College and Career
Exploring Higher Education Dropout in Costa Rican Public Universities: A Systematic Literature Review View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Saiden Ortiz-Gómez
This literature review addresses higher education dropouts in five Costa Rican public universities. The objective is to synthesize current research on this issue and identify the students’ main motivations to quit studying a major and universities’ actions to deal with this problem. The relevance of this review lies in the importance for university authorities, professors, and students to understand a phenomenon that may have social and economic implications for society. This review is framed within higher education, especially on socioeconomic, pedagogical, psychological, and other factors that might be influencing student dropout. By conducting a meta-analysis of studies published in Costa Rican journals since 2000, the findings have been synthesized to determine the main variables responsible for student dropout in higher education. The results have confirmed that there are high levels of student dropout in various campuses of the public universities. Some majors have shown low graduation rates at a branch of the Universidad de Costa Rica. Furthermore, some faculties at Universidad Nacional and Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica are more prone to higher rates of student dropout. There have also been found factors responsible such as motivation and methodology at Universidad Técnica Nacional or the number of courses, difficulties in adapting to the academic demands of the courses, and lack of support at the Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidad Estatal a Distancia, and Universidad Nacional. As a result of the information analyzed, diverse measures can be formulated to help more students finish their majors in the country's public universities.
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence for the Advancement of Students’ Research Methods Proficiency View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Larissa Neuburger, Ilona Pezenka
Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly transformed higher education, especially when it comes to the enhancement of learning possibilities for students as well as teaching tools for lecturers and thesis supervisors. While still facing substantial challenges, AI has the potential to be a powerful tool for teaching and thesis supervision especially through the facilitation of personalized learning experiences. Based on a quantitative study, which revealed substantial gaps in students’ competencies in research methodology especially when it comes to the quantitative research process, this paper addresses challenges in students' research competencies. It therefore proposes AI as a tool to enhance and to be integrated into the learning journey. As part of a research project that focuses on creating interactive e-learning courses for research methods, several AI Tutors were developed to assist students in their research process. The AI Tutors engage in an interactive dialogue with the students. They are prompted in a way that they ask questions and guide students step by step through the learning process. The AI tutors are also used as a support for students to deepen their understanding with practical exercises as well as with interactive assistance and targeted feedback for crafting a purpose statement, developing a research design as part of their supervision process for their final thesis.
The Role of Public Universities in Empowering Students with Disabilities in Saudi Arabia View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Khalid Alasim
Empowering and supporting students with disabilities to facilitate their admission into universities requires organized work, practical implementation, and enacting certain internal procedures for each university to ensure achieving the principle of students with disabilities’ equal opportunities and participation in higher education. Most Saudi universities have begun to accept students with disabilities recently. However, enrollment remains very limited because of concerns about the inability to teach and provide appropriate services to these students. The goal of this study was to identify the roles and functions of units/centers for students with disabilities within Saudi universities, and their role in accepting this student population. The study adopted a descriptive methodology, and the results confirmed that there are units and centers for students with disabilities in all universities except Shaqra University. Specifically, seventeen universities have units for students with disabilities, while eight have centers for these students. The study also found that the total number of students with disabilities reached 5676, of which the percentage of male students was 54.65%, while female students were 45.34%. The study concluded that empowering students with disabilities requires a systematic approach together with practical implementation and internal policies at each university to ensure equal opportunities and these students’ continued participation in university education.
