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Collecting feedback from students through course, program and other evaluation questionnaires has become a costly and time consuming process for most colleges. Converting to data collection through the internet, rather than completion on paper, can result in a cheaper and more efficient process. This article examines several research questions which need to be answered to establish that results collected by the two modes of administration are equivalent. Data were gathered for a program evaluation questionnaire from undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. Students were able to choose between completion on paper or through the internet. In six of the seven Faculties the number of responses through each mode was roughly the same. Students in the Engineering Faculty favored the internet. Scores on the 14 out of 18 scales in the instrument showed small differences by mode of response, which became smaller still with controls for pertinent demographic variables. The main response question addressed in the study was whether there was any difference in the way respondents to the two modes interpreted the questions. The study demonstrated the equivalence of the two data sets by showing that both could be fitted to a common model with structural equation modeling (SEM). Five levels of tests of invariance further confirmed the comparability of data by mode of administration. This study, therefore suggests that changing to internet collection for course and program evaluations will not affect the comparability of ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses about the Chinese government investing in universities and research institutes. Topics include the increase in researchers and research articles in China, and fundamental reforms needed to improve the quality of research. Recruiting world class professionals and mentoring junior staff, assessing the salary and promotion of the faculty every three years, and merged tenure system are also mentioned. The steps taken at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) are also given.

Based on the practical experience of establishing three art casting laboratories in three different colleges of Guangdong, this paper focuses on the development of contemporary art casting's education. By analyzing the reason for the shortage of professionals nowadays and the characteristics of modern foundry industry in the Pearl River Delta, the authors try to find out what kind of knowledge structures a modern foundry industry professional should have. Then, from the viewpoint of education, the authors introduce how to combine the art casting laboratory and the creative art casting course as a new teaching pattern, on the one hand, to attract more students to study casting technology, on the other hand, to train them to be qualified professionals for the modern foundry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the current situation of the popular Chinese university education, points out the impact of popularized Chinese higher education on its university mathematics education, and presents the actualities and existing problems of university mathematics education research in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]