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Educational change in higher education is challenging and complex, requiring engagement with a multitude of perspectives and contextual factors. In this paper, we present a case study based on our experiences of enacting a fundamental educational change in a medical program; namely, the steps taken in the transition to programmatic assessment. Specifically, we reflect on the successes and failures in embedding a coaching culture into programmatic assessment. To do this, we refer to the principles of programmatic assessment as they apply to this case and conclude with some key lessons that we have learnt from engaging in this change process. Fostering a culture of programmatic assessment that supports learners to thrive through coaching has required compromise and adaptability, particularly in light of the changes to teaching and learning necessitated by the global pandemic. We continue to inculcate this culture and enact the principles of programmatic assessment with a focus on continuous quality improvement.

We are 52 Black scientists. Here, we establish the context of Juneteenth in STEMM and discuss the barriers Black scientists face, the struggles they endure, and the lack of recognition they receive. We review racism's history in science and provide institutional-level solutions to reduce the burdens on Black scientists.

Educational change in higher education is challenging and complex, requiring engagement with a multitude of perspectives and contextual factors. In this paper, we present a case study based on our experiences of enacting a fundamental educational change in a medical program; namely, the steps taken in the transition to programmatic assessment. Specifically, we reflect on the successes and failures in embedding a coaching culture into programmatic assessment. To do this, we refer to the principles of programmatic assessment as they apply to this case and conclude with some key lessons that we have learnt from engaging in this change process. Fostering a culture of programmatic assessment that supports learners to thrive through coaching has required compromise and adaptability, particularly in light of the changes to teaching and learning necessitated by the global pandemic. We continue to inculcate this culture and enact the principles of programmatic assessment with a focus on continuous quality improvement.

Business colleges must efficiently manage academic programs which lead to degrees in various majors. In this paper we illustrate how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be applied to analyze the relative efficiency of how different academic programs transform students into graduates. Assuming a set of common inputs and outputs, we use this optimization technique to compare the programs, and identify those which assume a maximum level of relative efficiency. Our DEA analysis also enables the analyses of why some programs are relatively inefficient and provide specific, quantitative guidance on how to make them more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amebelodon and Konobelodon are two members of a group of proboscideans called shovel-tusked gomphotheres. The phylogenetic relationship between them is uncertain, with some authors considering them to be closely related taxa while others consider them only distantly related. This uncertainty stems from confusing issues related to morphology, biochronology, and biogeography. Contributing to this confusion, Amebelodon consists of two distinct morphotypes that do not obviously resemble each other. One, typified by A. floridanus, possesses a conservative dentition and lower tusks, while the other, represented solely by A. fricki, possesses an advanced dentition and lower tusks that closely resemble those found in Konobelodon. In a traditional evolutionary scenario involving these taxa, conservative Amebelodon appeared in North America during the latest Miocene and gave rise to advanced Amebelodon. Advanced Amebelodon in turn gave rise to Konobelodon, with Konobelodon then dispersing into Eurasia. However, new discoveries of Konobelodon in the Late Miocene of Europe and Asia render this hypothesis implausible, and suggest rather that Amebelodon first appeared in Asia during the Late Miocene, where it gave rise to Konobelodon. These findings in turn suggest that A. fricki in North America represents an immigrant from Eurasia. If this new hypothesis is correct, then the status of the conservative species such as A. floridanus within Amebelodon becomes problematic, with the implication that Amebelodon is polyphyletic. On this basis as well as extensive morphological differences, one of these conservative species, Amebelodon floridanus, is here referred to a new genus, Stenobelodon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]