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The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected higher education and higher education students around the world, but few studies of college students' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic have been conducted in Latin America. This study describes the COVID-19-related experiences and perspectives of Peruvian college students. We surveyed 3,427 full-time college students (average age: 23 years) attending a multi-campus Peruvian university in fall 2020. Participants were recruited through the digital platform of the learning management system at their university, email, and social media. We asked participants how they were managing risks related to COVID-19; the continuity of social, educational, and work activities; and the psychological and economic impacts of the pandemic on their lives. Since March 2020, 73.0% of participants reported COVID-19-related symptoms, but only 33.9% were tested for COVID-19. During the national quarantine imposed by the Peruvian government (March 15-June 30, 2020), 64.3% of participants remained in their house. Furthermore, while 44.0% of participants were working in February 2020 (95% CI: [41.7%, 46.4%]), only 23.6% (95% CI: [21.7%, 25.7%]) were working immediately after the pandemic began (i.e., at the end of April 2020). Participants were more stressed about the health and educational implications of COVID-19 for Peruvian society and their families than about themselves. The public health, economic, and educational implications of COVID-19 on college students are continuing to unfold. This study informed Peruvian higher education institutions' continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the progressive return to postpandemic activities, as well as other future pandemics and other crises.

An i-voting system may promote electoral participation by reducing travel cost and time to polling places, especially among youth who are more accustomed to technological changes. We study the linkage between travel costs on election day and voter turnout by comparing past electoral participation with stated voting behavior in a hypothetical i-voting system. We believe that the link between transportation costs, i-voting, and voter-turnout emerges as an interesting opportunity to disentangle the mechanism behind the expected increase in political participation after diversifying voting channels. Data were collected using an online questionnaire that was disseminated among Chilean university students. Binary and bivariate probit estimates show that conventional turnout probability among university students is negatively affected by travel costs on election day. Interestingly, whereas political interest and democracy valuation still augment the probability of voter turnout with i-voting, travel-to-polling-station costs are not statistically relevant.

Mobile shopping (m-shopping) adoption has been significantly touted in the contemporary era; however, the adoption of m-shopping is still under shadow in many developing countries. The aim of this study is to discover the impact of device system quality on m-shopping adoption among university students with the support of UTAUT and UTAUT2 theories. The study employed PLS-SEM (symmetric) and fsQCA (asymmetric) analysis simultaneously using survey data from 530 respondents who are primarily university students. PLS-SEM results found positive significant relation between device system quality and m-shopping adoption. The study contributes with an extension of earlier studies that combine PLS-SEM (symmetric methods) and fsQCA (asymmetric methods). The study is limited among the university students that may affect the generalizability of the study. The casual recipes in this research aid policymakers to achieve their strategic objectives in implementing positive m-shopping behavior among the university students.

Purpose: The primary aim of this paper is to illuminate the critical issue of the degree awarding gap in the UK, which significantly impacts students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups. By conducting a systematic review of existing literature following the PRISMA protocol, this study seeks to uncover the complex web of explanatory factors that mediate the relationship between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and degree awarding disparities. Addressing this gap is vital for promoting social justice, enhancing the economy, safeguarding the reputation of UK universities, and adhering to legal responsibilities. This paper endeavours to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes of degree awarding gaps and offer evidence-based recommendations for the higher education sector to mitigate these disparities. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a systematic review design, adhering to the PRISMA protocol, to meticulously analyse the existing body of literature concerning the degree awarding gap in UK higher education. By systematically gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing relevant studies, the review aims to identify and understand the multifaceted factors mediating the link between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and the disparities observed in degree awarding. This methodological approach ensures a rigorous and transparent examination of the literature, enabling the identification of both the breadth and depth of research on the topic. Through this design, the paper aspires to uncover nuanced insights into the mechanisms driving degree awarding gaps. Findings: The review's findings reveal that degree awarding gaps in UK universities are influenced by a constellation of factors, highlighting the complexity of this issue. Key among these are unconscious bias, limited student engagement opportunities with academic staff, institutional racism, inadequate support systems, and a scarcity of social and cultural capital. These factors collectively contribute to significant disparities in degree outcomes, disproportionately disadvantaging students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups. The evidence suggests that institutional practices and culture play a pivotal role in either exacerbating or alleviating these disparities, indicating the need for targeted interventions to address the root causes of degree awarding gaps. Research limitations/implications: One strength of conducting a systematic review is its rigorous and meticulous nature, which ensures that the process is carefully planned and executed. This comprehensive approach allows for the elimination of biases, as the review systematically gathers and analyses existing literature on the topic. By adhering to a structured methodology, the systematic review enhances the validity and reliability of the findings, providing a robust and unbiased synthesis of the available evidence. This strength lends credibility to the research and reinforces the confidence in the conclusions drawn from the review. Practical implications: The practical implications arising from this information indicate that universities need to address the identified issues directly by implementing supportive strategies and interventions. By doing so, they can create a learning environment that is more inclusive and equitable, allowing all students to unlock their full potential. This may involve measures such as raising awareness about unconscious bias, promoting engagement between academic staff and students, implementing anti-racist policies, establishing comprehensive support systems, and actively fostering social and cultural capital. Such practical actions will contribute to reducing the degree awarding gaps and promoting equal opportunities for all students, ultimately leading to a more equitable and successful educational experience. Social implications: The social implications derived from this information are significant. By implementing supportive strategies and interventions to address the identified issues, universities can contribute to creating a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. This has the potential to have a transformative impact on society by providing equal opportunities for all students to unlock their full potential. By raising awareness about unconscious bias and implementing anti-racist policies, universities can foster a more diverse and inclusive community. Promoting engagement between academic staff and students and establishing comprehensive support systems can enhance social cohesion and create a sense of belonging. Ultimately, these efforts can lead to reduced degree awarding gaps and contribute to a more equitable and successful educational experience, positively influencing broader social equality and cohesion. Originality/value: This paper contributes significantly to the literature by offering a comprehensive, systematic review of the factors contributing to the degree awarding gap in UK higher education, highlighting its originality and value. By focusing on the interplay between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and degree awarding disparities, the study provides novel insights into how these dynamics contribute to educational inequities. Furthermore, the evidence-based recommendations for institutional interventions presented in this paper furnish the higher education sector with actionable strategies to foster a more inclusive and equitable learning environment. This work not only advances academic understanding of degree awarding gaps but also offers practical value to policymakers and educational institutions aiming to enhance social justice in higher education.

Increasingly higher education institutions are expected to demonstrate their contribution to academia, society, and the economy. This is pertinent for business schools as a key purpose for them is to provide education that enhances management practice, with Doctorates in Business Administration (DBAs) being the highest-level qualification offered in pursuit of this goal. Yet there is scant research that captures the impact of DBAs beyond the individual and academia. This paper focuses on the important role of DBAs in generating and transferring knowledge from academia to practice and in creating wider impact in society and the economy. Based on 36 semi-structured interviews with DBA students and alumni, our research shows how DBA students are able to generate and exchange knowledge between academia and business, enabling a wide range of impacts to be achieved. We show how knowledge transfer is the outcome of a learning process in which DBA students and their supervisors learn to speak each other's language, enabling two-way communication. Facilitated by the power and associated credibility and legitimacy of the DBA students as practicing senior managers, the knowledge can then be transferred. Personal development in the form of analytical skills and increased confidence gained through the learning process results in a personal impact that acts as the precursor to other forms of impact, such as improved organisational performance and broader societal benefits. Research generated by DBAs is thus well-placed to offer opportunities for impact and contribute substantially to the research-practice conversation in higher education.

This study examined the impact of changes in tax codes on voluntary giving to universities and colleges. While higher education institutions have drawn attention to individual gifts and philanthropic donations as supplementary financial resources, the recent introduction of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 in the United States reduced tax incentives for charitable contributions, thus raising concerns regarding considerable declines in charitable giving. By using panel data from the Voluntary Support of Education Survey, this research revealed that changes in tax benefits on charitable giving as a consequence of the new tax policy are associated with an overall decrease in the sum of individual donations and the number of individual donors. This loss of voluntary contribution is notably observed in private colleges and universities with an emphasis on research activities.

This study used the provincial panel data on policy adoption rate of university-affiliated think tanks in China from 2005 to 2017 and built a fixed effects model to explore the impact of the policy adoption rate of university-affiliated think tanks on China's economic growth. The results indicated that China's university-affiliated think tanks developed rapidly and the quality of policy advice improved significantly, but obvious regional imbalance existed. The policy adoption rate of university-affiliated think tanks can significantly affect China's economic growth. The impact was significant in the eastern developed region and western underdeveloped region but not in the moderately developed region in central China. The impact was significant in both the southern developed region and northern underdeveloped region, while the impact in the south was more significant than this in the north. Besides, the policy adoption rate of university-affiliated think tanks had obvious time effect on China's economic growth. As time went by, the effect became stronger, which was significant in eastern and central China but not in the western region. The enhancement of effect was significant in both the southern and northern regions, while the enhancement in the south was higher than this in the north.

Over the past decade, the financial crisis has led to reduced government funding for academic libraries in Greece. Now more than ever, it is imperative for library managers to improve their knowledge and understanding of cost behavior, in order to effectively deliver high quality services at decreasing costs. To do so, they need to apply clearly-defined costing methods, such as Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC), that allow them to identify the various costs involved in the library processes. In our study, we applied the TDABC method at the medium-sized library of the University of Macedonia (UoM), in Thessaloniki, Greece, to evaluate the costs of the Inter-library Loans (ILL) services. Since the library managers did not adopt a cost allocation method, the cost estimation of the UoM ILL services was rather simplistic and rudimentary. Our research provides empirical evidence of the advantages of TDABC in an academic library setting. Namely, the TDABC method can help library administrators decide how to successfully allocate the available resources and improve the efficiency of the library processes.

The article addresses the issues surrounding the importance and impact of 'hinterlands' in the construction of European higher education systems and in the formation of sectoral policy. It draws on studies of Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom to illustrate different policy approaches and shows how in some countries 'hinterland' issues have been the major factor in the reconstruction of national higher education systems. It draws a distinction between the past, where policies were essentially based on the growth of student numbers, and the present, where the drivers are much more related to regional social and economic factors and, in some countries, to public good policies on equalising opportunities between deprived and affluent areas. It suggests that 'hinterland' issues are now central to how higher education systems are constructed. As a result, systems will become more complex to manage but that regional and institutional 'bottom up' determination may offer better prospects for innovation and flexibility in the face of societal change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem and objective: University dropout is a major problem that affects more than 31,000 students each year in Andalusian universities, with serious personal and social consequences and an economic cost of more than 222 million euros for the region's public administration. As concluded from the review of explanatory models we reviewed, dropout has a multicausal origin. The purpose of our work is to test the efficacy of the use of a screening for the early detection of the risk of academic dropout in Higher Education in Andalusian universities. Procedure: We applied a screening instrument adapted for incoming students in public universities in Andalusia. The survey was applied at the beginning of the second semester. In this article we present data from a sample composed of 976 subjects from the universities of Granada UGR, Jaén UJA and Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla UPO. Results: With the data obtained we have established the dropout risk group, which includes those students who do not reach an average score of 3.00 in the total screening. There are 34 students representing 3.48% of the sample. Of these 34 students, 26 are women and 8 are men; 20 belong to the UGR, 8 to the UJA and 5 to the UPO. The detection of the risk group will allow the universities to apply preventive measures in a personalized and adjusted way to avoid possible dropout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The student loan indebtedness issue has become one of the most significant issues in higher education in the United States. This issue impacts nearly 45 million Americans and has long-term economic consequences that are just beginning to be felt throughout the country's economy. This article addresses the evolution of this national problem and discusses the economic ramifications of the student loan debt crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]