Education Commons^™

Critical (Re)Approach To Higher Education Admission Policy: The Impact Of Open Enrollment Policy Implementation, Shirdonna Yvonne Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations

Federal and state policies affecting higher education, like the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1832, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Higher Education Act of 1965 have posited change regarding the proliferation of diversity and expansion of access (Thelin, 2011).

I analyzed BOT policies for enrollment and conducted a socio-diagnostic CDA on the implementation of admission policy to understand the impact of the policies’ implementation. I focused on 1) exploring how open enrollment (OE) policies were constructed, 2) how institutions adopt and interpret these policies, and 3) how individuals at the institution enact these policies, by conducting a discourse-historical analysis …

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 …

The Enactment Of Quality Assurance Policies In Ecuadorian Higher Education: A Case Study In The Public Universities In The Province Of Manabí, Diego R. Sornoza Parrales

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigates how the administrators in the research and quality assurance offices in the regional universities in Ecuador enact the national research quality assurance policy. The massification and diversification of higher education and the internationalization, as well as globalization of higher education institutions create an increasingly competitive environment. Given this competition, resources are scarce, resulting in more frequent and more aggressive budgetary constraints. Government and national funding agencies are including the notion of “quality” in their policies to measure the performance and efficiency of universities and determine budget allocation, demanding universities to “prove their value” to remain operational. In …

Beating The Odds: Counter Narratives Of Thriving Students Of Color At Dominantly White Faith-Based Institutions, Rebecca Kuhn

Faculty Dissertations

Graduation rates of students of color in the United States remain virtually unchanged, despite 50 years of institutions implementing programs and services to increase success among students of color (de Brey et al., 2019). The disparity in undergraduate degree completion rates between White college students and students of color indicates systemic barriers to student success remain pervasive. This qualitative study employs hermeneutic phenomenology to analyze and interpret the lived experiences of 10 thriving students of color at dominantly White faith-based institutions. Schreiner’s (2010a) holistic student success construct of thriving and Harper’s (2012a) Anti-Deficit Achievement Framework provide the conceptual frameworks for …

Fostering College Students’ Fact-Checking Skills: Three Studies Assessing Lateral Reading Instruction In A General Education Course, Jessica E. Brodsky

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

While online information is abundant and easily accessible, its quality varies widely. Fact-checkers evaluate online information by reading laterally, i.e., opening a new browser tab to research sources and verify claims. This dissertation consisted of three studies that used course outcomes assessment data to examine the impact of a lateral reading curriculum on college students’ fact-checking skills. The curriculum was first implemented in Fall 2018 as part of a general education civics course. It has been taught every semester since then, though the content and format of implementation have changed. Data used in the current studies were collected during the …

Taking Time: Part-Time Students And Student Learning Outcomes Assessment, Sarah K. H. Macdonald

Dissertations, 2020-current

For decades, higher education institutions have undertaken comprehensive and systematic efforts to explore, document, and improve the assessment of student learning outcomes, as well as improving learning itself. However, many of these assessment practices have been designed for full-time traditional students, even as the number of non-traditional students enrolled in higher education continues to grow. One group of these non-traditional students remains particularly invisible on their campuses, in their classrooms, and in assessment practices: part-time students.

Part-time students, defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), are students who are not full-time (USDOE, n.d.). This …

Gen Z Students’ Experiences With College Choice, Heather Levesque

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what influences Gen Z student college choice. Research on college choice has provided insight into whether or not a student will attend college; however, limited research exists on what impacts Gen Z students’ college choice and how marketing and communication influence what college a student will choose. College recruitment has always been challenging, given the high competition between colleges and universities. With the decrease in enrollment over the last decade and the unexpected impact of COVID-19, that challenge continues to grow. Enrollment and marketing administrators have difficulty expanding and diversifying their …

Student Engagement, Experience, & Support Among Pre-Pharmacy Students, James J. Stack

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study was guided by Astin’s Student Involvement theory which explored student’s needs in a demanding program amongst 12 pre-pharmacy students at the University of the Pacific. This qualitative study looked to uncover the engagement, experiences, and support of pre-pharmacy students in order to learn what students want from their learning experiences; to aid in student success and retention. Qualitative interviews provided detailed stories to their pre-pharmacy experiences. Through a thorough analysis of the data seven themes emerged: (a) peer support (b) time management (c) exam structure (d) increased faculty support (e) housing placement (f) coping with stress (g) core …

Meeting Transfer Students Where They Are: A New Organizational Approach To Transfer Student Communication, Support, And Recruitment, Daniel Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

Transfer students have long played a significant role in the growth and diversity of colleges and universities. Recent research points to a continuous decline in enrollment over the coming decade (Kelderman, Gardner, & Conley, 2019), and as tuition costs continue to increase and enrollment numbers decrease, institutions of higher education have begun turning to transfer students to fill their lecture halls and football stadiums. A key variable in higher education’s transfer recruitment blind spot is a fundamental lack of understanding of the structural and organizational changes needed to both attract and retain these non-traditional students (Tobolowsky & Cox, 2012). For …