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We propose an adaptive methodology for the curricular redesign based on the performance indicators of the student progression observed after a follow-up period. The feasibility of adopting the same approach should be thoroughly studied to assess its compatibility with institutions and countries that employ an academic credit system based on student workload, such as the European Credit Transfer System. This approach was applied here for the Chilean system, which is highly consistent with the European case. The resulting methods can be automated and integrated into institutional databases for the management of teaching-learning processes to enhance decision-making. Special attention is devoted to the methods for estimating the credit points and the relative position of each course in the curriculum sequence chart of a university degree. As an example of application, we discuss the curriculum redesign of the B.Sc. degree in Physics offered by the Universidad Católica del Norte. The analysis is based on the statistical report of performance indicators of this undergraduate program during the follow-up period 2015–2019 (five years). We report a certain correspondence between the problem of credit allocation and the behavior in the student progression, which represents an empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the associated credit points estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'The clinical psychology trainee requires support not only with systemic ideas and their application, but also with the process of transition in which new ideas come into contact with and challenge old assumptions' (Hill, 2014, p.280) John Burnham (2017) created a quadrant to map out how any situation holds possibilities and draws on/creates resources, but in parallel, problems and restraints need to be considered. This has been our experience of embedding systemic training in a DClinPsy programme. As many DClinPsy programmes now offer, or plan to offer, embedded systemic Foundation and Intermediate courses, we share our learning from Exeter in the hope of supporting others on this journey. We include the voices of trainees who we invited to be part of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-quality learning process in higher education properly and constructively aligns essential elements: study programs and course objectives, learning outcomes, content, student workload, teaching and learning activities, assessment methods, and acquisition of student competencies, which is known in the literature as constructive alignment (CA). In essence, CA is bringing into alignment the predetermined competencies, the learning and teaching activities, and the assessment types. Furthermore, CA is an outcomes-based approach to teaching in which the learning outcomes that students are intended to achieve are defined before teaching takes place. Learning success at all levels of study primarily depends on constructive alignment as one of the most significant and influential principles in higher education. Detailed knowledge of this principle and consistent application is the basic obligation of teaching staff in higher education. To develop a “constructively aligned” course unit, a teacher should start from the intended course-specific competencies, after which they should choose the most appropriate learning, instructive, and teaching activities, and assessment methods for these specific competencies. The paper explains in more detail the essence of CA between student workload expressed through ECTS, study programs, course and unit objectives, learning outcomes, theoretical and practical contents, teaching and learning methodology, formative and summative assessment methods, and effective acquisition of student generic and course-specific competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, the abrupt change of pedagogy in education amid the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in various challenges to both instructors and students. Higher education institutions (HEIs) shut down to contain the spread of the virus and shifted to online learning environments. Due to uncertainties, instructors and students were unprepared to cope with the future. Accordingly, instructors and students had to embrace new technologies quickly. This study examines how students perceived remote learning and their level of satisfaction. The data collected were from a Malaysian private HEI that involved 2,097 undergraduate students quantitatively, modeled on Ramsden's (1991) Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). The findings revealed the effects of six factors, i.e., instructors' performance, students' educational goals, the remote learning platform, study workload, online assessment, and learning support with a positive relationship on the overall satisfaction of remote learning. Policymakers, university administrators, and instructors could benefit from this study because it has demonstrated that several [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a new model of student workload. We conducted an extensive literature review of student workload, its impact on students' lives, factors influencing student workload, objective and subjective measurements. The previous conceptualizations of student workload conflate student work and course workload, two related but distinct concepts. By synthesizing prior research and concepts from Newtonian physics such as work, force, and distance, we have discovered a model that better explains and differentiates the nature of and the various factors contributing to student work and load. We re-define student work as the product of student academic effort and their achievement in the course. In this model, student academic effort is generated to meet course demands in four domains (cognitive, physical, social, and psychological) with specific challenges and resources associated with each one. This new model will help us to better understand the student experience of academic work, effort, and the challenges students face so that we can make changes to enhance learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contribution: In the research presented in this article, a procedure for determining student workload has been designed, tested, and validated. This procedure also makes it possible to analyze how different teaching variables are affected by workload and to visualize the learning environment generated in the course. Background: When the project-based learning (PBL) methodology is used in a course, if the students’ workload is not properly planned and controlled, important variables in the educational environment, such as the teaching organization and the students’ approach to learning, can be affected. The PBL methodology may even become unfeasible as it affects the other courses with which it shares year and semester. This justifies the need to know the student workload of a subject. The previous research has presented procedures for establishing student workload. However, they use questionnaires with a high number of questions. A questionnaire with many questions affects the reliability of students’ answers. The questionnaire presented in this article reduces the number of questions without affecting the results obtained and it is easily applicable to other courses. Research Questions: The questions to be answered in this research are: 1) is the workload of the students, when using the PBL methodology in a course, in line with the one established in the syllabus? and 2) is the learning environment created in the course as expected? Methodology: The methodology used to obtain the necessary data is based on students completing weekly surveys, two critical incident questionnaires (CIQs), and a final survey. The aim was always to minimize the number of questions to be answered, ensuring that the data collected provided a true picture of the workload and the educational environment. Findings: The analysis of the data obtained by applying the procedure provides mechanisms to control the workload, ensure involvement and motivation, improve students’ academic results and show the learning environment created in the course. The implementation of this method, during three academic years, has allowed to test its effectiveness, validate some of the initial hypotheses, and confirm the conclusions of some previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has forced most educational institutions around the world to migrate to online learning in an emergency mode to protect students from the pandemic. This sudden migration to online learning has created multi-dimensional demands on students. Therefore, student workload needs to be measured during online learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the student workload from student perception by evaluating online learning in terms of Mental demand (MD), Physical demand (PD), Temporal demand (TD), Effort (EF), Performance (PE) and Frustration (FR). This study through a cross-sectional survey analysed 223 student’s workloads on six dimensions using a NASA -TLX scale. The study finds all six components of workload significant for student assessment during online learning. Besides, the NASA-TLX scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis for its ability to assess student workload for online learning. This is the first study to assess the student workload for online learning and hence contributes to the theory of measurement of workload assessment for online learning. The educational institutions can use this study to measure the student workload assessment for various courses offered by them using this simple tool.

Covid-19 has forced most educational institutions around the world to migrate to online learning in an emergency mode to protect students from the pandemic. This sudden migration to online learning has created multi-dimensional demands on students. Therefore, student workload needs to be measured during online learning. The purpose of this study is to measure the student workload from student perception by evaluating online learning in terms of Mental demand (MD), Physical demand (PD), Temporal demand (TD), Effort (EF), Performance (PE) and Frustration (FR). This study through a cross-sectional survey analysed 223 student’s workloads on six dimensions using a NASA -TLX scale. The study finds all six components of workload significant for student assessment during online learning. Besides, the NASA-TLX scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis for its ability to assess student workload for online learning. This is the first study to assess the student workload for online learning and hence contributes to the theory of measurement of workload assessment for online learning. The educational institutions can use this study to measure the student workload assessment for various courses offered by them using this simple tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to explore students' experiences of support mechanisms that support their wellbeing on an engineering degree programme at a research-intensive higher education institution and understand how theory relates to practice. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach involving student survey responses (N = 173), interviews with 16 students and focus groups. Kahu and Nelson's conceptual framework was used as a lens through which to explore student support mechanisms. Preliminary data analysis indicates that the intense workload adversely affects students as do some of the interactions they have with personal tutors and their peers. Our findings suggest that workload needs to be reduced, personal tutors need to fill gaps in their skills set, especially associated with student support, and institutional and departmental protocols be continually updated to support student wellbeing. Additionally, student wellbeing officers and professional, dedicated wellbeing advisors could be part of a long-term solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberal education policies – viewing students' life as human capital, economic investment for the labour market and consumer power – may increase students' workload in higher education. In this mixed methods study, we examined music students' experiences of workload in Finland and the United Kingdom in connection with stress and livelihoods. We used Bayesian mixed effects ordinal probit regression modelling to estimate effects of countries and livelihoods as predictors for music students' experienced workload in relation to their main subject of study (or principal study) and stress. We analysed music students' lived experiences of workload to find further predictors for the developmental work in universities and educational policies. Results indicate that where neoliberal university culture impacts on music students' livelihoods alongside their studies, this is likely to increase stress but not necessarily impact on the workload associated with their main subject of study. However, stress has a notable effect on students' experiences of workload. We suggest paying attention to certain aspects in universities in relation to workload, such as the gap between well-off students compared to low-income students who need to work, and stress, particularly with female and non-binary gender students. Furthermore, we propose alternative ways to navigate neoliberal university culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to assess, through a cross-institutional comparison, whether higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland have responded to Bologna Declaration first- and second-cycle programme restructuring and applied the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) to similarly-accredited civil engineering programmes in a consistent manner. Assessment strategies were also examined. The predominant programme structure was the pre-Bologna '4+1' structure, demonstrating limited national impact of the principles underpinning the Bologna Declaration cycle concept. The first-cycle programmes differed widely in terms of allocated student workload per ECTS credit as well as in the way that educational outcomes were assessed, which was primarily by written examination. There was no 'best' (or consensus) practice for applying the two-cycle programme structure or ECTS workload norms. This lack of national consensus reveals issues that may have relevance in other countries, 20 years after the signing of the Bologna Declaration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: How much time students spent on unstructured self-study activities in problem-based learning is not clear. The study addressed this issue by (1) identifying the nature of students’ unstructured learning activities in a problem-based medical curriculum, (2) measuring the unstructured student workload per week and per semester, and (3) assigning European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System units to the medical problem-based modules based on calculating the total student workload. Method: Nineteen undergraduate medical students in the pre-clerkship phase were enrolled in the study. Data about the nature of unstructured learning activities and the amount of time spent on them were collected through focus group interviews (n=19); and a log diary method (n=13) describing their unstructured educational activities over one week. A response evaluation model and a thematic description approach were employed for data collection and data analysis respectively. Results: A broad variations of unstructured learning activities were identified. The unstructured student workload ranged from 33 to 41 h/wk., while the total student workload was 63/58 h/wk. for years 2 and 3 respectively. The total student workload in a 15-week semester was 945 h in year 2 and 870 h in year 3, which equates with about 34 and 31 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System per semester for years 2 and 3, respectively. Discussion: Measuring student total workload in a problem-based program is important for evading the associated overload, and improving the quality of teaching and learning. Calculating student workload in an integrated problem-based curriculum is a challenge. Total student workload is the foundation for determination of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System units. Measuring unstructured student workload (or “out-of-class” learning time) is an important component of total student workload. Assigning the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System to problem-based programs improves its quality assurance, and has educational, curricular, and organizational impact. Therefore, student workload in such programs should be regularity monitored and evaluated.

The study aims at investigating the perceptions of both academics and students on student workload in Credit Hour System at the Faculty of Education at Alexandria University (Egypt). It uses the wider international experience of higher education reform, including Tuning Africa Project — II, to propose implications for policy and practice on how the real work hours needed by a student to achieve the learning outcomes specified in the curriculum and to pass a course or module are adequately estimated and to contribute to the definition of the basis of a Credit System for Africa. The data have been collected through questionnaires administered to 26 participants: 11 academics (one academic per course) and 15 students (each student surveyed 11 times across all courses of the Professional Diploma in Education). The main findings show significant differences between the perceptions of academics and students on student workload almost across all courses, where students’ estimation of the number of hours needed to complete the independent work during the semester were much higher than that of academics except for fieldwork (site visits). The independent workload as estimated by academics is 62% of students’ estimation. Significant differences were found between the perceptions of students on the number of hours required for each type of independent work across different courses except “preparation and follow-up work for scheduled classes”. The highest average of estimations of the number of hours was given to course N. 11 (World Trends in Quality Assurance Systems); whereas the lowest average was given to course N. 5 (Assessment of Quality in Educational Institutions) across all different types of independent work. Only 36.4% of academics have taken students’ feedback on workload into consideration when planning the workload for their courses. It was also found that 92% of students were not informed about the number of hours planned for independent work at the beginning of the course. In addition, 88% of students were not asked to express their feedback about workload. These findings indicate that there are no unified regulations among academics to the estimation of student workload. It is also made clear that the process of estimating student workload in Credit Hour System at Alexandria University is staff-centred rather than student-oriented as the majority of academics follow traditional methodologies in the estimation of student workload. It is also enunciated clearly that there is marginal coordination between academics teaching in the same programme. It can be concluded that student voice about their workload is not adequately considered as their feedback is not taken into consideration, which can be interpreted in light of the absence of a “paradigm shift” from staff-centred to student oriented approaches to the estimation of student workload.

The goal of this study was to better understand what students expect from their college instructors in four areas: availability for out-of-class communication (OCC), student workload, in-class time use, and technology policies. Data from 606 participants were collected using an online survey design. Results showed that students’ expectations for OCC are being met, but that expectations for workload are being violated. Results also suggest that students prefer engaging in instructor-led activities during class time and want to be able to use their technological devices for educational purposes during class, but not for social purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ECTS, European Credit Transfer System, is now widely used throughout higher education institutions as it facilitates student mobility within Europe and the comparison of study programs and courses. Most European institutions provide students with the number of ECTS each course and module is worth. A full-time student needs to complete 60 ECTS per academic year, which represents about 1500 to 1800 h of study. However, there is a lack of research showing that ECTS metrics have been properly implemented in different degrees and universities. The aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of the ECTS metric as a valid indicator of students’ and courses’ workloads. Detailed workload measurements have been taken in two Spanish universities, with 250,000 work hours monitored from 1400 students. This is the first study published with such a large dataset that includes a range of simultaneous courses and throughout a whole semester. Empirical distribution functions of workload indicators have been obtained. Evidence is provided indicating that nominal ECTS credit hours may be overestimated, that the variability of student workload could be too large for ECTS to sensibly characterize course workload, and that workload statistics of courses with same nominal ECTS are generally not comparable. Although the ECTS metric conception seems to be a valid metric to facilitate mobility between different institutions and higher education systems, in practice, according to this study, it requires revision, at least in the two institutions that have been included in this study. Further studies like the present one are required to test if this is a broader problem that has implications for the comparability of degrees across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, first-year student experience surveys suggest that modern students are investing increasingly less time in their study at university, raising concerns about the impact this may have on their success. This paper describes a case study exploring student workload at a New Zealand university interested in understanding how student time allocation decisions are being made during actual weeks of study rather than hypothetical ‘typical’ weeks. The results show that the sampled students allocated time in line with university expectations. Time allocation on course work was significantly affected by assessment deadlines and by student achievement striving. Student grade point average was strongly correlated with time spent, and strongly influenced by students’ beliefs regarding their motivation and self-efficacy. Universities are encouraged to explore mechanisms that support students being better informed about the implications of their choices, actively influencing their sense of priorities and expectations regarding the effort needed to be successful in their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student engagement in academic activities is a critical factor contributing to the overall success of students studying in higher education institutions. Yet the factors influencing student engagement in academic activities are still largely unknown. This study begins to address this knowledge gap by investigating the influence of student connectedness (relationships with peers and teachers), motivation to study (sense of purpose) and perception of workload upon student engagement in academic activities. During 2015, a total of 209 students responded to a survey distributed to first-year undergraduate students enrolled in a university business school in Queensland, Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the proposed relationships. Results suggest that student-student (peer) relationships, teacher-student relationships, and students’ sense of purpose for studying a higher education degree, were central to student engagement in academic activities. In addition, teacher-student relationships, and a strong sense of purpose were central to perceptions of student workloads. Finally, sense of purpose was found to moderate the relationship between both teacher-student and student-student relationships and also, perceptions of workload and student engagement. The findings from this study support the importance of developing effective teacher-student relationships, facilitating positive student-student relationships and communicating a clear sense of purpose to students, so as to improve their engagement in academic activities and optimise perceptions of workloads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared student workload and perceived value of coursework assigned for a matching set of semester and term general education courses at Brigham Young University. Statistically significant differences in workloads were found between most semester and term courses. While term workloads were slightly lighter in general, both could be called "university lite," in that students did not spend the expected two hours outside of class per hour in class. Math and physics courses came closest to meeting the expected workloads, which tended to remain constant between semesters and terms. Differences in the value students reported for homework varied significantly by the autonomy of the instructor to adapt his own course section. Some of the curricular differences between sessions might be attributed to efficiencies instructors incorporated for shorter sessions without affecting overall course quality. Typically, reading- and writing-intensive courses showed the most negative impact when offered in a term format. The findings from this study suggest that, while some subjects lend themselves well to a compressed-time format, not all courses are suited to being taught in this way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing consensus in Latin America on the necessity to reorganize the degree profiles in a competence-based and student-centred system, with identified learning outcomes, innovative learning and teaching strategies, and new methodologies for assessing competences which could be useful for students. There is also agreement on the need to build up a solid Latin America Higher Education Area —based on common benchmarks—among which a shared regional academic credit system is highly relevant. Not all Latin American higher education institutions are familiar with an academic credit system. In the countries where academic credits do exist they are generally based on traditional views which focus on teaching and transmission, rest on different concepts and definitions and consider diverse scopes for their application. With few exceptions, these countries do not use a credit system as a unit of measure of student workload to achieve learning outcomes and competences. This paper sheds light on a proposal for a common academic credit system for Latin America (CLAR) which comes out of one of the many nuances of Tuning discussion and is referred to the expected outcome 6: “Political-and educational orientations for the establishment of a system of academic credits for Latin America” (Proyecto Alfa Tuning América Latina: Innovación Educativa y Social, 2011-2013). The new credit system that this paper advocates for Latin America is based on the principle that 60 credits measure the workload of a full-time student during one academic year. As such, a CLAR credit is conceived as a unit of value that estimates the student workload, measured in hours, which he/she typically requires to achieve learning outcomes and pass a course or a semester. In order to calculate the value of CLAR credit two elements are considered: the duration of the academic year and the annual student workload. To estimate the annual student workload, a specific survey was applied in 18 countries, 189 universities and 15 subject areas. This paper shows the major results that were brought out by 10,086 questionnaires, which were responded to by students and university professors. As a result of this survey, the student workload of a full-time study programme in Latin America amounts to around 1,440 to 1,980 hours per year and in those cases one credit stands for around 24 to 33 working hours.

This study compared student workload and perceived value of coursework assigned for a matching set of semester and term general education courses at Brigham Young University. Statistically significant differences in workloads were found between most semester and term courses. While term workloads were slightly lighter in general, both could be called “university lite,” in that students did not spend the expected two hours outside of class per hour in class. Math and physics courses came closest to meeting the expected workloads, which tended to remain constant between semesters and terms. Differences in the value students reported for homework varied significantly by the autonomy of the instructor to adapt his own course section. Some of the curricular differences between sessions might be attributed to efficiencies instructors incorporated for shorter sessions without affecting overall course quality. Typically, reading- and writing-intensive courses showed the most negative impact when offered in a term format. The findings from this study suggest that, while some subjects lend themselves well to a compressed-time format, not all courses are suited to being taught in this way.

Objective: This integrative review will examine the current literature assessing student workload, outcomes of increased workload and cognitive load, and approaches to evaluate and reduce student workload. Recommendations to better inform curriculum planning efforts will be presented along with a call to action to address the dilemma of student workload and curricular efficiency efforts., Findings: Literature supports that perceptions of heavy workload can influence students' approach to learning and lead to the adoption of surface learning rather than a deep approach that involves higher-order processing and critical thinking. Additionally, ongoing evidence suggests that workload expansion affects student well-being and potential burnout in professional programs, and specifically that students perceive workload as directly related to their well-being and satisfaction. Intentional planning by faculty and programs can address this issue through streamlining classroom content, reducing lecture time, and modifying preclass work to allow for efficient learning. Even if the curriculum is lecture-based, workload perceptions can be affected by developing clearer guidance to set expectations for learners, intentionality in classroom design, and creating opportunities for student engagement., Summary: Cognitive overload is multifactorial and complicated, given the increased standards of professional education accreditation and licensure requirements. As the Academy deliberately considers methods to improve curricular efficiency, there is an opportunity to focus on curriculum delivery with an appropriate balance of breadth and depth of instruction to ensure effective assessment and cognitive load., (Copyright © 2023 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Online learning offers great potential for higher education in terms of scalability, flexibility and instructional design. However, the suitability of open online formats for beginning students is open for discussion. In this paper, we thus describe beginning students' learning processes in an open online course within a longitudinal workload study. All in all, 238 students were surveyed continuously over one semester via diary method, which led to an overall collection of 10,540 individual activities. Results indicate that the students' actual workload was consistently lower than the intended target workload, and that it was also unevenly distributed. In line with existing research, a weak positive association between time-on-task and learning outcome was found. Implications for the course design and follow-up research are discussed. 16.12.2015 | Tobias Kärner, Marc Egloffstein, Florian Binöder, Clemens Frötschl & Thomas Schley (Bamberg, Mannheim)

Assessment is central to learning. It is also central to the cost of providing higher education. Choosing how much and what forms of assessment are questions not only of good teaching but of good policy. Measuring the amount of assessment set in each course provides a basis on which to determine equitable and appropriate workloads for students and staff across disciplines and institutions and to use institutional budgets and staff time to best effect. It is, however, more difficult than it might at first appear to select metrics appropriate to this task. This article considers the advantages and disadvantages of four options. It also suggests the potential value of ratios and proposes that further consideration be given to removing the distinction commonly found in student workload formulae between time spent on learning out of class and that spent on assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Distance students are time poor and some drop out of their studies because they fall behind with coursework. This raises the issue of how course teams decide upon how many study hours should be included in a course. This article presents a number of Open University projects that have addressed student workload management and relates how learning design has incorporated these findings into advice for new module development. Moreover, the article also discusses how recent automatic feedback systems can motivate and support time-poor students when writing their assignments. This is an important finding as drop-out can occur when students are unable to devote the necessary time to their summative assessments and drop out of the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectivism and/or positivism are dead, leaving constructivism as the dominant philosophical position in the SoTL and educational development communities. Yet the death of objectivism has not been fully accepted, nor have the full implications of constructivism been recognized. As a result, the effects of constructivism’s dominance in the minds of scholarly teachers and educational developers have been bewilderingly superficial. Thoughtful constructivists now find themselves facing situations in which constructivist pedagogies lead to counter-intuitive consequences – for instance, students forced to take surface learning approaches out of desperation. This unwelcome situation of absurdity is explored through a philosophical analogy, which unearths causes and indicates necessary changes to bring into practice a full and committed constructivist education.

This study reports the results of a survey of student study times and perceptions of workload in undergraduate and graduate accounting courses at a large Australian public university. The study was in response to student feedback expressing concerns about workload in courses. The presage factors of student workload and assessment in Biggs’ 3P model are used because these factors can influence students' approaches to learning and therefore course improvements based on these factors could bring the greatest benefits. The findings suggest that the workload is not too heavy but that student perceptions of workload can be improved by clearer communication of teacher expectations and targeted course review to implement constructively aligned curricula. Initiatives implemented in assessment and to better match workload expectations between student and teacher are discussed and could be generalized to most courses. Areas for further research in student workload management are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to determine how a real-world, sustainability-focused engineering capstone course affected students' critical thinking skills, student knowledge of sustainability, and student and faculty workloads. The research also investigated the effectiveness of a classwide jigsaw team approach. A combination of qualitative and quantitative assessment tools, including surveys, journals, interviews, and timecards, was employed to investigate the research questions. Results revealed that a real-world project with a focus on sustainability positively impacted students' critical thinking skills and led to increased knowledge of sustainability, but it also correlated with a high workload for students and faculty. Additionally, the jigsaw organization structure proved successful and yielded a positive team-building experience for the students. These results suggest open-ended problems with real project constraints can yield a uniquely beneficial learning experience without sacrificing the quality of student design or project deliverables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compared workloads of undergraduate courses taught in 16-week and 8-week sessions. A statistically significant difference in workload was found between the two. Based on survey data from approximately 29,000 students, on average students spent about 17 minutes more per credit per week on 16-week courses than on similar 8-week courses. For selected general education courses taught in both formats, a similar result was obtained. When disaggregating results by subject and instructor, we found that the subject and the instructor of the course are more likely to be the cause of any significant difference in rigor based on workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectivism and/or positivism are dead, leaving constructivism as the dominant philosophical position in the SoTL and educational development communities. Yet the death of objectivism has not been fully accepted, nor have the full implications of constructivism been recognized. As a result, the effects of constructivism's dominance in the minds of scholarly teachers and educational developers have been bewilderingly superficial. Thoughtful constructivists now find themselves facing situations in which constructivist pedagogies lead to counter-intuitive consequences - for instance, students forced to take surface learning approaches out of desperation. This unwelcome situation of absurdity is explored through a philosophical analogy, which unearths causes and indicates necessary changes to bring into practice a full and committed constructivist education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the findings related to a number of research projects investigating students' expectations and experiences of the first year in higher education. In particular, findings with regard to first-year students' expectations and challenges with issues of time management are reported. It was found that many students were realistic about having to plan their work independently, and having to spend a good amount of their time during the week on self-study. However, many students found it difficult to regulate their self-study and keep up with the work. They were also not always sure how they were to organise their self-study time. It is argued that universities could and should play a more active role in helping first-year students to make sense of time management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ask lecturers what approach they want students to adopt, and generally they will state that ideally students should adopt a deep approach to learning where they understand, and can apply, what they are studying. This presentation considers how students' perceptions of a heavy workload can interfere with this goal, where workload is defined as the out of class study students engage in. It is shown how assessment and an over-stuffed curriculum can also interfere with the goal of encouraging a deep approach to learning. A number of factors are explored which influence students' perception of their workload and it is argued that if lecturers are aiming to achieve quality learning outcomes and student persistence, it is desirable to find out how students perceive their workload and the effect this has on their approach to learning. Ideally, we want students' perceptions to change to "My workload is manageable and I have time to understand what I'm studying." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing recognition of the importance of 'field of study' in social research. However, few of the existing studies explore the extent to which different fields of study facilitate or constrain opportunities to engage in employment and students' perceptions of their work load in higher education. This article aims to explore the workload of higher education students across different fields of study in comparative perspective. Contrasting Ireland and Austria enables us to explore the way in which the institutional context influences student workload. Analyses of the survey data were conducted to explore the extent to which field of study influenced time spent at formal classes, on personal study and in term-time employment. Regression models were used to estimate the effect of field of study, controlling for a number of factors, including higher education institution, personal characteristics and other potential constraints on student time. Finally, we analyse the effect of student workload on overall satisfaction levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many engineering faculty believe that when students perceive a course to have a high workload, students will rate the course and the performance of the course instructor poorly. This belief can be particularly worrying to engineering faculty since engineering courses are often perceived as uniquely demanding. The present investigation demonstrated that student ratings of workload and of overall instructor performance in engineering courses were not correlated (e.g., Spearman's rho = 0.068) in data sets from either of two institutions. In contrast, a number of evaluation items were strongly correlated (Spearman's rho = 0.7 to 0.899) with ratings of overall instructor performance across engineering, mathematics and science, and humanities courses. The results of the present study provide motivation for faculty seeking to improve their teaching and course evaluations to focus on teaching methods, organization/preparation, and interactions with students, rather than course workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the evaluation and review process conducted at the University of Montreal for the bachelor of pharmacy program. The study assessed the successful implementation of the program's educational objectives across the new curriculum. The assessment involved revisiting the educational objectives, describing the teaching and evaluation methods, evaluating the program strengths and weaknesses perceived by faculty and students and investigating student's academic workload. The analysis indicated that objectives related to intellectual skills were emphasized in all disciplines while objectives related to attitudes were weakest. The majority of teaching methods used a combination of lectures and low problem solving. Problem complexity could be increased to improve knowledge integration across disciplines. The workload analysis revealed that students allocate less hours per week than the recommended standard and that a better balance between semesters should be reached. Based on the information gathered, the academic policy committee, in collaboration with faculty members devised an effective tool to modify the program; the tool included an efficient reporting and recording procedure, a plan of action and an implementation schedule. The evaluation and subsequent modification process allocated clear responsibilities and used a step-by-step methodology that allowed all stakeholders to participate. The approach resulted in a broad buy-in and successful improvement of the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student input was deliberately included as part of the curriculum implementation and assessment plan at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. The new curriculum included design features to encourage deeper learning such as a spiral curriculum with cross-course integration, increased open time, and more active learning. Student well-being was seen as a simultaneous need. To gather overall perceptions of workload and well-being, student volunteers from each cohort were surveyed weekly starting in 2013. Survey questions asked about out-of-class work time, level of integration, extracurricular activities, student well-being habits, paid employment, and other factors. Survey questions were combined with course data to get a full picture of week quality, total course work time, extracurricular activities, and the effects of integration. Many of our hypotheses about curricular and extracurricular impacts on week quality were disproven. Week quality was most positively affected by student factors of sleep and exercise, whereas the curricular factors of out-of-class work time, total course work time, and examination hours had the strongest negative effects. A surprising finding was that open time, in-class hours, and paid employment hours had a minimal effect on week quality. Students identified excessively heavy semesters and uneven semester workloads that resulted in early revisions to the new curriculum. Student feedback provided a view of the curriculum that was not otherwise available and resulted in early and significant impacts on the new curriculum, and they provided insight into whether planned changes had occurred and how effective various factors were in reaching the curricular goals.

Despite the rapid adoption of bilingual programs (English–Chinese) in Chinese higher education institutions (HEIs), concerns have been raised about perceived language hindrance to students' academic comprehension and performance. In response to these concerns, we investigated the effects of bilingual instruction on content-based learning, and provide empirical evidence after testing influential factors in bilingual environments. Analyzing a sample of 498 undergraduate students enrolled in a fundamental business course at a sample university in China, we found insignificant statistical differences in the students' academic performance between bilingual and L1 (Chinese) classes. We attribute this to the English language support provided by the university, and show that learning competence can help students minimize language barriers and solve common learning problems facing both bilingual and L1 students. Overall, our paper aimed to identify key determinants of students' academic performance during bilingual instruction, and provide policy implications for developing desirable bilingual programs in HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]