Education Commons^™

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 …

An Autoethnograpy Of A Baby Boomer In Higher Education: Challenges And Catalysts For Change, Deborra Finlan

Theses & Dissertations

Higher education as a baby boomer brings mental, physical, and economic adjustments, concerns, and insecurities. Additionally, life delivers unexpected challenges and barriers which can cause hardships requiring various types of motivation. Fortunately, there are also catalysts which can contribute toward successes. Literature from four major elements were the focus in this study: motivation, adult learning, challenges, barriers, and catalysts. Theorists and theories included Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation with the added factor of cost, and Ryan and Deci’s theory on self-determination; Mezirow’s transformative learning and Knowles’s self-directed learning; Cross’s theory on educational barriers—situational, dispositional, and institutional; and Cobb’s social support …

Adopting A New Service Delivery Model To Respond To Student Holistic Needs Within An Ontario University Setting, Andre De Freitas

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Post-secondary institutions are constantly working to improve their students’ on-campus experience. In this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP), I address the registrar office’s service operations of an Ontario University’s opportunity to adopt a new service delivery model to improve the student experience. Many other Ontario universities, including John State University (JSU; a pseudonym), are facing an increasingly competitive landscape. Delivering a high-quality student experience through service is a strategy to distinguish the institution from its competitors as well as respond to performance metrics that the Ministry of Colleges and Universities reviews. The registrar’s office is implementing a new service delivery model, …

Closing The Gender Gap In Entrepreneurship Education, Carolyn J. Rodeffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Entrepreneurship education in higher education has been cited as a key strategy in filling the entrepreneurship talent pool, preparing students with the skills and confidence needed to start new ventures (Westhead & Solesvik, 2016). However, outcomes of entrepreneurship education for female students are less positive than for their male counterparts (Shinnar et al., 2012; Westhead & Solesvik, 2016; Wilson et al., 2007). Working within the frameworks of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory (1977), Azjen’s theory of planned behavior (1991), and Steele and Aronson’s stereotype threat theory (1995), this quantitative study utilized an experimental research design to assess the impact of role model …

Practicing Abolition: A Digital Roundtable On Abolitionist Pedagogy, Samantha Lilienfeld

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This capstone project explores education and pedagogy as sites for abolitionist practice, and approaches abolitionism as a method by building on the idea of abolition democracy. Using the framework of abolition as a pedagogical practice, I see teaching and learning as urgent tasks of contemporary abolitionism. My project integrates research and scholarship on the abolition of prisons and policing with practices of pedagogy, in part by thinking interdisciplinarily with students and scholars working within CUNY. Practicing Abolition: A Digital Roundtable on Abolitionist Pedagogy incorporates voices from students and scholars about how they practice abolitionist pedagogy in higher education by presenting …

Higher Calling: A Qualitative Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Black Women Presidents Of 4-Year Colleges And Universities, Rushondra Janeé James

Theses and Dissertations

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), women are out earning men in the numbers of associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees awarded. When separated by race, Black women are the largest proportionally, representing 64 percent of bachelor’s degrees among Black women and men. Moreover, Black women account for 15 percent of all master’s degrees and 10 percent of earned doctoral degrees among all women. Given the most recent NCES statistics, the student body of degree granting institutions includes a significant number of Black women students. Conversely, about 9 percent of all college presidents and 3 percent of full-time …

A Faculty-Based Approach To Engaging University Alumni, Osman Hamid

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Alumni engagement is widely defined as the level of relationship graduates have with their alma maters. Universities have an opportunity to leverage benefits from having strong connections with their alumni. Furthermore, graduates generally have a stronger affinity to the academic departments they graduated from than to the universities where these departments are based. Additionally, the fiscal and regulatory pressures facing Canadian universities within the province of Ontario highlight the advantages that come with having an engaged alumni community. The Problem of Practice (PoP) investigated in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is the lack of alumni engagement within a faculty of …

An Examination Of The Relationship Between Undergraduate Debt And Graduate School Enrollment For Stem And Business-Related Fields, Stephanie Mayer

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

There is a major limitation in this field of literature with limited studies conducted on the factors influencing graduate school enrollment for STEM and business fields after the 2008 Great Recession. During the Great Recession of 2008, approximately 2.8 million students decided to go back to school and pursue a master’s degree. Since then, the cost of a four-year college degree increased by 25 percent and student debt increased by 107 percent (NCES, 2019). STEM and business fields increased by 15 percent during the Great Recession of 2008 in graduate degree programs, graduates, and workforce demand (Anderson, 2013; Okahana & …

A Mixed Methods Investigation Of Participation Of Black Students And Education Abroad, Stephen Ryan Hammock

Theses and Dissertations

The participation rate of Black higher education students in education abroad programs has been significantly compared to their White peers. The purpose of this concurrent mixed methods research study was to examine the participation rate of Black higher education students in education abroad programs by exploring student perceptions relative to barriers and motivations, utilizing the Cultural Approach as the conceptual framework, specifically the economic, social, and intellectual cultural spheres of influence. A web-based questionnaire with quantitative and qualitative items was completed by 248 Black participants and 206 White participants. The quantitative data were analyzed using two logistic regressions, and the …

Utilization Of Disability Services By Students With Nonvisible Disabilities, Cristina A. Figueroa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A qualitative case study was conducted to examine ways to increase the use of disability services at 4-year universities. Individual interviews were conducted to see how students and staff members felt the use of disability services could be improved. Five students with nonvisible disabilities and four disability and student services staff members participated in the study. Interviews focused on transition, use of campus services, self-advocacy, and knowledge of disability services. A thematic analysis was conducted on the data, and a total of 20 themes were derived from the interviews. Themes focused on the following topics: self-identification is personal, faculty attitude …

Dalit Academic Experiences: Stigma, Social Reproduction And Systemic Exclusion In Indian Higher Education, Bharat Rathod

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last two decades, public universities in India have witnessed a demographic change and an increase in the numbers of Dalit and marginalized students on college campuses. However, there is scarcely any research on the impact of the changed demographic and its implications for the Dalit students, campus life and the campus climate. This study focused on experiences of Dalit students and their narratives of resilience in the university life. I conducted interviews and interlocutor observations to understand the experiences and perspectives of Dalit students in a public university in Gujarat. The research drew from scholarship on racial minorities …

How Do I Do This? How Universities Support Students Experiencing Grief, Jackie Hirn

Masters Theses

Grief prompts college students to ask, “how do I do this?” in many ways. This phenomenological study examined the ways in which student affairs professionals supported grieving students from four universities across the United States. It was found that grieving college students faced many challenges and barriers, including academic, emotional, financial and legal, and cultural issues. Grief is an individualized process that manifests differently in each student. To ensure student success, it was found that resource referral was vital for students, and that connections between departments were imperative to make those referrals happen. This study notes that the COVID-19 pandemic …

Connecting To History Through Service-Learning: A Qualitative Case Study Investigating Student Engagement In Core History Courses, Kimberly D. Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

Surveys have shown that students are not enthusiastic about taking history in college; some describe the discipline as boring and unnecessary. College is a setting where students are investing in themselves, exploring new knowledge to build a career, and gaining insight into the person they want to become in the future. Learning history through a traditional lecture method where memorization of names, dates, and events seems to be the norm is not appealing to students. Universities, promoting the thought that a well-rounded education is beneficial, commonly add history to the collection of general education core courses that are required for …

Contextual Factors Impacting On Research Performance At A Young Australian University, Johannes Pieter Groenewald

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

High-quantitative and quality research performance is critical to the reputation and success of a university and plays a vital role in developing the socio-economic status of a country. There is, however, limited knowledge about the contextual factors that impact on research performance, especially in universities that are new or not yet research-intensive. One such young university is the Another New Research University (ANRU), the setting for this research. To become competitive and sustainable, especially young universities, need to increase both the quality and volume of their research to improve research performance.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify …

Public Policy And The Sustainability Of Tanzanian Private Universities, Simon Lucas Taabu

Theses and Dissertations

There has been a surge of universities in general and private universities in particular in the last three decades throughout the world. This expansion has been unanticipated in some countries, but in others especilly in SSA expansion came as a result of public policy change. The current globalization movement can be attributed to most of the reforms taking place in higher education institutions although unique features have been observed in different contries and regions. This expansion has not been paired with resource increase and hence putting quality of education, accessibility, equality and quality issues into question. Scholars have expressed doubts …

A Study To Determine How To Measure The Laser Safety Climate At Academic Institutions, John Settlemyer

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

Statement of Problem

The purpose of this study was to determine if the laser safety climate can be measured at academic institutions and what factors would provide valid measures of the laser safety climate at academic institutions. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions:

Research Questions

RQ1. Can laser safety climate be measured at academic institutions using a climate survey instrument?

RQ2. What factors should be measured by a laser safety climate instrument?

RQ3. What measures would provide actionable data for prescriptive intervention by laser safety professionals at academic institutions? (p. 4)

Examining Perceptions Of Service Quality Of Student Services And Satisfaction Among International Students At Universities In Indiana And Michigan, Mordekai Ochieng Ongo

Dissertations

Problem

Universities in the United States face financial constraints, intense competition for students, declining student enrollment, and constant student attrition. However, an increasing number of international students seek higher education abroad, especially in the U.S. Providing quality services to these international students might help institutions attract and retain more of them. Unfortunately, little empirical research has been done on international students’ perceptions of service quality, especially of non-academic services. This study fills that gap by using a modified SERVPERF questionnaire to investigate international students perceived service quality and satisfaction at eight universities in Indiana and Michigan.

Method

The purpose of …

Strategic Restructuring In Higher Education: A Case Study Of A Consolidation Of Two Institutions, Claudia D. Lyerly

Theses and Dissertations

This in-depth single case study examined the implementation process utilized for the consolidation of two public institutions and the participants’ perceptions five years post-consolidation of the extent to which the original expected outcomes of the consolidation have been achieved. The names of the institutions and participants involved in this case study have been replaced with pseudonyms. The case study adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methods, with the qualitative method having more dominance throughout the study. Three primary sources of data were used: semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and field notes. The data collected from all three sources were coded, analyzed …

Student Government Elections: The Experiences Of Candidates And Their Perceptions Of Political Efficacy, Jennifer Fox

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study fills a void in the research on collegiate student government elections by examining the experiences of 10 candidates for president and vice president at large, public, four-year universities in Texas. Participation in student government has been shown to support students’ learning and lead to future political engagement. However, until this study, little has been understood about the experiences of candidates in the student government elections process. Using political efficacy (Campbell et al., 1954) as a theoretical framework for the coding and analysis of the data, several themes emerged, including the students’ motivations for running for president or …

Nontraditional Student Risk Factors And Gender As Predictors For Enrollment In College Distance Education, Tammy Crews Pao

Educational Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine whether nontraditional student age, female gender, and the possession of nontraditional student risk factors predict enrollment in distance education college courses. This dissertation used data from the most recent National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12), which consisted of approximately 95,000 undergraduate students who were enrolled in higher education in 2011-2012. The results of a logistic regression analysis indicated that both nontraditional student age and female gender were strong predictors of enrollment in distance education, whereas the number of nontraditional student risk indicators was a partial predictor. As leaders in higher education are …

Chinese Students' Experience At United College: Dialogue Between Executives And Chinese Students, Alicia Palmer

Honors Theses

More and more Chinese students come to the United States to study. They come to the United States for college because education in American universities counts as one of the best education in the world. Some Chinese families pay a lot for their children's best education. In addition, American universities have major funding problems because the subsidies of the U.S. government decrease rapidly. Students often can not accept the United States scholarship, so have to pay all the tuition. However, it seems that students from the east have more psychological problems than those from western countries. One reason is that …

A Christian Value?: Faculty Diversity At Southern Evangelical Campuses, Marquita Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored institutional efforts to increase faculty diversity at three southern Christian universities and provided descriptions of what promoted or curtailed faculty diversity at those institutions. Daryl G. Smith's (2009) dimensions of diversity were used to evaluate the role of institutional missions, and how they were connected to diversity efforts. Smith's 2009 conceptual framework offered four areas for studying diversity: access and success, institutional vitality and viability, education and scholarship, and intergroup relations and campus climate. A qualitative multiple or collective case study design was used. The sample included 20 total participants; 19 from the three case institutions and …

Public Relations Models And Dialogic Communication In The Twitterverse: An Analysis Of How Colleges And Universities Are Engaging Their Publics Through Twitter, Jason Antwuan Beverly

Dissertations

Colleges and universities throughout this world are realizing the importance of engaging in and building mutually-beneficial relationships with their key publics through social media. The introduction of the microblogging tool known as Twitter extends the use of social media in higher education, beyond the classroom, and into the realm of public relations where it can be just as effective. Now, colleges and universities are capitalizing off of its potential as a public relations tool. Twitter allows colleges and universities to better connect with their technology-consumed publics trough dialogic and interactive two-way communication. This study examines how 155 colleges and universities …

Program Innovation In Higher Education : An Exploratory Study Of The Creation Of New Degree Programs In Chilean Universities, Gonzalo Zapata

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Many researchers have studied differentiation in higher education systems, considering the multiplicity of new programs as one of its relevant features. In Chile, as well as in Latin America, there is ample literature on emerging higher education institutions and their growing differentiation, but very little or almost none devoted to emerging programs and the program dimension of differentiation.

Assessing Hurricane Preparedness Among Residential Staff At Louisiana State University: A Case Study On Hurricane Isaac, Ashley Marie Weatherall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying hurricane preparedness among the Resident Assistants (RAs) and Residence Life Coordinators (RLCs) at Louisiana State University (LSU) is imperative to assure that the university housing staff is fully equipped when faced with an oncoming threat. This study seeks to fill a gap in research by investigating the influences of preparedness on student housing employees. A survey was developed and the measures were found to be coherent and internally reliable through the use of factor analysis. Based on theory and previous literature, a linear regression model was developed that quantified the relationship between the independent variable of preparedness and general …

Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies In Brazil And The United States, Dalila Negreiros

Theses and Dissertations

The literature on Black Studies, Afro-Brazilian Studies and Comparative Race Relations between Brazil and the United State has been dedicated to the study of Black activism and education. However, there is a gap in comparative studies focused on Black Studies units in the United States and Afro-Brazilian studies in Brazil. The dissertation “Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies in Brazil and the United States” investigates how Black Studies centers and departments in Brazil and the United States exist, survive and act politically as educational and anti-racist spaces in six different institutions: the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee; Harvard University; Temple University; the …

Female Academic Department Chairs At A Public, Very High Research Activity University: Exploring Their Career Pathways To Success, Tamara Marcelle St.Marthe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The advancement of women into academic leadership remains a problem facing public, high-research activity universities. While there are more women who are qualified to assume the position of department chair in research institutions today than there were 30 years ago, women still lag behind their male counterparts in holding these academic leadership roles. The purpose of this study was to examine the personal and professional career experiences of women department chairs in a public, very high research activity institution, and to provide advice to women faculty seeking to become a department chair in the future. The department chair is among …

An Investigation Of Academic Integrity In Jordanian Universities, Ala' Alahmad

Theses & Dissertations

This study aimed to describe current practices employed by public and private four-year universities in Jordan in promoting academic integrity and addressing academic dishonesty. This quantitative research provided a framework for the current practices that promote academic integrity in higher education in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. The survey questionnaire developed by Kibler (1992) was utilized to collect data to answer the research questions. This instrument was tested for reliability and validity by Kibler (See Appendix C). In addition, the Cronbach's Alpha was utilized later to check for reliability. The Cronbach's Alpha for the data collected was 0.85. The …

Communicative Language Teaching In Current Chinese Colleges And Universities., Xiaorong Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been prioritized as the key instructional approach in colleges since the Chinese Ministry of Education issued a revised syllabus in 1999 that underlines college EFL students' communicative competence. The issuance of the syllabus was followed by a series of reforms on curricular designs and teaching methods. However, CLT has encountered great resistance. College teachers and learners are constrained by socio-cultural influences such as the perceptions of teachers' roles and ways of learning and teaching (Hu, 2002; Rao, 1996). Although some teachers have shown positive attitudes towards CLT, in general they have failed to practice it …

Counselor Perception Of Effective Components Of Suicide Prevention Programs In Four-Year Colleges And Universities, Melanie A. Schicker

Dissertations

More than 34,000 Americans take their lives each year. Twelve percent of those suicides are in the 15-24-year-old age group. Although, overall for this age group, suicide is the number three cause of death, across college campuses it is quickly becoming the second leading cause, with accidents being number one. There are multiple contributing factors for suicide and suicidal ideation among the college population and many campuses have suicide prevention information; however, fewer have actual suicide prevention programs in place. Several areas that contribute to suicide risk for college-aged students were reviewed including: (a) depression, suicidal history, and hopelessness; (b) …