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This study investigates a perceived student performance disparity between traditional synchronous and web-based asynchronous course delivery. Synchronous classes meet face-to-face or online with scheduled meeting times and the ability to directly monitor class attendance and participation. Asynchronous classes are 100% online, requiring no face-to-face or online live sessions. This study identifies student attributes associated with performance differences in the two delivery modes. The authors examine data from over 15,000 students who took introductory financial and managerial accounting classes at a large state university. The authors analyze student demographic and class performance data. Controlling for instructor and year effects, the authors find a statistically significant lower DFW rate (better performance) in the synchronous introductory accounting classes compared to the asynchronous ones. Using these findings, the authors revised scheduling and advising protocols to improve student success likelihood in the asynchronous sections. This study provides two insights applicable to many accounting departments. First, the results suggest that empirically exploring student performance implications may be warranted as the number of web-based asynchronous class offerings grow. Additionally, the study provides an example of working within the limitations of existing registration policies and systems to translate the result of the analysis into improved advising and scheduling approaches.

This paper aims to survey the current landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in higher education institutions (HEIs) and recommend future directions.

This paper reviews the recent trends, showcases the applications and provides future directions through a review of current uses of AI in HEIs.

The results of this study highlight successful applications of AI technologies in three main areas of college operation: student learning experience; student support; and enrollment management.

This review has important implications for early adopters of AI by HEIs in providing a competitive advantage. The limitation lies in the scope of the review. It is not comprehensive and does not cover other areas of college operations.

This is the first review about AI in higher education. It is of value in building future research and serving as a framework for AI applications in HEI.

Retaining students is a critical topic in higher education. A plethora of research has investigated demographic, age, life stage, ethnicity, and a host of other variables that influence retention. Colleges have responded to retention issues with a host of classes, workshops, and orientation or mentoring programs to aid student retention. Specifically, this study compares the retention concerns of high school students considering college vs the concerns of existing college students in a variety of degree programs to see if factors vary over time. Using a case study approach, the study found three key variables associated with retention problems. The discussion and conclusions identify ways for colleges to alter both marketing and assistance programs for both groups. Suggestions for replication and areas for future research as well as implications for policy directions are included.

In this study, the authors seek to examine the prevalence and relationships between constructs of mindfulness, task autonomy, inter‐functional coordination, teamwork, contract implementation and monitoring which have been largely ignored or not fully explored in previous empirical research; and attempt to use them to predict contract performance.

The paper uses descriptive and analytical research designs guided by multi‐methods qualitative and quantitative research approaches to collect and analyze data predicting contract performance in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states. Data was collected from a representative sample of ten countries and subsequent sampling was done at the government ministries. Contracts were the unit of analysis as suggested by Brousseau and Glachant.

The study findings reveal that deontology, mindfulness procurement task performance, competence of the procurement staff, inter‐functional coordination and teamwork, mindfulness, task autonomy, inter‐functional coordination, teamwork, contract implementation and monitoring for contract implementation and monitoring significantly and positively predict contract performance. Contrary to the authors’ expectation, teleology ethical orientation and autonomy of procurement staff significantly and negatively predicted contract performance. These findings have both policy and managerial implications which the authors present.

Lastly, the authors recognize the virtue of ethical orientation of PDE leadership which resides in deontology and teleology that has been largely ignored in previous contract performance research. Paralleling previous empirical studies, the study brings together constructs of mindfulness, task autonomy, inter‐functional coordination and teamwork, contract implementation and monitoring in predicting contract performance in a large regional sub‐Saharan market of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

This chapter provides a glimpse of an ongoing journey of library and information science (LIS) educators and social justice advocates speaking up and speaking out of efforts to decenter white privilege and dismantle its socially ingrained underpinnings that all take for granted in a typical southern university. The narrative is creatively developed to include scenarios of real and/or imagined situations that correlate white privilege in an LIS program with entrenchment within the grips of an emerging American academy. Insights might resonate with incidents of white supremacy and spread of white oppressions experienced nationwide in the entirety of the LIS professions and beyond. The chapter also develops scenarios in the use of collegiality as a weapon that white administrators and LIS faculty (along with those from other disciplines) use to silence efforts that challenge their white privilege and decenter their unfair and unjust infrastructural components in the entrenched academic institution.

Education is increasingly using Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), both for modelling instructional and teaching strategies and for enhancing educational programs. The first part of the paper introduces the basic structure of an ITS as well as common problems being experienced within the ITS community. The second part describes WITNeSS ‐ an original hybrid intelligent system using Fuzzy‐Neural‐GA techniques for optimising the presentation of learning material to a student. The original work in this paper is related to the concept of a “virtual student”. This student model, modelled using fuzzy technologies, will be useful for any ITS, providing it with an optimal learning strategy for fitting the ITS itself to the unique needs of each individual student. In the third part, experiments focus on problems developing a “virtual student” model, which simulates, in a rudimentary way, human learning behaviour. Part four finishes with concluding remarks.

Purpose: To describe the importance of exemplary literacy teacher preparation today, the changing landscape of teacher preparation accreditation and the recently revised and launched International Literacy Association (ILA) National Recognition programs.

Design: In this chapter, the authors examine the current context of literacy teacher preparation in the United States, including the changing landscape of national accreditation, national recognition, and certification requirements. Next, the authors provide a brief overview of the ILA Standards for the Preparation of Literacy Professionals 2017 (Standards 2017) (International Literacy Association (ILA), 2018) and consider how Standards 2017 may inform literacy teacher preparation programs, state standards, and certification. Then, the authors discuss how the role of reading/literacy specialist in Standards 2017 is being applied in the ILA National Recognition program. To close the chapter, the authors share guiding questions and two case studies from exemplary literacy preparation programs – West Virginia University and the University of Texas at San Antonio – in an effort to provide practical examples of program innovation and improvement in these challenging times in literacy teacher preparation.

Findings: The authors discuss the current context of teacher preparation today, the ILA Standards 2017 with specific attention to the reading/literacy specialist role and standards.

Practical Implications: ILA National Recognition program involve reflection, self-study, on-site visits by peers to support and inspire ongoing literacy teacher preparation program quality and improvement.