Fall Issue, Volume XI, of the HETS Online Journal in another special collaboration with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU).
Pamela Vargas, HOJ Chief Editor
Dr. Marcela G. Cuellar, Invited Co-Editor
Welcome to the Fall 2020 edition of the HETS Online Journal! Like everything in 2020, it’s been a challenge This edition marks the second time that HETS and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) have collaborated to bring you an even more informative Journal. By working together, we can offer a larger variety and number of articles. The HETS Journal recognized the valuable collaboration of Dr. Marcela G. Cuellar from the University of California, Davis, who represented HACU as an invited editor.
As always, the Journal focuses on ensuring the success of Hispanic students in higher education, which is at the core of the missions of both organizations. Many of the articles include the use of technology in student success, while all include information designed to help Hispanic students access higher education and succeed in their studies. In light of the pandemic and all of the other challenges of recent months, learning from the experiences of others has become even more vital. In this edition, you’ll find the following articles:
1- A National Portrait of STEM Trajectories through Two- and Four-Year Hispanic Serving Institutions, explores the undergraduate profiles and outcomes of STEM majors who begin post secondary education at two- and four-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
2- The article, Assessing the Needs and Experiences of First-Generation Students’ Transition to Remote Learning Due to COVID-19 Pandemic at a Hispanic Serving Institution, describes an evaluation research project undertaken to determine the impact that the shift to remote learning has had on first-generation college students’ learning and the challenges that they faced in the process.
3- Estrategias de apoyo a la facultad en tiempos de pandemia: la respuesta de dos instituciones, presents successful strategies that two institutions employed during the rapid transition to remote teaching that was necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
4- La oferta universitaria en línea de Puerto Rico: Actualización a otoño 2020, provides an update of the distance learning offerings at colleges and universities in Puerto Rico and identifies the institutions, disciplines and level of programs offered under this teaching modality.
5- La tecnología virtual: su importancia en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de la contabilidad, explores the use of virtual technology in an accounting course and discusses how it can influence motivation and academic performance.
6- Social Presence: An Imperative in Online Learning Contexts, discusses the role of culture in social presence and how teaching and learning, faculty disposition, and cultural competence can be used to encourage a sense of belonging to an institution.
7- In the article, Student and Faculty Perspectives on Student Evaluation of Teaching: A Cross-Sectional Study at a Community College, the usefulness of Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) is examined from both the student and faculty views, with the goal of making these evaluations more useful for faculty while also providing a better learning experience for students.
8- Teaching Using a Flipped Classroom Approach: Impacts for Students of Color, considers whether the use of a flipped classroom teaching method for undergraduate quantitative research methods had an impact on undergraduate students’ academic achievement, as measured by their performance in course assignments, as well as on quizzes, exams, and the final paper.
9- The Effect of a Kernel Sentence Combining Technique on the Reading Comprehension Levels of Basic English Students at UPR-Cayey, investigates and analyzes the implementation of the Kernel-Sentence-Combining Technique and how it helped Basic English students at UPR-Cayey to improve their reading comprehension levels.
10- The purpose of the article entitled, What are the best practices for online student engagement among Hispanic-Serving Institutions? A narrative review, is to explore how post-secondary education instructors at HSIs can increase learner engagement and improve course retention rates, particularly at a time when many courses within post-secondary institutions are being delivered online.
We hope you will enjoy this edition, and that you will also consider sharing your expertise and experiences for a future edition of the HETS Online Journal.
Happy reading, and, above all, stay safe!
Pamela A. (Krauser) Vargas
HETS Online Journal Chief Editor and
Director, Research and Grant Development
Southeast Missouri State University
HETS Executive Director, Ms. Yubelkys Montalvo participated with Mr. Albert Troche, one of the HETS Student Advisory Committee members, at the HACU International Conference held on February 25 to 27, 2015 in Guadalajara, México. Thanks to the collaboration of HACU and the sponsorship of the Inter American University of Puerto Rico, HETS was able to travel to México and have an exhibitor to promote the services offers to students, faculty and administrators among the participants of the event, including the student track.
