Simply the best? Determinants of achieving the highest grade in a doctoral degree in Germany [Scholarly Article - Higher Education, June 2022]

Title:

Simply the best? Determinants of achieving the highest grade in a doctoral degree in Germany

 

Author:

Susanne de Vogel

German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), Lange Laube 12, 30159, Hanover, Germany

 

Published:

Higher Education, 15 June 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-022-00883-z

 

Abstract:

In Germany, the final grade of a doctorate is significant for careers inside and outside the academic labor market. Particularly important is the highest grade—summa cum laude. At the same time, doctoral grades are constantly subject to criticism. Thus far, however, neither German nor international studies have examined the determinants of doctoral grades. Drawing on Hu’s model of college grades, this study develops a conceptual framework for explaining doctoral grades and investigates the impact of doctorate holders’, reviewers’, and environmental context characteristics on the probability of doctoral candidates graduating with the highest grade, summa cum laude. Using logistic regression analyses on data from the German PhD Panel Study, the study confirms that high-performing individuals are more likely to achieve the highest doctoral grade. A learning environment that is characterized by supervision security, high expectations to participate in scientific discourse, and strong support in network integration also increases the chances of graduating with a summa cum laude degree. In contrast, being female, having a highly respected reviewer, studying natural sciences, medical studies or engineering, completing an external doctorate, and studying within a learning environment characterized by rigid time constraints are negatively related to the probability of receiving a summa cum laude grade. This study is the first to lend empirical evidence to the critical discussion of doctoral grades and offers insights to ensure the validity of doctoral grades.

Social Robots in Applied Settings: A Long-Term Study on Adaptive Robotic Tutors in Higher Education [Frontiers in Robotics and AI, March 2022]

Title:

Social Robots in Applied Settings: A Long-Term Study on Adaptive Robotic Tutors in Higher Education 

 

Authors:

Melissa Donnermann, Philipp Schaper & Birgit Lugrin

 

Published:

Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 15 March 2022

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2022.831633/full

 

From the article:

Learning in higher education scenarios requires self-directed learning and the challenging task of self-motivation while individual support is rare. The integration of social robots to support learners has already shown promise to benefit the learning process in this area. In this paper, we focus on the applicability of an adaptive robotic tutor in a university setting. To this end, we conducted a long-term field study implementing an adaptive robotic tutor to support students with exam preparation over three sessions during one semester. In a mixed design, we compared the effect of an adaptive tutor to a control condition across all learning sessions. With the aim to benefit not only motivation but also academic success and the learning experience in general, we draw from research in adaptive tutoring, social robots in education, as well as our own prior work in this field. Our results show that opting in for the robotic tutoring is beneficial for students. We found significant subjective knowledge gain and increases in intrinsic motivation regarding the content of the course in general. Finally, participation resulted in a significantly better exam grade compared to students not participating. However, the extended adaptivity of the robotic tutor in the experimental condition did not seem to enhance learning, as we found no significant differences compared to a non-adaptive version of the robot.

 

The development and pilot of the university student embeddedness (USE) scale for student retention within universities: validation with an Australian student sample [Scholarly Article - Higher education, January 2022]

Title:

The development and pilot of the university student embeddedness (USE) scale for student retention within universities: validation with an Australian student sample 

 

Authors:

Brody Heritage, Christopher Ladeira & Andrea R. Steele 

 

Published:

Higher Education, 31 January 2022

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-022-00813-z

 

Abstract:

A significant number of university students are leaving their institutions before completing their degrees. The present research project applied embeddedness theory, from organizational research, to understand student retention in a tertiary student population, and develop a quantitative instrument that measured university student embeddedness. In Study One, a mixed-methods approach was employed to determine whether the Fit (similarity between the student and the university), Links (count of relationships at university), and Sacrifice (losses upon leaving university) dimensions of embeddedness related to students’ self-reported reasons for remaining enrolled at their university. Qualitative results from 15 undergraduate students indicated that intent to remain could be understood within the embeddedness dimensions of Fit, Links, and Sacrifice. These themes were employed to build the University Student Embeddedness (USE) scale. The measure was examined against Rasch measurement model assumptions for each of its subscales using data collected from 299 Australian tertiary students. Study Two sought to examine exploratory evidence of the concurrent validity of the scores from this developed measure. Responses from a separate sample of 196 Australian tertiary students showed only the Fit scale significantly related to student intentions to stay at university. All USE scales correlated with academic-related skills and motivations. These results suggest that the Fit scale may be valuable in identifying students at risk of dropout. Early identification of “at risk” students may lead to the development of targeted retention interventions. However, the USE’s role in detection requires further validation and the development of consistent findings within other student cohorts.

 

SOUTH AFRICA - Academics reject claims that 2020 has been a success for universities [Maverick Citizen, 14 December 2020]

Title:

Academics reject claims that 2020 has been a success for universities

Author:

Zukiswa Pikoli

Published:

Maverick Citizen, 14 December 2020

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-12-14-academics-reject-claims-that-2020-has-been-a-success-for-universities/?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

From the article:

More than 300 academics have co-signed a statement challenging the university management narrative that 2020 has been a success. They have accused management of being blind to the damage wrought by the Covid-19 lockdown measures, saying onlining will have terrible consequences for tertiary education.

Enhancing academic success through the involvement of students in quality assurance and promotion in higher education: A synopsis [Scholarly Article - South African Journal of Higher Education, 2020]

Title:

Enhancing academic success through the involvement of students in quality assurance and promotion in higher education: A synopsis

 

Author:

A. Saidi

 

Published:

South African Journal of Higher Education, Volume 34, Number 5 (2020)

https://www.journals.ac.za/index.php/sajhe/article/view/4347

Abstract:

One of the hallmarks of the democratisation of higher education is the involvement of students in the entire higher education delivery value chain. Global literature demonstrates a positive causal relationship between the involvement of students in the higher education delivery value chain and academic success. The article contends that, since quality assurance and promotion are acknowledged as integral components of the higher education delivery value chain, the involvement of students in quality assurance and promotion processes at the institutional and national levels can contribute positively towards enhancing academic success for students. The post-apartheid policies on higher education envisioned a transformed, effective and efficient higher education system, characterised by, among others, expanding access and improving student success. Unfortunately, while access has been expanding substantially, academic success of students has not improved significantly. This state of affairs requires that all stakeholders should have their hands on deck to contribute, through their diverse work activities, towards improving academic success of students. It is within this context that the CHE organised a conference on the theme: “Enhancing Academic Success through the Involvement of Students in Quality Assurance and Promotion in Higher Education”. This article provides a synopsis of the contribution of the conference to the discourse on enhancing the academic success through the involvement of students in quality assurance and promotion.

Hong Kong - Will new security law prove a turning point for HE?

Title:
Will new security law prove a turning point for HE?

Authors:
Philip Altbach & Gerard A Postiglione

Published:
University World News, 25 July 2020
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200724110105165

From the article:
Hong Kong’s academic success is quite remarkable for its size and its higher education’s USP has been its openness, internationalisation and cosmopolitanism. Could all that be about to change with the imposition of the new security law and what will be the wider impact?