SO IT GOES

The Journal of General Education, 2004

American community colleges are struggling with issues of enrollment and retention. According to research, less than a third of community college students go on to graduate or transfer within 8 years of beginning college coursework and enrollment figures have steadily declined by 3% for each of the past 5 years. These statistics have resulted in many colleges trying to create new recruitment plans and student success initiatives to address and counter these issues, particularly focusing on at-risk and non-traditional student populations. This study centered on one such initiative: the QuickStart program at Mountain Empire Community College. It answered the following central research question: How do students and faculty perceive participation in a QuickStart program at MECC has influenced students' decisions to enroll and their ability to succeed at the college? Findings revealed that QuickStart positively influenced the likelihood students would enroll at the college because it helped to ease students' fears, increase their confidence, and make them feel a sense of belonging. Upon completion of the program, students felt more prepared both to take the entrance placement exams and to begin college level coursework. This perception resulted in the majority of QuickStart students enrolling at MECC and testing into gatekeeper courses, allowing them to avoid developmental coursework. Students who enrolled at the college indicated that they would have been unlikely to even consider college if not for their participation in QuickStart. Students expressed that they valued having QuickStart faculty to lead them throughout the process of applying for college and to teach the basic skills students need to be successful. These findings offer guidance to MECC and other institutions seeking to develop new recruitment tools and a better system for preparing students for college work.

Educational Researcher, 2002

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2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

Director of the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE) and the inaugural holder of the Mitchell T. & Lella Blanche Bowie Endowed Chair at the University of Washington. She earned her doctorate in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and joined the UW in 1998 after seven years on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on engineering design learning and students as emerging engineering professionals. She is a fellow of AAAS and ASEE, was the 2002 recipient of the ASEE Chester F. Carlson Award for Innovation in Engineering Education, and received the 2009 David B. Thorud Leadership Award, which is given to a UW faculty or staff for demonstrating leadership, innovation, and teamwork.

This Brief summarizes the final report from the "Accelerating Student Success through Credit-Based Transition Programs" study. That study, which was initiated by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), examined the ways that CBTPs may help middle- and low-achieving students enter and succeed in college. The final report presents findings from case studies of five diverse CBTPs. The sites included a middle college high school in California, an International Baccalaureate program in Minnesota, a dual enrollment program in New York City, a technically-oriented dual enrollment program in Iowa, and a Tech Prep program in Texas. [This Brief was drawn from a longer report of the same title.]

Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 2020

What's the Point of College? Seeking Purpose in an Age of Reform, by Johann N. Neem (2019), provided a thorough and far-reaching analysis into the history and modern challenges that postsecondary institutions face. Advocating for a return to recognizing education as a valuable venture in itself, and strongly in support of liberal arts education, Neem posited that the true purpose of college is to generate well-rounded, critical thinkers and that the journey to the degree is more critical than the degree itself. Political and financial attacks on universities from hostile provincial governments in Canada are increasing, coming in the form of reduced operating grants and revised funding models that prioritize post-graduation earnings over equitable student access to different disciplines (Allen, 2019; Dhaliwal, 2020; Ojewole, 2019). In light of these changes, much can be learned from Neem's historical overview and rationale in support of institutions that function as locations for knowledge expansion and that are not simply designed to produce workers able to succeed in a capitalist landscape. Although Neem focused exclusively on the American context, which is structured differently from Canadian higher education, his core purpose for higher education remains universal, regardless of context. Throughout the text, Neem was careful not to romanticize higher education; he recognized that higher education has its place and is not going to be able to satisfy the unique goals and circumstances of every student. This acknowledgement is accompanied by the consistent assertion that though the need to stay true to core principles of higher education exists, higher education can and should adapt to changing realities. Neem did not shy away from his strong defense of the arts and humanities, and the text provides evidence-based support for retaining the core values of higher education in an everchanging political and socioeconomic landscape.

2013

Abstract: The aim of this research project investigates the performance of a centrifugal pump system under variable speed operation. Operating a pump under variable speed operation brings the affinity laws into play. These equations were firstly investigated before it was applied to the overall investigation of pump performance. Distinction is made between three types of systems, a system with high static head (lift system), the second system is a high loss system with noor little static head and the third is a mixed type system. The “correct” affinity laws were then used to apply to a system with a minimum pressure requirement. The theory proved accurate and was confirmed by practical findings. It has been found that both the pump and the VSD experience a slight drop in efficiency for small changes in speed. A maximum of 5% drop occurred in the efficiency of the pump for a 30% reduction in speed. Further reductions in speed resulted in a more rapid drop in efficiency.