Sarah Zipf - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Sarah Zipf
Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, Feb 12, 2024
Education Review, May 17, 2017
Distance Education, Dec 2, 2018
Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, fo... more Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, for on-campus students, indicate that students' financial status affects their decision to persist. This study involved providing distance education students' financial aid in the form of institutional scholarships (N = 545) at Penn State University in the United States. The recipients were students who were not overachievers and not at-risk of failing, but somewhere in the middle. The purpose of the study was to test if receiving financial aid was related to students' persistence. Using logistic regression and Chi-square analysis, this study found that scholarship-receiving students with higher financial need were two times more likely to persist in their studies than those with lower financial need. Results suggest that there is a positive relationship between providing even small financial aid to students with highfinancial need and their persistence in their studies.
American Journal of Distance Education, Feb 9, 2023
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education
U.S. higher education institutions are increasingly expanding their international efforts while s... more U.S. higher education institutions are increasingly expanding their international efforts while simultaneously addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives. Yet, the nexus of internationalization and DEI remains murky. As one way to understand the intersection of internationalization efforts and DEI, this qualitative content analysis examines the prevalence, location, themes, and public availability of DEI statements found on websites of U.S.-based international branch campuses (IBCs). We focused on the extent to which home campus commitments to DEI are publicly replicated in international settings. While all home campuses had a DEI statement, findings illuminate a low prevalence of stand-alone DEI statements at the IBCs, with only 21 linking to or reposting the home campus statement and only six out of the 67 having DEI statements unique to the IBC context. Findings suggest that U.S. higher education institutions with IBCs are not replicating institutional DEI commitments as a public statement in the same way as on the home campus. This study also contributes to a richer understanding of how some IBCs navigate the tensions of enacting (or not) home campus DEI commitments within the differing local context in which they operate abroad.
Higher education, 2019
Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fal... more Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fall of large for-profit institutions. A growing body of research examines the many aspects of for-profit higher education, including business models, students, and financial aid. Studies also offer a range of assessments of how the sector is growing or shrinking, earning or losing financial standing, serving the needs of their students and society or bilking them for profit. The literature is often quite critical of the for-profit sector, though the bias is not always supported by empirical evidence. For-profit institutions are fast-changing entities, highly responsive to new regulations and oversight. This makes the sector difficult and creates a moving target of scholarship. This chapter explores a decade of the literature to assess the research that has been conducted and identify conclusions and gaps in scholarship. It is not designed to evaluate the for-profit sector, but rather to explore the scholarly work and highlight the place of for-profit higher education in the landscape of American higher education.
Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many college... more Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many colleges and universities have taken a proactive approach and updated academic integrity policies or even outright banned the use of ChatGPT (Clercq, 2023; Mearian, 2023; Schwartz, 2023). As this new technology continues to evolve and expand, colleges and universities are grappling with the opportunities and challenges of using such tools. Very little literature exists on student and faculty perceptions of AI use in higher education, particularly related to generative AI tools. The present study aims to fill this gap and offer perceptions from both students and faculty from a large research university in the mid-Atlantic. Survey participants consisted of 286 faculty and 380 students across multiple campuses. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included open-ended responses, scaled items, and finite questions. Overall, the reported use of ChatGPT technology is infrequent, though most respondents feel its use is inevitable in higher education. We find faculty and students are uncertain but familiar with generative AI tools and ChatGPT. Institutions interested in developing policies around using ChatGPT on campus may benefit from building trust in generative AI, for both faculty and students. Concerns with academic integrity are prevalent with faculty and students agreeing ChatGPT violates
Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many college... more Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many colleges and universities have taken a proactive approach and updated academic integrity policies or even outright banned the use of ChatGPT (Clercq, 2023; Mearian, 2023; Schwartz, 2023). As this new technology continues to evolve and expand, colleges and universities are grappling with the opportunities and challenges of using such tools. Very little literature exists on student and faculty perceptions of AI use in higher education, particularly related to generative AI tools. The present study aims to fill this gap and offer perceptions from both students and faculty from a large research university in the mid-Atlantic. Survey participants consisted of 286 faculty and 380 students across multiple campuses. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included open-ended responses, scaled items, and finite questions. Overall, the reported use of ChatGPT technology is infrequent, though ...
American Journal of Distance Education
Frontiers in Education
The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into emergency remote instruction in 2020. Impacts ... more The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into emergency remote instruction in 2020. Impacts of this modality shift on undergraduates of different identities are important to document, for both current students who need support now and future students who may face other crises. A large survey in the United States asked students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to report the impact of emergency remote instruction on their confidence to succeed and sense of belonging in STEM. Using those data, we find that the impact varies by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). For instance, 63.3% of lower SES women identifying as underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (URM) reported a decrease in their confidence to succeed, compared to 38.9% of non-URM, higher SES men who reported a decrease. On the other hand, 35.3% of URM, lower SES men reported that emergency remote instruction increased their sense of belonging, compared to 15.9% of non-URM,...
Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in h... more Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in higher education. OPM firms facilitate the development, delivery, and management of online programs for colleges and universities. Although OPM partnerships can help institutions offer online programs they otherwise would not be able to offer, such agreements raise concerns not seen with other types of outsourcing. To help others understand the phenomenon of online program management, we pulled together fragmented information from previous studies and literature, national datasets, websites, policies and regulations, and interviews with experts. Because previous writings use a range of definitions for the term OPM, we start by providing a working definition of an OPM agreement. Each side of the agreement is then examined in turn. For colleges and universities, we consider the reasons why they choose (or do not choose) to enter into an OPM partnership. Special attention is paid to reasons ...
Students earning degrees through distance education (DE) have complex and sometimes contradicting... more Students earning degrees through distance education (DE) have complex and sometimes contradicting views on how the degree will help them achieve career goals. We reviewed the responses from a scholarship application and found that although a human capital discourse permeates through their perspective, students’ personal feelings associated with earning a degree are also prominent.
Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 2019
Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fal... more Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fall of large for-profit institutions. A growing body of research examines the many aspects of for-profit higher education, including business models, students, and financial aid. Studies also offer a range of assessments of how the sector is growing or shrinking, earning or losing financial standing, serving the needs of their students and society or bilking them for profit. The literature is often quite critical of the for-profit sector, though the bias is not always supported by empirical evidence. For-profit institutions are fast-changing entities, highly responsive to new regulations and oversight. This makes the sector difficult and creates a moving target of scholarship. This chapter explores a decade of the literature to assess the research that has been conducted and identify conclusions and gaps in scholarship. It is not designed to evaluate the for-profit sector, but rather to ex...
Education Review // Reseñas Educativas
Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, fo... more Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, for on-campus students, indicate that students’ financial status affects their decision to persist. This study involved providing distance education students’ financial aid in the form of institutional scholarships (N = 545) at Penn State University in the United States. The recipients were students who were not overachievers and not at-risk of failing, but somewhere in the middle. The purpose of the study was to test if receiving financial aid was related to students’ persistence. Using logistic regression and Chi-square analysis, this study found that scholarship-receiving students with higher financial need were two times more likely to persist in their studies than those with lower financial need. Results suggest that there is a positive relationship between providing even small financial aid to students with high-financial need and their persistence in their studies.
Advances in educational technologies and instructional design book series, Feb 12, 2024
Education Review, May 17, 2017
Distance Education, Dec 2, 2018
Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, fo... more Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, for on-campus students, indicate that students' financial status affects their decision to persist. This study involved providing distance education students' financial aid in the form of institutional scholarships (N = 545) at Penn State University in the United States. The recipients were students who were not overachievers and not at-risk of failing, but somewhere in the middle. The purpose of the study was to test if receiving financial aid was related to students' persistence. Using logistic regression and Chi-square analysis, this study found that scholarship-receiving students with higher financial need were two times more likely to persist in their studies than those with lower financial need. Results suggest that there is a positive relationship between providing even small financial aid to students with highfinancial need and their persistence in their studies.
American Journal of Distance Education, Feb 9, 2023
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education
U.S. higher education institutions are increasingly expanding their international efforts while s... more U.S. higher education institutions are increasingly expanding their international efforts while simultaneously addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) objectives. Yet, the nexus of internationalization and DEI remains murky. As one way to understand the intersection of internationalization efforts and DEI, this qualitative content analysis examines the prevalence, location, themes, and public availability of DEI statements found on websites of U.S.-based international branch campuses (IBCs). We focused on the extent to which home campus commitments to DEI are publicly replicated in international settings. While all home campuses had a DEI statement, findings illuminate a low prevalence of stand-alone DEI statements at the IBCs, with only 21 linking to or reposting the home campus statement and only six out of the 67 having DEI statements unique to the IBC context. Findings suggest that U.S. higher education institutions with IBCs are not replicating institutional DEI commitments as a public statement in the same way as on the home campus. This study also contributes to a richer understanding of how some IBCs navigate the tensions of enacting (or not) home campus DEI commitments within the differing local context in which they operate abroad.
Higher education, 2019
Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fal... more Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fall of large for-profit institutions. A growing body of research examines the many aspects of for-profit higher education, including business models, students, and financial aid. Studies also offer a range of assessments of how the sector is growing or shrinking, earning or losing financial standing, serving the needs of their students and society or bilking them for profit. The literature is often quite critical of the for-profit sector, though the bias is not always supported by empirical evidence. For-profit institutions are fast-changing entities, highly responsive to new regulations and oversight. This makes the sector difficult and creates a moving target of scholarship. This chapter explores a decade of the literature to assess the research that has been conducted and identify conclusions and gaps in scholarship. It is not designed to evaluate the for-profit sector, but rather to explore the scholarly work and highlight the place of for-profit higher education in the landscape of American higher education.
Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many college... more Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many colleges and universities have taken a proactive approach and updated academic integrity policies or even outright banned the use of ChatGPT (Clercq, 2023; Mearian, 2023; Schwartz, 2023). As this new technology continues to evolve and expand, colleges and universities are grappling with the opportunities and challenges of using such tools. Very little literature exists on student and faculty perceptions of AI use in higher education, particularly related to generative AI tools. The present study aims to fill this gap and offer perceptions from both students and faculty from a large research university in the mid-Atlantic. Survey participants consisted of 286 faculty and 380 students across multiple campuses. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included open-ended responses, scaled items, and finite questions. Overall, the reported use of ChatGPT technology is infrequent, though most respondents feel its use is inevitable in higher education. We find faculty and students are uncertain but familiar with generative AI tools and ChatGPT. Institutions interested in developing policies around using ChatGPT on campus may benefit from building trust in generative AI, for both faculty and students. Concerns with academic integrity are prevalent with faculty and students agreeing ChatGPT violates
Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many college... more Since November 2022, ChatGPT has created a stir on college campuses. November, 2022. Many colleges and universities have taken a proactive approach and updated academic integrity policies or even outright banned the use of ChatGPT (Clercq, 2023; Mearian, 2023; Schwartz, 2023). As this new technology continues to evolve and expand, colleges and universities are grappling with the opportunities and challenges of using such tools. Very little literature exists on student and faculty perceptions of AI use in higher education, particularly related to generative AI tools. The present study aims to fill this gap and offer perceptions from both students and faculty from a large research university in the mid-Atlantic. Survey participants consisted of 286 faculty and 380 students across multiple campuses. Participants completed an online questionnaire that included open-ended responses, scaled items, and finite questions. Overall, the reported use of ChatGPT technology is infrequent, though ...
American Journal of Distance Education
Frontiers in Education
The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into emergency remote instruction in 2020. Impacts ... more The COVID-19 pandemic forced higher education into emergency remote instruction in 2020. Impacts of this modality shift on undergraduates of different identities are important to document, for both current students who need support now and future students who may face other crises. A large survey in the United States asked students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to report the impact of emergency remote instruction on their confidence to succeed and sense of belonging in STEM. Using those data, we find that the impact varies by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). For instance, 63.3% of lower SES women identifying as underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (URM) reported a decrease in their confidence to succeed, compared to 38.9% of non-URM, higher SES men who reported a decrease. On the other hand, 35.3% of URM, lower SES men reported that emergency remote instruction increased their sense of belonging, compared to 15.9% of non-URM,...
Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in h... more Online program management (OPM) is the merging of online education and outsourcing practices in higher education. OPM firms facilitate the development, delivery, and management of online programs for colleges and universities. Although OPM partnerships can help institutions offer online programs they otherwise would not be able to offer, such agreements raise concerns not seen with other types of outsourcing. To help others understand the phenomenon of online program management, we pulled together fragmented information from previous studies and literature, national datasets, websites, policies and regulations, and interviews with experts. Because previous writings use a range of definitions for the term OPM, we start by providing a working definition of an OPM agreement. Each side of the agreement is then examined in turn. For colleges and universities, we consider the reasons why they choose (or do not choose) to enter into an OPM partnership. Special attention is paid to reasons ...
Students earning degrees through distance education (DE) have complex and sometimes contradicting... more Students earning degrees through distance education (DE) have complex and sometimes contradicting views on how the degree will help them achieve career goals. We reviewed the responses from a scholarship application and found that although a human capital discourse permeates through their perspective, students’ personal feelings associated with earning a degree are also prominent.
Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 2019
Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fal... more Interest in for-profit higher education has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fall of large for-profit institutions. A growing body of research examines the many aspects of for-profit higher education, including business models, students, and financial aid. Studies also offer a range of assessments of how the sector is growing or shrinking, earning or losing financial standing, serving the needs of their students and society or bilking them for profit. The literature is often quite critical of the for-profit sector, though the bias is not always supported by empirical evidence. For-profit institutions are fast-changing entities, highly responsive to new regulations and oversight. This makes the sector difficult and creates a moving target of scholarship. This chapter explores a decade of the literature to assess the research that has been conducted and identify conclusions and gaps in scholarship. It is not designed to evaluate the for-profit sector, but rather to ex...
Education Review // Reseñas Educativas
Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, fo... more Distance education has historically had lower completion rates. Several models of persistence, for on-campus students, indicate that students’ financial status affects their decision to persist. This study involved providing distance education students’ financial aid in the form of institutional scholarships (N = 545) at Penn State University in the United States. The recipients were students who were not overachievers and not at-risk of failing, but somewhere in the middle. The purpose of the study was to test if receiving financial aid was related to students’ persistence. Using logistic regression and Chi-square analysis, this study found that scholarship-receiving students with higher financial need were two times more likely to persist in their studies than those with lower financial need. Results suggest that there is a positive relationship between providing even small financial aid to students with high-financial need and their persistence in their studies.