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The purpose of this study is to identify the learner characteristics attributable to the likelihood and the duration of programme completion in the Bachelor of Science (BSc) and Bachelor of Technology Honours in Engineering (BTech) degree programmes of the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL).

Data were gathered from the re-registrants for the degree programmes in the academic year 2020/2021, using a questionnaire developed as a Google form. The sample consisted of 301 and 516 re-registrants from the BTech and BSc programmes respectively. Influential factors were identified using Kruskal Wallis test (for duration of completion), binary logistic regression (for likelihood of completion) and Chi-squared test (associations between presage and process factors).

Entry qualification, age and time management skills at entry had significant effects on duration of completion. Attendance at academic activities, organizing time for self-studies and the competency in English at enrolment had significant effects on the likelihood of completion. Prior open and distance learning (ODL) experience had no significant effect on any of the product factors considered.

Inaccessibility of dropouts and using only the responses from the first administration of the questionnaire are limitations. Active learners are more likely to respond, in the first administration and may bias the results.

Findings are useful for designing future studies to identify at-risk students and thereby enhance the programme completion and reduce prolonged time for completion.

Effective strategies to control the identified factors will uplift programme completion and reduce drop-out rates.

Decision making using inferential techniques makes the study distinct among studies undertaken on the same population. The study enriches the limited current research on factors affecting programme completion in ODL mode.

The purpose of this paper is to present design principles for holistic design of online degree programmes (ODPs) in higher education (HE). The study adds to previous research on online programme design by examining how the digital competence and pedagogical strategy of a HE organisation can inform holistic ODP design.

This paper presents a case study placed in the context of a Finnish applied HE organisation. Design-based research (DBR) process is used to create holistic design principles for new ODPs. Theoretical framework for the study is digitally competent organisation (Kampylis et al., 2015) and pedagogical strategy is innovation pedagogy (Kettunen et al., 2013).

Design principles for pedagogically informed holistic design of ODPs are presented as a three-tiered model comprising organisational, pedagogical and ODP layers. Each layer includes various principles for holistic design to integrate an organisation's pedagogical strategy in a digitally competent context to create quality ODPs.

The paper presents a case study from a HE organisation in Finland, but results are applicable to a wider global audience.

As a contribution to practitioners, this paper presents a three-tiered holistic design of ODP in HE organisation, where the design principles are categorised in organisational, pedagogical and ODP design layers. In addition, suggestions to managers, instructional designers and educators are made for the holistic design of ODPs.

Building the sense of community in ODPs and offering continuous support in pedagogy and technology are valuable for the well-being of the staff, students and the wider society.

The paper draws relationships between holistic design of ODPs, digital competence and pedagogical strategy. The paper provides managerial and operational viewpoints to managers, administrators and educators of HE organisations that plan to create new ODPs with a holistic focus on the educational organisation, its pedagogical strategy and digital competence. Recommendations for further development, possible applications and research of ODP education are made.

Starting in the late 1950s with the creation of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA), followed by the formation of other professional organisations both in the USA and Europe, there was a growing sense that research management was indeed a profession. One goal was the creation of professional standards that would lead to a standard training curriculum and, ultimately, a professional credential, and there have been many attempts at developing research administration certification. Now, in the US, accreditation through the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) exam has become ubiquitous, whereas in other parts of the world, certification by portfolio is more common. This chapter will compare and contrast the salient features of certification, certificates, and degree programs in research administration and review their development and growth over the past 30 years. The chapter will discuss their relative merits and how they work to advance the profession of research administration.

This paper aims to share the University of Strathclyde’s experience of embedding research-based education for sustainable development (RBESD) within its undergraduate curricula through the use of an innovative pedagogy called Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP), originated at Georgia Institute of Technology.

This paper discusses how aligning VIP with the SDG framework presents a powerful means of combining both research-based education (RBE) and education for sustainable development (ESD), and in effect embedding RBESD in undergraduate curricula.

The paper reports on the University of Strathclyde’s practice and experience of establishing their VIP for Sustainable Development programme and presents a reflective account of the challenges faced in the programme implementation and those envisaged as the programme scales up across a higher education institution (HEI).

The paper is a reflective account of the specific challenges encountered at Strathclyde to date after a successful pilot, which was limited in its scale. While it is anticipated these challenges may resonate with other HEIs, there will also be some bespoke challenges that may not be discussed here.

This paper offers a practical and scalable method of integrating SDG research and research-based education within undergraduate curricula.

The paper has the potential to deliver SDG-related impact in target communities by linking research-based teaching and learning with community outreach.

The alignment of VIP with the SDG research area is novel, with no other FE institutions currently using this approach to embed SDG research-based teaching within their curricula. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary feature of the VIP programme, which is critical for SDG research, is a Strathclyde enhancement of the original model.

This study aims to properly and objectively assess the students’ study progress in bachelor programmes by applying statistical process control (SPC). Specifically, the authors focused their analysis on the variation in performance rates in business studies courses taught at a Spanish University.

A qualitative methodology was used, using an action-based case study developed in a public university. Previous research and theoretical issues related to quality indicators of the training programmes were discussed, followed by the application of SPC to assess these outputs.

The evaluation of the performance rate of the courses that comprised the training programs through the SPC revealed significant differences with respect to the evaluations obtained through traditional evaluation procedures. Similarly, the results show differences in the control parameters (central line and control interval), depending on the adopted approach (by programmes, by academic year and by department).

This study has inherent limitations linked to both the methodology and selection of data sources.

The SPC approach provides a framework to properly and objectively assess the quality indicators involved in quality assurance processes in higher education.

This paper contributes to the discourse on the importance of a robust and effective assessment of quality indicators of the academic curriculum in the higher education context through the application of quality control tools such as SPC.

This paper addresses the relevance of job search methods and strategies in determining vertical mismatch and the risk of underusing skills or knowledge in first jobs amongst graduates from bachelor's and master's programmes in Spain. Support from universities (via internships and career services) is compared to support from public institutions and informal strategies.

The authors use the 2019 University Graduate Job Placement Survey. The dependent variables are estimated with a bivariate probit model with sample selection on a subsample of graduates who were not working at graduation.

Internships and university career employment offices significantly improve the quality of first job matches. Job banks and public examinations also contribute to finding well-matched first positions, while for public employment services, results are mixed. When the job search is not supported by institutions, graduates generally do worse finding their first jobs, particularly when temporary employment agencies are involved. There are also large differences in mismatch risks across fields of study.

If more graduates found their first jobs through internships and university job placement services, educational mismatch rates would decrease substantially. Further collaboration between universities and employers for the provision of high-quality internships may foster their conversion into regular, well-matched jobs. Industrial policies addressed to knowledge-based economic activities would enhance the creation of highly skilled positions. Further orientation towards STEM degrees is required to improve imbalances between supply and demand for graduate labour in Spain.

Evidence about education mismatch among master's degree graduates is very scarce. This paper compares them to bachelor's degree graduates. It addresses two complementary types of education mismatch and takes into account potential self-selection into post-graduation job search.

Transnational learning has become a mainstream issue in recent years due to the rise of global education. There are many kinds of overseas learning, including degree-seeking, joint/double degree, student exchange, internship, service learning and so on. The scope of learning may involve research, teaching/learning and community service. The purpose of the case study is to investigate how the Taiwanese students participating in an international internship project of the US–Taiwan Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) acquire professional knowledge and soft skills, including cross-cultural awareness, interdisciplinary communication, skill development and social networking. It also explores how a joint research project contributes into a collaborative educational program.

To better understand participants' experiences in the PRIE, this study held three focus groups and seven in-depth interviews on the students, faculty members and project managers for data collection.

Three major findings are shown in the study. First, participants agreed that the overall learning experiences in knowledge acquisition or skill development have been positive. Second, participants obviously expressed their greater interests in intercultural interaction with the locals, which did not happen quite often during the internship. Third, the extent of interest in applying for the PIRE deg ree program after the internship program is escalating year by year.

More investigation into participants’ social and cultural engagement in similar project will be needed for future research.

The results will be implicated into other cross-border education project evaluation.

This study manages to investigate the cross-border research initiative from different participants' perspectives and received comprehensive feedbacks.

It is becoming more generally accepted that there is a need to develop a new kind of leader to meet the needs of our 21st century VUCA world. The bookcases are full of volumes that describe “what” great leaders should do, but “how” to develop such leaders is usually limited to a macro or systemic solution rather than focusing on granular behavioural change of the individual. This paper describes the qualities and characteristics of Transpersonal Leaders, then focuses on developing these leaders through a new coaching process and finally explains how experienced coaches can be trained to coach these leaders.

Our research over the last 20 years of working with leaders individually and in teams has focused on this issue. We have been developing “21st century ready” leaders, referred to as Transpersonal Leaders, for over 10 years in teams, but only recently have we been developing such leaders through a new coaching process. We have also developed a methodology that codifies the development of Transpersonal Leaders which, in turn, allows us to replicate the programme by training other professionals, potentially in large numbers.

Graduates of the Transpersonal Coach Training Programme say that it has been a transformational personal experience, enabling them to take their leader clients to a new level. Leaders who have been coached say the programme has equipped them to learn a practical approach to becoming an authentic, ethical, caring and more effective leader.

This is a unique approach to coaching leaders but based on proven learning principles.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the potential for implementing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the civil engineering bachelor degree in the School of Civil Engineering at Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain).

All the 2019/2020 course syllabi were analyzed to diagnose at which extent each subject within the program curriculum contributes to achieving the different SDGs.

The results show a promising starting point as 75% of the courses address or have potential to address targets covering the 2030 Agenda. This paper also presents actions launched by the School of Civil Engineering to boost the SDGs into the civil engineering curriculum.

This paper presents a rigorous and systematic method that can be carried out in different bachelor degrees to find the subjects that have the potential to incorporate the SDGs into their program. This paper also presents actions launched by the Civil Engineering School to boost the SDGs into the civil engineering curriculum.

This research sought to determine if there existed a common set of courses amongst undergraduate leadership degree programs, provide guidance for new program development and program revision, promote discussion about future leadership curriculum development and provide a starting point for developing common leadership curriculum expectations nationally.

Content analysis was performed.

Program course similarities appear to represent the organic development of unofficial common core requirements within undergraduate leadership programs. Further, there appeared to be no significant trend as to which academic department leadership programs were placed.

This study identifies commonly occurring classes in traditional leadership degrees, offering insights for the development of new programs and assessment of current leadership degrees.