ABSTRACT
This article begins with a brief description of access and affordability and their relationship to equity, diversity, and inclusion within the higher education sector today. Because the authors work at a Jesuit Catholic institution, awareness and appreciation of the call to uphold access and affordability at Jesuit institutions are also important. COVID-19 institutional and library impacts are summarized, followed by the identification of pandemic-created opportunities for the library to demonstrate commitment to institutional values and align with institutional and library strategic directions and priorities. Descriptions of initiatives launched in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years to advance access and affordability are provided, accompanied by profiles of campus partnerships that ensured the success and sustainability of these initiatives. Finally, the authors consider the challenges and benefits of constructing and maintaining campus partnerships to improve access and affordability for students and the components of effective campus partnerships.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic gives a big impact on various aspects of human life, including higher education institutions. Institut Agama Islam Negeri (State Institute for Islamic Studies) Surakarta (IAIN Surakarta) as one of the Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia has developed online learning management using Moodle platform. This study tries to measure the level of implementation of learning management in three dimensions of Moodle-based online learning, planning of learning, implementation of learning and evaluation. This study used a quantitative approach with a sample of 718 students from five faculties based on the descriptive analysis, report showed that planning of learning was in the high category with an average of 4.06 (in scale 5), the implementation of learning was in the medium category with an average of 3.35 and evaluation of learning was also in the medium category with an average of 3.14. It meant that it was necessary to optimize the implementation and evaluation of learning. While the results of CFA showed that the three manifest variables were below 0.4, namely the use of Zoom, Google Meet or others (outside Moodle) for synchronous ([lambda] = 0.01, mean = 3.86), the use of Google Classroom, WhatsApp or others for asynchronous ([lambda] = 0.04, mean = 4.31), and the examination in the form of assignments ([lambda] = 0.11, mean = 3.86). So, it can be concluded that the use of e-learning based Moodle has less optimal in implementation and evaluation of learning. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the quality of applications, supporting facilities and user capabilities.
ABSTRACT
Within education, the online forum is becoming a preferred mode of study across the globe and the COVID-19 era highlights its importance. Research around online education has concentrated on the USA and Europe, and this study sought to redress the Western bias by exploring and comparing the perceptions of six post-graduate East-African students and lecturers at Pan Africa Christian University in Kenya on learning leadership online versus on-campus. It is debatable whether leaders are born or made, however, post-industrial theories embrace the concept that leadership is teachable. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed, using a top-down approach, from a critical realist perspective. The results show that participants' leadership ideals synthesised Afrocentric perspectives of communality, with Western ideals of transformational and servant leadership. Furthermore, there are differences between perceptions of East-African students and lecturers on online leadership learning. Students preferred the online avatar experience, whilst lecturers preferred on-campus or blended methods of leadership studies. Face-to-face connection was deemed important by students and lecturers but impeded by the inability to see facial reactions using the current online platform. This exploratory study gives insight into an East-African experience and sends a clear message to Kenyan institutions to invest further in video technology. Future research could include a longitudinal study of destinations and successes of Kenyan University online leadership alumni. The impact of the global coronavirus pandemic, with lockdowns and social distancing, further underlines the importance of ongoing online leadership research and education across the world.
ABSTRACT
Changes in the demographic profile of students attending Christian universities combine with shifts in the culture at large to present new challenges to Christian higher educators who have the character formation of students as an aim. The pandemic will bring other challenges. In uncertain times, Christian universities aiming at character formation must, first, clarify and focus on their mission and must, second, work intentionally to create a campus climate supportive of character development. A Christian university wanting a climate that fosters character makes these seven efforts (among others): to build relationships and community, to build trust, to welcome dialogue on difficult issues, to consider the built environment, to go slow, to recognize the diversity of learners, to attend to its language. Uncertain times and their concomitant challenges present new opportunities for Christian universities to reimagine character formation.