels of student satisfaction.

scholarly journals A comparative study of home educated students and traditionally educated students after completion of a Midwestern university first-year experience program

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jeremey David Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Self Report ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Midwestern University ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study was to assist educational leaders in developing policy to better understand the home educated students and aspects of their first-year experience. This was achieved using a quantitative approach to gather information from three different student population groups, traditionally educated students, home educated students, and privately educated students. This information was gathered from a Midwestern university using a self-report student survey after the students had completed a first-year experience program. This quantitative study had 251 respondents, primarily from one Midwestern university. The study utilized the Knowledge, Attitude and Behavior Items Survey. The survey contained 39 items separated into a demographic section and three subscales: (a) knowledge, (b) attitudes, and (c) behavior. The survey was adapted from The University Experience Battery Items (Schrader and Brown, 2008) by eliminating questions, focusing the language and adding a demographic section. This study has implications both theoretically and practically. For home educated students the study provides insight into how this specific population compares to other student groups. The data from this study shows home educated students self-reported the practical knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors for a successful transition into higher education. This may encourage home educated students to engage and enroll in first-year experience programs when entering higher education. This study suggests students finish these programs with those necessary qualities for student success. The primary recommendation for further study was there was not a significant difference in survey answers for the three student populations. Further examination should be performed on other students groups, pertaining to first-year experience programs. This research only separated the results by the model of education used before entering higher education. Additional investigation on the impact of first-year experience programs with minority groups, socio-economic status, gender, and other demographic categories would lead further development of these programs. Replication of this study to a broader range of universities and higher education institutions would allow for a more diverse population, allowing for improved generalizability.

scholarly journals Moving Beyond First Year: An Exploration of Staff and Student Experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-92
Author(s):  
David Birbeck ◽  
Lois McKellar ◽  
Kat Kenyon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Survey ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Study Staff ◽  
University Life ◽  
Second Year ◽  
The University ◽  
Support Students

Transition pedagogy has had a major impact on the first year experience for higher education students in Australia. Similarly, there has been a significant focus on transitioning students from their final year of study to employment. Considerably fewer studies have sought to understand the “middle child”; the years in between the first and final year of study. Staff at a metropolitan Australian university noticed an increase in students struggling with university life after the first year of their program, with students purposefully withdrawing from courses or their program entirely. This article reports on focus groups held with staff and feedback via a student survey. Findings suggest the challenges faced by students in second year are multi-faceted, and curriculum and delivery should be intentionally designed to support students through a series of transitions throughout the university journey.

scholarly journals Critical Thinking and Reasoning for Information Systems Students

10.28945/2780 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theda Thomas ◽  
Tim Davis ◽  
Alanah Kazlauskas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
First Year ◽  
Action Research Project ◽  
Rich Description ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
First Time

It is important for higher education institutions to produce Information Systems graduates who can think and solve problems effectively. This paper is a rich description of the first cycle in an action research project defined to investigate the effectiveness of using a specially developed unit in the first year of an Information Systems course in order to facilitate the enhancement of students’ critical thinking and reasoning skills. Introduced for the first time in Semester 2, 2003, the unit does not try to teach thinking and reasoning skills in isolation but shows how they can be applied within the field of Information Systems in a direct way. This paper describes the unit content together with qualitative comments depicting the students’ and the lecturers’ experiences with the unit and an analysis of and reflection on what worked and what did not. The skills covered in this unit should then be able to be applied in units offered elsewhere in the course.

First-time adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards by Russian universities: Practical aspects

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-383
Author(s):  
L.I. Kulikova ◽  
I.I. Yakhin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
First Time ◽  
Russian Universities

Subject. This article examines the practice of first-time applying the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by Russian higher education institutions. Objectives. The article aims to identify and address the problems associated with such application, and conduct a critical analysis of Russian universities' compliance with the requirements of the International Standards on their first-time adoption. Methods. For the study, we used observation, systematization, and a comparative analysis. Results. The article examines and describes the practical experience of the first-time use of IPSAS in the preparation of reporting by Russian educational institutions participating in the Russian Academic Excellence Project (5Top100 Project). It presents the results of the most typical reclassification adjustments of reporting items made by the universities when preparing their inductive statements of financial position as of the date of transition to IPSAS. Conclusions and Relevance. Most of the universities studied complied with the requirements of the IPSAS first-time adoption and provided comparative information in their first IPSAS financial reporting. The importance of the study is to justify the provision that financial reporting in accordance with IPSAS is appropriate to improve the international competitiveness of universities, which makes it possible to better reflect financial information on the activities of universities. The results of the study can be used in the practical activities of the Russian economy public sector organizations, and in the educational process of higher education institutions.

Japan: The "Haves" are Gaining and the "Have-Nots" are Losing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshiaki Obara
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Private Higher Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Prospective Students ◽  
Risk Of Falling ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Rural Colleges ◽  
Negative Cycle ◽  
Rural Institutions

Many Japanese private higher education institutions also face a risk of falling into the "losing group." It seems that small/rural colleges end up receiving less extra income from admissions over the tei-in (the quota for first-year students) level. This loss creates less scholarship money for capable students. The small/rural institutions are likely to lose prospective students as a negative cycle works against them. This tendency, in turn, augments the opportunities available to large, metropolitan higher education institutions. In Japan, a clear division is anticipated, with the larger institutions getting much larger and the smaller and rural ones getting much smaller. This is a hard fact that we will face in the foreseeable future.

scholarly journals Main Features and Challenges of Implementing Internal Quality Assurance Within African Higher Education Institutions: The Case of Eduardo Mondlane University

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Casimiro Zavale ◽  
Luisa Alcantra Santos ◽  
Maria Da Conceição Dias
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Internal Quality Assurance ◽  
Reflection On Action ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eduardo Mondlane University

Founded in 1962, Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Mozambique’s largest and most prestigious university, established an Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) system for the first time in 2013. Based on UEM’s case, this paper examines the features and challenges faced when implementing an IQA system within African higher education institutions. Literature on higher education quality assurance has widely examined the features of, and challenges faced by national QA systems, or by a QA system established across several higher education institutions (HEIs). However, this literature has rarely targeted single HEIs, particularly (African) HEIs that are establishing, for the first time, their IQA systems. Besides, even when IQA at a single HEI is targeted, this is often done by outsiders. Based on reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, this paper addresses the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. The authors analyse a system that they have been involved in establishing. The paper’s findings enable to conclude that the main challenges of implementing an IQA system in an African HEI are associated with linking QA to decision-making and to a funding strategy; training human resources and allocating funds for the system to operate and to be sustainable; enabling the system to be assimilated by the university community; and defining measurable and objective quality standards to enable unbiased performance classification. Fondée en 1962, l’Université Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), la plus grande et la plus prestigieuse université du Mozambique, a créé pour la première fois en 2013 un système interne d’assurance qualité (IAQ). A partir de l’étude du cas de l’UEM, cet article examine les caractéristiques et les défis qui attendent les institutions d’enseignement supérieur africaines qui désirent implémenter un IAQ. La littérature sur l’assurance qualité de l’enseignement supérieur a largement examiné les caractéristiques des systèmes nationaux d’AQ (ou de systèmes communs à plusieurs institutions), et les défis auxquels ils sont confrontés. Elle s ‘est cependant rarement concentrée sur des cas uniques d’institutions, notamment des institutions (africaines) qui ont créé pour la première fois leur propre IAQ. Par ailleurs, même quand elle s’attarde sur une institution en particulier, l’analyse est souvent effectuée par des personnes étrangères à l’institution. Fondé sur la réflexion dans l’action et la réflexion sur l’action, cet article présente les perspectives de personnes internes et étrangères à l’établissement. Il permet de conclure que les principaux défis à affronter lors de l’établissement d’un IAQ sont dus à la difficulté de lier l’AQ à la prise de décision et à une stratégie de financement ; à la formation des ressources humaines et l’allocation des fonds nécessaires pour que le système fonctionne et perdure ; à l’assimilation du système par la communauté universitaire ; et à la définition de standards de qualité mesurables et objectifs pour permettre une classification de la performance impartiale. 

scholarly journals Quality of higher education institutions and graduate satisfaction at the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (32) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Miriam Janet Cervantes López ◽  
Arturo Llanes Castillo ◽  
Alma Alicia Peña Maldonado ◽  
Jaime Cruz Casados
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Quality Of Institutions

Higher education institutions face the challenge that their graduates have the competences that allows them to quickly enter to the labor market and obtain an adequate economic remuneration. us graduate satisfaction is a key element in the assessment of the quality of institutions, since it allows us to know their perception regarding the quality received in their professional training. e objective is study the quality of higher education institutions and the satisfaction of the graduate in the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas. e methodology is descriptive and transversal  based on graduates information and satisfaction. As a result, Students are satisfied with their professional training received and their expectations were met since the academic level of the institution is good. It is concluded that studies on student satisfaction are useful for higher education institutions to identify educational and administrative priorities about the service they provide.

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