college student studying online

What Do Distance Learners Want from their Colleges?

A new survey from SurveyMonkey provides answers

For years, high-end polling firms like Gallup, Nielsen and Pew have been researching trends in American higher education.

Now a new entrant has appeared in the world of educational research – SurveyMonkey. Actually, this company has been gaining importance as a polling company over the last few years. It only makes sense that this company would start conducting research of its own. After all, SurveyMonkey already has all the technology to conduct surveys and analyze the results. Read more

What Are the Most Dangerous Activities on Campus during COVID19 - Student Research Foundation

What Are the Most Dangerous Activities on Campus?

You’re eager to get back to campus, or to have your sons or daughters do so. But do you know which campus activities on are the most likely to expose campus residents to the coronavirus?

We thought we knew. But apparently, we did not know everything. When we reviewed “Coronavirus Disease 19: vid Considerations for Institutions of Higher Education,” a list of campus danger spots and activities that was recently published online  by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we found some surprises. Because we want you and your students to be safe on college campuses, we recommend you this advisory. Read more

Should You Take SAT and ACT Prep Classes Online - Student Research Foundation

Should You Take SAT and ACT Prep Classes Online?

You’re Taking Classes Remotely . . . Should You Take SAT and ACT Prep Classes Online Too?

This has been a dream year for people who dislike standardized tests.

Across America, colleges and universities have dropped the requirement that applicants take the SAT or the ACT. They’ve become what was once called “test-optional.” The story is reflected in headlines like these: Read more

What Kind of Laptops Do College Students Need for School Year 2020-21 - Student Research Foundation

What Kind of Laptops Do College Students Need for School Year 2020-21?

College students are already facing lots of confounding questions about the upcoming academic year. Will their colleges reopen? If so, when? Will all classes be delivered online, or only a percentage of them? Will lab-based courses be shut down, or taught in modified ways online?

All those questions impact on a college student’s choice of computer for the coming school year. As an analogy, you can think of a computer as a nozzle through which a growing percentage of educational content will be delivered in the coming year. To handle the increased flow, students will need a big enough nozzle. Read more

Returning to Campus Next Semester - Student Research Foundation

Are You Really Returning to Campus Next Semester?

Unfortunately, the best answer could be, “who knows?”

Is your college welcoming students back to campus for the fall semester, going completely online, shutting down entirely . . . or doing something else? And is it cutting tuition or giving refunds if it is not planning to deliver what it promised?

Because North American colleges and universities are not run by one governing body, each college and university is answering those questions differently. We seem to have entered a chaotic period in higher education. Hopefully, we will never see this level of uncertainty again. Read more

The Pandemic’s Impact on Your Education - Student Research Foundation

The Pandemic’s Impact on Your Education . . .

Should You Sue Your College for Delivering Online Learning?

A growing number of students and their families are filing lawsuits against colleges that have canceled live classes and moved instruction online.  The Washington Post reports that the family of one senior is suing George Washington University for a refund, and NBC News reports that more than 20 similar suits have been filed against schools that include Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Drexel, Michigan State, Purdue, and UC Berkeley. Read more

The Pandemic’s Impact on Your Education - Student Research Foundation

Classes Cancelled? Here Are Some High-Productivity Activities High School Students Can Do Anyway

“Thousands of Students In New York Face Shuttered Schools,” an article in The New York Times on March 10, 2020, reports that more schools could close because of the current Coronavirus scare. The article reports that public schools have closed in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York. And it you do a little searching online, chances are you will find that public schools near you are have either closed down temporarily or have contingency plans to do so if students, teachers or administrators become ill. Read more

Online Creativity Tests - Student Research Foundation

A Quick Review of Online Creativity Tests

There are many career and aptitude tests online. But what about creativity tests? Are any worth recommending to students, or worth taking yourself?

We recently took four online creativity tests, and here is what we found. Read more

A study of Online Colleges Quality and Value - Student Research Foundation

Are Online Colleges Approaching Regular Colleges in Quality and Value?

Are online colleges improving the quality of education they provide? Are more of their students completing four years of study and graduating? And are online colleges becoming fully viable options for students who, due to factors such as having children or being employed, want to complete all their coursework online? Read more

Why the SAT and ACT Tests Are Not Going to Go Away Soon - Student Research Foundation

Why the SAT and ACT Tests Are Not Going to Go Away Soon

Back in 1985, a group of educators founded fairtest.org, an organization dedicated to the idea that standardized tests like the SAT and ACT should no longer be used to evaluate college applicants.  In the years since, the “test optional” movement has picked up speed. On the fairtest.org website today, you can find a list of more than 1,000 colleges and universities that do not require either the SAT or the ACT. Read more