Education Commons^™

Online Program Management Providers And Higher Education: A Revelatory Case Study On Value Co-Creation, Britta Svoboda

Doctoral Dissertations

With an increase in distance learning and online degree programs, many higher education institutions have partnered with online program management (OPM) providers, leading to a dramatic growth of the OPM industry over the past decade. The purpose of this study was to develop an empirically based understanding of the value proposition of entities of higher education partnering with OPMs through an in-depth, revelatory case study of value co-creation as experienced in the partnership between a doctoral research institution, specifically an academic department, and its OPM provider. The following research question guided this study: How does an OPM co-create value with …

Learning To Teach Online: An Investigation Of The Impacts Of Faculty Development Training On Teaching Effectiveness And Attitudes Toward Online Instruction, Karen Elizabeth Brinkley

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between one approach to training for online faculty and the ways in which the program influenced the participants’ teaching effectiveness and attitudes toward online instruction. Two research questions guided this study: (1) how did participating in an intensive course redesign intervention influence instructors’ teaching effectiveness in the online environment? and (2) how did participating in the training influence instructors’ beliefs or attitudes about online teaching? The theoretical framework guiding this study was the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model, developed by Mishra and Koehler (2005). Using a concurrent, mixed-methods design, …

More Myself: Exploring Students' Perceptions Of Self-Authorship Development, Benjamin B. Stubbs

Doctoral Dissertations

Increasingly, the challenges of modern adult life include the responsibility for ambiguous tasks, the need to work as a team with diverse others and the expectation to make important decisions in the face of competing interests. Research suggests that individuals able to meet these challenges demonstrate self-authorship, a way of knowing that allows them to exert control over their lives. Existing research provides insight into college students’ self-authorship and the influence of situational, environmental and personal factors on self-authorship development. However, the literature has yet to explore students’ own understanding of their self-authorship development. The purpose of this study was …

Perceptions Of Political, Academic, And Corporate Leaders: Higher Education Accountability In Georgia, Leslie Gene Fout

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Georgia political, academic, and corporate leaders’ perceptions of higher education accountability. A case study design was used to gain in-depth information. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants.

The findings of the study included the following:

1. Nearly every participant believed the mission and purpose higher education involved providing students with the skills and abilities needed to obtain gainful employment, and thereby make a positive impact on the economic development of the state of Georgia.
2. Approximately half of the participants believed higher education should cultivate an engaged citizenry.
3. No consensus was …

Everyone’S Doing It. Or Are They? Understanding Student Affairs Assessment Practices At Small Private Colleges, Jonita Denise Ashley-Pauley

Doctoral Dissertations

Reports from national organizations and student affairs organizations have strongly suggested student affairs professionals engage in ongoing, comprehensive assessment of how their programs affect student learning (ACPA, 1996; ACPA & NASPA, 1997; Keeling, 2004). In terms of assessment and how it should be conducted, scholars have provided clear guidelines for the conduct of such assessment. However, to date, only one study has looked at assessment practices in student affairs programs; and that study was of three large public institutions whose student affairs programs were determined to have exemplary practices (Green, Jones, & Aloi, 2008). To date, no studies have focused …

The Effect Of Self-Recording And Contingent Credit On The Quantity And Relevance Of College Student Participation In Class Discussion, Katherine Rae Krohn

Doctoral Dissertations

In sizeable discussion-based college classrooms, achieving any approximation of balanced student participation is difficult. More common is a pattern that develops wherein a small percentage of the class dominates discussion and a larger percentage rarely or never participates. Thus, the purpose of this study was to find ways to balance the amount of discussion across students without diminishing the relevance of discussion. Consequently, this study evaluated the efficacy of crediting participation and requiring students to self-record their daily participation. Students (N = 160) in three sections of an undergraduate educational psychology course self-recorded their comments on specially designed record cards …