Global Research in Higher Education (GRHE) is an international open-access journal published by Scholink. The journal is published in both print and online versions. In order to give all researchers equal opportunity to share their ideas, GRHE adopts double-blind peer-review. GRHE focuses on scholarly research and practical experience of a wide range of research areas within the general field of higher education which covers, but is not limited to the following areas: Educational Theory Teaching Method Instructional Design Students Management Case Studies Teacher Education or Teacher Training Online Learning Education Policy Use of Technology for Teaching and Learning Education Psychology Language Education Educational Research and Planning --------------------------------------------------------------------------- We welcome scholars and researchers engaged in the related fields to submit their manuscripts to GRHE. Both of online submission and E-mail submission (grhe@scholink.org) are acceptable. Open access: Global Research in Higher Education is available online to the reader "without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself". Peer review: Global Research in Higher Education takes peer review policy. Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence to the producers of the work (peers).
Authors who publish with this journal must agree to the following terms: Copyrights for articles published in our are retained by the authors. Authors should promise that their works are entirely original, and all the references in their works should be appropriately cited or quoted. The works have not been published previously. The behavior of submitting the same work to other journals is unacceptable. The journal editor has the right to edit the format of works.
From Equations to Real Problems: A Problem-Based Reform of Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics Teaching in Higher Education
Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics is a basic foundational course in undergraduate physics education; however, it is also widely considered as one of the most difficult study contents. Students frequently meet difficulties with abstract concepts, mathematical formalism, and the connection between macroscopic laws and microscopic explanations. Traditional teaching methods usually pay heavy focus on derivation works and regular exercise tasks, which can restrict students’ conceptual comprehension and reduce the link between theoretical knowledge and physical real situations. To solve these existing problems, this research puts forward a problem-based reform model for this course. The reform takes meaningful physical problems as starting points for learning activities, and it combines classroom discussion, concentrated mini-lectures, and case analysis works. Its target is to help students build a more coherent understanding about key concepts like entropy, equilibrium, and thermodynamic processes. This study discusses the theoretical basis, design details, classroom practice process, and wider educational importance of the reform. It argues that problem-based teaching can make Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics have higher engagement degree, more easy to understand, and more related to the cultivation of scientific reasoning ability in higher education.
Copyright (c) 2026 Xin Zhong & Huixia Zhang http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploration and Practice of “Virtual-Real Integration” Hybrid Teaching Mode in the Course of “Construction Engineering Measurement and Pricing” under the Background of Digital Transformation
With the acceleration of digital transformation in the construction industry, the traditional teaching mode of the “Engineering Construction Measurement and Pricing” course is facing challenges in cultivating students’ ability to interpret drawings, spatial imagination, and practical operation skills. This paper addresses the problems existing in current teaching, such as theoretical disconnection, resource scarcity, and limited practice, and proposes the construction of a “virtual-real integration” blended teaching model. This model uses real engineering projects as the carrier, integrates BIM technology to build a virtual simulation teaching resource library, and combines online self-study with offline project-based teaching, aiming to reshape the teaching process and enhance students’ comprehensive vocational qualities. Teaching practice shows that this model effectively stimulates students’ learning initiative, significantly improves their operational skills of measurement and pricing software and their ability to solve engineering practical problems, providing a new path for cultivating high-quality engineering cost talents who meet the needs of the new era.
Copyright (c) 2026 Wang Mingming, Zhao Ziyuan, Li Zekun, Wang Yuting, Jiang Xiangyu http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Digital Transformation in Student Affairs: Overcoming Socio-Technical Barriers in China’s “One-Stop” Student Communities
Under the strategies of “Digital China”, higher education institutions are undergoing profound digital transformation. However, current initiatives, specifically the “One-Stop” student community model, face challenges such as data silos and collaborative inertia. This study addresses the gap between technical implementation and institutional governance by adopting a conceptual analysis approach grounded in Socio-Technical Systems (STS) theory. Through a systematic review of national policy guidelines (2019-2025) and implementation reports from pilot universities, five structural barriers were identified: value misalignment between instrumental and educational rationality, technical fragmentation through persistent data silos, organizational inertia resisting networked collaboration, bottlenecks in technical empowerment, and lack of distinctiveness in educational models. To address these socio-technical misalignments, a four-tiered integrative framework—Philosophy, Technology, Mechanism, and Ecology—is proposed, advocating for the joint optimization of values, infrastructure, processes, and culture. By shifting the focus from instrumental rationality to value rationality, this study offers a theoretical pathway for sustainable digital governance in higher education. Although the “One-Stop” student community model is specific to the Chinese higher education system, the underlying socio-technical challenges it reveals—such as data fragmentation, organisational silos, and the tension between administrative efficiency and student-centred values—are widely shared across higher education systems globally, suggesting that the analytical framework may inform digital governance reform in diverse institutional contexts.
Copyright (c) 2026 Qingyun Feng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Construction Cost Prediction Model for University New Campus Projects and Multi-Method Comparative Study—A Case Study of a University New Campus Expansion Project in Qingdao
The new campus construction projects of universities have large investment scales and long construction periods, and the accuracy of cost estimation directly affects the arrangement of funds and the effectiveness of cost control. This paper takes a new campus construction project of a university in Qingdao as the research object, collects complete data of 13 individual buildings, and respectively builds four cost estimation models: multiple linear regression (MLR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and BP neural network (BPNN). The performance of these models is compared through 10-fold cross-validation. The research results show: (1) The random forest model has the highest prediction accuracy, with R²=0.892, RMSE=128.6 yuan/m², MAPE=3.24%, significantly superior to the other three models; (2) The building area and floor count are the key factors affecting the cost, with a cumulative contribution rate of 71.2%; (3) Compared with traditional linear regression, the prediction errors of these three machine learning methods are on average reduced by 28.6%. The constructed prediction model in this paper can provide decision support for cost control of university infrastructure projects and also offer practical references for cost management of similar projects.
Copyright (c) 2026 Chuang Han, Ziyue Zhang, Jia Zhan, Mingming Wang, Yi Li, Jingli Li http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0