Education Commons^™

The Co-Curriculum Of College Student Employment: Perspectives From Supervising Practitioners, Brittany Begley Wildman

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

College student employees are not only serving the overall mission of their institutions, but also developing career readiness skills through daily interactions while at work. In this study, I explore the perceptions of the supervisors of student employees as both managers and student affairs professionals. Through one-on-one interviews with supervisors, discussing their interactions with students, I explore the implicit and explicit curricula they provide to their students using a curriculum analysis framework. I then compare the resulting learning outcomes against those identified in industry standards. The supervisors described supporting student employees' personal development during the student employment experience as well …

Housewives To Heroines: Continuing Education For Women At The University Of Kentucky, 1964-1988, Allison L. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Beginning in the early 1960s, the movement for the continuing education for women (CEW) brought together a seemingly unlikely alliance of American activists, educators, philanthropists, and government agencies. Fueled by philanthropic funds, accelerated by the quest for “womanpower” to bolster national defense, and aligned with regional workforce needs as well as the personal goals of individual women, CEW programs pioneered new models of academic advising and student support that continue to influence higher education practitioners today. By studying the experiences of both administrators and students involved with CEW at the University of Kentucky, this study sheds light on how one …

Muslim College Students And Civic Engagement, Aus Abdulwahhab

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study explores the nature of civic engagement of Muslim college students in the United States. The Community of Practice Theory is used as a conceptual structure to explore the relation between meaning, practice, identity and organization for Muslim students active in civic engagement through campus-based Muslim Student organizations. Pluralism, as shared values that combine different people and advocates wider civic participation, was adopted as part of the conceptual framework to see how the Muslim students think, serve, learn, and develop throughout the process of engagement on campus and in the local community. Particular attention is paid to the impacts …

Exploring Influences And Using Intentionality To Develop Work-Based Learning Opportunities: A Faculty Perspective, Lauren Mccrary

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Understanding the practical implications related to experiential learning is complex. It is important to first view experiential learning as an umbrella term under which work-based learning (WBL) is housed. To further particularize, there are different avenues for students to pursue work-based learning opportunities (WBLOs), with internships and cooperative education being two. Although these are not new learning environments, understanding and clearly defining them (to both internal and external bodies) is increasingly necessary. In Kentucky, WBLOs are part of the political discourse on postsecondary education. The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and local economic development agencies have incorporated strengthening and growing …

It’S Not The Programs; It’S The People: Building Human Levers Of Retention In Community Colleges, Kyle Barron

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Student attrition prior to the completion of a credential is an issue that has increasingly demanded the attention of stakeholders in higher education, particularly in the community college sector, in which less than half of all students complete a credential after six years. The costs of student attrition are high and widespread, ranging from the financial costs for institutions and federal and state governments to the personal and monetary costs paid by those students whose personal and professional goals are not achieved. With the ever-increasing focus on accountability for institutions of higher education and the growing movement toward performance-based funding, …

Permission To Engage: Examining The Educational Experiences Of Active Duty Army Enlisted Soldiers Enrolled At Hopkinsville Community College, Tracey Y. Folden

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The military has long-standing partnerships with institutions of higher education (Leporte, 2013; Parks, 2015 & Massie, 2016). These partnerships have been significant over time because the United States Army has incentivized civilian education via the Army enlisted ranks and promotional structure (Wilson, Smith, Lee & Stevenson, 2013). Researchers are beginning to recognize service members as adult students who need specific supports in an educational setting (Wilson et al., 2013; Leporte, 2013; Parks, 2015; Massie, 2016). Enlisted soldiers arrive on college campuses with identities ascribed and molded by the military. Thus, their primary identity is soldier not student (Nagel & Kleykamp, …

The Examination Of Hazing Case Law As Applied Between 1980-2013, Christopher Keith Ellis

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study contributes to the knowledge and understanding of the application of hazing law and response of courts to case law where hazing has been alleged between the years of 1980-2013. This study expands upon the 2009 research conducted by Carroll, Connaughton, Spengler and Zhang, which used a content analysis methodology to look at anti-hazing case law as applied in cases where educational institutions were named as defendants, and the 2002 unpublished dissertation of Guynn which explored anti-hazing case law and its application in cases involving high school students. This study examines all court cases between 1980-2013 where a judicial …

Campus As Home: An Examination Of The Impact Of Student Housing At The University Of Kentucky In The Progressive Era, James W. Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This dissertation explores how student housing impacted the college campus of the University of Kentucky in the Progressive Era. Student housing has long been part of the college ideal but lacked full engagement by many administrators. Through three examinations, housing will be shown to have directly influenced the administrative, social, and staffing elements of the college campus. The role student housing played in the interaction of political, rural, and sociological changes on the campus during the time period allows exploration in detail while addressing the changes within those areas of the state as well. While housing was an afterthought by …

Generational Differences In Transfer Student Capital Among Community College Students, Michael J. Rosenberg

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

“Transfer student capital” refers to the learned ability of a student to successfully navigate the process of transferring from a community college to a four-year school. Transfer student capital is accumulated by gathering information about potential destination schools and programs, gaining an understanding of requisite academic skills, campus engagement, and weighing personal concerns surrounding eventual transfer. The more transfer student capital an individual accumulates, the more likely they are to be academically successful and persist to graduation.

This quantitative study examines whether a student’s age cohort may affect the transfer process from community college to a four-year school. The study …

Gender Discrimination And Title Ix Implementation: Lessons From The Office For Civil Rights Resolution Letters 1997-2011, Laura S. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Gender discrimination, such as sexual harassment, sexual assault and inequitable treatment has long been considered a prominent issue on higher education campuses and is regulated under the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, commonly known as Title IX. Title IX is enforced by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) who responds to gender discrimination complaints on campus through investigations resulting in what are called OCR Resolution Letters. These letters define numerous policies and procedures Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) must put in place pertaining to the prevention of gender discrimination. This qualitative study looks specifically …

Rise Of The Administrator In Higher Education: Focus On Professionalization Of The Registrar At The University Of Kentucky From 1910 To 1937, Nancy D. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The decades following the Civil War saw a tremendous growth in the number of colleges and universities, both public and private, due in large part to funds provided by federal legislation under the Morrill Act of 1862 and a surge in philanthropy on the part of wealthy industrialists. In the early colleges and universities, administrations were typically run by the president alone. With increased enrollment and the demand for expanded services, one man could no longer handle all the administrative functions, and thus was born the administrative professional in higher education. Due to the increased demand for record-keeping, one of …

Sex And Gender Identity: A New Perspective For College Student Development, Steven Ray Wise

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

One of the goals of college student development professionals is to help undergraduate students develop a meaningful sense of personal identity. Early in the history of the profession, practitioners borrowed freely from related fields such as sociology and psychology to guide their practice, but beginning around the 1960s, scholars began in earnest to develop their own unique body of literature. In this work I examine the development of that scholarly work as it relates to identity development—specifically the evolution of understanding around the issues of sex and gender identity development.

Beginning with William Perry, whose work has impacted so many …

A Positive Approach Toward Unit Functioning In Higher Education, Susan T. Berry

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This companion dissertation reports the findings of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. In addition, prior ample evidence confirms that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit.

Emerging positive organizational theory and research show promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. …

Choosing Home: International Pushes And Pulls For Malaysian Alumni Of U.S. Graduate Programs, Pauline Chhooi

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Malaysians’ journeys to pursue graduate education in the U.S. generate more than just degree attainment. This dissertation looks at how experiences in the U.S., both in graduate school and in the workplace, influenced highly educated Malaysians, especially in their exploration of push and pull factors that influence their decisions to remain in the U.S. or to return to Malaysia. This study focuses on twenty-two participants comprised of those who have returned to Malaysia, those who are working in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas, those who became Permanent Residents and those who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

The first major finding demonstrates …

Examining An Adult Education Partnership Through A Positive Organizational Lens, Lewis H. Burke Jr

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This companion dissertation reports the findings of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. In addition, prior ample evidence confirms that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit.

Emerging positive organizational theory and research show promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. …

Strategies Under Stress: How Senior Student Affairs Officers Are Managing In The Midst Of Institutional Retrenchment, Christopher Thuringer

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Higher education had been one of the highest funding priorities in most states, however, in recent years, governors and state legislators have focused their efforts in higher education on cutting budgets to deal with historic gaps in revenue. As a result, university administrators have been challenged to modify their institutions’ academic programs, administrative units, and student affairs operations to contain costs and increase revenue. This study examined the extent of financial challenges faced in student affairs divisions at four-year, state-supported institutions during the period between 2008 and 2012 and the strategies utilized by senior student affairs officers to manage them. …

Positive Workplace Dynamics: A Qualitative Exploration Of Exceptional Performance In Community College Units, R. Michael Stapleton

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

In this companion dissertation findings are reported of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. Ample prior evidence confirmed that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit.

Emerging positive organizational theory and research shows promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. Therefore, …

An Exploration Of The Use Of Data, Analysis And Research Among College Admission Professionals In The Context Of Data-Driven Decision Making, Kimberly Ann Chaffer Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Increasing demands for accountability from both the public and the government have resulted in increasing pressure for higher education professionals to use data to support their choices. There is significant speculation that professionals at all levels of education lack the knowledge to implement data-driven decision making. However, empirical studies regarding whether or not professionals at four-year postsecondary institutions are utilizing data to guide programmatic and policy decisions are lacking. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the knowledge and habits of undergraduate admission professionals at four-year colleges and universities regarding their use of data in decision making. A …