Education Commons^™

Self-Perception Of Gender Influence On Leadership In Two-Year, Public Institutions Of Higher Education, Kimberley Turner-Rush

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This quantitative cross-sectional study examines the way in which leaders of two-year, public institutions perceive their gender identification influences the way they are able to demonstrate leadership traits. The study is founded in social identity theory, first introduced in 1979 by Tajfel, which helps to evaluate whether members of a group (leaders) assimilate to specific traits in order to be accepted and valued by their peers. The findings show that overall leaders identifying as women and those identifying as men perceived no difference in how their gender identification impacts their ability to display specific leadership traits to supervisors, peers, or …

The Impact Of Academic Libraries On Lgbtq+ Undergraduates, Rachel S. Wexelbaum

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

LGBTQ+ undergraduates may use, perceive, and value their academic libraries differently than previous generations, particularly if their campus has an LGBT resource center. This qualitative study employed Vaccaro, Russell and Koob's Minoritized Identities of Sexuality and Gender (MIoSG) Students and Contexts Model as a theoretical framework to determine how and where LGBTQ+ undergraduates find safe space on campus. Through semi-structured interviews with white and BIPOC LGBTQ+ undergraduates, the researcher constructed ecological maps that illustrated how students see themselves within the campus context and the internal and external factors that shape their use, perception, and value of the library, the LGBT …

Are We There Yet? Where Developmental Education Has Been And Where It Is Going: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of California’S Ab 705, Denise Kruizenga-Muro

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This critical discourse analysis was conducted to understand how the public entities in California higher education have redefined Assembly Bill (AB) 705, and, in the process, redefined California community college students and the community college mission statement. Current literature on AB 705 has been limited to success stories and data analyses and has been mostly funded by organizations with a stake in the successful implementation of the law. There are currently no studies of the language of the law and the documents that were written to translate the law into layperson’s language. This study used the methodology and methods of …

Navigating Challenges: Experiences Of African American Women As Presidents In U.S. Institutions Of Higher Education, Sylvester Lamin

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This research study explored the experiences of African American women as they navigated challenges along their pathways to the position of president of colleges and universities. While there has been an increase in the percentage of women of color serving as presidents, the number of African American women holding these positions still needs to be higher. Therefore, this study focused on African American women as presidents in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). I conducted a narrative inquiry designed to encourage participants to share their stories. I explored two research questions: 1) How have African American women navigated the administrative labyrinth to …

Exploring Student Decisions At Various Stages Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Giovanna Walters

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The purpose of this study was to explore how students who began college in the fall semesters of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 explain and reflect on their decisions about college. These decisions included students’ choice of school, living situations, courses, co-curricular involvement, and working part- or full-time during college. Exploring students’ decisions about college before and during different phases of the Covid-19 pandemic deepens higher education professionals’ understanding of how students make decisions during this important time of transition. This deeper understanding allows college administrators, faculty, and staff to better understand if and how the pandemic impacted students’ decisions …

Relieving Students' Institutional Debt And Student Success: A Correlational Study, Robert Perez

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Higher education costs have risen dramatically over the last forty years, leaving many students unable to pay the total cost, even after aid is applied. This results in outstanding debt to the institution they attend. This outstanding institutional debt leads to registration, and transcript holds, resulting in students' inability to continue pursuing their educational goals. Research has shown that students with outstanding institutional debt are twenty-five times less likely to persist. This study aimed to determine if there was a correlational relationship between institutional debt relief and success, with success defined as graduating, re-enrolling, or transferring during the three terms …

Exploring The Advising Experiences Of First Year, First-Generation Community College Students: A Case Study, Kristen Stradt-Johnson

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The current study was conducted to better understand how first-time, full-time, first-generation community college students understand their experiences with academic advising in their first year of college. This study utilized a qualitative research design with a case study methodology to focus on how first-generation students experience academic advising and how their experiences reflect the expectations of their institution. The theoretical framework used for this study was Schlossberg’s Transition Theory. Participants in this study are first-generation community college students and community college academic advisors, and seven first-generation students and two academic advisors participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data collected also includes …

The Influence Of Campus Facilities On The Satisfaction And Retention Of Students In A Higher Education Setting, Tim Norton

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The goal of this quantitative study was to provide insight into the influence of facilities on satisfaction and retention of students in a single higher education setting, St. Cloud State University (SCSU). I used a survey research design with current undergraduate and graduate students to examine relationships among various aspects of facility design, student satisfaction, and student intention to persist to graduation. The survey was used to explore (a) the influence of specific campus facilities on students’ current level of satisfaction and intention to continue enrollment; (b) specific types of facilities most affecting student choice and satisfaction; and (c) how …

Confidence In Counseling Skills In Communication Sciences And Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Study On Theory To Practice, Sarah Schaefer

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The current study was conducted to better understand how specific counseling training and engagement in collaborative learning and Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) reflective practice aided in closing the gap from theory to practice to better support communication sciences and disorders graduate student clinicians’ confidence in implementing counseling skills within practicum experiences. This study utilized fixed mixed-methods within a convergent-parallel, exploratory, study situated in the pragmatic paradigm (Cresswell & Clark, 2018; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). The graduate student participants had an opportunity to use their newly acquired counseling skills from coursework and training in practicum experiences in a larger …

Influence Of Deployment On The Returning Student Veteran To A Four Year Institution, Gary Nierengarten

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The impact of deployment on the returning student veteran to a four-year institution is unknown to the majority of the general population. With less than 5% of the population having served in the military and even fewer of those deployed overseas for greater than one year, it can be expected that there is little research on this topic at this institution of higher education. The purpose of the narrative inquiry qualitative research study is to fill the knowledge void and add to the current literature. The research participants are current or former students (graduates) within the last ten years, whose …

A Quantitative Analysis Of Emergency Grant Persistence Rates, Rachel Sherlock

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

I conducted a correlational quantitative study to determine whether an emergency grant program at a four-year public institution is correlated with increased student persistence, and if students’ socioeconomic status and race are correlated with their likelihood to persist after receiving an emergency grant. I studied how students’ demographics influenced persistence rates based on race, socioeconomic status, gender, first-generation status, age and grade level. I found that Black or African students, students 24 years and older, and first-year students had significantly lower persistence rates than other categories of students after receiving the emergency grant. In comparison, white students, students 23 years …

Leading From The Middle – How Gen X Leaders Are Navigating Their Leadership Experience With Baby Boomers And Millennials, Paul Drange

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Leadership in higher education is often evaluated and scrutinized. As with many other professional settings, good leadership often defines the success of the organization. This is also true in higher education. In order to help define what success looks like in the area of leadership, one evaluation point is to examine the age and generational position of the leaders within an institution. Looking at these relationships and connections can open a pathway of understanding in relation to quality of leadership and strength of relationships between leader and worker. Other studies and evaluations exist on the Greatest generation, the Baby Boomer …

Narrative Study: The Impact Of Food Insecurity On Student Health And Persistence, Deborah Allen

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The current study collected and evaluated students’ firsthand stories to learn whether their stress from nutritional intake or lack thereof impacts students’ health, well-being, coursework, sense of belonging and mattering, and persistence. Additionally, this narrative study investigated students’ experiences with a college pantry on their campus. The students were invited to share personal narratives about their engagement with the campus food pantry and their feelings about any perceived effects of this institutional support in such areas as health, self-esteem, community support, academics, motivation, and future plans.

The research question presented in this study utilizing a qualitative narrative-inquiry approach was the …

Engagement Theory Based Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Of Computer Science Students’ Perceptions Of Their Learning Engagement Using Mobile Devices, Aleksandar Tomović

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The use of mobile devices in the college classroom can enhance learning engagement, leading to enhanced learning outcomes. There is scant research on college student perceptions of learning engagement using mobile devices in the classroom. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explores upper-class undergraduate computer science college students’ perceptions about their use of mobile devices in the classroom. Research questions were designed to explore how college students believe their classroom engagement is impacted by mobile device technology use. The theory of engagement, including intellectual, social, and behavioral components, served as the theoretical framework. This research applies interpretative phenomenological …

Exploring Chinese International Undergraduate Students’ Cross-Cultural Adjustment To American Universities, Ningsheng Huang

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The rapid economic development in China has enabled an increasing number of Chinese students to pursue higher education in countries abroad. Since 2009, the largest group of international students in the United States has been Chinese students (Open Doors, 2020). Chinese international undergraduate students face various challenges during their cross-cultural adjustment in American universities, such as a language barrier, a lack of learning skill, an unfamiliarity with American educational systems and school facilities, a lack of ability to interact with native instructors and students, and psychological adaptation (Sun & Chen, 1999). These changes can create multiple acculturation stressors for Chinese …

Perspectives From Female Athletic Trainers In Men's Professional Sports: How Their Athletic Training Programs Set Them Up For Success, Caitlyn Champ

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Female athletic trainers working in male professional sports are represented at a number strongly disproportionate to the number of female athletic trainers making up the profession. This research study works to focus on how athletic training education programs (ATP) have successfully set up the female athletic trainers who have made it to professional sports. The goal was to focus on what these education programs were doing to set their students apart from other athletic training programs. Three female athletic trainers currently working in male professional sports were interviewed for this qualitative research study by utilizing semi-structured interviewing. The data was …

Bordado A Mano: Testimonio De La Vida De Un Maestro (Stitched By Hand: Testimonio Of An Educator), Stephanie Bohlman

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

In the United States there is a shortage of teachers of color. The shortage is exasperated through a lack of funding in education, racism in K-12 classrooms, and through non-inclusive traditional teacher preparation programs. One of the methods thought to increase recruitment, improve teacher training, and increase retention of teachers of color is through the creation of Grow You Own teacher preparation programs. Grow Your Own programs were created as alternative to traditional teacher preparation programs as they are in community colleges, placed in rural communities, and have a focus on culturally responsive pedagogy. There is a lack of research …

Maybe, Maybe Not: Examining Factors That Influence Adjunct Faculty Members’ Instructional Technology Usage, Mia Naseth-Phillips

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This quantitative predictive study examines the influence of attitude, subjective norm (peer pressure) and perceived behavioral control on whether adjunct faculty will or will not utilize instructional technology in their classroom. Based on the Decomposed theory of planned behavior (Taylor & Todd, 1995) a survey of 286 adjunct faculty was conducted in a mid-western state-wide university and college system. The study also explored the working conditions of adjunct faculty which hinder their teaching withing the classroom. The finding shows the while attitude and subjective norm are statistically significant predictors of user’s intention, perceived behavioral control is the strongest predictor of …

Faculty Advisors' Development Of Academic Advising Knowledge And Competencies, Elizabeth M. Twiton

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Academic advising is widely touted as essential to retention and student success. Faculty members have advising responsibilities at a majority of colleges and universities. Faculty members typically receive little or no preparation for advising through their graduate education, and advising training for newly hired faculty members is often limited. This interpretive qualitative study explored the experiences of faculty members in developing academic advising knowledge and competencies using the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Academic Advising Core Competencies Model (NACADA, 2017a) as a conceptual framework. Using a semi-structured interview format, I interviewed eight faculty advisors at a mid-sized, public, four-year university. …

Driving Change In Workforce Speech-Language Pathology Clinical Supervisors: How Identity Impacts Response To Supervision Policy Changes, Joy Mckenzie

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Workforce Speech-Language Pathologist (WSLP) clinical supervisors are vital members in supporting Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduate students to meet their graduating requirements. CSD program members rely on WSLP’s time and expertise to prepare future speech-language pathologists so they are effective professionals. However, there are those in the ASHA organization that question the preparedness and effectiveness of WSLP clinical supervisors, resulting in ASHA and CFCC implementing new supervision policies originally effective January 1, 2020 (ASHA, 1978, 1985, 2008, 2016b, 2020a; Beckley, 2017;Fencel & Mead, 2017; CAPCSD, 2013; Pocaccini et al., 2017; Wright & Needham, 2016). This qualitative study explored the …

Swirling To Graduation: Student Reflections On Their Educational Journey, Steven A. Hirsch

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Many students who wish to receive a post-secondary undergraduate degree do not take a linear path. Instead, they opt for a multiple educational institution pathway (swirling) to accomplish an undergraduate degree. Unfortunately, swirling has its complexities and challenges, and many students will drop out of college and not return to obtain a degree. While there is research on this growing population, there is little specifically from the viewpoint of the student, thus lacking the complete story from the swirling students themselves. This study adds to the literature on swirling students and to understanding the cognitive, social, and institutional challenges and …

Student Experiences Of Tutoring In An Associate Degree Nursing Education Program, Onalee Finseth

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Retention in higher education is a topic of concern, especially in high demand programs. The nursing profession is currently experiencing a shortage and nursing schools are seemingly not able to successfully graduate enough candidates to overcome the shortage. Developing targeted retention solutions for nursing education programs that work not only impacts the higher education community but the nation as a whole. Peer and professional tutoring services specific to nursing education as a retention solution may provide the academic and integrative impact that assists students in performance and improves retention. Understanding the experience of the student tutee is important in developing …

Factors Contributing To Student Loan Debt, Cynthia Fitzthum

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The costs of higher education continue to rise each year and students are faced with increasing levels of tuition and fees to obtain their degrees. With research showing the benefits of post-secondary degrees, it is important for institutions to educate students on financial literacy and loan choices to ensure they are informed consumers. Using qualitative research, this study focuses on St. Cloud State University students to understand how a regional comprehensive institution can proactively work to help students through the student loan process by examining factors that contribute to student loan debt.

The Metaphors Of Identity Among Adjunct Faculty, Melissa Ryan

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Adjunct faculty are an integral part of the higher education structure, allowing community college leadership to meet the instructional and financial needs on their campuses. Community colleges rely heavily on adjunct faculty to meet the changing needs of student enrollment at a low cost, with no long-term commitment to future employment. Research paying attention to the increased utilization of adjunct faculty in the community college setting has focused on topics including job satisfaction, student outcomes, and studies comparing part-time faculty and full-time faculty in advancement opportunities. This study was conducted to provide an opportunity for adjunct faculty members in the …

Interim Administration In Higher Education, Charles Hentges

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Higher education, like any other field, goes through constant change. It is not uncommon to see constant changes in administration in institutions of higher education. In many of these cases, an interim administration is hired to provide transition, stability, and time to find the best candidate to serve in a permanent capacity. Research has indicated that leadership turnover in higher education is continual and is most often seen at the dean level. During these times, well-prepared leaders assist in the smooth transition for the organization and help the interim candidate become a stronger leader.

In the Minnesota State system, there …

Tanzania Leaders’ Perceptions Of Practices That Resulted In Successes And Failures Of Educational Development Programs In Coastal Tanzania, Nancy Shedrack

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The leadership of development programs in developing countries is characterized by complex leadership processes failing to produce the intended results of improving education, economic development or poverty reduction in many developing countries. The research revealed that the programs had not been able to resolve such complex matters as the achievement gap and improvement of the quality of education in Tanzania. A lack of visionary leaders and leadership failures meant that these development programs did not produce their intended results.

The purpose of the study was to examine the past educational development program efforts in order to assess issues that contributed …

The Effects Of The College Experience On Student-Athlete Sleep And Performance, Eric Weigel

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Sleep is a vital aspect of any student-athletes daily routine to ensure optimal performance. This correlational study used both exploratory analysis through frequency tables and linear regression models to investigate football student-athletes’ sleep and performance over the course of a collegiate off-season. This study’s design set out to determine how the percent of nights student-athletes slept seven or more hours affected their ability to perform both academically and athletically. The study was also designed to identify any college experiences that may be causing student-athletes to not achieve a quality night’s sleep. The results show that studentathletes who achieve seven or …

Nursing Program Acceptance Criteria, Connie Frisch

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

This study examined the relationship of admission criteria and mobility nursing student success as measured by retention and NCLEX-RN passing on first attempt at five colleges in a Midwest state community college system. Admission criteria, demographic and retention survey data was collected and analyzed related to student program retention and NCLEX-RN passing results. The education level of mother was positively correlated to student retention. The results suggest there is a positive relationship between PN GPA and prerequisite GPA and nursing student retention. A positive correlation was found between four student retention items and perceived faculty support, one student retention item …

Female Ncaa Division I Women's Ice Hockey Head Coaches: Keeping Women In The Game, Amber Fryklund

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

In 1972, the federal law Title IX altered the path toward equity and equal opportunity for girls and women in education and sport. Despite this legislation, the journey towards equality continues forty-seven years later. While support, opportunity, and growth for women in sport has increased, the decline and underrepresentation of female head coaches in collegiate athletics has decreased. Similar to the overall decline of collegiate female head coaches, women’s collegiate ice hockey at the NCAA Division I level has also experienced a decline and underrepresentation of female head coaches. While there is research on the decline of women coaches, there …

From Community College Faculty To Dean: Using Schlossberg’S Transition Theory To Understand The Transition Experience., Derrick D. Lindstrom

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

Succession planning and the pending vacancies in leadership are both important topics in higher education in general and community colleges specifically. Faculty have historically played an important role in filling the leadership pipeline in community colleges, with the first step in this transition being from faculty to academic deans. However, there is little research focused on the role of the academic dean, let alone that transition from faculty to administration, in the community college setting. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the perceptions of faculty who have transitioned into academic dean roles on two-year college campuses. Through …