"The Ones that Care Make all the Difference": Perspectives on Student-Faculty Relationships

Student Motivations and Barriers toward Online and In-Person Office Hours in STEM Courses

Office hours are one of the most common support mechanisms found in courses. Despite the prevalence of office hours in life sciences classes, there has been little investigation of how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) students perceive office hours, particularly at non-research intensive universities or other institutions where a majority of students attend office hours. We surveyed more than 500 students, representing most life sciences majors at a comprehensive university, to investigate their motivations and barriers for attending office hours. We then compared instructors' perceptions to students' conceptions of office hours. We identified key themes in student and instructor comments using inductive, grounded theory, finding that students view a more limited range of benefits for office hours than instructors. Students likewise cited a larger number of barriers for attending than instructors perceived. In addition, while there were minimal differences in rates of office hours attendance and perception of office hours based on key demographic factors, we identify areas where students of different class years and gender perceive differences, suggesting areas of future research. Finally, we explored students' views of in-person versus online office hours, providing insight for instructors to better reach all students.

The impact of COVID-19 on student learning during the transition from remote to in-person learning: using mind mapping to identify and address faculty concerns

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of in-person learning at many higher education institutions (HEIs) in March 2020. In response, HEIs transitioned most courses to online formats immediately and continued this mode of instruction through the 2020-2021 academic year. In fall 2021, numerous HEIs resumed in-person courses and some hybrid courses, and faculty began noting academic-related behavior deficiencies not previously observed in students. Focus groups of teaching faculty (n = 8) from one university department were conducted to gather information on changes in student academic-related behaviors attributed to the disruption of teaching and learning due to COVID-19 and to compare observed deficiencies with the university's undergraduate learning goals. Mind mapping software was utilized to capture themes and subthemes. Identified themes were related to problem-solving skills, grades, time management, attendance, and interpersonal communication, both in terms of student-to-student and student-to-faculty communication. For these identified areas, outcomes during the return to in-person learning were mostly undesirable. Based on these identified issues, suggested modifications that HEIs could use to modify course content and delivery to offset skill gaps and improve interpersonal communication were identified. Furthermore, observations may indicate that fully remote learning inhibited student learning and skill development during the 2020-2021 academic year. Future work should examine the effectiveness of the proposed modifications on student success.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article contains information gathered from mind map-driven faculty focus group observations of student academic-related deficiencies resulting from transitioning from remote to in-person learning and how said deficiencies compare to university undergraduate learning goals.

Experiences of students who gained entry to a nursing college through recognition of prior learning: A phenomenological study

Background Recognition of prior learning broadens employees' access to higher education and career progress. In South Africa, the process provides previously disadvantaged nurses a fair and equitable opportunity to further their education. It is necessary to understand the support needs of these nurses.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the lived experiences of students who gained entry through recognition of prior learning to a three- or four-year nursing training programme at a nursing college in South Africa.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive phenomenological approach was used to explore and describe the meanings students attached to their educational experiences.

SETTING

A public nursing college in South Africa.

PARTICIPANTS

Ten nursing students who gained entry through recognition of prior learning were purposefully selected.

METHODS

Data were collected over a period of three months, using in-depth individual interviews, and analysed using Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method.

RESULTS

Nursing students who furthered their studies through recognition of prior learning experienced various academic, clinical practice and personal challenges that instilled in them a fear of failure and self-doubt. They used social support from various sources as a way of coping. Previously disadvantaged nursing students require institutional interventions and support to improve their chances of success.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses given the opportunity to advance their careers through recognition of prior learning should have access to person-centred support, academic orientation and resources to attain language and technological competency.

Online Graduate Student Retention: Integrative Review With a Theoretically Framed Case Exemplar

BACKGROUND

Retention of online nursing students in graduate education is essential as the need for nurses exceeds the current supply.

METHOD

The factors contributing to student attrition are reviewed, and a real-world case exemplar is presented to demonstrate the theoretical design and implementation of an orientation to support retention.

RESULTS

Knowles' theory of adult learning and Cooper's PECS (purpose, expectations, connections, and support) model for an evidence-based orientation framework guided the design of the orientation. Knowles' theory was aligned with the PECS model to further describe how student and environmental factors can be addressed in an orientation framework and provide strategies for implementation. Additionally, these PECS definitions were applied to specific activities within a conceptual, theoretical, and empirical framework for development of orientations.

CONCLUSION

This case exemplar demonstrated an orientation framework for a feasible application of theory and evidence-based strategies for graduate online nursing programs. [J Nurs Educ. 2022;61(6):314-321.].