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Experiencing Financial Aid At A Historically White Institution: A Critical Race Analysis, Liane I. Hypolite, Antar A. Tichavakunda Dec 2019

Experiencing Financial Aid At A Historically White Institution: A Critical Race Analysis, Liane I. Hypolite, Antar A. Tichavakunda

Journal of Student Financial Aid

While scholars have looked at the intersection of financial aid and various identities, little work has examined how, if at all, race and racism are imbued into financial aid in higher education using qualitative inquiry. This paper begins that work by using a Critical Race Theory lens to analyze how, in the seemingly colorblind structure and process of financial aid, race matters. Using interview data collected from 35 Black juniors and seniors at a selective, historically White institution (HWI), the authors examine how race has informed students’ perceptions of themselves, their families, and their futures through their experiences with financial …


Do High Cohort Default Rates Affect Student Living Allowances And Debt Burdens? An Empirical Analysis, Robert Kelchen Dec 2019

Do High Cohort Default Rates Affect Student Living Allowances And Debt Burdens? An Empirical Analysis, Robert Kelchen

Journal of Student Financial Aid

The federal government holds colleges accountable for their students’ cohort default rates (CDRs), with colleges facing the potential loss of all federal financial aid dollars if their CDRs are too high for three consecutive years. Yet a sizable portion of student borrowing is for non-tuition living expenses—funds that the college does not get to keep. In this paper, I examine whether colleges at risk of federal sanctions due to high CDRs respond by reducing living allowances in an effort to limit borrowing and if student debt burdens decrease after a college receives a high default rate. Using data from public …


Crushing Debt Or Savvy Strategy? Financial Literacy And Student Perceptions Of Their Student Loan Debt, Gail Markle Dec 2019

Crushing Debt Or Savvy Strategy? Financial Literacy And Student Perceptions Of Their Student Loan Debt, Gail Markle

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Almost three quarters of American college students use loans to fund their college education, although according to public discourse student debt is a critical problem. Grounded in social reproduction theory and consumer socialization theory this study examines the influence of financial literacy on students’ college financing decisions, perceptions of student loan debt, and education-related behavior. A sample of 429 undergraduate students selected using systematic cluster sampling from a large public university in the southeast completed a survey containing closed and open ended questions. Participants reported moderate levels of financial literacy (72.3%) and student loan awareness (62.7%). Only 20% of students …


Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego Dec 2019

Exploratory Learning Activities In The Physics Classroom: Contrasting Cases Versus A Rich Dataset., Campbell Rightmyer Bego

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In exploratory learning, students engage in an exploration activity on a new topic prior to instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell-then-practice order has been shown to benefit learning outcomes, especially conceptual knowledge and preparation for future learning, but not always. In three studies, the current work examines whether the type of exploration activity impacts learning mechanisms and outcomes, on the topic of gravitational field in undergraduate physics classrooms. Activities using either contrasting cases (CC) or a rich dataset (RD) are compared in two instructional orders, explore-first (EF) and instruct-first (IF). Learning outcomes measured procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, and performance …


Reaching Zero Waste: Determining The Student Perspective On Campus Food Waste., Cassie Anne Parkins Dec 2019

Reaching Zero Waste: Determining The Student Perspective On Campus Food Waste., Cassie Anne Parkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Food waste is an ongoing problem in the complex global food system. College campuses are in a unique position to address food waste through reducing it in their own food systems and by encouraging students to develop behaviors to reduce and divert waste from landfills. In this thesis project I seek to understand how students consider food waste and their attitudes and ideas about reducing it. To this end, I observed student behaviors and waste in University of Louisville’s all-you-care-to-eat dining hall and weighed plate waste there. I conducted informational interviews with University and Aramark employees, along with semi-structured interviews …


Education Abroad Participation: Predicting Participation Through High School Academic Record And Intent To Be Involved In College As Reported In The Freshman Survey (Tfs) And In The College Senior Survey (Css)., Elizabeth Karen Liebschutz-Roettger Dec 2019

Education Abroad Participation: Predicting Participation Through High School Academic Record And Intent To Be Involved In College As Reported In The Freshman Survey (Tfs) And In The College Senior Survey (Css)., Elizabeth Karen Liebschutz-Roettger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Globalization is a topic of great interest in higher education yet fewer than 10% of college graduates participate in a formal study abroad program. While according to The American Council on Education [ACE] (2008) data, nearly 80% of incoming first-year students intend to go abroad, the reality is most students do not. Practitioners in Education Abroad (EA) are continually looking at ways to help increase student participation in overseas programs and opportunities. The study looks at frequencies and predictor models to help determine factors that influence student participation in study abroad. The study utilized HERI’s 2009 The Freshman Survey (TFS) …


Social Dimensions Of Student Debt: A Data Mining Analysis, Dirk Witteveen, Paul Attewell Oct 2019

Social Dimensions Of Student Debt: A Data Mining Analysis, Dirk Witteveen, Paul Attewell

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Media commentary on undergraduates' loan debt portrays a crisis in which many students are unable to pay back their loans, having borrowed large sums and lacking sufficient post-college income to repay. Several scholars have questioned the media accounts, noting that indebtedness is highest among students from high income families, while defaults predominate among low debt students. Using a data mining technique known as CART, we analyze national data on the indebtedness of recent baccalaureate graduates, to uncover combinations of social characteristics that are associated with loan pressure: the ratio of indebtedness to post-college earnings. We find that students from lower …


Third Time's The Charm: The History Of The Merger Between The University Of Louisville And Jefferson Schools Of Law, Marcus Walker Oct 2019

Third Time's The Charm: The History Of The Merger Between The University Of Louisville And Jefferson Schools Of Law, Marcus Walker

Faculty Scholarship

The daytime University of Louisville School of Law and evening Jefferson School of Law existed as separate programs from the latter school's founding in 1905 until their merger in 1950. This article highlights two earlier attempts at combining the legal programs and highlights some perhaps lesser-known details of the successful attempt that extend the history of the "Ben Washer School" a bit farther than it might otherwise seem.


Achieving The Promise Of Educational Opportunity: Graduate Student Debt For Stem Vs. Non-Stem Students, 2012, Rachel Burns, Karen L. Webber Aug 2019

Achieving The Promise Of Educational Opportunity: Graduate Student Debt For Stem Vs. Non-Stem Students, 2012, Rachel Burns, Karen L. Webber

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Using NPSAS 2012 data, this study examines graduate student debt for STEM versus non-STEM students who were enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program in 2012. Findings showed significantly higher debt for those in non-STEM programs as well as differences by amount of undergraduate debt, race, and full- or part-time enrollment status. These differences may encourage more STEM participation, but may restrict some students from enrolling in graduate-level programs, particularly in non-STEM fields. The loss of a new generation of citizens with graduate level training may affect our national economy and productivity, and urges institution officials to consider means …


Queering Black Greek-Lettered Fraternities, Masculinity And Manhood : A Queer Of Color Critique Of Institutionality In Higher Education., Antron Demel Mahoney Aug 2019

Queering Black Greek-Lettered Fraternities, Masculinity And Manhood : A Queer Of Color Critique Of Institutionality In Higher Education., Antron Demel Mahoney

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drawing heavily on Roderick Ferguson’s (2012) theory of institutionality, this dissertation constructs a counter-historical genealogy of racialized gender in higher education and U.S. society through the formation of black Greek-lettered fraternities. Ferguson argues that with the insurgence of minority resistance globally and domestically during the mid-twentieth century, hegemonic power took a new form. Instead of rejecting minority difference, power’s new network attempted to work through and with minority difference in an effort to absorb and restrict these radical formations within state, capital and academy frameworks—producing narrow or one-dimensional minority subjectivities. Established at the turn of the twentieth century, black Greek-lettered …


Tuition Discounting At Small, Private, Baccalaureate Institutions: Reaching A Point Of No Return?, Luke Behaunek, Ann M. Gansemer-Topf Jul 2019

Tuition Discounting At Small, Private, Baccalaureate Institutions: Reaching A Point Of No Return?, Luke Behaunek, Ann M. Gansemer-Topf

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This paper describes relationships between tuition discounting (TD), net tuition revenue, and other institutional characteristics at four-year, liberal arts institutions. TD, a practice whereby institutional grants are used to subsidize a student’s educational expense, has become a common practice at four-year institutions. TDs impact on enrollments, financial aid, and budgets continues to increase, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the practice. Drawing upon Breneman’s (1994) economic theory of four-year private institutions, this research examined trends in student characteristics, enrollment, institutional grants, and net tuition revenue (NTR) and the relationship between TD practices NTR. Analyzing panel data of four-year, small, …


Take It, Or Leave It? Analyzing How Unsubsidized Federal Loans Affect Six-Year Degree Attainment Across Income Groups, Ray Franke Jul 2019

Take It, Or Leave It? Analyzing How Unsubsidized Federal Loans Affect Six-Year Degree Attainment Across Income Groups, Ray Franke

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This study examined the effects of unsubsidized federal Stafford loans on six-year degree attainment at 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S., and how these differentially impact students across income groups. For this, nationally representative data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS:04/09) and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) was merged to analyze N=6,561 students attending n=651 four-year institutions. To account for possible selection bias in loan borrowing and the nested data structure, this study employs a propensity score matching, multilevel modeling approach. In addition to financial aid measures, the analytic model draws from the heterogeneous research approach and …


Investing In Education: Impact Of Student Financial Stress On Self-Reported Health, Stephen Poplaski, Randy Kemnitz, Cliff A. Robb Jun 2019

Investing In Education: Impact Of Student Financial Stress On Self-Reported Health, Stephen Poplaski, Randy Kemnitz, Cliff A. Robb

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Through the lens of Human Capital theory, the role of financial aid (both amount and type) is explored in the context of student financial stress, and ultimately general student health. Data are taken from a sample of 232 students from a major Midwestern university who were surveyed about their financial attitudes, behavior and knowledge. The presence and amount of federal loans was associated with self-reported financial stress, and the validated stress measure was further associated with students’ self-reported health. A number of personal life events (i.e. job loss) were also associated with higher stress levels. Implications are discussed.


A Case Study Of Undergraduate Debt, Repayment Plans, And Postbaccalaureate Decision-Making Among Black Students At Hbcus, Dominique J. Baker Jun 2019

A Case Study Of Undergraduate Debt, Repayment Plans, And Postbaccalaureate Decision-Making Among Black Students At Hbcus, Dominique J. Baker

Journal of Student Financial Aid

High payments and default on undergraduate debt have consequences; they are of national concern if aversion to debt deters students from making optimal postbaccalaureate decisions on postbaccalaureate educational aspirations, enrollment, and early-career occupation. I conducted two semi-structured interviews, near graduation and six months later, with six recent graduates of an HBCU who borrowed at some point in their undergraduate career and were required to complete federal exit counseling. I found that the relationship between undergraduate debt and postbaccalaureate decision-making is partially explained by the themes of timing and structure of information, family as a source of knowledge, comfort with the …


Changes In Hbcu Financial Aid And Student Enrollment After The Tightening Of Plus Credit Standards, Matthew T. Johnson, Julie Bruch, Brian Gill Jun 2019

Changes In Hbcu Financial Aid And Student Enrollment After The Tightening Of Plus Credit Standards, Matthew T. Johnson, Julie Bruch, Brian Gill

Journal of Student Financial Aid

We analyze changes in financial aid and student enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) that occurred after the U.S. Department of Education increased the credit history requirements necessary to obtain Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). We use institution-level data to examine financial aid and enrollment changes in the first two academic years affected by the new credit standards (2012-13 and 2013-14). The results show that PLUS loans declined substantially at HBCUs in 2012-13, and the decreases were not fully replaced by other types of federal financial aid. HBCUs also experienced larger declines in enrollment than other institutions …


Reassessing The Role Of Federal Aid Policy In Financing 21st Century Higher Education For Underserved Groups: Recent Trends, Contemporary Problems, And New Proposals, Gabriel R. Serna Jun 2019

Reassessing The Role Of Federal Aid Policy In Financing 21st Century Higher Education For Underserved Groups: Recent Trends, Contemporary Problems, And New Proposals, Gabriel R. Serna

Journal of Student Financial Aid

This review explores the expanding role of federal aid policy considered from a contemporary and social justice perspective. It highlights recent trends in aid policy as well as difficulties that arise from the current system. Next, the review takes up an analysis of current aid policy that carefully considers equity and efficiency as primary criteria for funding public higher education. Through a meticulous review of the most up-to-date literature and data it then moves on to new proposals to increase equity, efficiency, and effectiveness with an eye toward increasing access and attainment. Indeed, a general takeaway from this review is …


Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari May 2019

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …


Wounds And Writing : Building Trauma-Informed Approaches To Writing Pedagogy., Michelle L. Day May 2019

Wounds And Writing : Building Trauma-Informed Approaches To Writing Pedagogy., Michelle L. Day

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation builds a trauma-informed approach to writing pedagogy informed by writing studies scholarship about trauma and inclusive pedagogy, clinical social work literature on trauma-informed care, and interviews with nine current University of Louisville writing faculty about their experiences academically supporting distressed students. I identify three central touchstones—“students are coddled,” “teacher’s aren’t therapists,” and “institutions don’t support trauma-informed teaching”—in scholarly and public debates regarding what to do about student trauma/distress in higher education. After exploring the valid concerns and misconceptions underpinning these touchstones, I illustrate how clinical research offers a way forward to help writing instructors develop more complex understandings …


Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee May 2019

Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more students evaluate their choice for higher education, the rate of transfer students continues to grow. The transfer population is often addressed broadly in research studies, and few examine differences among the population. This study was designed to analyze the differences in transfer shock and retention rates between students who transferred from a community college to a four-year institution (vertical) versus those who transferred from one four-year institution to another (lateral). Participants of this study consisted of 1,032 students who transferred to the University of Louisville during the fall 2014, 2015, and 2016 semesters. Results indicated, when controlling for …


Student Perceptions And Persistence : Taking A Person-Centered Approach To Understand Undergraduate Engineering Retention., Brittany Flanery Crawford May 2019

Student Perceptions And Persistence : Taking A Person-Centered Approach To Understand Undergraduate Engineering Retention., Brittany Flanery Crawford

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many students are leaving their engineering programs as early as the first semester of their undergraduate studies. Although some of the factors related to engineering retention are largely academic, others are tied closely to students’ beliefs or perceptions. Student perceptions data are useful, but often overlooked by researchers who wish to take a person-centered approach to uncover profiles of student beliefs, both adaptive and maladaptive, when it comes to understanding engineering retention. The sample consisted of full-time undergraduate engineering students (N = 834) in the first semester of their undergraduate engineering programs. I used latent transition analysis (LTA) to …


Delivery, Facilitas, And Copia : Job Market Preparation And The Revival Of The Fifth Canon., Joseph Turner Jan 2019

Delivery, Facilitas, And Copia : Job Market Preparation And The Revival Of The Fifth Canon., Joseph Turner

Faculty Scholarship

This essay argues that English Studies departments should implement training programs in oral delivery strategies for graduate students seeking tenure track employment. A sample a 13-week training program, modeled on elements of classical rhetorical pedagogy, can help students develop and refine stills in oral delivery necessary for academic job interviews.