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Collegiate Experiences of Female Undergraduate Students in an Afghan University: Amidst the turbulence of political shifts and the re-emergence of the Taliban, this phenomenological research shines a light on the lived experiences, aspirations, and challenges of female undergraduate students in an Afghan university. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews, this study unravels six pivotal themes shaping their collegiate journey: gender-centric oppression, systemic and structural barriers, academic hindrances, family support, and the motivation to endure and prevail amidst profound adversities, such as enforced gender apartheid and stringent clothing mandates. Within an intersectionality framework, this research not only bridges a critical gap in the literature but also serves as a crucial narrative for global academia and policy-making arenas, underlining the imperative for robust advocacy and policy reforms. The stark findings and nuanced insights gleaned from this study underscore the imperative to foster gender equality and educational access, whilst advocating fervently for the re-establishment of inclusive and supportive educational environments for all in Afghanistan.
Community College Presidents and Their Role in American Democracy: A Narrative Inquiry: The American democracy is experiencing strain from the erosion of democratic norms and its political, judicial, social, and economic institutions. In short, the American democracy shows signs of democratic deconsolidation. Community colleges are higher education institutions that help consolidate the U.S. democracy by representing democratic values such as equality and opportunity. The purpose of my study was to explore how selected community college presidents understand and articulate the responsibility of their institutions to prepare students for a meaningful role in the American democracy. Qualitative narrative inquiry methods, including in-depth semistructured interviews and document analysis, were used to collect data for the study. Three primary themes emerged from the data that addressed the purpose of this study: 1) community college philosophy: blueprint for a vision, 2) consolidating local democracies, and 3) citizens as students, students as citizens. These three themes supported further interpretation of the data that was organized under these headings, 1) the community college democratic mission, 2) community colleges help deepen democracy, and 3) the role of community colleges in the American democracy: public goods, private goods. In summary, my research found that first, my participants believed that community colleges have a responsibility to the American democracy and this responsibility is reflected in their community college mission. Second, my participants framed the American democracy as a continual work in progress and that community colleges help deepen democracy. Third, for my participants, community colleges are not merely distinct in their institutional mission and philosophy, but in their role in supporting the American democracy.
The View and Understanding of 60x30TX at a Rural Community College: This qualitative case study was completed at a rural medium-sized Texas community college and sought to understand how advisors and program coordinators made sense of the 60X30TX policy as it was implemented at their institution. The theoretical framework included community college, the Completion Agenda, structure-agency, and sensemaking. Each community college has its own culture shaped from its history, open access, policies, employees, and students. But the community college is influenced by the state with its mandates and policies, which results in a structure-agency relationship in which the state defines and sets higher education goals, while the community college strives to meet those goals in the way it determines best. The Completion Agenda has influenced state policies shifting the focus of higher education from access to access and completion. The state policy is a catalyst for change at the institution, but change cannot exist without sensemaking. As change occurs, people begin to interpret it based on the environment and their individual and group experiences. Sensemaking becomes central to the theoretical framework with the community college, the structure-agency relationship, and the Completion Agenda. Interviews with 12 people identified four themes: culture of completion, rebuilding advising, dual credit, and Pathways program impact. Participants embraced the completion goal of 60X30TX since it mapped to the college's mission and goals. Advising was reinvented to focus on the student holistically. Dual credit and the Pathways program were strategies of 60X30TX and were reflected at ACC. Both had benefits to the students, but also had consequences.
Differences in Academic Capital in Students at a Two-Year versus a Four-Year Institution: Academic capital is composed of social processes that result in family knowledge of educational expectations, and strategies that result in a successful college experience. Often underrepresented and first-generation students lack a wealth of academic capital. This lack of knowledge may affect their college success. I used the Academic Capital Scale to research differences in academic capital in students attending a 2-year and a 4-year institution. To address differences in these two groups, I performed an independent samples t-test. The analysis was done with and without transformations (transformations were unsuccessful.) and both procedures yielded no statistical significance in mean academic capital scores. In addition, a Mann-Whitney U test was completed which also resulted in no statistically significant difference in mean rank of scores. I performed a logistic regression to determine whether academic capital could predict students' enrollment status (full time vs. part time). The model accounted for 2% of the variance in the enrollment status and the academic capital scores did not contribute significantly to the model, meaning they did not predict enrollment status. Finally, I ran a multiple regression to investigate if low socioeconomic status, gender identity, first-generation status, enrollment status, or race/ethnicity could predict students' academic capital score. The model was statistically significant in predicting academic capital scores F(14, 511) = 2.814, p < .0001. The coefficients non-binary and trans for the gender variable and low SES for the socioeconomic variable were also statistically significant. Students in these categories are predicted to have less academic capital than their respective counterparts.
Graduate Enrollment Management: A Case Study on Enrollment Managers: Graduate enrollment management (GEM) is an area of enrollment management that focuses on graduate and professional education. GEM's responsibilities can include various functions such as strategic planning, marketing, recruitment and admissions, academic advising, financial aid, student services, retention, and alumni relations. The comprehensive structure of GEM puts a significant amount of pressure on enrollment managers as its unique interdependence model creates an environment where professionals must be cross-trained in several areas, manage through grey areas, cultivate relationships with personnel across the campus, accomplish department goals, support their student population, and all while staying in alignment with the institutional mission. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore GEM from an enrollment managers perspective. The theoretical framework that guided this study was interdependence theory, and examined the following research questions: (1) How do graduate enrollment managers explain their roles in their respective departments and at their institution? (2) How do graduate enrollment managers explain the factors influencing their work? (3) What key stakeholders do graduate enrollment managers identify as influencing their roles and their work? (4) How do graduate enrollment managers balance demands from these stakeholders? Seventeen graduate enrollment managers working at a large research university were interviewed in-depth. The findings revealed how enrollment goals were established, described job duties, detected constraints, and presented the enjoyment GEM managers felt in their roles. The findings also highlighted the interactions encountered in their roles, and the importance of relationships when working with stakeholders.
The Relationship between Self-Regulated Learning Strategies and Licensing Exam Readiness among Doctor of Chiropractic Students: Graduating competent healthcare providers to meet increasing demands of the United States leads to interest in graduate health science student success. In this study, I explored the relationship between self-regulated learning strategies and licensing exam readiness among Doctor of Chiropractic students. Two research questions asked (1) how self-regulated learning strategies vary by gender and year of study, and (2) how self-regulated learning strategies relate to licensing exam readiness. One hundred thirty-three students from five chiropractic institutions were surveyed with questions from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and exam readiness items. A series of t-tests, one-way analyses of variance, Kruskal-Wallis H tests, and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression addressed the research questions. Results indicated (1) self-regulated learning strategies do vary by gender and year of study, and (2) self-regulation is related to licensing exam readiness, particularly in Parts I and II of the exam. Chiropractic institutions and policymakers should focus efforts on introducing and reinforcing self-regulated learning strategies throughout the curriculum and explore licensing exam implications. Future research should continue expanding the literature on chiropractic education by considering actual licensing exam performance and determining appropriateness of the MSLQ for chiropractic students.
The Characteristics, Expectations, and Challenges of Non-Traditional Adult First-Generation Students: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of adult first-generation students through their college journey. With a conceptual framework based on student involvement and social and cultural capital theories that contribute to student persistence, retention, and graduation, this study was guided by three research questions: (1) What were the expectations and motivations of adult first-generation students when pursuing postsecondary studies after the age of 25? (2) What were the main challenges experienced by this population during their journey through college? and (3) What strategies did these students use to cope with those challenges? Five first-generation participants who started or resumed their college careers when they were 27, 34, 47, and 50 years old were interviewed in-depth. Results indicated that all participants had to search for their inner strength to pursue higher education studies and required the support of their family and social network to succeed. As a result of their rich lived experiences, these adult first-generation students showed how their strong social and cultural capital enabled them to juggle family and work responsibilities and overcome the challenges of their college experiences.
"The military unlocked that door for me": Collegiate Experiences of Women Veterans in STEM Majors: Institutions of higher education are a key pathway for supplying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Military service members have been identified as STEM-ready and a potential pool for STEM as they transition into civilian careers. Furthermore, women are the fastest growing subpopulation of veterans and may decrease the gender gap within STEM. Higher education researchers are interested in understanding the characteristics and experiences of students who select STEM majors and then persist to graduation. Literature related to women veterans is limited and a qualitative case study approach was utilized to achieve an in-depth understanding of their college experiences. This study examined four women who were successfully navigating STEM majors at one institution and revealed their varying motivations for enrollment and persistence. Three themes generated from this study included: self-awareness, success is personal, and military experience matters. Subsidiary themes included starting over; strategy; salience of age; stage of life; self-advocacy; standards; personal attributes; past experiences; personal responsibility for learning; procuring resources; career path (STEM) reinforced or introduced; creditable and credible; and cultivated soft skills. Veteran critical theory, multiple dimensions of identity and intersectionality were useful frameworks to reference as participants expressed the influence of their identities on their life and military experiences. The findings illuminate ways institutions of higher education can facilitate women veterans' success as students, supplying much needed diversity to the STEM pipeline.
The Influence of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 on Pell Grants in Baccalaureate Degree-Granting Institutions: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (CAA) was an omnibus spending bill that changed Pell grant funding in response to a budgetary shortfall after a four-year investment in student financial aid. The CAA occurred at a time of state disinvestment coupled with increasing tuition and fees. Through the lens of resource dependence and academic capitalism as a conceptual framework, I used panel data in an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to explore the impact of the CAA on Pell grant revenues. I included an interaction term to specifically address the impact of the CAA on public regional universities (PRUs) versus other institutions. Results indicated that the interaction effect between CAA and PRU was jointly significant. The average Pell award per student at PRUs was $13 less than other institutions before the implementation of the CAA. The average Pell award per student at PRUs increased after the implementation of the CAA; however, the average Pell award per student at PRUs was still $20 less than other institutions. Results indicated that the percentage of students receiving Pell awards was a significant and positive predictor of an average Pell award. Interestingly, institutions designated as minority-serving institutions (MSIs) were also significant and positive predictors of an average Pell award. Admission rate was a significant and negative predictor of an average Pell award but offered little practical meaning. The results highlighted the ongoing fiscal disparities between PRUs and other institutions, particularly as a growing number of MSIs educate students who rely on Pell grants to attend college.
Adoption of Credit-Hour Reductions in Master of Divinity Programs at the Association of Theological Schools Member Institutions: An Event History Analysis: Seminaries in the United States have for more than two centuries sought to equip ministerial leaders for service within the community of faith. And yet these institutions have traditionally been the focus of very little quantitative research. This lack of data is particularly noteworthy given the existential crises many seminaries currently face, especially regarding their flagship Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs. Among seminary leadership, a common response to declining MDiv enrollment has been to decrease the length of the program, which historically required at least 90 credit hours. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore change at the Association of Theological Schools member institutions (AMIs) between 2000–2019 through the lens of these credit-hour reductions. Longitudinal data from 113 AMIs were analyzed to examine the relationship between a variety of financial, enrollment, and institutional characteristics and the likelihood that an AMI would reduce its required MDiv credit hours. Results from an event history analysis revealed that, all else being equal, experiencing an increase in total revenues reduced an AMI's likelihood of making a reduction, while being a middle-age institution (founded 1870–1959) and having a higher percentage of peer institutions that made a change increased the likelihood of making a reduction. These findings, which well fit with existing theory on resource dependence and institutionalization, provide seminary leaders with objective data by which they can better understand the financial and cultural pressures impacting change at their institutions.
The Impact of Immigrant-Focused Public Policy on the Completion of Undergraduate Nursing Degrees by Latinx Students Enrolled in U.S. Public Institutions: This study was the first to examine the impact of immigrant-focused public policy on the educational outcomes of Latinx students in professional nursing. Between 2001-2020, 34 states adopted policies that either provided or prohibited in-state resident tuition (ISRT) and/or state financial aid (SFA) to undocumented students. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) passed in 2012 gave a new group of largely Latinx, college-age immigrants unprecedented access to public higher education and employment. A rapid increase in the proportion of nursing degrees earned by all Latinx students, not just those who were undocumented, occurred concurrently with these federal and state-level policy changes. This study utilized fixed-effects panel analysis to estimate the relationship between DACA, ISRT, and SFA policies for undocumented students on the percent of nursing degrees earned by Latinx students between 2005-2020. None of the policies analyzed in this study were significant predictors of Latinx nursing degree completions. Broad cohesion among all models instead pointed toward the importance of gains in overall degree production among all Latinx college students, underscoring the important role of higher education in the creation of environments that support the success of students from this target population.
Forging Pathways: A Multi-Case Study of Individuals with Intellectual Disability Pursuing Postsecondary Education at the Community College: This multi-case study sought to better understand how students with intellectual disability (ID) are forging pathways to higher education via the community college. Five individuals with ID who accessed higher education via the community college and their parents/guardians were interviewed. Each case provided insight into personal pathways with results given in case descriptions and individual case themes. Cross-case analysis revealed four themes positively impacting the college-going pathway for students with ID: value-driven grit, pathway knowledge, community support, and accessibility. Based on findings from this study, families appear to be the primary systems forging pathways to the community college for individuals with ID. Local education agencies and community colleges can assist these families by engaging in interagency collaboration, evaluating their systems, and aligning practices to the goal of students with ID accessing and engaging in higher education.
"In the middle of a test, my kid throws up": A Phenomenological Case Study of Single-Mother College Students: The single-mother college student population has quietly grown to over two million undergraduate students over the last two decades, but most of them will not attain a degree. What has been missing is a better understanding of the lived experiences of successfully persisting single-mother college students as told by the women themselves. This phenomenological case study interviewed 11 students from a regional university in the southwestern portion of the United States. Four themes emerged as expressed by the participants themselves: "Just because you have a baby doesn't mean your life is over" (Rebekah); "In the middle of a test, my kid throws up" (Sarah); "They're building me to be independent" (Anna Maria); and "I'm really doing this" (Juno). Their synthesized lived experiences were expressed through the simile of a seasoned gymnast. Overall, they shared adeptness at resource management and problem solving, strategically using support while building resiliency and self-efficacy. This study of successfully persisting single-mother college students can aid institutions in improving their support mechanisms for these students.
Professional Identity and Participation in Activities Related to Evidence-Based Teaching among Four-Year College and University Biology Faculty: This study examined professional identity of biology faculty at four-year colleges and universities and the relationship between their perceived identity, as a scientist or a teacher, and their participation in activities related to evidence-based teaching practices. This study drew upon online survey results of 328 college and university biology faculty from across the country. Results from ordinary least squares regression indicated faculty who work at very high, high, and Master's institutions had higher perceptions of science identity. Nontenure track faculty showed higher perceptions of teaching identity. Additionally, the results of this study indicated a strong teaching identity and favorable views on evidence-based teaching related to greater participation in evidence-based teaching practices. Science identity, though positively relate to the outcome, was not a statistically significant predictor of participation in activities related to evidence-based teaching practices. An implication for practice is to recognize biology faculty members' use of newer teaching methods, such as demonstrations of student-centered teaching in lectures in promotion and tenure review. An important implication for future research would be to explore if recognition for outstanding teaching through promotion and tenure cause an increase in the number of faculty who gravitate toward more education-based scholarly activities and, in turn, develop a higher teaching identity.
An Investigation of College Graduates' and Employers' Perceptions of Graduates' Social Skills Performance in Vietnam: Vietnam currently faces a social skills deficit among college graduates. This lack of sufficient social skills significantly affects Vietnam's economy where it is one of the main factors that drives higher unemployment in Vietnam. Research has shown that although social skills have been increasingly perceived by employers as one of the most important factors for graduate employability and career success, the absence of social skills training in colleges and universities have caused graduates to be ill-prepared for the workplace, which lead to dissatisfactions among employers and complications when seeking for potential hires in Vietnam. Therefore, this study aims to examine and compare perceptions of Vietnamese college graduates and employers on graduates' social skill performance. Given the objectives of this study, an online survey was distributed to potential participants across Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Analysis of the responses not only demonstrated a disconnect of perceptions between employers and newly hired graduates (NHGs) on how these two groups rated graduates' performance of interpersonal skills but also revealed a mismatch in the perceptions of the comparing groups on how they perceive the importance of social skills in graduate employment. As a result, it is recommended that Vietnam need to promote and support educators to incorporate more social skills training into their curricular so that students can be able to engage and develop those essential social skills during their time in college.
Organizational Identity Change: Interpreting Change in Private Liberal Arts Colleges: This study aimed at filling in the gap in the literature by examining the organizational identity (OI) of a group of private not-for-profit liberal arts colleges (LACs) and their change and/or stability over time. The OIs were investigated by employing a qualitative content analysis for the strategic plans of eleven LACs over time. The selected colleges represented the distinctive characteristics of a LAC though they have made a critical organizational change by adding vocational programs to their curriculum. Findings indicated that the colleges have developed more complex dynamic OIs over time where both change and stability were interacting. Internal and external pressures shaped the organizational identities of the colleges. The colleges could remain some of their distinctive features while other markers of distinctiveness were less pronounced. OI, as a means to combine insights from the classic and new versions of institutional theory, could offer a fruitful link between the normative and the intraorganizational elements of this theory.
The Impact Coaches Behaviors have on Student-Athlete Sportsmanship Actions and the Translation of Athlete Character into the Classroom: Administrators and coaches in universities and colleges have focused on their students' moral development since the beginning of the higher education system. Students who participate in sports activities have acknowledged that they develop many life skills, including ethical behaviors, that can translate to non-sport environments, such as the classroom. Students who participate in organized sports programs in college often acknowledge their coach as a significant source of their development, due to the amount of time athletes and coaches spend with each other. Recently, instances of cheating have become widespread throughout American higher education. In this dissertation, I seek to evaluate the role that coaches, and overall sports participation has on the development of students' ethical behaviors both within sports and outside of the sport environment. I conducted three quantitative studies to evaluate the role that coaches play in the development of ethical behaviors in sports (as measured through sportsmanship), the similarities and differences in sportsmanship between participation in varsity or club sports, and the role that sports participation has on self-reported instances of cheating. I find that coaching behaviors that instill sportsmanship behaviors are similar to behaviors identified in youth sports and that the coaching behaviors are more predictive of coaches caring that their athletes act in a sportsmanlike way within varsity athletes than club athletes. Lastly, this study also indicates that participation in recreational sports programs is related to self-reported instances of cheating. The three studies identify that sports participation influences the development of ethical behaviors within college students.
Former Wards of the State: Characteristics of Enrollment and Persistence in Undergraduate Education: Foster care alumni are a unique subset of college students who enter post-secondary education having faced significant socio-economic challenges and emotional trauma. These students often understand how attending post-secondary education can help create a more stable life. However, the graduation of this population is extremely low. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand formerly fostered youths' perspectives of the needs and stressors students face while attending post-secondary education. Specifically, the researcher wanted to understand what characteristics influence former foster care youth to enroll in college and what characteristics help former foster care youth persist in higher education until graduation. The study utilized both student departure theory and resilience theory to frame each research question conceptually. The results illuminated the resilience of former fostered youth attending post-secondary education and their characteristics for continued enrollment.
Prestige as the Highest Ambition: Emerging Research Universities and the National Research University Fund: In 2009 the Texas legislature created the National Research University Fund (NRUF), intended to encourage a select group of public doctoral universities in the state, known as emerging research universities (ERUs), to increase their institutional status related to academic research by awarding supplemental financial support for meeting specific policy metrics. Efforts to increase the research status of these universities occurred at a time when public financial support remained stagnate and overall institutional costs increased within the higher education sector. This study utilizes a theoretical approach grounded in strategic action fields and employs panel data and a difference in differences statistical technique to analyze the impact that NRUF policy has in assisting ERUs in achieving R1 status, and how this organizational change impacted access to, and the quality of, undergraduate education. Results indicate that the NRUF policy intervention was not statistically significant for any part of the study. These findings suggest that policy interventions do not matter as much as specific institutional characteristics and the overall policy environment. Enrollment and tuition revenue predicted institutional performance related to academic research and graduate education, while also assisting these institutions in maintaining undergraduate academic quality and access. These cultural and material resources at the institutional level matter, as does how the overall state field prioritizes various aspects of higher education. Given the amount of resources required of the policy, and the general lack of evidence of its positive or negative effects, these indicate that those resources would be more wisely targeted elsewhere.
Faculty Response to Academic Dishonesty in the Classroom at a Four-Year Public Institution: Academic dishonesty is prevalent in institutions of higher education. Faculty are at the forefront of this issue as they are in the classroom with the students. However, faculty may be hesitant to address academic dishonesty for a myriad of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how faculty members viewed their roles in addressing academic dishonesty. Study participants were 11 full-time faculty from a Southern University who had taught for at least two years and had experienced academic dishonesty in the classroom. Artifacts were also gathered from three documentary sources. Four major themes emerged from the data: (a) faculty investment in academic integrity, (b) faculty-student relationship impact on interaction, (c) personal values guiding faculty response, and (d) deterrents preventing faculty action. Several implications included the need for: (i) ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty, (ii) the creation of shared ownership and governance of academic integrity between faculty and university leadership; (iii) consistent prevention and enforcement of academic dishonesty according to university guidelines, and (iv) the creation of a partnership between the conduct office and the various faculty departments.
When They See Us: The Lived Experiences of Christian African American College Males at a Christian Predominantly White Institution (PWI) in the South: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to highlight the lived experiences of Christian African American college males attending a Christian predominately White institution (PWI) in the South. Through in-depth personal interviews, I offer insights into this specific student population's experience. Furthermore, I provide recommendations for key stakeholders at Christian PWIs in the South as they strive to create an inclusive campus environment. The ultimate goal of the research is to aid in the recruitment and retention of this particular student population.
No Place Like Home: Exploring the Adjustment Experiences of Black Graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Who Attend Graduate School at a Predominately White Institution: The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the experiences of Black graduates of historically Black colleges and universities who attend graduate school at predominately White institutions as they adjust academically and socially at these institutions. In-depth interviews provide knowledge as to what this special population of students' experience. Recommendations for faculty and administrators to assist with the recruitment and retention of these graduate students is also provided.
Creating a Campus Culture of Academic Integrity in the Community College: Exploring the Relationship between Faculty Perception of Institutional Communication and the Perception of a Culture of Academic Integrity: The purpose of this research was to determine what preferences exist for full- and part-time community college faculty for institutional communication and if institutional communication predicts faculty perception of an academic integrity culture. The sample is nationally representative, consisting of institutional representation from five of the six accreditation regions nationally, a relativity equal distribution of three Carnegie Classifications (higher career & technical, high transfer, and mixed transfer/career & technical) and three Census Bureau defined population areas (urbanized area, urban cluster, and rural area). The survey, completed by 328 faculty from eight community colleges, was a modified version of three widely used instruments: the International Center for Academic Integrity Academic Integrity Faculty Survey, the International Communication Association Audit, and the Organizational Communication Development Audit Questionnaire. Chi-square, independent samples t-test, and hierarchical regression analysis were each used to explore the relationship between the perception of communication, channels of communication, and perceived culture of academic integrity. The results suggest that face-to-face and electronic communication channels are both preferred channels of communication among full- and part-time faculty and that the communication through these two channels is predictive and interactional. In collaboration with a positive perception of communication, both worked to predict a perceived culture of academic integrity.
Benefits, Obstacles, and Limitations to the "Institutionalization" of an Undocumented Student Resource Center: A Call for Inside/Outside Strategies of Support: Undocumented students in the United States continue to face unique barriers to postsecondary success. One way that community colleges and 4-year institutions are providing support for undocumented students is establishing undocumented student resource centers (USRCs). These emerging identity-based centers are dedicated spaces of support and provide customized, comprehensive resources for undocumented college students. A multipronged theoretical framework that included undocu-competence, the institutionalization process, and critical theory, was used as a lens to examine how USRC professionals and affiliates understand the development, role, and function of a USRC on a California community college campus. Qualitative single case study methods, including in-depth semistructured interviews, observations, and document analysis, were utilized to meet the purpose of the study. The findings revealed three primary themes. First, the institutionalization process of the USRC at the center of this study was complex, imperfect, and ongoing. Second, there are strengths and limitations respective to the USRC's capacity to operationalize support and safety. Finally, the compounded impact of the current socio-political moment cannot be evaded with respect to the USRC's function. Subsequently, three primary points of discussion are explored, including critiquing the process of USRC institutionalization, complicating the notion of safe spaces on campuses, and calling for inside-outside strategies of support in order to best serve undocumented students.
The Missing Piece of the Puzzle: A Study of How First-Generation Latino Male College Students Acquire Cultural Capital: This study aimed to take asset-based approach and identify Latino male students who were persisting in college, and to identify what strategies made them successful. This qualitative study consulted Tinto's revised student departure model, Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, as well as Yosso's theory of community cultural wealth. A phenomenological design was utilized to identify the shared experience of first-generation Latino male college students who had persisted in college and maintained a 3.0 grade point average. Findings revealed that Latino students entered college with goals to provide better opportunities for the next generation. They encountered unfamiliarity, culture shock, and marginalization, all obstacles centered not on academic preparedness, but on unfamiliarity with the environment. They used their linguistic, navigational, and aspirational capital to navigate their two worlds. Their cultural upbringing stressed a strong commitment to family and community, i.e. familismo. They found community among in-group peers and college staff. This support network provided what Laura Rendon refers to as validating experiences. Once familismo was obtained they gained a sense of belonging and grew their cultural capital to become familiar with the college going culture. The learned the rules of the game which enabled students to focus on their goal of earning a college degree.
Understanding Factors that Contribute to Career Commitment in New Student Affairs Professionals: Early career attrition in student affairs is a topic of interest for hiring and supervising managers, graduate preparation programs, as well as new professionals. Contributions to the growing body of research on the topic potentially informs bets practices in curriculum development, hiring, onboarding, and professional development for new student affairs employees. This study involved 352 new student affairs professionals in the field's largest professional association. With Rhodes and Doering's integrated model of career change as a framework, the research study was designed to identify individual and environmental factors influencing new student affairs professionals' person-environment fit and, subsequently, career commitment. The result was an eight-factor structural equation model that included graduate curriculum, pay satisfaction, mentoring, student interaction, connection to institutional mission/vision, collegiality, and person-environment fit as independent variables, and career commitment as the dependent variable. The study suggests that these eight variables, to varying degrees, indirectly and directly influence career commitment in new student affairs professionals.
Challenges of On-Campus Privatized Student Housing Partnerships: Perceptions from Both Sides of the Deal: Business and higher education are two different worlds with different missions, values and priorities. Privatized student housing partnerships have brought these two worlds together with little information on how they work and the challenges they face. Research indicated that through collaboration, skilled leadership and an understanding of students, healthy relationships could exist. The purpose of this study was to provide awareness of these existing partnerships and the current perceptions from leaders from both higher education and business working within present collaborations. It sought to uncover and bring awareness to the challenges experienced in order to create a dialogue around them. Feedback obtained from 30 professionals working within public-private partnerships from both the business and higher education worlds provided insight into existing perceptions and challenges. Semi-structured interviews where utilized and customized using eight open-ended questions that were different for each group. A purposeful sampling approach was used to select the participants based on their existing partnership with a privatized student housing company. Out of the thirty participants, twenty were chief officers within higher education and ten business officers. Analysis of the thirty interviews depicted three major themes: the two worlds: business and higher education, the bridge: leader of the village and the resident: customer and student. Results showed that collaboration and leadership changes can make or break the partnership. It highlighted the diversity in values and concerns of higher education institutions and reinforced the importance they place on student development and retention.
Utilization of Mental Health Services by African American Undergraduate Students: This study explores where African American college students find mental health support and why those supports are chosen. Greater knowledge of the sources of mental health support sought by African American college students can assist higher education institutions in adapting current services to meet the needs of this specific student population. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized, and the study's sample included twelve participants, 6 female and 6 male, from a large public four-year university in Texas. These participants, undergraduate students with ages ranging from 18 to 24, were given a survey and completed two semi-structured interviews throughout one semester. Results indicated that study participants were more likely to utilize informal than formal support for their mental health and many had no source of support. Family stigma, peer attitudes, as well as internal and external pressures all influenced participant's choices to seek support. Based on findings from the study, recommendations for two distinct groups, counseling center directors and higher education administrators, are also discussed.
What Experiences do Trans* Students have during Their Time in College?: Although trans* students often face greater levels of discrimination, harassment, and hostility on college campuses than their cisgender peers, research indicated that they can succeed by developing and honing survival strategies, such as resilience and being part of a trans* kinship network that resists trans* oppression. Having the support of family, and by taking the risk to cultivate relationships while in college also improves the likelihood of persistence through college. The term trans* is used in this study as an inclusionary term for transgender persons and other gender nonbinary identities. The purpose of this research study was to explore the experiences that trans* students have while being in college. Utilizing a phenomenological approach and the theoretical lens of feminist and queer theories, semi-structured interviews were conducted to better understand the lived experiences of trans* college students. Four Caucasian trans* undergraduate students, ranging in age from 19 to 25 were each interviewed five times. Twenty total interviews over a period of three months provided in-depth data. Five primary themes emerged that were common among the participants: exploration, experimentation, and self-discovery; living as a trans* person in college: developing survival strategies; cultivating relationships and seeking acceptance; race and gender privilege/power; and generational differences. The findings showed that the participants had educated themselves about their gender identity choices, developed resilience despite facing trans* oppression, cultivated healthy relationships with others, and also how they developed personal meaning-making that is centered on the intersections of their race, gender, and age.
Developing a Multicontextual Model of High Schools whose Students Participate in Financial Aid Preparation Services: Family, School, and Community Level Effects: The purpose of this quantitative secondary data analysis was to examine the effect of family, school, and community context on high schools whose students participate in financial aid preparation services. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were analyzed to answer the two research questions using Perna's conceptual model of college enrollment behaviors that explores how students gain and utilize information about financial aid and college prices. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the extent of high school participation in financial aid services. The results indicated a varying degree of these interventions being offered at high schools ranging from 22% to 52%. Schools sending students reminders of FAFSA deadlines (52%) and disseminating flyers/pamphlets on financial aid (50%) were the only two interventions that had a slight majority of schools participating. Multiple regression was used to determine if a relationship existed between the outcome variable (participation in financial aid preparation services) and several family context and school context predictor variables for eight financial aid interventions. Results revealed school context variables as the best predictors of the outcome variable. Counselor caseload and school control were the most effective in predicting high school participation in the eight financial aid preparation services, though these greatly differed according to the type of intervention. Findings provide potential implications for research and practice, including highlighting ways in which K-12 and higher education can coordinate.
NCAA Violations and Institutional Self-Sanctions: Assessing the Impact on Alumni Charitable Contributions: The growing commercialism within Division I big-time athletics has raised the financial stakes for universities, as successful athletic programs benefit from increased opportunities for financial gain. This has contributed to a pervasive "win culture" that drives institutions to seek competitive advantages, and as a side effect, NCAA rule violations have become incentivized. Programs whose infractions go unnoticed may benefit from the competitive advantage gained, but for programs investigated by the NCAA, the financial penalties incurred may far outweigh the potential revenues from undetected violations. The purpose of this study was to address institutional self-sanctions as an organizational behavior in response to NCAA major infractions and the impact of self-sanctioning on alumni charitable giving. Through the use of neo-institutional and resource dependence theories, this study aimed to further examine the role of institutional self-sanctions as a crisis management strategy in containing financial fallout of athletic scandal. While researchers have addressed scandal and alumni charitable giving in relation to athletics and institutional self-sanctions, respectively, no research exists linking the two bodies of literature. This study employed a two-way fixed effects analysis of 10 years of panel data to address the effect of key variables on alumni charitable giving. Analysis results indicated no significant relationship between institutional self-sanctions and alumni charitable giving. However, alumni charitable giving was mitigated by institutional endowment per FTE, suggesting that larger scale financial structures of an institution serve as the best predictor for alumni charitable giving during athletic scandal.
Understanding Employability Development Skills through Co-Curricular Activities: Employability skill development is being increasingly investigated among higher education scholars, corporate hiring managers, and governments around the world. Understanding employability skill development is important because it has implications on educational policy, teaching techniques, curriculum designs, and recruitment practices. This study was conducted at a public research university in a southwestern state of the United States. It was designed to understand the difference in employability skill development among students who participated in a leadership development program compared to those who did not. Additionally, the study investigated what skills were seeing the most change among student participated in the leadership development program, and if a student's major of study played any role in their overall employability development over the course of a year. Eight employability skills were tested in a pre- and post-test model. Results indicated that students in leadership development programs are more likely to see an increase in employability skill development. From the skills tested among participates, those in the leadership program found the most change over time in the area of problem solving skills. Finally, the results also indicate that a student's major does have an impact on their overall employability skill development. Students who major in business had significantly higher employability scores than those in other majors at the university.
An Investigation of Paramedical Vocational Interest and Choice for Men of Color in Texas Community Colleges: Although the recent annual growth rate in the US paramedic field has been 4%, Latino and African American men have been significantly underrepresented in the field compared to their proportion in the US population at large. This problem threatens both the quality and quantity of available emergency health care. The purpose of this study was to describe how men of color (MOC) in community college paramedical programs experienced their awareness, interest, and proactive choice of paramedicine as a course of study. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach and social cognitive career theory as a theoretical framework, I interviewed 23 MOC enrolled during one semester across three community college paramedical programs in the southwestern US: 9 Latino and 14 African American, aged 18-29 with mean age 22 years. The focus of the interviews was the participants' lived experiences at various career points, as well as the enablers and disablers they had encountered. I identified three primary themes for possible use in enhancing recruitment of MOC to the paramedic field: strategic use of new digital media, promotion of the vocation's quasi-familial characteristics, and augmentation of neighborhood-based outreach. Identified areas for further research included recruitment dynamics of female paramedics, MOC persistence issues, and MOC job satisfaction assessments.
Changes in Student Borrowing at Private Not-for-Profit Four-Year Institutions in the United States: Trends in tuition and financial aid policy have increased the number of students who borrow for higher education and the aggregate debt students acquire. Most research on student borrowing over the years has analyzed the effects of borrowing and the prospects of indebtedness on individual students' choices and persistence. However, dynamics at the institutional level such as the need to ensure a stable flow of resources may accelerate or slow down student borrowing. Drawing on resource dependence theory, this study examined changes in student borrowing at private not for profit four year institutions in the US to identify trends and implications. A fixed effects regression analysis was applied to panel data from the Delta Cost project and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Analytical focus was on the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit four-year institutions, the relationship between these characteristics and student borrowing, and whether these relationships are stable or change over time. Findings revealed that the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit institutions during the study period were characterized by gradual variation. The results also revealed that most of the financial characteristics were predictive of student borrowing and that these relationships vary with time. Evidence from this study cautions higher education policy makers that high tuition dependence and the attendant student loan burden may disadvantage some students. Policy makers concerned about providing equitable access to higher education to all student subpopulations should try to moderate competition among institutions and tuition rises that intensify student borrowing. Institutional practices such as tuition maximization and selective price discrimination must be moderated so that financial aid, including loans, can realize the objective of encouraging fairness and choice in higher education entry.
Community of Inquiry Meets Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA): A CDA of Asynchronous Computer-Conference Discourse with Seminary Students in India: The purpose of this study was to better understand student learning in asynchronous computer-conference discourse (ASD) for non-native speakers of English in India through the Community of Inquiry (COI) framework. The study looked at ASD from an online course taught in the fall of 2015 to 25 students in a seminary in South India. All but one of the students were non-native speakers of English. The class consisted of 22 men and 3 women. Eight students spoke languages from the Dravidian family of languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Telegu and Kannada). Eight students were from the Northeastern states of Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, where most languages are from the Sino-Tibetan family. Three students were native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages (Odiya and Assamese). Five students were from Myanmar representing several Sino-Tibetan languages. The COI is a framework used to understand learning in ASD, often used in online learning. To study the ASD of this group, critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used with the COI to capture the unique socio-cultural and linguistic conditions of this group. The study revealed that non-native speakers of English often reach the Exploration phase of learning but rarely show evidence of reaching the Resolution phase. This phenomenon was also observed in native English speakers as reported in the literature. Also, the structure of ASD showed that students took an examination approach to discussion shaped in part by their epistemology. This examination approach shaped how knowledge was constructed. CDA also showed that the discourse acquired an instructor-centered structure in which Resolution and Repair were initiated and finalized by the instructor. The study advances the COI framework by undergirding it with a theory of asynchronous discourse using critical discourse analysis and capturing cognitive, social and teaching presence phenomena for non-native speakers that were not observed through the traditional COI framework. These …
Educational Uplift along the U.S.-Mexico Border: How Students, Families, and Educators Cultivate a College-Going Culture in Contested Terrain: Using critical race theory and LatCrit as conceptual frameworks, I conducted a qualitative instrumental case study of a cadre of self-identified Mexican-American and Hispanic college students who bring college knowledge, goodwill, and aid to their border town communities. The purpose of this study was to explore how college knowledge and other forms of academic capital are transmitted and co-constructed in the contested terrain of the borderlands. Primary data sources included semi-structured interviews, participant and non-participant observation, and personal artifacts (e.g. newspaper articles, college admissions essays, social media, etc.) collected from 17 full-time undergraduate student participants, 11 males and 6 females, ranging from 19 to 22 years old, who were active members of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. Supplemental data sources included semi-structured interviews with 23 family members and 9 educators identified by student participants, as well as a review of public records regarding student participant's border town communities (e.g. newspaper articles, census data, educational statistics, etc.). Findings detail how this group of college students manages the 'scholar' distinction in their hometown and utilizes distinct methods to promote academic capital formation. Specifically, this study delineates the following four types of scholars: (1) pioneers, (2) guardians, (3) ambassadors, and (4) advocates. Ultimately, this research highlights the importance of college students' ingenuity in response to enduring system inequality in higher education, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border, with implications for research theory, policy, and practice.
Narratives on College Access and Academic Undermatch: Understanding Latinx Students and Their Families: When students are academically qualified to attend a four-year college or university but instead enroll at a community college, they are considered academically undermatched. Research suggests that Latinx students are more likely to academically undermatch than their peers yet they remain the least likely to complete an upward transfer to a university and earn a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of this study was to explore the enrollment decisions of, and familial influences on, Latinx students who were admitted to a university but who initially enrolled at a community college. Using community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge as theoretical frameworks, I examined the narratives of 13 Latinx students and the parents of five of those students. Nine student participants were female and four were male, ranging from 19 to 31 years old. Parent participants were four females and two males, ranging from 43 to 52 years old. Findings from this study are divided into two parts. Student findings revealed navigating the pathway to college was fraught with limited information, even though students acknowledged they had access to resources and their high school counselors and teachers helped in the college search process. However, students still did not feel that crucial information they wanted or needed was available. Parent findings uncovered how parental aspirations and perceptions of opportunities in the United States served as a foundation for helping students aspire to attend college. Based on these findings, higher education practitioners would do well to use inclusive frameworks, such as community cultural wealth, to create programs that address Latinx students and their families, including providing materials in Spanish. Through use of inclusive frameworks, research on Latinx student college choice continues to elevate the complexities and realities these students encounter. Additionally, policymakers should continue to reevaluate the shifting burden of costs for higher education …
A Phenomenological Study of Gay and Lesbian College Students' Spiritual Experiences at Religious Higher Education Institutions: Despite recent scholarly interest in college students' spirituality and spiritual development, as well as research indicating that students are interested in spirituality and have a strong desire to integrate spirituality into their lives, few researchers have addressed the spiritual experiences of gay and lesbian college students. Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative approach, I explored the spiritual experiences of nine gay and lesbian college students at two religiously affiliated universities in the southwest region of the United States. The ages of the participants ranged from 19 to 23, with a mean of 21. There were five female, three male, and one gender queer participants. Seven participants identified as white, while the other two participants identified as Hispanic. I identified three major themes related to their lived experience of spirituality: (1) spiritual quest characterized by struggle and pain, (2) finding reconciliation and acceptance, and (3) the importance of support from the university, student groups, friends, and family. Implications for practice included the importance of establishing an official recognized student organization to support gay and lesbian students, creating spaces for personal reflection, meditation, prayer, and solitude as well as safe spaces, the need for educational and outreach programs for faculty, staff, and students, and an evaluation of institutional policies the might negatively impact gay and lesbian students. Suggestions for future research are discussed including the exploration of the impact that faculty members have on students' spiritual growth.
Impact of the Clery Act: An Examination of the Relationship between Clery Act Data and Recruitment at Private Colleges and Universities: The problem this study addressed is the relationship between Clery Act crime data and student recruitment at private colleges and universities. For this quantitative study, I used secondary data from the Department of Education and the Delta Cost Project (2013) to conduct ordinary least squares regression analyses to determine the predictive ability of institutional characteristics, specifically the total number of crime incidents reported in compliance with the Clery Act, on the variance in number of applications and applicant yield rate at private four-year institutions in the United States. Findings showed that the total number of reported incidents was a significant positive predictor of the total number of applications. Conversely, findings also showed that the total number of incidents had a significant negative impact on institutional yield rates. An implication of this study is that although crime statistics required by the Clery Act may not serve as variables used in the student application process, they are part of numerous variables used in the student's decision to enroll at a particular school. The findings highlight the importance of prioritizing and investing in safety and security measures designed to reduce rates of crime; especially for private, enrollment-driven institutions of higher education.
The Lived Experiences of African American Community College Achievers in Developmental Education: Developmental education courses are typically defined as courses offered at postsecondary institutions below college level instruction. More than 60% of community college students are deemed non-college ready and required to enroll in non-credit bearing developmental education courses. Research shows that developmental education can be either a bridge or barrier to degree attainment for racial/ethnic minority students, particularly African Americans, who require developmental education more than any other racial/ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of African American community college achievers who were required to enroll in two or more developmental education courses. Achievers were defined as students who passed all developmental education courses and were enrolled in their final college gateway course at the time of the interviews. Utilizing a phenomenological approach and anti-deficit framework, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture the essence of how African American achievers described, interpreted, and understood their journeys from developmental education to becoming college ready to completing college level courses. Twelve participants were female and three were male, ranging from 20 to 52 years old. Results revealed seven major themes. The first research question addressed how achievers described their developmental education experience from pre-collegiate years through inside the classroom, and four themes emerged: (a) Achievers experienced difficulty from childhood through college matriculation; (b) achievers experienced support from familial and institutional agents; (c) achievers experienced chilly instructional environments; and (d) achievers experienced positive interactions with peer tutors. The second research question addressed factors that contributed to the persistence of achievers, and three themes emerged: (a) Achievers persisted because of clearly defined goals; (b) achievers persisted because of help seeking behaviors; and (c) achievers persisted because of intrinsic motivation that stemmed from difficult life experiences. Although the majority of participants were discouraged by the requirement to enroll in two …
Study Abroad and Student-Athlete Choice: The focus of this case study was a study abroad program for student-athletes at a high academically achieving, small liberal arts college in the mid-west region of the United States. The program is designed to maintain a culture of internationalism and multiculturalism by exposing as many student-athletes as possible to study abroad. I reviewed literature to extract an appropriate theoretical framework along with variables that aligned with the purpose of the study; structural and organizational characteristics of the institution, student's background and pre-college traits, interaction with agents of socialization and institutional environment, and quality of effort. I used the semi-structured interview process to interview 9 senior student-athletes (3 female, 6 male; 7 White, 1 African American/White, 1 Chilean/White) who participated in study abroad during the 2015-2016 academic school year at the researched institution and to interview 5 administrators who facilitate the athletic department at the institution. I found that certain critical elements emerged as necessary to create and maintain a study abroad program geared specifically to the needs of the student-athlete population. I also found strong implications for adaptable elements that could generate opportunities for student-athletes to study abroad at a higher rate. These elements serve as a recommended framework and set of initial guidelines for student-athletes and athletic departments nationwide.
A Panel Analysis of Institutional Finances of Medical Residencies at Non-University-Based Independent M.D. Granting Medical Schools in the United States: Traditionally, medical residency positions have been primarily funded by the federal government. However, due to declining governmental funding support over time, medical schools have resorted to fund these programs through other means such as clinical fees and payments for services. This change has affected the number and types of residencies available to medical school graduates. The purpose of this study was to measure how the availability of fiscal resources shape mission-related outputs, particularly medical residency positions at medical schools. Using academic capitalism as the theoretical framework provided a lens through which to examine how federal policies have shaped the availability and funding of medical residencies today at the institutional level. This concept has been studied in traditional colleges and universities and how they balance mission and money, but less so in the context of medical schools. This study used a fixed effect panel analysis to study the impact of selected variables over a 10-year period on financing of medical residencies. Findings included that tuition revenues, paid for by undergraduate medical students, are increasingly funding medical residency positions. There was little to no effect from hospital revenues and federal research monies on increasing the number of medical residency positions. The funding of university based medical education is particularly timely and of national importance to understand the consequences of federal policies for medical schools and how medical residency funding caps and limits have affected one of the missions of medical schools which is to train physicians.
Community College Student Retention and Completion based on Financial Expenditures and Hispanic-Serving Status: Despite declining community college funding being allocated increasingly on the basis of student success, U.S. community college student retention and completion rates over the past decade have either remained steady or decreased, especially for Latino students. Using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models with secondary data procured from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I analyzed student success rates—full time student retention and completion rates—based on community college financial allocations and Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) status. To equitably analyze community colleges in the sample (n = 909), I separated them into four groups based on institutional size as defined by the Carnegie Classification. Descriptive results indicated that instructional divisions spent an average of 43% of the college's total allocated budget—often more than three times the allocated budget of any other division. Regression results indicated that instructional expenditures had the most consistent impact on student success regardless of college size and that scholarship expenditures and academic support expenditures generally had a negative impact on student retention and completion rates. Regarding Latino student success in particular, findings indicated that the manner in which colleges allocated their funds impacted only small and medium-sized community colleges. Of the nine different types of institutional expenditures, only student services expenditures and public services expenditures had a statistically significant impact on Latino student success. Additionally regression analysis indicated that community college HSI status did not have a large impact on overall full-time student retention and completion rates but did have a significant impact on full-time Hispanic student retention and completion rates for all institution sizes. Findings of this study confirmed that HSI status does impact Latino student success in public community colleges. This finding is consistent with prior studies on the positive impact of instructional expenditures on student success rates. Further research on the specific elements within …
A Content Analysis of Medical School Problem-Based Learning Cases: Problem-based learning (PBL) was developed for use in medical education to incorporate more active, learner-centered instruction. Central to problem-based learning is the problem, which in medical education is usually case a case presentation, revealed in stages to allow learners to form and research learning objectives. The purpose of this study was to identify themes present across the PBL cases, including the patient-centeredness of the cases. Content analysis was used to examine 62 PBL cases that comprised the first and second years' core curriculum at a public medical school. The cases included a patient population similar to the local population, but care was more hospital-centric than would be expected from the actual patterns of medical utilization in the United States. Analyzing along two axes of patient-centeredness, the PBL cases demonstrated a good understanding of the patient (knowing the patient), but other qualities such as shared decision making was not as exemplified. Medical educators can use the results to understand elements that contribute to patient-centeredness and apply the analysis framework to evaluate future cases.
Public Research Universities as Gendered Organizations: Institutional Rewards and the Faculty Salary Gap: Gendered organizational conditions create the context for persisting differences between men and women in the workplace. Within, higher education, this manifests as a salary gap between male and female faculty members. The academic capitalistic policy environment creates the conditions for increasing competition for external funding, especially in the areas of research and science and engineering. The change in the academic climate may sustain or intensify the gendering of universities as organizations. Universities with the highest level of research activity were chosen for this study and formed the 130 public institution sample. This study used fixed effects panel regression analysis to explore the relationship between the faculty gender salary gap and institutional emphasis on research as well as science and engineering. In addition, the relationship between institutional emphasis and the faculty gender salary gap was explored over time with the inclusion of a time trend and temporal interaction terms. Results showed that the higher the percentage of female faculty members, the greater the faculty gender salary gap for assistant professors. In addition, science and engineering emphasis over time had a significant impact on the professor salary gap with a decreasing effect both at the mean and one standard deviation above the mean, but with an increasing effect on the salary gap for institutions one standard deviation below the mean. When taking action to increase gender equity, it is important for universities to recognize that the faculty gender salary gap occurs in an organizational context impacted by institutional-level conditions.
Smartphones and Tablets: Patterns of Usage among College Student Populations: This study offers insight into students' use and desire to use mobile devices for educational purposes. I examined college students' mobile device usage on the basis of demographic factors including sex, age, ethnicity, class standing, mode of delivery, and socioeconomic status. This study also investigated factors that affect students' likelihood to use mobile devices for academic pursuits. I utilized data from the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis and Research's (ECAR) 2015 Student Technology Survey. Of the 10,000 undergraduate respondents, 56% were female, 70% were between the ages of 18-24, 73% attended college full time and the breakdown of ethnicity included 59% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 13% African American, 8% Asian and 1% Native American. The results indicated that traditional aged students reportedly used smartphones more frequently, whereas non-traditional aged students reportedly used tablets more. Students most frequently reported using their devices in class to connect to the learning material. Institutional technology infrastructure and support were strong factors impacting students' use of smartphones. Results of this research can assist higher education faculty and administrators in devising comprehensive training and technology plans to support and encourage students' use of mobile devices for educational purposes.
Women Chief Housing Officers at State Universities in the Northwest United States: Hyatt, Jennifer Leigh. Women Chief Housing Officers at State Universities in the Northwest United States. Doctor of Education (Higher Education), December 2016, 89 pp., 1 table, 3 figures, 48 references, titles. This qualitative study explored the experiences of women chief housing officers (CHOs) at state universities within the northwest region of the United States. The study used narrative inquiry methodology with a thematic analysis approach to investigate how seven female CHOs experience and make meaning of their professional career progression and journey toward becoming and remaining a CHO. Five core themes emerged from the study: (a) understanding housing operations, (b) self-efficacy, (c) gender inequities, (d) relationships with staff, and (e) mentorship. The theme of gender identity suggests that gender does influence how these female CHOs make meaning of their professional experience. The overall results suggest that although the perception of many is that the field of student affairs is wide open to women, in some senior-level positions, such as CHO, gender inequity is prevalent. A factor that may contribute to this inequity is the privatization of housing which calls for a greater understanding of business and housing operations, areas dominated by males. An implication from this study is that an increase in the number of women in the CHO position may only occur when university housing personnel expand professional preparation for mid-level housing positions to include more business-related practices. The mid-level position could then be seen as a step toward desired CHO competencies and toward making the position of CHO more inclusive.
Admissions Committee Ratings as Predictors of Persistence in Master's-level Theological Education: This research attempted to ascertain whether the ratings of applicants in the admissions-evaluation process of Dallas Theological Seminary (Admission Committee Rating, or ACR) were related to persistence in seminary study sufficiently to allow reasonable prediction of completion based on the strength of the ratings. Five ACRs were examined - the total ACR and its four components, strength of previous academics, personal references, potential and promise for ministry, and previous ministry experience. Other non-admissions factors were also examined to see what relationship they had to persistence. Those factors were years of matriculation, age at matriculation, gender, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, types of previous higher education, whether or not financial aid was received (if known), and the total amount of financial aid received (if known). Persistence in the study was defined as graduation from the seminary's major four-year master's degree program (Th.M.) within the time limits published for the degree. Analysis results indicated that only two of the five ACRs were statistically significant, ministry potential and ministry experience, but the relationship with completion was weak. The conclusion reached was that the relationship between the strength of the admission evaluation and persistence was practically insignificant and contributed little to the ability to predict completion on that basis alone.
The Association of Self-Directed Learning Readiness, Learning Styles, Self-Paced Instruction, and Confidence to Perform on the Job: Learning styles and readiness for self-directed learning were identified for 125 adult employees enrolled in self-paced training courses. The success of the self-paced instruction was measured by confidence to perform learned skills on the job. Confidence scores were compared across learning style types and self-directed learning readiness. It was concluded that self-paced training programs can be effective for a variety of learning style preferences. Additionally, adult employees who are highly self-directed will experience greater success in self-paced instruction than those less self-directed. The implication for businesses and academic institutions seeking to employ technology based, self-instructional programs is that a return on investment can be maximized by an examination of the target audience. Training programs which are self-paced may not generate the desired success which will translate into effective job performance for those adults who are not ready for self-directed learning.
An Analysis and Evaluation of Church Administration in the Evangelical Churches of West Africa, Nigeria: The purposes of this study were to discover the current status of church administration of the Evangelical Churches of West Africa (ECWA) and to offer recommendations. In order to achieve these purposes, an extensive review of the professional literature dealing with church administration and management was conducted, and a questionnaire was constructed and categorized into the following broad areas of church administration: (1) church government, (2) educational leadership (3) evangelism and missions, (4) financial management, and (5) general administration. The following conclusions were drawn: 1. Management of church affaris under the four administrative church councils appears to be less than effective. 2. Professional local church leadership appears to be weak. 3. Strategies regarding recruitment of missionaries and mission finances appear weak. 4. The ECWA appears to lack both an acceptable criteria and specified groups for evaluation of theological programs. 5. Better financial management is one of ECWA's major areas of need. 6. Written personel guidelines and job descriptions are a critical need in ECWA church administration. 7. The need for effective communication may be one of the major problems facing ECWA.

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