Higher Education Commons^™

Measuring Racial Competence In Athletic Academic Support Staffs, Aquasia Thornhill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Critical Race Theory, a theoretical framework that has been gaining much recognition in sport literature, is a useful and beneficial tool in discussing race and racism. To better understand the context in which academic support staff appreciate the functionality and significance of race, the present study measures the racial competence of athletic academic support staffs. This research study explores the need to integrate a model such as Critical Race Theory that promotes “racial competency” among academic support staffs working closely with student-athletes of color, and measures Color-Blind Racial Attitudes that may have effects on the types of interactions individuals are …

Race, Class And Gender In Engineering Education: A Quantitative Investigation Of First Year Enrollment, Canek Moises Luna Phillips

Open Access Dissertations

Research explanations for the disparity across both race and gender in engineering education has typically relied on a deficit model, whereby women and people of color lack the requisite knowledge or psychological characteristics that Whites and men have to become engineers in sufficient numbers. Instead of using a deficit model approach to explain gender and race disparity, in the three studies conducted for this dissertation, I approach gender and race disparity as the result of processes of segregation linked to the historic and on-going perpetuation of systemic sources of oppression in the United States. In the first study, I investigate …

Examining Exemplary P-20 Partnerships Using A Mixed Methods Approach, Elizabeth Erin Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Historically, P-12 schools and institutions of higher education have operated independently of each other, creating a gap that acts as a barrier between high school and postsecondary institutions. This gap is blamed for many societal issues including high college remediation rates, low college-going rates among minority groups, and low six-year college graduation rates. P-20 partnerships, agreements between P-12 schools and institutions of higher education with the purpose of improving the P-20 education system, have emerged as a way to address these problems.

From laboratory schools in the 19th century to modern-day professional development schools, P-20 partnerships in teacher education have …

The Educational Journeys Of First-Generation College Women In Stem: A Grounded Theory Study, Susan Geier

Open Access Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the various factors that influenced these first-generation college women as they chose a college and selected a STEM major and subsequently persisted to upper level (junior/senior) status. Twenty-five first-generation college women in STEM majors who attended a research-intensive university in the Midwest were interviewed. Approaching this study using constructivist grounded theory provided the opportunity for deeper insights by examining data at a conceptual level while preserving the voices of the women in this study. The women faced numerous challenges on their journeys, yet they persisted. As the women in this study selected …

Discretion And The Implementation Of Federal Disability Policy In Postsecondary Education, Katy Annette Washington

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Disability Services Providers (DSPs) have historically been the personnel tasked with implementing federal disability policy at postsecondary institutions primarily since the passage of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. The model adopted by the majority of DSP offices is student-driven and requires students seeking academic accommodations must go through a formal process to determine eligibility for services, and then play an active role in their provision. Disability-related policies at the campus level are usually authored by DSPs who are seen as experts by the institution and its stakeholders. However, sometimes …

Quality Assurance In Online Graduate Education: Program Review Processes And Assessment Techniques Used In Higher Education, Lindsay N. Turner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to form an understanding of the online program assessment and assessment processes in higher education, and how program review processes were adopted and implemented through institutional policies in regard to industry quality assurance standards. The study looked at institutions classified as very high, high, or research universities by the Carnegie Classifications, and which offered online masters programs focused on preparing students for positions in educational administration or leadership roles. The study used an electronic survey and content analysis through institutional policy and quality assurance documents to develop a recommendation for institutional level quality …

Enhancing The Campus Experience: Helping International Students To Adapt To North American Campus Life, Qiaoying Wang

Open Access Theses

This thesis investigates how culture adaption topic can be applied to a design solution by enhancing international students experience on North American campus. Each year more than half a million international students enroll in American colleges and universities. Many will spend several years on a campus working toward their degree. Most of them arrive with clear academic goals, but they may have no clue what their social lives will be like. In that case, a common phenomenon that most of the international students need to get along with is called “Culture Shock”, which involves culture and academic adapting difficulties, limited …

What Keeps Us Here? Perceptions Of Workplace Supervision Among African American Men In Student Affairs, Todd C. Jenkins Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

African American male professionals continue to be lower in numbers in the workplace across the United States compared to their White counterparts. However, the division of student affairs and student services of higher education institutions continue to serve as a gate way for African American men to serve as administrators. Several higher education institutions and sectors continue to invest in the recruitment and retention for African American male professionals, and research has shown that supervision is the key to employee professional development, performance, and success. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of African American male professionals’ …

Implementing The Caspie Coursebased Research Experience At The United States Military Academy: Affective Responses And Effects On Critical Thinking, Anthony Michael Chase

Open Access Theses

The Center for Authentic Science Practices in Education (CASPiE) pioneered a course-based research experience approach to teaching chemistry laboratory courses. The method had previously been studied in a variety of institutional settings. Recently, the United States Military Academy at West Point decided to develop CASPiE-style modules for the introductory honors chemistry course. This research setting presents clean experimental-control comparisons and a group of faculty who were completely new to the method. Equipping students with authentic research experiences early in their education is important regardless of the institution. However, cadets at a military academy must make decisions relatively early (the outset …

Ties That Bind: A Network Perspective On University Spinouts, Patrick Mchugh

2013

Research universities execute technology transfer initiatives to transition university inventions to marketplace innovations. This process requires ties to bridge the gap between two disparate networks: a university's research community and a licensing corporate entity. One type of licensing corporate entity, and the focus of this research, is a newly formed university spinout. Utilizing a network lens, this study focuses on the ties between university inventors and spinout licensees and on the impact of various inter-organizational relationships on a spinout's success. This thesis investigates the following research questions: 1. How, if at all, does variation in the nature of the tie …

Cost And Price Increases In Higher Education: Evidence Of A Cost Disease On Higher Education Costs And Tuition Prices And The Implications For Highes Education Policy, Jerry Trombella

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Cross-Cultural Competence Assessment Instruments For The U.S Military Academy's Semester Abroad Program, Scott E. Womack

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Rural Nonfarm Scott County, Tennessee Women And Their Pathways To Baccalaureate Degrees, Jo A. Lobertini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand why women from Scott County, Tennessee, left home to attain the baccalaureate degree and returned home to live and/or work. More specifically, understanding (1) the educational aspirations, motivations, and discouragements prior to attending college; (2) the educational persistence, motivations, and discouragements while attending college; (3) and the reasons for returning to Scott County after attaining the baccalaureate degree. The population of this study included all females over the age of 25 who had a bachelor's degree, attended grades 1–12 in Scott County, Tennessee, and returned there to live. The primary form …

Implementing Total Quality Management In Business And Academe: A Case Study, Nancy O. Bartell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Total quality management (TQM) is a philosophy and process that has been successfully implemented in many business firms. Other organizations, including institutions of higher education, have become increasingly interested in adopting it. It is likely that facilitators need to be cognizant of organizational differences and adjust facilitation methods and strategies accordingly. This dissertation is an exploratory study designed to examine the role of the TQM facilitator in diverse settings. Specifically, the study is an in-depth two-case research study of TQM implementation in an international manufacturing firm and a regional institution of higher education. The primary foci of this dissertation are …

Young Women Who Marry Early And Attend The Community College: Factors Which Influence The Completion Of Associate Degrees, Donald K. Bartholomay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate, through in-depth interviews, those factors which served to motivate early marriage women in the attainment of associate degrees and to identify characteristics of early marriage women who were successful in completing associate degrees. The details obtained from these interviews were interpreted and their meanings used to generate propositions and implications about the completion of associate degrees by this group of students. In-depth interviews were conducted with 28 early marriage women (informants) who either completed associate degrees or were within 12 semester hours of completing an associate degree. In addition, 15 in-depth interviews …

Innovation In Student Affairs: The Influence Of Individual And Organizational Factors On Programmatic And Technological Change, Sally S. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this paper was to explore the influence individual and organizational factors exerted on technological innovations, programmatic innovations and combined technological and programmatic innovations. Student affairs divisions in Comprehensive I colleges and universities constituted the administrative unit examined. The two types of program innovations examined were substance abuse prevention/education programs and retention/academic support programs. The technological innovations examined were financial aid computerized award calculation and computerized career counseling. The individual factors examined were professionalism, gender and age of the chief student affairs officer. The organizational factors were vertical, horizontal and combined vertical and horizontal complexity, centralization and size. …