Student Perspectives on Business Education in the USA

This chapter examines the academic and personal trajectory a student takes from before they ever set a foot on campus to beyond a college degree. By first assessing the private vs. public school dynamics in Southern California, the author documents the ways in which these systems are a reaction to the American college system, and how the prevailing psyche around college as being an ultimate end for students and their parents plays out. Reflecting on personal choices and circumstances unique to the individual yields a variety of challenges and benefits posed by pursuing a college degree, all of which influence what to study and where to pursue it. Influences range from relative income to geographical location and parental occupation. Through an examination of these elements, the relative importance and weight of a college degree in light of developments accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic leaves the collegiate system and the students who are at the center of it in an unparalleled position.

Student Perspectives on Distraction and Engagement in the Synchronous Remote Classroom

Synchronous remote learning was adopted widely due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. To many educators and students, this was a new medium through which distraction could take place. The research described in this chapter investigates students' perceptions surrounding their engagement and distraction in the synchronous remote learning environment long after the chaos of the 2020 shutdown had eased. Drawing on 32 one-hour interviews conducted during the 2020-21 academic year of undergraduate students in remote classes, data were grouped into three major themes: social presence, cognitive load, and virtual and physical environments. These themes are described in depth in this chapter through discussion of interviewees' quotations. This study provides a nuanced view of students' experiences with synchronous remote learning and contributes to the theory of role strain.

Perceptions of animal welfare and animal welfare curricula offered for undergraduate and graduate students in Animal Science departments in the United States

While perceptions of animal welfare have been assessed in veterinary students and students internationally, there remains a gap in research concerning undergraduate and graduate student perspectives of animal welfare in animal science programs at colleges and universities across the United States. A survey was developed to assess current animal science student perspectives of the importance of animal welfare as part of their education, their knowledge of available educational opportunities, and resources they think should be included in animal welfare curricula. An online survey was distributed to a national listserv of university administrators of animal science programs in the United States. A total of 624 survey responses were statistically summarized. Most respondents were undergraduate students (78.0%, n = 487), between the ages of 18 and 24 (85.9%, n = 536), and female (86.1%, n = 537). Results indicated that despite most respondents not taking an animal welfare course previously (60.7%, n =379), most students strongly agreed that the inclusion of an animal welfare course is an important part of the animal science curriculum (72.0%, n=449), that animal welfare is an important component of their education (63.1%, n =394), and that animal welfare courses would be helpful for their future careers (70.0%, n =437). When asked what attributes would be most important in an animal welfare class, students identified many different types of information and resources. The majority of respondents answered that discussing current hot topics in animal welfare (76.1%, n=475), ethical discussions (76.0%, n=474), and practical, applied questions (75.3%, n=470) were important course components. Suggestions for future research include investigating how animal science student perceptions change before and after taking an animal welfare course and exploring opportunities to expand formal welfare education in animal science departments. Inclusion of animal welfare into the curriculum is critical as many of the students currently enrolled in animal science departments will become the future stakeholders in animal-focused industries.