The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has implemented metrics to track the academic success of student-athletes in higher education. This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between three metrics used by the NCAA as part of it monitoring and compliance program for academic achievement by student-athletics. Our study examined the relationships between Academic Progress Rate (APR), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), and Federal Graduation Rate (FGR). The data set consisted of 720 total APR, GSR, and FGR scores for the years 2003-2006 obtained from 14 Southeastern Conference (SEC) programs. A subset of six sports with samples sizes of 20 or larger were analyzed in detail. Distributions for FGR, GSR, and APR exhibited substantial differences. Overall, the broadest distribution was observed among FGR estimates. GSR scores were positively related to FGRs. However, both GSR and APR scores were skewed toward high levels of success suggesting that they exhibit limited predictive power. Overall, our results indicated that additional research is needed to optimize both the GSR and APR metrics so they can more precisely serve as indicators of academic progress.

Adjustment to the first year of university involves engaging with the university culture and developing a sense of belonging or attachment. Difficulty making the transition to university can result in students deferring or withdrawing from their courses. While mature-age students experience many of the challenges of all first-year students such as social dislocation, academic anxiety, and unrealistic expectations, they are more likely than school-leaver students to have family responsibilities and time constraints. The ability to manage competing demands on their time can affect their participation in campus-based activities and negatively impact their sense of belonging to the university. This paper reports on the adjustment to the first year of university of 40 mature-age students, measured through an analysis of their responses on a 55-item survey questionnaire. The findings suggest that the mature-age students adjusted well, academically; however, they had lower measures of adjustment in their social and personal adjustment. The challenge for universities is to identify and respond to the needs of mature-age students during their transition to university.

Collaborative international partnerships offer important benefits for institutions of higher education, both domestically and abroad. Recently, a Midwestern institution formed an important partnership with a sister institution in Vietnam that provides opportunities for cultural and academic exchange across cultures that differ dramatically. Very little research has been conducted in Vietnam, especially regarding instructional supervision. Using a collaborative, developmental model of supervision, this paper analyzes the influence of introducing a relationship oriented model of supervision as professional development training to principals in Vietnam. Findings indicate both challenges and opportunities for this collaborative leadership style in the context of education in Vietnam.

This article examines the particular personality traits associated with effective, active and former educational leaders, using a sample set of Myers-Briggs personality types of educational leaders from the Southeastern and Midwestern areas of the United States who attended a conference on Educational Leadership in the fall of 2017 (N=19). It was anticipated that the characteristics of this unique set of individuals, who have elected to work for the benefit of children through the challenging aspects of administrative constraints and oversight, will emerge as having a unique personality density, separate from that of the normal population. It is further posited that understanding how select leaders to go into fields where academic integrity, fiscal responsibility, and in loco parentis standing attract a de minimus and group of individuals, focused on improving society for the next generation. It is these characteristics, which will be fully examined and explored in order to enhance the clarity of challenges and opportunities which future generations of educational leaders can expect to encounter on their journey toward facilitating academic efficacy

In the current context of globalization and the internationalization of many industries, universities are seeking to provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge in various settings, including an increase in international opportunities and formal study abroad programs.