EDUCAUSE | Faculty

Open Doors and Open Minds: What Faculty Authors Can Do to Ensure Open Access to Their Work Through Their Institution

ckeller — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:29:28 -0500

Recently, on February 12, 2008, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) at Harvard University took a landmark step. The faculty voted to adopt a policy requiring that faculty authors send an electronic copy of their scholarly articles to the university’s digital repository and that faculty authors automatically grant copyright permission to the university to archive and to distribute these articles unless a faculty member has waived the policy for a particular article. Essentially, the faculty voted to make open access to the results of their published journal articles the default policy for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University.

Inspired by the example set by the Harvard faculty, this White Paper is addressed to the faculty and administrators of academic institutions who support equitable access to scholarly research and knowledge, and who believe that the institution can play an important role as steward of the scholarly literature produced by its faculty. This paper discusses both the motivation and the process for establishing a binding institutional policy that automatically grants a copyright license from each faculty member to permit deposit of his or her peer-reviewed scholarly articles in institutional repositories, from which the works become available for others to read and cite.

Assessing the Future Landscape of Scholarly Communication: An In-depth Study of Faculty Needs and Ways of Meeting Them

elilly — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:50:23 -0500

The Center for Studies in Higher Education, with generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, is conducting research to understand the needs and desires of faculty for in-progress scholarly communication (i.e., forms of communication employed as research is being executed) as well as archival publication. In the interest of developing a deeper understanding of how and why scholars do what they do to advance their fields, as well as their careers, our approach focuses on fine-grained analyses of faculty values and behaviors throughout the scholarly communication lifecycle, including sharing, collaborating, publishing, and engaging with the public. Well into our second year, we have posted a draft interim report describing some of our early results and impressions based on the responses of more than 150 interviewees in the fields of astrophysics, archaeology, biology, economics, history, music, and political science.

Our work to date has confirmed the important impact of disciplinary culture and tradition on many scholarly communication habits. These traditions may override the perceived “opportunities” afforded by new technologies, including those falling into the Web 2.0 category. As we have listened to our diverse informants, as well as followed closely the prognostications about the likely future of scholarly communication, we note that it is absolutely imperative to be precise about terms. That includes being clear about what is meant by “open access” publishing (i.e., using preprint or postprint servers for work published in prestigious outlets, versus publishing in new, untested open access journals, or the more casual individual posting of working papers, blogs, and other non-peer-reviewed work). Our work suggests that enthusiasm for technology development and adoption should not be conflated with the hard reality of tenure and promotion requirements (including the needs and goals of final archival publication) in highly competitive professional environments.

Spotlight On Identity Management: The Evolving Definition of "Student": Identity Management at Duke University

djacobs — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:01:32 -0500

The meaning of "student" is evolving at Duke University in response to many institutional and faculty outreach efforts. This trend is mirrored at many of Duke’s peer institutions. We see the concept of "learners" expanding beyond traditionally enrolled college students to include community participants, youth enrolled in talent programs, and continuing education students. At the same time, the realm of academic services faculty use for teaching has grown beyond traditional institutionally provided services such as Blackboard to encompass Flickr, blogs, Twitter, and any new technology available to faculty for free. How can we address the expansion in student population and in resources? How do you extend your institution’s computing resources to people outside your campus? How do you extend your local service concepts and policies to the end-user commodity-driven applications that are within any faculty’s reach? Lynne O'Brien and Klara Jelinkova will discuss the issues, concepts, and solutions surrounding identity management proposed and implemented at Duke University.

Tune In April 18 for a Free Web Seminar on Identity Management at Duke University

pkurkowski — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:04:50 -0500

The EDUCAUSE Live! Spotlight on Identity Management series is a six-month series that will feature one or two speakers from a campus that have analyzed or solved a problem in a way that many people will find instructive.

The meaning of "student" is evolving at Duke University in response to many institutional and faculty outreach efforts. This trend is mirrored at many of Duke's peer institutions. In this free seminar on April 18, The Evolving Definition of “Student”: Identity Management at Duke University, presenters Klara Jelinkova, Director, Computing Systems, and Lynne O’Brien, Director, Academic Technology and Instructional Services, Duke University, will discuss the issues, concepts, and solutions surrounding identity management proposed and implemented at Duke University.

The event is free, but registration is required and virtual seating is limited. Register now.

Toolbox or Trap? Course Management Systems and Pedagogy

elilly — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:49:15 -0500

The default design of commercial course management systems limits instructional creativity and pedagogical approaches, particularly for novice users

Deploying Videoconferencing a New Way: Action Research for Collaboration Technologies

drupal — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:23:24 -0500

A new "action research" model for fostering the use of videoconferencing for faculty collaboration will be demonstrated and described. The project team provided behavior models that engaged the faculty directly rather than focusing on training and techniques. Evaluating the project's success using survey and interview data will also be presented.

How to Use What We Know: 21st-Century Faculty and Students

drupal — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:35:40 -0500

What do faculty really want from faculty development efforts designed to help them teach with technology? How can institutions best meet faculty needs in this area? This presentation will share results from longitudinal studies of faculty, students, and technology at the University of Minnesota and will discuss the impact of these results on our faculty development efforts.

Library Course Pages: Customized Library Resources for Learners

drupal — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:29:57 -0500

Providing library resources to the learner, at the point of need, is the focus of the University of Wisconsin Colleges Library Course Page Project. Each course has a dynamically created library course page, which provides learners with these materials. We will present features and implementation information, as well as how the program has been received.

Training Brick-and-Mortar Supervisors to Effectively Evaluate Online Courses and Teaching

drupal — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:13:44 -0500

The dean, division director, or department chair responsible for faculty performance evaluation may never have taught or taken an online course. Unions may stipulate that the same evaluation form be used for online and on-site evaluations. Learn how one college trained nontechnical evaluators to assess distance learning.

Tune in March 25 for a Free Web Seminar on Teaching with Digital Collections in Undergraduate Curriculum

pkurkowski — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:35:38 -0500

Many academic digital collection projects are focused on special collections and college archives. Such projects seek to bring collections "out of the basement" and enable greater access to valuable and specialized research materials. However, undergraduate students and faculty often have very different needs and expectations of these digital materials than experienced researchers or the general public.

What does it take to implement a digital asset management system that not only improves access to collections but also allows faculty to integrate digital materials into their teaching? In this free March 25 EDUCAUSE Live! web seminar, Teaching with Digital Collections in the Undergraduate Curriculum, presenters Marianne Colgrove, Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Director of Web Support Services, Reed College, and Dena Hutto, Director of Reference and Instruction, Reed College Library, will share their experiences in implementing a CONTENTdm-based digital image collection for the classics and humanities.

Those unable to attend may wish to visit the archives after the event or browse related EDUCAUSE resources on DAMS, Digital Collections, Learning Objects, and Teaching.

Enhancing Retention: A Tool for Communication Between Faculty and Advisors

drupal — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:15:01 -0500

This presentation will demonstrate Northeastern University's new online CRM application to increase student retention through communication between faculty and advisors. This tool allows faculty to identify students with poor or declining performance or other performance difficulties and easily report these issues to advisors.

Learning Studios: Engaging Millennial Students in a New Classroom Environment

drupal — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:00:53 -0600

Today's millennial Hispanics are part of a generational wave of young students likely to be more disengaged in traditional learning environments. Discover how a new generation of learning classrooms can increase millennial students' engagement at your college and learn about faculty's perceptions of this new environment.

Decision-Making Authority and Creating Course Materials: Roles and Methods

drupal — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:00:53 -0600

Case study research conducted at a research university explores three distinct models of decision-making authority in the evaluation of curricular materials. Critical issues are identified in terms of the roles and methods employed by instructional designers. Participants will discuss findings in light of their institutional practices.

E-Mail in Academia: Expectations, Use, and Instructional Impact

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:53:39 -0600

The following exploratory study investigated email communication between faculty and undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Factors related to email behavior, expectations, and influence on instructional outcomes were explored through an electronic survey of undergraduate students and faculty. Results in this first study indicate that although faculty and students share similar ideas about the use of email in academia and recognize the potential of email communication as a means for enhancing instructional outcomes, it is not typically used for such purposes. Although additional research at other universities is necessary, preliminary data analysis and discussion follow including initial suggestions on improving faculty and student email communication as well as enhancing scholarly discourse and instructional outcomes via electronic mail.

An Antidote for the Faculty-IT Divide

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:15:37 -0600

Good relations between IT and faculty can be promoted by understanding and addressing the cultural divides that exist between the administration and faculty.

Doing What I Don’t Know How to Do

ckeller — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:06:13 -0600

Leveraging a faculty learning community has helped me do things I didn’t know how to do with technology, including podcasting my lectures.

Why You Should Use Facebook

drupal — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 08:56:19 -0600

The phenomenon of social networking software like Facebook has been widely publicized. At UNC-Chapel Hill, over 90 percent of first year students are Facebook users. But is there utility for faculty and staff? Yes! This presentation will describe the uses of Facebook that might benefit many of us.

ELI Discovery Tool: Student/Faculty Questionnaire

ckeller — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:41:06 -0600

The ELI Student/Faculty Questionnaire is designed to help you explore student and faculty experiences and expectations with technology in teaching and learning. Specifically, the questionnaire examines student and faculty

Familiarity with learning technologies,
Expectations for the use of technology in teaching and learning, and
Views on how students prefer to learn.

This questionnaire provides insight into possible gaps that may exist at your institution, such as

The difference between the learning technologies that are expected by today's students and those that your faculty feel comfortable using, and
Students' self-described learning preferences contrasted with faculty perceptions of those preferences.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice - Corporate Edition

ckeller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:55:01 -0600

This ECAR research study was designed in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges to analyze the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise in medical schools and colleges. As the potential of biotechnology, proteomics, informatics, computational genomics, and other IT-intensive disciplines continue to offer breakthroughs in medicine, research in these fields requires greater and higher-level technology resources for infrastructure as well as IT support and services. The study is based on the results of a web-based survey sent to 125 medical schools and colleges in the United States, as well as qualitative interviews with leaders at 10 institutions. Respondents to the survey were predominantly chief information officers or other top administrators from 50 medical institutions, yielding a response rate of 39.7 percent. The findings contained in this report echo the results of the ECAR 2006 study, IT Engagement in Research: A Baseline Study, illustrating that the role and importance of IT in research is growing, while funding and budget decisions remain difficult. A non-profit edition is available here.

Citation for This Work: Nelson, Mark R. IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice (Research Study, Vol. 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice Roadmap

ckeller — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:27:19 -0600

This ECAR roadmap synthesizes the important issues and recommended actions drawn from the 2008 study, IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice, by Mark R. Nelson. This ECAR research study was designed in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges to analyze the practices and perspectives of IT organizations that support the academic research enterprise in medical schools and colleges. As the potential of biotechnology, proteomics, informatics, computational genomics, and other IT-intensive disciplines continue to offer breakthroughs in medicine, research in these fields requires greater and higher-level technology resources for infrastructure as well as IT support and services. The study is based on the results of a January 2007 web-based survey sent to 125 medical schools and colleges in the United States, as well as qualitative interviews with leaders at 10 institutions.

How to Cite This Work: Albrecht, Bob, and Judith A. Pirani. "IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice Roadmap" (Roadmap). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2005, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice

ckeller — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:11:35 -0600

Citation for This Work: Nelson, Mark R. IT Engagement in Research: A View of Medical School Practice (Research Study, Vol. 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

Assessment From the Faculty Point of View

ckeller — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:39:55 -0600

Anthropologists say professors should stop looking at measuring outcomes as an external threat and start taking ownership of the process.

Faculty Perceptions of Technology Projects

ckeller — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:54:10 -0600

A study explored cost versus impact on teaching and learning of small and large technology projects.

Design and Development of a Faculty Technology Practices Directory

ckeller — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 13:24:49 -0600

A dynamic information base aids research into existing technology practices among faculty and fosters partnerships.

Use and Users of Digital Resources

ckeller — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:37:37 -0600

A survey explored scholar’s attitudes about educational technology environments in the humanities.

A Few Millennial Sessions at Educause 2007

rmcdonal — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:03:12 -0500

At this year's Educause Annual Conference there were a variety of sessions on millennials. I thought I would list them all here for those interested in this topic. I may have missed a few, if so let me know.

McDonald, Sweeney, Thomas, Walters www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS047

Deturck, Griscom www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS019

Somerville www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS061

Donald, Hardin www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS098

Campbell www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/CI15

Gibbons www.educause.edu/E07/Program/11073?PRODUCT_CODE=E07/SESS113&ITIN=False

Open Source Version of UR Book on Topic docushare.lib.rochester.edu/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-4436

Exploring Burnout among University Online Instructors: An Initial Investigation

ckeller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:43:10 -0500

Burnout has been identified as a significant issue among those in instructional positions. The purpose of the present research was to identify and describe the status of burnout among higher education online instructors. The population for this study included responses of 76 online instructors employed by baccalaureate granting institutions within the United States. A demographic survey and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) were used to collect data from respondents. Data analysis
revealed online instructors possessed an average score on the emotional exhaustion subscale, high degree of depersonalization, and low degree of personal accomplishment

Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Scholarly Communication:Survey Findings from the University of California

ckeller — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:37:08 -0500

This paper reports the results of over 1,100 responses to a late 2006 survey of UC faculty attitudes and behavior with regard to several key issues in scholarly publishing and scholarly communication. The report is timed to inform Universitywide discussions - many of them prompted by a series of faculty white papers - about strategic responses to challenges and opportunities in the evolution of scholarly publishing and communication. The survey also provides important insight into how the University's eScholarship publishing services (including those offered in partnership with the UC Press) can meet faculty needs.

Office Hours: Coming to a Computer Near You

ckeller — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:07:37 -0500

Harvard University has begun experimenting with virtual office hours this semester. TAs will begin holding real-time, online help sessions for students this week. Using free, Java-based software, students can log on, chat with each other (via text or microphone) and even “raise their hands” with the click of a button, which adds them to a queue on the teaching fellow’s computer.

Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs! Oh, My! What Is a Faculty Member Supposed to Do?

ckeller — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:19:28 -0500

Given the demands of teaching, service, and research, faculty are today expected to embrace learning technologies along with everything else, challenging the institution to help them make sense of what works and how to work it.

EDUCAUSE Review Magazine, Volume 42, Number 5, September/October 2007

ckeller — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:59:14 -0500

This is the entire issue of EDUCAUSE Review Magazine, Volume 42, Number 5, September/October, 2007.

Faculty Development and the Net Savvy Student - Concurrent Session

drupal — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:19:08 -0500

This session will share guiding principles the University of Minnesota uses to deliver an integrated suite of faculty development programs designed to help faculty meet the needs of net savvy students. Our guiding principles are informed by the data routinely collected from our students and faculty, the literature, and our practice.

Navigating the Mammoth University

ckeller — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 11:59:52 -0500

The University of Minnesota has expanded its orientation for new faculty members from several hours to 3 days. The faculty are given information on the library systems and invited to attend faculty development workshops in teaching and learning along with information on other various aspects and programs the university has to offer.

The Changing Information Services Needs of Faculty

ckeller — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:01:42 -0500

The authors discuss recent studies conducted to gage the academic librarian's and faculty member's view on the increasing use and offering of electronic resources. One could conclude from the studies that the "transition to an electronic environment poses significant strategic and management challenges for higher education" and that there is a "need for libraries to take leadership in helping academia's transition to the new environment".

University of Michigan Technology Transfer Policy

ckeller — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:48:30 -0500

This Policy defines the ownership, distribution, and commercialization of rights associated with Intellectual Property developed at or received by the University of Michigan, and describes the general obligations associated with the technology licensing process.

Using Needs Assessment as a Holistic Means for Improving Technology Infrastructure

ckeller — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:39:23 -0500

This paper describes a four-step needs assessment process that institutions can use to determine the gaps between current and desired states of technology infrastructure, facilitating rapid decision making. The framework described focuses on aligning learning outcomes and technology tools and can help institutions compare the current state of technology infrastructure with a desired state to best meet identified learning outcomes.

A SIRIUS Look at Faculty Development

drupal — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:20:55 -0500

Will faculty reduce lectures, become facilitators of learning, and adopt interactive learning methods? Are development tools available to help bring about these changes? Will students benefit? These questions will be addressed in Florida Community College's presentation of the SIRIUS Project involving over 300 faculty.

A Web-Based Activity Reporting and Evaluation System for Faculty

drupal — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 11:22:43 -0500

The University of Mississippi recently implemented an online faculty activity reporting system that allows users to submit details of creative, research, and service activities while automatically incorporating course, committee, and other existing information from SAP's Campus Management module. This presentation will examine the development, deployment, and benefits of this complex system.

Finding the Right Fit for Faculty IT Development

drupal — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 12:16:07 -0500

Different models for faculty development are needed in different situations. In this session, learning technology professionals from three institutions will describe and discuss issues unique to their faculty development needs and how they are successfully addressing them at their institutions with customized training and development programs.

Faculty Database System: Content Management for Faculty Information

drupal — Sat, 26 May 2007 17:17:34 -0500

Duke University's dean of arts and sciences commissioned the Faculty Database System (FDS) as an institutional content management system after learning of the tool's initial implementation in the mathematics department. The tool's ability to address several ongoing operational needs involving faculty curriculum vitae (CV) and related staff and graduate student data was matched by its ease of use and syndication capabilities. Specifically, FDS was conceived as a means of providing the following functionalities: - Single point of entry for faculty CV data - Up-to-date departmental Web sites - Templates to standardize display of faculty Web pages - Easy and secure use by faculty and staff - Incentives for faculty to update their CV information on a timely basis - Conduit for faculty access to institutional and external databases (e.g., enterprise directory, PubMed) to use data from reference sources - Discipline-specific formatting conventions - Top-down and bottom-up policies and configurations - Ability to export to different formats and create customized reports - Streamlining of annual faculty evaluation process - Syndication of information across departments and the university - Accommodation of as many hierarchical levels of units as needed - Archive of data for future use and longitudinal reports

From FITness to Fantasy Congress: The Growth of FITness Within Faculty and Student Projects

drupal — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:00:10 -0500

CMC\'s FITness program allowed faculty to rapidly integrate teaching with technology and help struggling students catch up. Grants from the Mellon Foundation and the Fletcher Jones Foundation funded specialized programs to help students meet faculty expectations of their technical knowledge, skill, and application.

Reflecting, Writing, and Responding: Reasons Students Blog

drupal — Wed, 09 May 2007 10:10:43 -0500

Faculty and students are recognizing blogging's learning potential, including the chance to practice writing, reflect on others' thinking, and respond to critical analyses of one's own work. In this paper, a graduate student explores the campus "blogosphere" to discover who is blogging and what they are posting, as well as how faculty are using blogs in their courses and the results they are seeing.

Institutional Repositories: Evaluating the Reasons for Non-use of Cornell University's Installation of DSpace

drupal — Thu, 03 May 2007 16:47:52 -0500

This article reports on a three-part evaluative study of institutional repositories. We describe the contents and participation in Cornell's DSpace and compare these results with seven university DSpace installations. Through in-depth interviews with eleven faculty members in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, we explore their attitudes, motivations, and behaviors for non-participation in institutional repositories.

2006–07 Salary Survey Executive Summaries

drupal — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:54:30 -0500

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources have several salary surveys, including Administrative Compensation, National Faculty Salary Survey, and Mid-Level Executives.

The Invisible Professor and the Future of Virtual Faculty

drupal — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:19:38 -0500

"Traditional professors are disappearing from online classrooms as distance learning has altered their roles and responsibilities, as well as their professional status, job security, workload, rewards, and intellectual freedom. This article delineates some of the most significant challenges and suggests that distance learning has created new questions about the future of virtual faculty."

Penn Eyes Stricter Hiring Policies for Faculty

drupal — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 16:15:19 -0600

"After a spate of recent alleged misconduct, the school may start background checks of prospects."

7 Things You Should Know About Open Journaling

drupal — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:13:26 -0600

Open journaling tools manage the process of publishing peer-reviewed journals online. They enable users to publish academic journals more easily and much less expensively than traditional methods. They also allow authors to track their submissions through the review process, as well as to access reviewer comments and revise and resubmit articles, which creates a sense of openness and transparency uncommon in traditional peer-reviewed publications.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning practices and technologies. Each brief focuses on a single practice or technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

UCLA Appointment

drupal — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 16:08:44 -0600

Policy on UCLA faculty appointments, includes Guide to Critical Functions & Background Checks and Background Check Authorization Form.

Criminal background checks for all campus jobs?

drupal — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:21:24 -0600

"The University System of Georgia is planning to require all newly hired faculty and staff members to undergo criminal background checks, a policy that has drawn fire from an organization that represents professors in the state."

AAUP Comments on Faculty Background Checks

drupal — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:58:08 -0600

The American Association of University Professors press release for a report titled "Verification and Trust: Background Investigations Preceding Faculty Appointments".