Competition in american social work education during times of COVID-19: a midwestern case study

Competition to attract students for enrollment in American social work degree programs is intense. Program attributes (e.g. minimum grade point average, maximum transfer credits permitted, institutional tuition rate, and rankings) distinguish social work education programs in the United States. Determining which program attributes appeal to potential students could help increase a program's competitiveness in a crowded education marketplace. The COVID-19 pandemic is further intensifying recruitment of students to BSW programs. This research used a case study approach to compare admission attributes of 21 bachelor of social work programs (BSW) offered at 11 public and 10 private institutions located in one state that could be viewed as representative of American BSW programs. This paper compared attributes that differentiated these undergraduate social work programs, while exploring the potential impact of the pandemic on BSW student recruitment. Implications for social work education are discussed, including lessons learned that may be helpful to BSW faculty and staff responsible for student recruitment activities and related operations. Social work education program administrators and faculty could use this information to review recruitment and application processes and raise awareness of the burgeoning influence of reputational ranking services.

Changes in the usefulness of communication channels for prospective undergraduates about university studying: afore and during the pandemic

PurposeThis study investigated the usefulness of various communication means for providing university study information with prospective students before and during the pandemic for three consecutive academic years.Design/methodology/approachStudents who had recently taken undergraduate program admission indicated how useful communication channels were in providing the information about university studying. Seven communication channels were examined: open/information day, admission talk, campus visit, education fair, admission website, social media and summer activities. The students were asked to complete an online survey at the beginning of an academic year. In the survey, they were asked to indicate the usefulness of each of the communication channels using a five-point Likert scale with the descriptors: 1 = not useful, 2 = slightly useful, 3 = somewhat useful, 4 = useful, 5 = very useful. If students did not have any usage experience with a communication channel, they were asked to choose "no experience.” There were 1798, 1735 and 1961 students at a university in Hong Kong participating in the study in academic years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively.FindingsThe pandemic has transformed the landscape of the university's ways of marketing channels to communicate with prospective students. The top useful channel of information for students during the pandemic was admission website, followed by social media and then open/information day. Before the pandemic, open/information day was the most useful channel of information for students and then admission website;the least useful one was social media channel. Significant differences were revealed in the usefulness rating on open/information day and social media channel among the three academic years.Originality/valueThe findings facilitate educational managers to determine the appropriate marketing and recruitment strategies for connecting with prospective students under dynamic context in the era of new normal. They helped identify where to focus the marketing efforts to achieve the most impact in particular under budget constraints.

Double Disruption

Higher education enrollment managers in the US knew disruption was coming. The looming demographic crisis was pushing them to strategically think ahead and urge their presidents, and boards and faculty, that the model must change, that they must adapt, and that not all colleges and universities could be winners in a hypercompetitive environment. And that was all before the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has accelerated the reckoning so many enrollment leaders were preparing for, causing to rethink strategies, implement quick tactical changes, and ultimately make our best guess at student and family behavior. On the best days, this has challenged admission professionals to be nimble and creative, pushing many out of their comfort zones and into a new (virtual) world. On the worst days, this has caused efforts to increase access to falter, further threaten higher education, and introduced even more uncertainty into an already uncertain endeavor.

Competitive programming participation rates: an examination of trends in U.S. ICPC regional contests.

A wide range of benefits have been posited from participation in competitive programming contests. However, an analysis of participation in north American regional contests in the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) shows that participation in these contests is sharply declining, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, prior to the pandemic, while the number of teams participating in regional contests was increasing, the number of institutions sending teams to these contests was declining. We find several statistically significant correlations that may underscore structural reasons for this trend. Consistent participation in contests and the number of teams per institution sent to a contest both are correlated with likely participation in future contests. On the other end of the spectrum, institutions sending a team to a contest for the first time in 3 years were much less likely to return in the next year. For this category of teams, if a team is unable to solve any problems in the contest, the institution is significantly less likely to send a team in the next year. Many of these contests have very challenging problem sets, and consequently, have many teams that fail to solve any problems. This result suggests that structuring the problem sets to increase the likelihood that most teams successfully complete problems would broaden participation in these contests.

Language Preparation of International Nursing Students: A Study of Learning Motivations and Decisions

Study abroad is not an easy decision for international students who cannot manage the local language and academic courses, particularly nursing students who need to communicate with their patients in clinical environments. This study aims to explore international nursing students' experiences of pre-sessional language prerequisite courses in South Korea. Three directions were categorised, including what are the motivations and reasons to come to South Korea, how do the international nursing students describe their Korean language courses as the prerequisite for their nursing programme at one of the South Korean universities, and why did the participants select South Korea as their destination for the nursing programme. Based on the Social Cognitive Career and Motivation Theory and a qualitative design, the researcher invited 12 participants who are taking the pre-sessional language courses before the nursing programme commencement. The results indicated that personal considerations, interest in career development, and financial considerations are three of the key elements. The outcomes of this study allowed the nursing school leaders and government agencies to polish their current curriculum plans, international students' recruitment strategies, and post-study career developments for international nursing students in the East Asian region.

International Recruitment: China Recruiters' Experience during COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of China recruiters during the pandemic, particularly with their job stress and sense of job security. The study also explored the new norms of Chinese students' recruitment following the post-pandemic crisis. Using qualitative analysis, we found that China recruiters experienced different stressors during the pandemic regardless of their working location. The participants recognized the importance of communication and seeking institutional support to help overcome their stress during the pandemic. They suggested that higher education administrators should be sensitive to the needs of their international recruiters. The participants also suggested several new norms for future recruitment, such as using the hybrid recruitment model, promoting university collaboration, initiating joint programs between US and Chinese institutions, and hiring domestic recruiters. Implications for practice are discussed. [Note: The page range (104-120) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 104-121.]

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN FINNISH HIGHER EDUCATION: A PERSPECTIVE FROM A UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

This paper describes digital transformation in Finland from the perspective of a mid-sized university of applied sciences in western Finland, outside the capital city area. Higher education institutions (HEIs) compete amongst themselves, both locally and globally, in terms of student and staff recruitment, government funding, and research funding. In addition, networking with companies and other organizations is a key part of HEIs’ strategies and actions. We consider the steps that HEIs have taken toward digital transformation, the drivers behind digital transformation, and the factors that affect HEIs’ management strategies. Although the digital transformation process started over 30 years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a major driver of digital transformation in Finnish HEIs. The results of our case study show that an HEI’s funding is of critical importance and provides the ground for setting the performance indicators in HEI management. Finally, climate change and sustainability are factors that will further affect the higher education system. © Proceedings of the International Conference on E-Learning 2022, EL 2022 - Part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems 2022, MCCSIS 2022. All rights reserved.

Travel Prepared and Travel Well: Advice for New (and Experienced) Admissions Professionals

While some of these staff members travel to unfamiliar locations, even the most experienced travelers can benefit from shifting their thinking based on changing environments, such as civil unrest, crime, and weather. [...]it is vital for travelers to always be cognizant of their personal safety. Never accept a room if the check-in clerk calls out your name or room number. ♦ Do not get into an elevator if you do not feel safe. ♦ Check your cell phone coverage before traveling. According to the Centers for Disease Center and Prevention (CDC), road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States for people aged one-54, and they are the leading cause of non-natural death for u.s. citizens residing or traveling abroad

How do Asian international students use Australian university libraries? A literature review

The findings of this literature review are applicable to university libraries globally, as students accessing libraries are now more culturally diverse than was the case historically. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this diversity was due to increased numbers of international students attending selected universities in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Canada. The literature suggests that the different information seeking, cultural transition, information disruption, English-language challenges and learning styles of Asian international students are not fully understood by western university libraries. Consequently, university libraries may not have strategically aligned to their university's internationalisation objectives. Lack of understanding of the experiences of Asian international students potentially attenuates their well-being and academic success. Furthermore, this lack of adaption could place universities, such as those in Australia, at risk of not meeting national regulatory compliance expectations. This review examines the literature about the context of Asian international students' use of Australian university libraries and introduces a research project that explores the lived experience of using Australian university libraries. The review identifies literature regarding the changing profile of Asian international students enrolled in Australian universities, their information-seeking behaviour, cross-cultural dimensions, their communication skills, and the expectations of an Australian university library. The review of this literature also seeks to explore who is studying international students, which methods are being used to do so, and which topics are of particular interest to the researchers. Finally, the review considers new post-COVID-19 pandemic opportunities for both libraries and other service areas to understand the needs of Asian international students as universities competitively recruit for their return.

Tourfor Diversity in Medicine & Pediatric Mentoring Circles: Bringing Pediatric Advising and Mentoring of Premedical Students to the Virtual World

Background: To strengthen the pathways for diverse applicants to health professional school, we need to rethink traditional strategies for providing outreach as current measures haven't met the growing needs. The Tour for Diversity in Medicine (T4D) was established as a grassroots effort to mediate pipeline leakiness through a mission to educate, inspire, and cultivate future health professionals of diverse racial and ethnic background. Coronavirus, though, changed the landscape of engaging with students. In April 2020, T4D conducted new virtual sessions beginning with Instagram live interview sessions. This progressed to a virtual mentorship conference, #VirtualT4D, which engaged with >1300 viewers over four days, including high school, undergraduate, and medical students from diverse backgrounds across the globe. To strengthen the pediatrician pipeline, T4D adapted its model to provide pediatric careerspecific mentorship virtually through the Pediatric Mentoring Circles (PMC) to trainees considered underrepresented in medicine and students from backgrounds considered disadvantaged. Methods: Student recruitment was conducted through T4D social media channels (Twitter, Instagram). This targeted premedical students from high school through postbaccalaureate level. Faculty included six pediatrician mentors from T4D, representing various training levels from residency to junior faculty with different specialty backgrounds. Monthly sessions were conducted from September-December 2020. Grant funding was obtained through the American Association of Pediatrics “Pediatric Pipeline Innovation Program” mechanism. Results: Fifty-five students were selected and divided into groups with the six T4D faculty mentors. Students represented 16 states with >90% representing underrepresented racial/ ethnic backgrounds. Importantly, 42% of students never previously attended a pipeline program, 65% are first generation college students, 75% will be the first healthcare worker in their family, and 100% would be the first physician in their family. Five topic areas were addressed (applying to medical school, goal setting and network development, pediatrics career opportunities, pediatrics leadership, and the impact of racism on child and adolescent health) through workshops utilizing different learning modalities. Students were provided pre and post workshop learning articles and tools for further developing their professional identity formation, through goal setting, network mapping, and personal reflections. Conclusion: T4D PMC increased exposure to pediatrics through a unique virtual model with scaffolded sessions based on the students' education level and a supportive environment to foster professional identity formation through pediatric-focused mentorship. Additionally, PMC provided introductory knowledge and skills for students regarding the medical school/ residency application process. Students appreciated the virtual model as it gave them a national tiered network of peers and mentors. Mentors empowered students to continue their journeys to pediatrics by embracing shared experiences through stories about successes and hardships. Next steps include long-term evaluation of student outcomes and partnering with organizations such as Association of Pediatric Program Directors as the next planned cohort targets medical students from diverse backgrounds.

International Student Recruitment During the Pandemic: The Unique Perspective of Recruiters from Small to Medium-Sized Higher Education Institutions.

Higher education can be considered an industry comprised of mobile students attending institutions worldwide (Findlay et al. in Int Migr 55(3):139-155, 2017). The global pandemic, COVID-19, has significantly impacted the mobility of these students. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have attracted students using international student recruiters, various marketing materials, websites, and educational agents (de Wit in Int High Educ 59:13-14, 2015). When COVID-19 began to unfold around the globe the disease impacted many sectors of the economy, but the impact of disease on the higher education industry is not well documented. The purpose of this study is to explore how higher education institutional student recruitment staff responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores the perspectives of international student recruitment staff in eight small to medium-sized institutions in Canada to understand the impact of the pandemic on their practice and to generate insights for policymakers to consider when planning the future of international student recruitment (ISR). The study found that these recruiters perceived their size to be a disadvantage and that the pandemic highlighted the inequities within higher education. Furthermore, recruiters feared the competitive position of small to medium-sized institutions is potentially deteriorating with implications on policy, resources, and internal relationships within HEIs.

Sustainable, collaborative EEG learning with a nationwide webinar

Purpose: To under stand the needs and issues of electr oencephalogr aphy (EEG) education following the onset of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and report our current EEG webinar management. Methods: We conducted a weekly online EEG lectur e at Hir oshima Univer sity Hospital in a hybrid format from July 2020 to December 2021. We recruited trainees using multiple types of social network services (SNS). We assessed the background of trainees in terms of postgraduate year, hospital size and location, area of expertise, entry route for registration, and clinical interests. We also investigated the current EEG educational needs and other relevant issues. Results: A total of 468 tr ainees (419 clinicians, 49 technicians) r egister ed fr om var ious insti-tutes nationwide (229 hospitals and 9 clinics). As more than 60 webinars were presented over a year, a cumulative total of more than 3,000 trainees joined the webinars. Trainees’ background was variable. SNS were helpful for recruitment. Major reasons for participation were to learn the minimum essentials of reading an EEG (70.1%) and to be able to read a digital EEG (56.5%). Privacy policies and web communication failures were major challenges. Discussion: The study identified r obust and nationwide needs for lear ning EEG r egar dless of area of expertise. Reduced face-to-face chance due to the pandemic greatly affected EEG educa-tion, as the education conventionally took a form of multidisciplinary collaboration in person. Our experience suggests that in addition to face-to-face education, information and communication technology can provide a sustainable learning platform.

Effects of learning styles on disciplines digital careers in Thailand

The COVID-19 dilemma has accelerated the speed of digital transformation. It affects the lives of individuals in every country. Although digital transformation opens new possibilities, it also brings various challenges in the labor market. Because this pandemic accelerates economies worldwide, the traditional career needs to change the old way of working. These changes work environmental into the digital world. So, it has the most significant number of new Digital careers to support digital disruptions. Digital technologies or digital careers require new skills and abilities. In Thailand, the university also has new majors related to digital careers. This is new for students to choose majors to enrollment into the university. That is because they do not know whether they are suitable for study in digital technology or not. The university also needs to recruit students that proper in a digital technology subject. Learning style can classify students how they can study, learn, retain information independence way. To see which learning style is matched with a digital career. Digital careers, as well as applied VARK and Kolb's learning styles, have inspired this approach. The new integrated model of learning styles trend to recommend majors to students when they enroll in the university. © 2022 IEEE.

Invitation to Excellence: Design Challenges in Low Resource Settings for Student Recruitment

Baylor University holds weekend-long Invitation to Excellence (I2E) events to recruit high-achieving high school seniors. Each prospective engineering student attends two engagement sessions: one hosted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) and the other by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In this work, we present design challenges from the ME engagement sessions. In the ME engagement session, students are assigned to teams for a design challenge. Each team receives 60 drinking straws plus one yard of duck tape with which they build a structure to support a stack of course catalogs over a wooden block. Teams are allowed 20 minutes for design-build after which all teams test their structures. The structure is placed over a wooden block. Course catalogs are stacked on it until either one of the catalogs falls to the floor or the structure contacts the top of the block. The engagement session concludes with sharing of reflections on the design experience and recognition of the winning team. Recently, we began providing some teams with tools (i.e., tape measures and scissors) to use during the design challenge. Anecdotally we observed during the January 2019 event that some teams spent excessive amounts of time using the tools to measure and cut straws while failing to complete their structures. Out of curiosity we planned the November 2019 and January 2020 I2E events to explore this phenomenon by using half of our ME breakout sessions as Control groups (No Tools) and the other half as Test groups (Tools). Our reported findings include analysis of differences between Control and Test groups in both load bearing capacity and variety of design concepts. Our null hypothesis was that there would be no difference in average load-bearing capacity between the Control and Test group's structures. With the COVID-19 global pandemic, we were tasked with providing a virtual design experience using Zoom sessions. We will also provide a discussion of the individual design challenges that involved building a bridge from 1/2 sheet of paper that spanned the opening of a ceramic mug and held as much ballast (in the form of coins) as possible without failing. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021

Recruitment and Retention of Bilingual Graduate Students in School Psychology: Efforts and Challenges in Increasing Professional Diversity

The main goal of this paper is to illustrate recruitment efforts, strategies, and challenges in the process of training bilingual school psychologists to serve diverse schools. First, we address the acute and chronic shortage of bilingual school psychologists in the United States, particularly in urban schools where student populations are increasingly diverse. Then we provide a review of strategies and efforts to recruit and retain bilingual graduate-level learners in one school psychology program in an urban university. Quantitative data regarding recruitment and retention efforts are discussed. We identify challenges and future directions to increase diversity in the field of school psychology.

Radical Solutions for Education in a Crisis Context

This book presents how to keep working on education in contexts of crisis, such as emergencies, zones of conflict, wars and health pandemics such as COVID-19. Specifically, this work shows a number of strategies to support global learning and teaching in online settings. Particularly, it first presents how to facilitate knowledge sharing and raising awareness about a specific crisis, to increase people's safety, including educators and learners. The book then discusses various techniques, mechanisms and services that could be implemented to provide effective learning support for learners, especially in learning environments that they do not daily use, such as physical classrooms. Further, the work presents how to teach and support online educators, no matter if they are school teachers, university lecturers, youth social workers, vocational training facilitators or of any other kind. Finally, it describes worldwide case studies that have applied practical steps to keep education running during a crisis. This book provides readers with insights and guidelines on how to maintain learning undisrupted during contexts of crisis. It also provides basic and practical recommendations to the various stakeholders in educational contexts (students, content providers, technology services, policy makers, school teachers, university lecturers, academic managers, and others) about flexible, personalised and effective education in the context of crisis.

Virtual Recruitment

As the pandemic subsides in the United States and parts of the country edge toward normalcy, NACAC professionals believe that virtual recruitment resources that colleges invested much effort in developing will not vanish. They say that virtual recruitment will have long-lasting staying power as a supplement to in-person recruitment. This article presents information on virtual tours and virtual events in relation to the recruitment process.

Examining Recruitment Practices for Servingness during COVID-19: Perspectives from Institutional Agents at an Emerging Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI)

The COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020 as high school seniors were receiving their college admission notifications for fall. Many postsecondary institutions shifted outreach efforts to online formats. This qualitative study examines how virtual recruitment at an emerging HSI incorporates culturally responsive practices from the perspective of institutional agents (IAs) who were involved in these efforts. We also consider how IAs perceive the broader commitment of the institution to serve Latinx/a/o students. Our findings expose limitations in effectively recruiting Latinx/a/os in virtual formats due to the digital divide. The IAs identify ways in which the university was not equipped to overcome unreliable broadband access and technology. These agents maintain a critical lens to identify how the institution can expand capacity and ensure that the work of supporting Latinx/a/o students is a shared responsibility and not concentrated on a few staff. The findings further raise awareness of the continued language divide in disseminating information to families who do not speak English. Our study provides insights on how universities nationwide and across the world can transform recruitment practices to more intentionally support minoritized students and families as they make enrollment decisions into college.

Conceptions of Choice, Equity, & Rurality in Educational Research: A Review of the Literature on Rural Education and School Choice Policies

Issues of school choice regularly appear in popular discourse related to resources, equity, and freedom in education. Although school choice policies and initiatives promote a vision of additional schooling options for all students, the predominant target of choice advocates and researchers has been densely populated, urban cores in the United States (McShane & Smarick, 2018). However, this belies the fact that rural communities have also engaged in forms of school choice decision-making. While some research has explored rural school choice, we believe there are myriad, novel opportunities for meaningful education research regarding school choice, equity, and conceptions of rurality. Over nine million children in the United States, or nearly 20% of the public-school student population, attend a school designated as rural (Kena et al., 2015;Showalter et al., 2019). Additionally, rural schools and districts have remarkable levels of variability in terms of racial, ethnic, cultural, and geographic compositions. These contexts provide significant motivation for further explorations of rurality and school choice. This review is not intended to advocate for an expansion of school choice policies. Rather, we aim for it to serve as a call for additional research that seeks to better understand how school choice policies are currently operating in rural areas and their implications for educational equity. To advance toward a robust research agenda for rural education and school choice, we review the existing literature on school choice and rural education, provide key recommendations, and assert the need for additional consideration of the following: critical socio-political histories and theories;methodological diversity;issues of race, racism, sexual orientation, and equity;social-emotional learning and development;impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic;and broadened understandings of rurality.