Education Commons^™

Traditional Liberal Arts Colleges' Consideration And Adoption Of Online Education: A Presidential Perspective, Ericka T. Hollis

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

National research studies have indicated that students are enrolling in more online courses annually (Allen & Seaman, 2010, 2014, 2015); yet, not all higher education institutions are adopting online education. In order to understand more about adoption of online education in higher education and presidents’ perceptions of online education, this study investigated the adoption of online education by traditional liberal arts colleges(TLACs). These institutions and their presidents currently face numerous challenges and threats as TLACs try to remain relevant in the 21st century while maintaining their liberal arts mission. The importance of this study lies in the realization that many …

Environmental Change And Adaptation In Kentucky Emerging Research Institution Sponsored Programs Offices: A Multiple Case Study, Scott Niles

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The decline in funding allocations to state-supported institutions of higher education (IHEs) in Kentucky has compelled these universities to secure alternate forms of funding to support their capacity to meet public expectations. These other funding streams include increasing enrollment numbers, securing philanthropic support, and acquiring sponsored funding for research projects and programs. While smaller statesupported IHEs face resource and credibility challenges in their pursuit to expand external funding activity, these Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) continue to strategically bolster their respective research enterprises amid shrinking budgets and increased competition for external funds. Research administration offices are the institutional units responsible for …

Change Is Conflict: Exploring Relationships Between Preferred Cognitive Styles And Conflict Management Styles Of University Administrators At A Large Flagship University, Sandra L. Gillilan

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

As pressures continue for colleges and universities to find new ways of doing business, the calls for change heighten and the potential for conflict ensues. The purpose of the research study was to explore change as conflict via an exploration of organizational change related to preferred cognitive style, as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation (KAI) instrument, and conflict management style, as measured by the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (ROCI-II) instrument. The two instruments were administered to 72 university administrators at a large flagship university. The results indicate that the preferred cognitive style of university administrators is not significantly different from …

A Debriefing Technique In High-Fidelity Patient Simulation And Competent Decision-Making Abilities Among Nursing Students, Trena Seago

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

Nursing faculty are utilizing high-fidelity patient simulation (HPS) with debriefing to help engage nursing students in making competent clinical decisions. This quasi-experimental study examined the use of HPS with debriefing and students’ ability to make nursing care decisions using standardized exams. The experimental group received debriefing after HPS and the control group did not receive debriefing after HPS. The pre- and post-test assessed participants’ ability to make clinical care decisions. The analysis of the pre-test and post-test HESI scores showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups.

Higher Education System Governance: An Exploratory Study Of Presidential Decision Making In The Kentucky Community And Technical College System, Sarah Jill Page

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

There are more than 40 higher education systems across the United States enrolling more than 5.6 million students. Literature on higher education systems is well-documented; however, variations in system structures and governance are apparent. The limited research on governance in community college systems merits examination. This study explored presidential decision making in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System using quantitative and qualitative procedures. As a two-phase, sequential exploratory study using surveys, interviews, and documents, this study considers decision making from an organizational and environmental perspective to understand how presidents share academic, administrative, and personnel decision making. This study extends …

How University Department Heads Have Encountered And Overcome Adaptive Challenges In Student Persistence: An Application Of Critical Incident Technique, Kevin L. Flora

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In the United States, the average attrition rate from freshmen to sophomore year for a 4-year university is 21.7%. After freshmen year, the dropout rate raises to 41% before graduation (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2014). As an administrative appointment, the department head is in a unique position to work with the university and college-level executives to lead faculty in better student persistence efforts. However scholarly inquiry on the relation of student persistence and department heads is lacking. Gmelch (2004) says “academic leaders may be the least studied and most misunderstood management position in the world” (p. 74).

The purpose …

Improvement Of Under-Represented Minority Individuals In The Healthcare Field Of Communication Sciences And Disorders, Allison Webb

Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection

Individuals from under-represented minority backgrounds are scarce within healthcare careers. Former research has suggested that this lack of diversity begins at the undergraduate level. This proposal discusses a potential solution to this problem occurring at the University of Kentucky and other colleges across the United States. Suggested intervention targeted diverse populations, connected students with faculty and staff, and provided shadowing resources for individuals from under-represented minority backgrounds. Based on research and current diversity statistics, populations of individuals from diverse backgrounds are expected to increase within the Communication Sciences and Disorders program. Demographic information for the fall 2016 semester will become …