Bronx Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY)
Abstract
The vision is to provide creative solutions to address persistence and retention. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the College Discovery Program (CD) on retention for of high risk, low income, and first year students at Bronx Community College. The study was a quantitative study of 281 freshmen students enrolled from the Fall of 2012 to the Fall of 2013. The College Student Inventory (CSI) of the Noel Levitz Retention System was used to collect data on student’s self-reported academic, personal and social experiences in three categories: Academic Motivation, General Coping Skills and Receptivity to Support Services. There were two major findings: The retention rate for Persisters, i.e., students who enrolled in the Fall semester and returned in the Spring semester, was 70.7% and 29.3% for Non-Persisters. The second important finding was the predictive power of the Overall Risk Index of the CSI. The Overall Risk Index significantly differentiated between many of the variables, such as High School GPA, Current Grades, Academic Factors, Sociability, and Receptivity to Personal and Financial Counseling, etc. The conclusion reached is that CD program and CSI were significant factors in improving retention for at-risk community college students.
Universidad del Turabo, Gurabo, Puerto Rico (AGMUS)
Abstract
Both implementation of best practices and appropriate technological applications can help bridge gaps that college students face on a daily basis. Highly successful peer tutoring and faculty training programs have been implemented in order to prepare students to thrive in an increasingly technological world, as well as prepare faculty members who will be able to help students master academic standards and skills. The creation of a web space for increasing the accessibility of academic support programs and an increased presence in social media platforms to engage students in an interactive format, as well as fine tuning the offerings and their availability, have reaped great benefits, making more robust existing academic support initiatives. Also, the establishment of a revamped Summer Faculty Immersion Program, which has proven highly effective in the School of Engineering (SOE), has been transformed and exported to other schools, providing additional tools for both regular and adjunct professors in STEM+H careers. This paper describes how outstanding initiatives from two different projects have allowed the growth of faculty training and academic support programs for a vast majority of students from the Universidad del Turabo (UT) and its five centers in Puerto Rico to increase retention and graduation rates.
La intención principal de este estudio es investigar las demandas de tecnología en el mercado de trabajo actual y establecer un plan para mejorar la alfabetización, en materia de tecnología de los estudiantes, en una institución de educación superior como es South Texas College. La alfabetización tecnológica es un factor importante en el éxito de los estudiantes y un agente de cambio del sistema educativo. El impacto que tiene la tecnología en la sociedad en general; se ha establecido en estudios anteriores como una necesidad inminente de los estudiantes de alfabetizarse tecnológicamente para permitirles cumplir con las demandas que actualmente la fuerza laboral exige. El marco teórico de este estudio se centra en la teoría social de Toffler. La teoría social de Toffler ha explorado los precedentes históricos de la capacidad de los seres humanos para adaptarse al cambio, haciendo hincapié en la tecnología como un agente de cambio.
Durante la implantación del programa de educación a distancia, Nutrition Live at UPR-RP, se realizó una evaluación para determinar el cumplimiento de los objetivos y medir el impacto. Para asegurar la calidad de la evaluación y por consiguiente la implantación adecuada del programa de educación a distancia presentamos el uso de la metaevaluación: la evaluación de la evaluación. Esta metaevaluación ayudó a identificar fortalezas y debilidades en los planes y la ejecución de la evaluación. Este tipo de evaluación es especialmente efectivo en encontrar la diferencia entre lo planificado y lo ejecutado. El objetivo de este estudio de caso es describir la metaevaluación realizada durante la implantación de este programa de educación a distancia que fue desarrollado en un programa de nutrición y dietética de nivel subgraduado. Se incluye además una descripción del proceso de implantación; así como los factores que influenciaron la implantación del proyecto.
El propósito de esta investigación es conocer la relación que existe entre el aprovechamiento académico y el uso de portales sociales en los cursos de Escritura Rápida en Español e Inglés y Transcripción Integrada en Inglés y Español, del Departamento de Sistemas de Oficina de la Universidad de Puerto Rico en Aguadilla. El estudio consideró una muestra por disponibilidad y se diseñaron instrumentos específicos para medir y relacionar las variables bajo estudio. La población está compuesta por aquellos estudiantes del Departamento de Sistemas de Oficina que han tomado o están tomando los siguientes cursos: SOFI 3215 Escritura Rápida en Español, SOFI 3315 Escritura Rápida en Inglés y SOFI 3020 Transcripción Integrada Inglés y Español. Se recomienda que los estudiantes desarrollen técnicas para utilizar más efectivamente su tiempo dando prioridades a sus actividades académicas. Puesto que el uso de redes sociales puede convertirse en una adicción, se sugiere un estudio dirigido a medir el efecto de integrar estas redes sociales en el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje.
Sarah L. Hoiland is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department at Hostos Community College, City University of New York (CUNY). She has spent five years conducting ethnographic research on motorcycle club subculture in New York City and in Florida. Currently, she’s the principal investigator of a research project on this subculture and is working on a book about the largest “outlaw” women’s motorcycle club in the United States. This research was funded by a PSC-CUNY grant in 2014-2015 and again in 2016-2017. Her pedagogical research interests include online learning assessment and student perceptions of their quantitative reasoning and quantitative literacy abilities. She has been teaching hybrid courses and service-learning courses since 2009.
Contact info:
Sarah L. Hoiland
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department
Hostos Community College, City University of New York (CUNY)
E- Portfolio (log in required): https://hostos.digication.com/professor_sarah_hoiland/Home
Kate Lyons is Head of Reference and the IT Librarian at the Hostos Community College Library (of The City University of New York). She is also a Faculty Liaison to the Department of Educational Technology. Kate Lyons holds an MS in Management from New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a BA in English from Grinnell College.
Contact info:
Kate Lyons, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Technology
Hostos Community College, CUNY
Dr. Kristopher Burrell is an Assistant Professor of History at Hostos Community College. He earned his doctoral degree in US History from the City University of New York-Graduate Center. His research interests include online learning assessment, in addition to 20th Century US and African American history. He has been teaching hybrid and asynchronous courses since 2014.
Contact info:
Kristopher Burrell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of History, Behavioral and Social Sciences Department
Interim Co-Coordinator Writing Across the Curriculum Program
Hostos Community College
Professor Sandy Figueroa has been at Hostos Community College since 1976 as an adjunct and then in 1979 as an instructor in the Secretarial Science Department. Since 1999, Professor Figueroa has been teaching in the Computer Information Systems Unit. From 2003 until 2006, she was the chair of the Business Department. Currently, Professor Figueroa is the Coordinator for the Office Technology Unit of the Business Department. Professor Figueroa is chair of a number of college-wide committees and has served on a number of committees in the Business Department and the College.
Contact info:
Assistant Professor and Office Technology Coordinator, Business Department
Hostos Community College, CUNY
Email: mailto:SFIGUEROA@hostos.cuny.edu
Dr. Aaron Davis is a three-time graduate of the University of Delaware, with an undergraduate degree in Fine Art, and a Masters and Doctorate in Education. As an instructional designer, Dr. Davis specializes in incorporating new media communication techniques in education, by adapting content from traditional education towards 21st century learning.
Contact info: Aaron Davis, BFA, M.Ed., Ed.D. Instructional Designer, Office of Educational Technology
Hostos Community College, CUNY
Website: http://www.aarondavisart.com/education
Linda Ridley is a Lecturer at CUNY’s Hostos Community College, where she teaches Entrepreneurship, Principles of Management, Principles of Marketing, and Introduction to Business. Additionally, she is an Adjunct Professor at other CUNY schools – the School of Professional Studies in the M.S. program for Business Management and Leadership, where she teaches Organizational Behavior and Leadership, and Managing Diversity in a Global Economy; and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, where she teaches Business Communications I and II. As a complement to her teaching, Linda is CEO of Edgar J. Ridley & Associates, Inc., an international management consulting firm specializing in change management. Linda has been designated an Expert Consultant by the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) out of Tokyo, Japan, and she services global clients, conducting workshops and training seminars in workplace effectiveness. Linda has conducted training for women entrepreneurs from companies and organizations throughout Southeast Asia. Linda has the additional prestige of being on the faculty of the American Management Association, where her portfolio includes corporate training in analytical topics such as Critical Thinking,High-Impact Decision Making, and High Performance Accountability. Linda studied at Virginia Commonwealth University; she earned her Master’s in Business Administration from the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She and her husband, Edgar, reside in Harlem, New York City.
Evaluación de una Certificación para Docentes que Enseñan en Entornos Virtuales
Evaluation of a Certification for Professors who Teach in Virtual Environments
Resumen
Este artículo presenta los hallazgos de un estudio realizado para determinar cuán eficiente es la certificación que utiliza una universidad privada en Puerto Rico para enseñar las competencias del docente virtual. El estudio utilizó un enfoque de investigación cuantitativa no experimental con un diseño transeccional descriptivo. La población del estudio estuvo constituida por el personal docente que tomó la certificación para enseñar cursos híbridos y a distancia que ofrece la institución. Para la realización del estudio se utilizó una muestra probabilística. La muestra fue seleccionada utilizando la técnica de muestra aleatoria simple. Para lograr el propósito de este estudio se utilizó un cuestionario en línea adaptado de la Escala de Competencias del Docente Virtual de Ruiz (2010). El instrumento midió la opinión de los docentes sobre las competencias pedagógica, tecnológica, interpersonal y gerencial que se enseñaron en la certificación. Los hallazgos reflejaron que las variables años de experiencia en la educación superior y años de experiencia como docente en la institución son factores que influyen en la dimensión tecnológica y gerencial. Se evidenció la necesidad de revisar la certificación y de crear un proceso de evaluación para determinar el nivel de conocimiento adquirido por el docente de las dimensiones de enseñanza virtual.
Palabras Claves
Educación a Distancia, Desarrollo Profesional, Aprendizaje a Distancia, Educación Superior, Competencias del Docente Virtual
The Office of Education Technology (EdTech) at Hostos Community College and faculty members from various departments created the Hostos Online Learning Assessment (HOLA) Task Force to design a survey for gathering and assessing data about students’ perceptions of their online learning experiences. The task force wanted to utilize the survey results to identify strengths and weaknesses in online instruction and student preparedness for the online learning environment. Student perceptions of online learning are integral to building upon current best practices and also gauging the preparedness of the students for the online learning environment, particularly in an urban, Hispanic-serving community college. The survey and results will be discussed within the broader context of best practices and online learning assessments as well as the way the HOLA Task Force is utilizing the data to make meaningful changes in the survey instrument, in addittion planning for continuous improvement in online learning.
Keywords: online learning, asynchronous, hybrid, blended, student, community college, urban, Hispanic, African American
Today’s students are digital natives who have grown up with computer technology and video games. Their constant exposure to the internet and other digital media has shaped the way they receive, process and learn information. Consequently, the traditional lecture and textbook approach to education is not as effective for this generation. We believe that students can benefit from reality based computer simulated games which are incorporated into the course curriculum. Games and computer simulations are no longer just for fun; they can be used as an effective pedagogical tool to enhance learning and foster an engaged learning environment. While there is a general consensus among educators that educational games are an effective method of motivating students, there is a lack of empirical studies relating to the impact of this teaching modality on students’ academic performance and engagement. This paper reports on the effectiveness of using a computer simulated game on student learning and engagement in three different business courses.
President emeritus Queensborough Community College, former Vice Chancellor for Community Colleges of the City University of New York, and former HETS Chairman
* This article is an excerpt of the book “America’s Broken Promise: Bridging the Community College Achievement Gap” that will be published by Hudson Whitman/Excelsior College Press (2016)
Mending the Broken Promise: Our Students, Our Teachers, Our Missions
Unfettered access, a major component of the democratic promise of community colleges, has, over the years, morphed from a guiding inspiration to a required mandate. Contemporary community colleges continue to offer the most generous point of entry to incoming students seeking a postsecondary education. By implicitly and usually explicitly promising to provide a home to all potential students, community colleges promise to meet their ever more widely variable academic, financial, and social needs. Community colleges promise to enable all students to meet their divergent goals for education; consequently, community colleges promise to help all students achieve their dreams.
