Education Commons^™

A Study On The Federal Reserve’S Influence On The Stock Market, Patrick Mcfarland

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

With the growing age of the tech economy, post housing crash financial market, and unprecedented challenges like a global pandemic with a death toll in the millions, major financial institutions in the United States have been forced to reconsider many aspects of the old ways of doing things. The most influential institution in the U.S., the Federal Reserve (the Fed), has become more involved with the financial markets over the past several decades. Using a sample of 134 publicly-traded companies, I analyzed variables to assess the effects of the Fed’s new influence on market expectations from the past ten years. …

School Optimism: Fast Life And Slow Debt In The Financialized University, Mark Alan Porter Webb

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over the past two decades, educational debt has quickly transformed US colleges and universities into spaces of cruel optimism: the higher education that students desire is all too often an obstacle to their flourishing. This study maps the contours of the white, middle-class attachment to the college dream, paying particular attention to the moments when the optimism surrounding higher education turns cruel. As this optimism wanes in the face of mounting educational debt, students deploy a myriad of fast life strategies—a flurry of actions that include work, activism, protest, leaving school and/or satirical critique—with the hope of mitigating the impact …

Addressing The Lack Of Awareness Regarding The Various Resources To Finance A College Education, Corin Rau

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

While there are many different resources to assist students with paying for college, some may not understand the different types that are available for them to utilize, be unaware of the requirements that are necessary to be eligible for certain types of funding, or may accept loans that they do not actually know much about. This possible lack of knowledge may lead to financial stress during and after college. The goal of this project was to have the participants meet three learning outcomes: 1) indicate the types of funding they will use to pay for college in the future,, 2) …

Graduate Student Financial Support : An Empirical Profile, Thomas Enderlein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study investigated how U.S. graduate students financed their Master’s and doctoral programs in 2011-2012. In particular, it focused on students who were eligible to receive Federal financial aid and loans during that year, using a sample of graduate students included in the restricted-use version of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. This study rests its analyses and situates extant literature largely against Human Capital Theory, with return on investment as an underlying rationale for the allocation and use of different forms of Non-family, Non-repayable support for graduate studies. The goal of the study was to sort out the extent …

State Funding Decision-Making For Higher Education Institutions During Capital Campaigns, Everrett Alexander Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public higher education has experienced a decline in state funding in real dollars. This has created financial challenges for many students and their families, as well as institutions.

Tax revenue has decreased as a result of the economic recession, causing state leaders to reprioritize their fiscal responsibilities. Higher education has been viewed as a discretionary expense in competition with other state programs, so funding can, and often, does vary. Colleges and universities use alternative financial resources, most notably private fundraising, to meet their goals. The study was conducted to identify college leaders' perceptions of state funding during their institution's mega-capital …

Profiles And Giving Patterns Of Donors To An Urban Southeastern Community College, John Allen Gyllin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on fundraising in higher education, and specifically community college fundraising. Having transitioned from a traditional four year university setting to a community college, the author found this research helpful, not only for this institution, but for knowledge of community college donors and why they give. By working with data from this institution over the last ten years, and the research on the topic of fundraising for community colleges, donor trends were developed and needed improvements identified to raise significantly more dollars for the college. It is the outcome of this research that will hopefully assist this institution …