Education Commons^™

Institutional Factors Associated With Closing The Equity Gap In Six-Year Graduation Rates At Public Four-Year Universities, Lisa Yannick

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The equity gaps in educational outcomes between Black students and their white counterparts have been a long-standing issue in higher education (Bensimon, 2005; Cahalan et al., 2021; NCES, 2022a; NCES, 2023b). Prior research on student retention and graduation has tended to take a deficit view of the gap and focused on student characteristics (e.g., demographics, pre-college experiences, grit or resilience, course grades, program participation). This study uses an equity-minded lens that locates the problem of disparate outcomes in six-year graduation rates between Black and white students within the policies and practices of institutions. In this study, I focused on the …

Women In Higher Education: A Brief Report On Stress During Covid-19, Dimple S. Johnson, Aaron D. Johnson, Kristen B. Crossney, Emily Devereaux

Public Policy & Administration Faculty Publications

Higher education institutions have evolved into a more stressful environment. Women have been experiencing higher levels of stress than their male counterparts. With higher education adopting to the onset of the pandemic, this brief report studied women’s perceived stress in relation to perceived organizational and supervisory support, and age during times of crisis. In an era of social distancing, quarantines, and lockdowns, the findings suggest that women’s perceived stress is negatively related to age, perceived organizational support, and perceived supervisory support. Society as we once knew it pre-pandemic will never be the same. Higher education is inevitably going to have …

An Evaluation Of Student Government: Diminishing The Disconnect Between Student Government Organizations And Their Constituencies, Elizabeth Roberts

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Student Government Organizations (SGOs) exist to serve and represent the student body. However, SGOs often face issues that lead to a disconnect between them and their constituency. The issues that can lead to a disconnect include responsibilities and purpose, representation and voter turnout, lack of knowledge and transparency, relationship to administration, and internal issues such as bias and mistreatment, transition, and personal outcomes. This thesis proposes an intervention of a yearly Student Government Evaluation where student government organizations are evaluated by the student body and their members and then create an action plan based on the results. The aim of …

Finding The Yellow Brick Road: Bridging The Gap Between African American Foster Care Youth And Higher Education., Chyna Hart

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This critical action research thesis addresses the need for a university-based bridge program for African American foster care youth seeking to obtain a college degree. The reviewed literature explores a plethora of barriers experienced by African American foster care youth, which are brought on by social and systemic racism and inequity. In examining this literature, I have proposed and justified an intervention plan coined “The Yellow Brick Road Program”. This program will help to combat the barriers that hinder accessibility for African American foster care students by creating an on-campus hub that provides these students support services that address their …

The Neoliberalization Of Higher Education: Paradoxing Students' Basic Needs At A Hispanic-Serving Institution, Megan A.K. Schraedley, J. Jacob Jenkins, Molly Irelan, Megan Umana

Communication and Media Faculty Publications

Millions of college students in the United States lack access to adequate food, housing, and other basic human needs. These insecurities have only been exacerbated in recent decades by the country's neoliberal approach to higher education, with disproportionately negative consequences for historically underserved populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minorities, low-income students, and first-generation college students). For each of these reasons, this study explores the organizational paradoxes faced by students attending a public, 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in southern California. Drawing upon 30 semi-structured interviews with undergraduates who self-identified as historically underserved, our three-stage conceptualization of data analysis revealed three specific paradoxes: (1) …

More Than A Score: The Test-Optional Movement In Higher Education, Lisa M. Montgomery

Ed.D. Policy, Planning, & Administration Student Work

"Test optional", "test flexible" and "no tests required" are buzzwords surrounding the college admissions' process today. Getting into a college or university may require a student to submit several sets of grades and scores from either the SAT or ACT, write essays, prepare for interviews and/or complete other admission requirements. As of 2018, there are at least 1,000 accredited, bachelor-degree-granting colleges and universities that altered their admissions policy to either eliminate consideration of standardized testing scores or have moved to test-optional or text-flexible admissions policies (Safier, 2017).

This qualitative mixed methods study investigated why higher education institutions are implementing test-optional …

Study Abroad And Liminality: Examining U.S. American Collegiate Undergraduate Student Engagement In Risky Behaviors Betwixt And Between Borders, Jill L. Creighton

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

One of the most niche sub-arenas of public administration, higher education administration, involves preparing future leaders and scholars for global perspectives. This original research examined whether collegiate, traditionally-aged, undergraduate student risky behavioral choices rose during the study abroad experience as compared to when in the home collegiate environment. After investigating the literature an opportunity to connect the phenomena of domestic risky behavior, collegiate study abroad, and tourism materialized. The anthropological concept of liminality served as the theoretical perspective that anchored the construction of this research. This study was conducted using a post-positivist epistemology, a non-experimental design, and an original survey …

New State Of Mind: A Living Learning Community For Out-Of-State Students, Molly Rorick

West Chester University Master’s Theses

The term out-of-state resonates with any person who does not permanently live in a particular state but has visited from across state lines multiple times. In this case it is in relation to students who have decided to pursue their education at an institution that is located in a different state. This thesis examines the lack of resources for OOS students living within the university's walls using the lens of transition theory. With the lack of resources, this creates a barrier between the student and their potential for their success. New State of Mind is a proposed intervention, which opens …

Accessibility For Student With Disabilities, Amanda Martin

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Accessibility for students with disabilities on university campuses is important to our field as student affairs professionals because students with disabilities make a growing population of the student body on university and college campuses (Burgstahler, & Moore, 2009). I believe that it takes someone who passionately cares to make a difference in the higher education community. A value that is significant to understand me would be my fierce belief that all people deserve a chance to earn a higher education regardless of their background, socioeconomic status, and ability levels. I believe a chance at higher education is not only growth …

Queering The University: Implementing A Systematic & Organizational Approach To Equity, Brian Moore

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Too often higher education educators take a lackadaisical approach to solutions surrounding negative queer and trans student experiences; however, educators hold an obligation to foster student success, retention, catalyze identity development, and maximize the human potential of queer and trans students. This master’s thesis develops a systematic and organizational approach to achieving an equitable campus for queer and trans student experience through a critical action research proposal. Utilizing my perspective as queer and trans educator and/or student, I will primarily use the philosophical lens of Friere, hooks, Foucault, and queer theory to support my philosophy of education. Theoretical frameworks from …

Re-Storying The Cost Of Higher Education: A Narrative Approach To Addressing The Racial Disparities In Student Loan Debt, Sarah Yaskowski

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This thesis investigates educational debt as a racialized construct resulting from deeply entrenched disparities expounded by the current marketization of higher education. Once hailed as a pathway to the American Dream, pursuing a college education meant access to the middle class which promised greater social capital and socioeconomic mobility. Yet for many students, specifically minority students of color who carry disproportionate amounts of educational debt fueled by this false promise, the realities of this pursuit are far direr. By framing the discussion through the theoretical lens of Critical Race Theory, this research attempts a more critical review of the discriminatory …