Education Commons^™

Mapping The Tutoring Referral Network: Exploring The Student-To-Tutoring Connection, G. Mason Tudor

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study explores the institutional network which connected students to a tutoring program at a community college. The study identifies the most likely areas that would refer students to or inform students about the tutoring program. Additionally, the study seeks to understand how different students may have interacted with that network of departments in varied patterns of engagement. While exploring and describing this group of institutional units and their function of connecting students to tutoring, I utilized a multi-phase, mixed methods approach. This methodology began with qualitative information gathering with document analysis, followed by two focus group interviews. I constructed …

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 …

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, …

Organizing For Change: A Case Study Of Grassroots Leadership At A Kentucky Community College, Andrea Rae Borregard

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Community colleges constitute a special type of higher education organization: their complex mission, dynamics, personnel structures, and values require a distinct set of understandings and skills to lead and manage them well. Most of the research on leadership in community colleges focuses on leaders in positions of power (presidents, provosts, etc.) and not on grassroots or bottom-up leadership. Bottom-up leaders are individuals who perpetuate change without having the backing of a formal position of authority to do so. Recent leadership research validates the importance of having change agents at all levels of an organization in order to further the mission …

Exploring Sense Of Community In A First-Year Experience Course And How Sense Of Community Impacts Students’ Perceptions Of Transition And Persistence In College, Karen L. Mayo

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This study examines how community was created in a community college FYE 105 Achieving Academic Success course and the impact of classroom community on students’ perceptions of transition and persistence. Community colleges increasingly are focusing on student success as measured by persistence and goal completion such as transfer or attainment of credentials. The classroom learning environment is critical to student success but is a neglected area in retention research. Therefore, it is important to expand the research on initiatives that support students in their quest for success and educational goal completion.

This research focused on one course section of FYE …

Exploring Faculty Adoption And Utilization Of Blackboard At A Community College In The Kentucky Community And Technical College System, Brent A. Eldridge

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

The study explored the faculty adoption and use of a Blackboard at a community college in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. A cross-sectional survey design was constructed through the lens of Rogers’s Perceived Attributes of Innovations and Chickering and Ehrman’s Implementing Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever to investigate perceptions and opinions on faculty members’ use of Blackboard in their courses. The survey was piloted, modified and deployed to a population of 932 central Kentucky community college faculty who were recruited to participate in the online survey. Descriptive demographic items (gender, age, highest degree attained, years of teaching …