Digital Commons Network^™

Students With Learning Differences From College Star: A Case Study, Haley Nulty

Education Dissertations and Projects

This case study focused on the perceptions from students, family members, and faculty of students utilizing programs funded by the College STAR grant. The College STAR grant provides funds to welcome and support students with unique learning needs. As a newer initiative, minimal data exist on college students’ utilization of the resources provided by College STAR. The success of these students was the focus of this research. An analysis of feedback from one of the three participating universities including faculty members, family perspectives, and student qualities was conducted. This qualitative research approach consisted of a six-part design to collect and …

Impact Of Cheerleading On Postsecondary Career And College Readiness In A Rural Community, Rikki Baldwin

Education Dissertations and Projects

High schools were being held accountable for not properly preparing students for college or the workforce. Preparation for high school students is not limited to their academic experiences but rather soft skills gained through involvement with extracurricular activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of cheerleading on the qualities needed for college and career preparation. This study analyzed the responses of former cheerleaders from a rural high school in North Carolina. This qualitative study utilized a descriptive survey that included O’Neil, Lee, Wang, Mulkey’s (1999) Teamwork Questionnaire followed by two focus groups. Overall, the researcher concluded …

A Study Of Rigor, Teacher Self-Efficacy, And Student Achievement In Three High Schools In A Rural School District In Eastern North Carolina, Katrina Hannon Cobb

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study investigated the importance of rigor and teacher efficacy in relation to student achievement. There are several definitions of the word rigor. Blackburn (2008) defined rigor as “An environment in which each student is expected to learn at high levels, each student is supported so he or she can learn at high levels, and each student demonstrates learning at high levels” (p. 16). ACT/SAT data, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), and the High School Reform and Work all conclude that students who are college and career ready have graduated …

Understanding Video Adoption: An Insider Action Researcher’S Case Study Using The Concerns-Based Adoption Model To Facilitate A Community Of Inquiry In Online Courses, Emily G. Robertson

Education Dissertations and Projects

This research explored how an insider change agent constructs a holistic understanding of a user’s adoption of video to facilitate the change adoption process and establish a community of inquiry in online courses. The case study was guided by tenets of change theory and constructivism emphasizing the personal and collaborative experience of the change adoption process. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) constructs of Stages of Concern (SoC), Levels of Use (LoU) and Innovation Configuration (IC), along with the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model elements of presence aligned with the theoretical frameworks and guided data collection and analysis.

Using five iterative …

Putting Experience To Work: Leveraging Student Attributes And Abilities In The Development Of An Adult Learner Professional Readiness Experience Program, Erin E. Cook

Education Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of the project was to provide an opportunity for adult learners at Gardner-Webb University to collectively engage in professional development within their program of study. Specifically, the program was designed to harness an adult learner’s prior knowledge, skills, and life experiences as an enhancement to his or her future professional work.

At the beginning of the project, no established professional development program was available for adult learners. The development of the Adult Learner Professional Readiness Experience Program (AL-PREP) allowed the aforementioned purpose to align with Gardner-Webb curriculum.

Goals, objectives, and data collection methods were established in order to …

Ignite-Ism: Building An International Student Management Program To Improve Recruitment And Support Services, Hazim Naser Almomani

Education Dissertations and Projects

The project aimed to discover an effective way to serve the international students who were already enrolled at a university in the southeastern United States and to provide a unique strategy for recruiting international students. In addition, this project aimed to improve online services as well as provide new services that could help international students in their engagement in the university community. This project is a map for a university to build a strong foundation in both marketing and serving incoming students. Ignite-ISM is a program that supports a new vision in the process of recruiting international students. The project …

Continuing Education Certification Programs For Career-Long Learning: Winston-Salem State University, Patricia Oliver

Education Dissertations and Projects

The Division of Continuing Education at Winston-Salem State University has a service gap in the market regarding career-long learning in the community. Continuing Education wanted to establish a project that would bring in revenue with very little start-up costs.

The purpose of this project was to look atcareer-long learning as a concept in the disciplines of allied health, computer technology, paralegal, project management, and business administration at Winston-Salem State University in the Division of Continuing Education. The need for in-depth education and training in specific areas has been influenced by the shortage of corporations and hospitals in some areas. One …

Igniting The Fire: Creating A Fire Service Administration Program At Gardner-Webb University, Rusty Nolan Graham

Education Dissertations and Projects

Igniting the Fire: Creating a Bachelor of Science in Fire Service Administration at Gardner-Webb University is a doctoral project that created a professional education program for a liberal arts university. During this project, the major issues that were discovered included there was no school or college within the university to house the program, creating and maintaining buy in from administration and the faculty, creating a rigorous academic curriculum, locating the advisory committee, creation of a communication and media plan that would reach our targeted students, applying for approval from our regional accrediting body, and registering students. At the time of …

Finishing The Race: Increasing Student Persistence Among African-American Males At Averett University, Deandre T. Howard

Education Dissertations and Projects

With the rising costs of tuition and fees at colleges and universities, the issue of retaining students has now become more important than ever. Several institutions of higher education spend thousands of dollars annually to recruit and enroll new students. Once enrolled, the faculty, staff and administration all share the obligation of keeping students enrolled until graduation. The more access to necessary resources college students have, the better the chance they will persist toward graduation. Additionally, college students who are engaged within the university community will retain at a better rate than their counterparts who are not.

Small, private colleges …

Investigating Aromatherapy As A Test Anxiety Intervention For Undergraduate Nursing Students, Brittany Graham

Education Dissertations and Projects

This project seeks to explore the concept of aromatherapy as an intervention for undergraduate nursing student test anxiety in greater depth. Test anxiety is significant in nursing education because of the high stakes weight of exams and difficulties associated with answering multiple choice and multiple response questions. Historically, the Hunt School of Nursing has not provided specific procedures or interventions to assist students with test anxiety; however, this project seeks to outline a pathway for the development and achievement of a successful aromatherapy program for undergraduate students. On an informal trial basis, the use of aromatherapy lotions prior to exams …

Ready Or Not: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Early College Graduates’ First-Year Experiences, Jennifer Elizabeth Wilson

Education Dissertations and Projects

Current frameworks of college readiness fail to address the impact of college readiness on the postsecondary educational experiences of traditionally underserved students such as low socioeconomic and first generation. The purpose of this study was to utilize the interpretative phenomenological analysis approach to investigate the first-year postsecondary educational experiences and understandings of the graduates of an early college high school in western North Carolina. The phenomenon studied was the use of early college high school experiences in a first-year college or university setting. The researcher employed the use of individual interviews to explore the transfer of college readiness instruction into …