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Shows that undergraduates do have needs for user education programs but that existing programs are not well designed to meet these needs. Suggests that if librarians can better understand undergraduate needs, they then can redesign existing user education programs accordingly. Also presents models and theories that help to understand undergraduate needs and the factors affecting those needs. Concludes that it is unrealistic for librarians to serve every undergraduate’s needs. Effective segmentation is therefore necessary to identify realistic segments to be targeted. Suggests subject‐based segmentation to be an effective means.

This study examines the factors that influence a private institution student’s plan to sit for the CPA exam soon after the undergraduate program versus after a master’s program or never. The author examines the CPA exam factors: exam, cost, support, and career, noted by Coe (2016), and extend CPA exam literature through the examination of exam fees and review course material costs, rather than the composite CPA exam cost. From a survey of 63 accounting seniors, the author finds having 150 credit hours does not increase the likelihood of a plan to sit for the CPA exam soon after the undergraduate program. This result is different from studies that showed 150 credit hours is a barrier to taking the CPA exam. Consistent with studies that used the composite CPA exam cost, the author finds that perception of review course material as expensive negatively affects the likelihood of sitting for the CPA exam soon after the undergraduate program. The perception of exam fees as expensive positively affects the likelihood of sitting for the CPA exam soon after the undergraduate program. This result differs from studies that used the composite CPA exam cost.

The present review seeks to stimulate thinking about transforming the undergraduate library, both conceptually and in reality, for the future as it continues its search for the best ways to address the library needs of undergraduate students attending a large research university. The review focuses on what has emerged from, been consequential to, and poses challenges for the undergraduate library concept. The author conducted searches in the Library Literature and Information Science database, WorldCat database, the Melvyl^® The Catalog of the University of California Libraries, and the Google™ search engine for information related to the separate undergraduate library in the large research university. Pertinent abstracts, literature, and Web documents were reviewed for references. The search period was from October 2005 to March 2006.

In this chapter, we present our ongoing efforts in developing and sustaining interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate programs at North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T) – a state-supported HBCU and National Science Foundation (NSF) Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) Institutional Implementation Project grantee. Through three rounds of NSF HBCU-UP implementation grants, a concerted effort has been made in developing interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs in geophysical and environmental science (in round 1), geospatial, computational, and information science (in round 2), and mathematical and computational biology (in round 3) on NCA&T campus. We first present a brief history and background information about the interdisciplinary STEM undergraduate research programs developed and sustained at NCA&T, giving rationales on how these programs had been conceived, and summarizing what have been achieved. Next we give a detailed description on the development of undergraduate research infrastructure including building research facilities through multiple and leveraged funding sources, and engaging a core of committed faculty mentors and research collaborators. We then present, as case studies, some sample interdisciplinary research projects in which STEM undergraduate students were engaged and project outcomes. Successes associated to our endeavor in developing undergraduate research programs as well as challenges and opportunities on implementing and sustaining these efforts are discussed. Finally, we discuss the impact of well-structured undergraduate research training on student success in terms of academic performance, graduation rate and continuing graduate study, and summarize many of the learnings we have gained from implementation and delivery of undergraduate research experiences at HBCUs.

Since joining Bennett College in 2008, Dr. Oh has directed 17 undergraduate students’ research projects in applied mathematics. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Dr. Oh grants from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP). The grants allowed her to mentor eight mathematics majors/minors in summer research for four years (2009–2012). Based on the four years of successful undergraduate research (UGR) experiences, she, together with Dr. Jan Rychtar from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), received funding for two summers National Research Experience for Undergraduates (NREUP), an activity of Mathematical Association of America (MAA), funded by the NSF in 2013 and 2014. During the six years of funded UGR, Bennett students made 33 presentations at regional, state, and national conferences; two teams won the outstanding student presentation award and first place for presentation. Three papers were published; two of them by Dr. Oh and one of them with a UGR coauthor. Three projects resulted in manuscripts. As a result of the UGR experiences in 2015, Dr. Oh received three more grants: the MAA NREUP, the NSF’s Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM), and the NSF’s Preparation for Industrial Careers in Mathematical Sciences (PIC Math) program awarded grants. A grant was also submitted to HBC-UP-Targeted Infusion Projects: Computational Mathematics at Bennett College.

Overall, the six years of UGR at Bennett College attained the three goals of: (1) enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research for a deeper appreciation in those disciplines; (2) supporting increased graduation rates in STEM undergraduate education of females; and (3) broadening participation in the nation’s STEM workforce as well as enrollments in graduate schools.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to explore the ways in which bachelor’s degree programs in library and information studies can support and enhance Master of Library Science (MLS) and Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) programs.

Approach – The history of undergraduate library degrees is examined, followed by a brief discussion of the current landscape of library education. Finally, five ways in which library and information science (LIS) undergraduate programs can revitalize the MLS/MLIS are addressed and analyzed.

Findings – Bachelor of Science in Library Science degrees can impact the MLS/MLIS degree in five discrete ways. Undergraduate programs can interest student in future information work, allow for more specialization in graduate programs, allow paraprofessionals to advance their library education, support rural libraries, and can lead to more rigorous MLS/MLIS curricula.

Value – As libraries and library education are in transition, undergraduate LIS degree programs have the potential to transform LIS education as a whole.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with respect to university library portal services, specifically within selected universities in South-West Nigeria.

A descriptive survey research design was used to investigate the perceived usefulness and satisfaction levels among undergraduate students regarding university library portal services. Data were collected through surveys administered to 658 undergraduate respondents across multiple universities in South-West Nigeria.

The findings indicate that undergraduate students’ top reasons for using the portal were for tasks such as locating research materials, accessing databases, requesting bibliographies and checking the library catalog. Library computers and school information and communication technology center computers were identified as the most preferred access point, followed by computer labs and campus Wi-Fi networks. Undergraduates rated the portals as highly useful, particularly for saving time locating resources, checking material status and patronizing the library. High satisfaction was reported for services such as attending workshops, events and receiving research support through the portals workshops. Moderate satisfaction levels existed for accessing policies/hours, the institutional repository and renewals of books online. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.785, p < 0.05) was found between perceived usefulness and satisfaction.

This study contributes to the understanding of undergraduate students’ perceptions regarding the utility and satisfaction of university library portal services in the context of South-West Nigeria. It underscores the importance of aligning portal services with students’ academic and research needs to enhance overall satisfaction levels. In addition, it provides insights into areas where improvements can be made to further enhance the effectiveness and satisfaction derived from these services.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the rise of online learning in Hong Kong. Online learning was identified as the only solution to meet students’ learning needs in the higher education sector during this chaotic period. This research aims to explore students’ perceptions of online teaching and learning from home under a health emergency via a comparison of undergraduate and postgraduate students’ experiences.

A total of 174 postgraduate students and 286 undergraduate students in various universities and colleges in Hong Kong were surveyed in this study.

The results show that postgraduate students generally gave more positive feedback on individual and environmental prerequisites, alongside pedagogical and institutional support, and were more motivated in online classes as compared to undergraduate students. Undergraduate students considered the shift to online education in light of the COVID-19 pandemic to be timely and rated their level of discipline with respect to online learning higher than did postgraduate students.

This study enables educators to better understand the first-hand experiences of students across different levels of study in Hong Kong, as well as to examine the possibility of establishing online education as a more prevalent mode of study in the future. The COVID-19 pandemic has educated us on the significance of being well-prepared to ensure quality education continues when emergencies and disturbances arise.

This research aimed to capture undergraduate students' experiences in the transition from face-to-face (F2F) learning to online learning. This study explored their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online learning in their academic lives, challenges encountered and suggestions for enhancing online learning in the post-COVID-19 era.

This study employed a concurrent mixed-methods research design and selected 118 undergraduate students using a multistage random sampling technique from four colleges in Assam. Standardized questionnaires and open-ended interview schedules were used.

Undergraduate students reported a positive attitude and satisfaction with online learning, valuing its adaptability to their schedules, its role as a motivating factor for self-learning, its effect on making them more technically proficient and enhancing their communication skills to articulate their thoughts. However, the challenges identified by the students have the potential to overshadow the promises of online learning. This research provided more constructive suggestions under the themes of “content delivery”, “systemic and infrastructural issues”, “pedagogy” and “capacity building” to enhance their experiences with online learning.

Our research findings would assist educational institutions in adopting innovative approaches for simpler and more efficient online learning experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic. Institutions should prepare themselves and design dual-mode courses for F2F and online learning.

The paper addressed a relevant topic in this era of online learning by examining undergraduate students’ viewpoints that added complementary information to the current body of literature on online learning in rural India. The insights gleaned from their experiences would be beneficial for the development of best practices for online learning in the coming decades.

The evolving dynamics of the labour market make graduates’ future employability an important issue for higher education (HE) institutions, prompting universities to complement the conventional graduate skills approach with a wider focus on graduate forms of capital that may enhance their sense of employability. This study, adopting a capital perspective, explores whether and how teachers in HE, when acknowledged as knowledgeable trustworthy actors, may affect graduates’ employability. It investigates how they can mobilise undergraduate cultural capital through socialisation, and shape their pre-professional identity, paving the way for university-to-work transition.

To test the hypothesised model, a self-report online questionnaire was administered to a sample of 616 undergraduates attending different Italian universities. Multiple mediating models were tested using the SEM framework.

Results supported the tested model and showed that trust in knowledgeable HE teachers was associated with undergraduates’ perceived employability both directly and through both mediators (i.e. academic socialisation and identification with future professionality).

This research explores a capital conceptualisation of graduate employability, identifying possible processes for implementing graduates’ capital across their academic experience and providing initial evidence of their interplay and contribution to transition into the labour market.

These findings provide empirical support to possible forms of capital that HE institutions may fulfil to enhance their undergraduate employability throughout their academic career, which serves as a liminal space allowing undergraduates to begin building a tentative professional identity.