Archives for 2019

Spica Presents Policy Analysis at 2019 Open Education Conference

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Elizabeth Spica, doctoral student in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies interning with UT’s Postsecondary Education Research Center, presented research exploring Open Educational Resources (OER) and state-level policies at the 16th annual Open Education Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

Elizabeth Spica presents poster at OpenEd 2019

Elizabeth Spica, ELPS doctoral student

Open Educational Resources (OER) have been shown to positively impact issues related to student access and success, from course material affordability to course completion and enrollment intensity (Fischer, et al, 2015; Hilton, 2018). Despite  progress over the past decade, faculty still consistently report the effort required to find readily available, high-quality materials to be a barrier to the use and adoption of OER (Barker, et al, 2018; Braddlee, 2018; Jhangiani, et al, 2016; Seaman and Seaman, 2017).

While almost half the states in the United States have considered or adopted legislation to support the development and use of OER, little research has elucidated the practical impact of state-level policies on contributions from faculty at institutions within those respective states. Spica’s research, entitled Open Educational Resources (OER) and State-Level Policies: A Network Analysis, examined the relationship between state-level policies and OER contributions from faculty at institutions within those respective states. Results from the data analyzed showed that faculty affiliated with institutions in states with existing textbook affordability and/or OER policies contributed significantly more OER than faculty affiliated with institutions in states without existing policies.

You can view and download the poster by clicking this link.

McIntyre Moderates Panel at UT Teacher Preparation Summit

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On September 19, the University of Tennessee hosted a Teacher Preparation Summit in Nashville.  Participants in the successful event included University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd, and the Chancellors of the Chattanooga, Knoxville and Martin campuses, as well as many elected officials, state policy-makers, deans, provosts, faculty members and advocates.  The summit brought together key stakeholders to discuss increasing the effectiveness of UT’s teacher preparation programs, share best practices and information and address increasing performance on the Tennessee State Board of Education’s Teacher Preparation Report Card.McIntyre at Teacher Preparation Summit 2019

The Director of the University of Tennessee’s Center for Educational Leadership, Jim McIntyre moderated a productive and incisive panel discussion regarding the state perspective on high-quality teacher preparation.  Panelists included Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn, State Representative Mark White, who serves as Chair of the House Education Committee, Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission Mike Krause, and Executive Director of the Tennessee State Board of Education, Sara Heyburn Morrison.

CSP Practicum Site Visits

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This October, College Student Personnel (CSP) students, faculty, and practitioner-educators will visit multiple colleges and universities in Georgia to learn about student affairs and higher education at distinct institutional types. Site visits include the University of West Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech), and Emory University.

These practicum visits are one of many program activities that combine peer-to-peer learning and professional socialization to provide graduates with practical experiences that are grounded in research and theory. Since the beginning of the College Student Personnel program over seventy years ago, more than 650 students have graduated and progressed to various roles in higher education and related services.

For more information on the University of Tennessee College Student Personnel program, visit https://elpsclone.flywheelsites.com/csp/.

PERC Examines UTK Student Debt

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In the age of the student loan crisis, The University of Tennessee Knoxville has been a leader in helping students minimize and manage the debt they accrue while pursuing degrees. In 2017, for instance, UTK’s proportion of graduates in debt fell not only below the state average, but 15% below the national average as well. 

These and other findings were just released by UT’s Postsecondary Education Research Center from Data Science and Engineering PhD student and PERC Graduate Research Assistant Kriss Gabourel. Gabourel’s report, entitled “Student debt profile: A brief look at a decade of graduates from UT Knoxville” was also presented at the July 2019 Tennessee Association for Institutional Research (TENNAIR) Conference in Franklin, TN.

You can click here to view the report summary. The next phase of analysis is anticipated to include income data for those same graduates, which will provide deeper insight into the relationship between student debt and earnings for graduates at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

 

ELPS Welcomes New EDAM Doctoral Students

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The department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies welcomes 4 new Educational Administration doctoral students, with a welcome dinner at Chesapeake’s. The students are Loren Forgety, Alexis Hartley, Donna Wortham, and Rolen Blaine.

Pictured left to right: Dorian McCoy, Patrick Biddix, Loren Forgety, Alexis Hartley, Lisa Driscoll, Sonya Hayes, Jim McIntyre, Mary Lynne Derrington, Pamela Angelle, Donna Wortham, Rolen Blaine, James Martinez, and Margaret Ritchie

National Panhellenic Conference Graduation Rate Study

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ELPS faculty Dr. Patrick Biddix and Dr. Terry Ishitani, along with ELPS alumnae Nicole Nicholson and Kaitlin Singer, completed and published a study that demonstrated women in sororities across 18 four-year institutions were more likely than non-members to graduate in four years, with the graduation rate between the two groups stabilizing for years five and six. Recommendations for practice to strengthen the educational component of sorority membership were also provided.

The article, “The Influence of National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) Sorority Membership on Graduation and Time-to-Degree: A Multi-Institution Study” was published in the Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education (subscription required for access). 

PERC Explores Policies that Promote Course Material Affordability

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Mergers of major publishers and the ever-rising cost of course materials have catalyzed UT’s Postsecondary Education Research Center examination of policies  that promote course material affordability, namely through the use of Open Educational Resources (OER).

The Hewlett Foundation (hewlett.org) defines Open Educational Resources (OER) as “high-quality teaching, learning, and research materials that are free for people everywhere to use and repurpose.” In contrast to the restrictive copyright license tied to traditional course materials, authors of OER apply a “Creative Commons” (CC) license to their work that legally enforces free access and sharing. Similar to authors of traditionally copyrighted materials, credit is also given to authors of OER, with the added benefit that others may freely use, build upon, and enhance their work.

The full report and executive summary are now available on PERC’s Research Report site.

In addition to the PERC publication, ELPS PhD student and PERC research affiliate Elizabeth Spica recently presented on Best Practices and Institutional Models in textbook affordability during the June 2019 Textbook Affordability Summit hosted by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission in Nashville, TN.