Education Commons^™

Public College Lobbying And Institutional Appropriations: The Role Of Lobbying In State Higher Education Budgets, Andrew Brackett

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The higher education literature has developed a growing number of frameworks identifying the economic, demographic, and political influences on state support for public colleges and universities. Among the important political factors that affect state support, the role of lobbying has been highlighted by many authors as an important factor for future study, especially in light of the growing state lobbying forces present in legislatures across the country. Although some studies have incorporated aggregate measures of lobbying in comparative state support studies, the power of institutional lobbying as it relates to appropriations and other forms of support remains understudied in the …

Doctoral Scholarship Examined: A Study Of Strategy Research In Education Settings Conducted By Students Seeking Degrees From Doctoral Programs In Education In The United States, Joseph M. Hearl Jr

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe strategy-related dissertations in education doctoral programs in the United States. Using content analysis, dissertations published from 2005 to 2014 were classified into two time periods. Time-period 1 ranged from 2005 through 2009. During this period, the EdD degree was differentiated from the PhD degree in doctoral programs in the field of education. Time-period 2 included the years from 2010 through 2014 and was marked by the awarding in 2014 of a grant to the Carnegie Project for Education Doctorate (CPED) Initiative to document the success of a four-year effort …

The Identity And Mission Of An American Catholic University, In Light Of Pope John Paul Ii's Apostolic Constitution On Catholic Universities, Ex Corde Ecclesiae, Irenaeus Otsemuno Ikhane

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Catholic colleges and universities in the United States started experiencing major identity crisis in the late 1960s when people started asking serious questions about the meaning of the Catholic identity of Catholic institutions of higher education. At the time, there were no satisfactory answers to the questions asked. As a result of the crisis, many Catholic colleges and universities lost their Catholic identity. To address the problem and set forth directions for a lasting solution, Pope John Paul II issued the Apostolic Constitution, Ex Corde Ecclesiae. In the document, the Supreme Pontiff defined Catholic identity, enumerated the essential characteristics of …

Exploring The Critical Thinking Skills Of Respiratory Care Students And Faculty, Bshayer Ramadan Alhamad

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Introduction: Today, with the increased demands in health care, working as a competentrespiratory therapist requires being a highly skilled, critically thinking professional. Although students are expected to learn how to think critically mostly in the academic environment from their faculty, only a paucity of studies has assessed the critical thinking of respiratory care students, with none, to our knowledge, assessing that of faculty. Therefore, the purpose of this mixed method study was to (1) assess the overall critical thinking skill levels of both respiratory care students and faculty, (2) investigate whether respiratory care faculty have stronger overall critical thinking skills …

Student-College Match And Bachelor's Degree Completion, Ryan P. Hudes

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This dissertation investigates the prevalence of postsecondary student-college match and explores its relationship with bachelor’s degree completion. This study differentiates itself from existing undermatch studies by examining alternative student-college match scenarios – including undermatch, match, and overmatch and examining the phenomena’s relationship with a student outcome. Using nationally-representative data, this study found that 40.6% of students undermatched (or attended an institution with a selectivity rating below their academic potential), 35% overmatched (or attended an institution with a selectivity rating above their academic potential), and 24.4% matched (or attended an institution with a selectivity congruent with their academic potential). This study …

The Disability-Diversity Disconnect: Redefining The Role Of Student Disability Within The Postsecondary Environment, Katherine C. Aquino

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The current understanding of student disability continues to be misperceived as a form of impairment, rather than as a part of student diversity within the higher education environment. Although nearly one in ten college students have a documented disability affecting cognitive, physical, or psychological functioning, stigmatization of students with disabilities continues to occur in the postsecondary environment. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a perceived difference in academic and social inclusion within the postsecondary environment for students with and without disabilities. Guided by the theory of intersectionality, minority group model, and social model of disability, …

Evaluating The Impact Of State Funding Vehicles Of Appropriations And Financial Aid On Graduation Rates At Public Institutions: A Multilevel Analysis, Tara Abbott

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Guided by a theoretical framework derived from principal-agent models, persistence theories or college impact models, and microeconomic theory, the present study utilized multilevel modeling techniques to assess the correlation between state higher education funding vehicles of appropriations, need-based financial aid, and merit-based financial aid and graduation rates after controlling for known covariates at the institution and state levels. The present study also evaluated the correlation between funding vehicles and minority student graduation rates as well as determined if funding vehicles impact institutions with greater percentages of minority students differently than those with a less diverse student population. The present study …

Do Factors Associated With Increases In Higher Education Costs Affect Average Net Price At Four-Year Public And Private Not-For-Profit Institutions?, Marie Elaine Gioiosa

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

College costs have risen, and students and their families are questioning whether or not students can afford to attend. Factors such as instructional inefficiencies, administrative expenses, and federal financial aid have been associated with the rise in higher education costs at four-year public and four-year private not-for-profit institutions. In addition, reductions in state appropriations have been associated with an increase of tuition at four-year public institutions. But do these factors have a relationship with average net price? The findings of this study note that there is a relationship between average net price and these factors.

Estimating Matriculation With A Focus On Financial Aid And Test Optional Policies: Data From A Liberal Arts Institution In The Northeast, Hillary Morgan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The climate in college admissions is more competitive than ever, making understanding the college choice factors that contribute to a student’s enrollment decision increasingly important. Using admitted student data from a liberal arts institution in the northeast for fall 2008 to fall 2011, and after controlling for student preparedness, government financial aid awards, student and family characteristics, and student level of interest, I examine the relationship between (1) institutional financial aid variables, (2) a dummy variable of being test optional in the admissions process or not, and (3) the interaction between the two.

General findings of multivariate probit regression analysis …

Work And Life Integration: Faculty Balance In The Academy, Holly Ehrens

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Faculty work life integration has evolved as an important area of research in the academic workplace. The evolution in thinking about faculty work life integration has progressively shifted focus from the problems of women and parents to research that considers both men and women, married and single, with or without children as participants in the quest to integrate both personal and professional lives.

Though many studies still include the challenges faced by parents and this study is no exception, a more recent focus includes the influence of work group norms and social dynamics in shaping the experiences of faculty in …

Those Who Quit: A Study Of Student Retention At Two-Year Community And For-Profit Colleges, Robert L. Woods

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study intends to explore factors influencing first-year student persistence at two-year community, and for-profit institutions. Much of the existing retention literature on post-secondary education has mostly centered around traditional four-year institutions, thus this study remedies the limitations with prior literature and provides insight into how to help two-year college officials better understand their students, their mission, and persistence measures at their colleges. Tinto’s Longitudinal Model of academic and social integration was systematically combined with Bean and Metzner’s retention model on non-traditional students to guide this study. A two-stage procedure consisting of descriptive analysis, and regression analysis was performed on …

How Variances In Business School Rankings Affect Enrollment Trends And Practices, Guillermo A. De Veyga

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the effect that variances in the U.S News and World Report rankings have on enrollment trends and practices in both top and not top-25 business schools. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mobility in the rankings was met with a statistically significant response to the research questions presented. While this was not the first study to look at business school rankings and their effect on enrollment trends, it was the first one to look at recent data associated with this phenomena, as well as, the first study to utilize panel data in order to …

Understanding The Engagement Of Transfer Students In Four-Year Institutions: A National Study, Martina Ghusson

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study is to examine whether transfer status and type matter for student engagement and if so, what student characteristics affect this relationship. Data from senior students at four-year institutions across the United States who completed the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) in 2009 were used. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were employed to explore the relationship between transfer type, student characteristics and student engagement by benchmark. The findings of this study suggest that with the exception of academic challenge, native students show higher levels of student engagement on the active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, …

Differences In Remedial Pedagogy Approaches Between Teachers And Students, Jessica Accurso-Salguero

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study determined and assessed the perceptions of both students and teachers on the best approaches to remedial education. Although much of the research in the remedial education field has used quantitative approaches to determine the impact of taking remedial classes on academic outcomes, qualitative research has been less extensively used but offers a better understanding of why students do not remediate successfully. While remedial programs work well when students successfully complete remedial courses, students often fail to complete them. Therefore, it is important to understand why remedial programs sometimes succeed but so often fail. Based on the Grubb and …