Digital Commons Network^™

Ngo Navigators, Information Support, And Parental Assistance With Pk-12 School Decisions, Jason E. Saltmarsh

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

This study provides empirical insights into the perceptions and agency of navigators who provide school selection assistance and this NGO’s unique insider–outsider status. As semi-private actors, navigators offer an important bridge between two kinds of social capital: the informal types of trust and legitimacy that families rely on, and the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to access higher-quality schools in choice policy contexts. Data for this study are derived from an exploratory case study, including 13 in-depth interviews, documentary and social media analysis, and informal conversations. The findings illustrate the benefits and shortcomings of NGO information support in choice policy …

Delivering The Right Message For Maximum Impact In The Student Enrollment Journey, Ashley Miller

University Administration Publications

Meeting today's prospective college students where they are is key to staying ahead of current enrollment challenges. Understanding which messages resonate with which students and at certain parts of the enrollment funnel helps to ensure institutions are getting the right message, to the right student, at the right time in their journey. By utilizing a MaxDiff approach, one can better understand the impact a particular message has compared to others and which combination of messages will ultimately drive action. The maximum difference scaling (MaxDiff) method provides useful guidance on how enrollment professionals can better segment their communication strategies to their …

Community Building At The Programmatic Level: Arguing For The Implementation Of The Pars Model In A Distance Learning Graduate Program, Julia Romberger

English Faculty Publications

Distance learning graduate programs in technical communication can work at building community at the programmatic level as well as the course level. This work might be best done by leveraging the position of the faculty member tasked with administering the program, often called the Graduate Program Director. Through the scholarship on community of practice, this article makes a case for the GPD to take on this role and recommends as a starting point the PARS – personal, accessible, responsive, and strategic – framework developed by Borgman and McArdle (2019) for community building in distance learning courses.

Graduate Program Survey Report 2023-2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Institutional Effectiveness & Planning.

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

Graduate College Staff --- 01
Graduate Degrees Awarded Summer 2023 - Fall 2024 --- 02
Survey Methodology --- 04
Survey Highlights --- 05
Respondent Demographics --- 06
Principal Activities After Graduation --- 07
Activities Participated in at UNI --- 08
Comparison Between 2022-2023 & 2023-2024 --- 09
Reasons For Attending UNI --- 10
Academic Experience --- 11
Comparison of Academic Experience From 2021 - 2024 --- 13
Financing Graduate Education --- 15

University Of Central Florida Graduate Catalog, 2024 - 2025, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Length Of Clinical Rotations In Medical Laboratory Science Education, Kendal Beazer

Dissertations and Theses

Medical laboratory scientists and technicians play a crucial role in healthcare by utilizing advanced methods to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring, and prevention of a wide range of diseases. Certifying as an MLS or MLT professional is detailed and specific, requiring years of laboratory training that is crucial to accurately perform testing that impacts patient care. Shortages of qualified medical laboratorians have persisted for decades, causing laboratory administrators to hire individuals who lack basic laboratory training. Laboratory education programs are not keeping up with the staffing demands, in part due to the lack of clinical rotation placements needed for MLS …

Wmu Board Of Trustees Formal Session January 25, 2024, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes
  • November 30, 2023 – BOT Meeting
  • December 14, 2024 – BOT Special Meeting
• Remarks by the Chair
• Remarks by the President
• Updates by the Faculty Senate President
• Updates by the Western Student Association President
• Western Michigan University Employee Graduates
• Haenicke Institute for Global Education Presentation: Journey from Graduate Student to Assistant Professor
• Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

2024 Western Michigan University Board of Trustee Officer Election

Delegated Authority to Confer Degrees

Consent Items

Curriculum Proposals

Personnel Report

• General Public Comments

Supplemental

The Influence Of Independent Secondary School Heads On Shaping Organizational Culture, Ian D. Macphail

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

This dissertation examined the experiences and connections between head of school leadership and culture in small, independent boarding schools in New England. This study was the result of the participation of eight heads of school from eight separate institutions, engaging in semi-structured interviews. All of the schools were secular in their practice, all-gender, and had a formal dormitory-based boarding program. Each school enrolled 400 or fewer students, focusing the impact of these leaders on a tighter, interactional lens. This study explored a relatively under-researched area of K-12 education and used exploratory, qualitative methods to gather the stories of these formal …

The Co-Curriculum Of College Student Employment: Perspectives From Supervising Practitioners, Brittany Begley Wildman

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

College student employees are not only serving the overall mission of their institutions, but also developing career readiness skills through daily interactions while at work. In this study, I explore the perceptions of the supervisors of student employees as both managers and student affairs professionals. Through one-on-one interviews with supervisors, discussing their interactions with students, I explore the implicit and explicit curricula they provide to their students using a curriculum analysis framework. I then compare the resulting learning outcomes against those identified in industry standards. The supervisors described supporting student employees' personal development during the student employment experience as well …

The Kaleidoscope Effect: A Solution Focused Approach To Hazing Prevention A Mixed Methods Study, Akeya Shonte Simeon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examined the complexities surrounding hazing behaviors within the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic Association (PHA) student populations, as well as the perspectives of college administrators. Harmful health behaviors, such as hazing, sexual violence, and substance misuse, continue to plague these organizations, impacting over 750,000 undergraduate students across more than 770 campuses in the United States. The research employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, starting with an analysis of IFC and PHA responses from the What Works for Fraternity and Sorority Safety and Success survey, focusing on five institutions: Baylor, James Madison, Louisiana State, Penn State, and Washington State …

The Experiences Of Women College Presidents While Leading Through An Institutional Crisis: The Perceived Successes And Failures Of Crisis Communication Strategies, Madison Marie Speck

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This multi-site case study explored the uncommonly discussed yet organic intersection between the study of crisis communication and the study of crisis leadership and in turn, what it means in the context of a college presidency. This study has a unique focus on women presidents at small, private colleges and the ways in which they communicate with various stakeholders during a crisis environment. The research is guided by Boin’s Model of Crisis Leadership which guides and assesses crisis leadership performance; however this study introduces nuances to the framework that are suggested as a result of the findings; most of which …

Reimagining On-Campus Student Employment As A Foundation For Career Readiness: Student Employment In Virginia Commonwealth University’S Division Of Student Affairs, Jaedda Hall, Mary Lee Magee, Sean D. Mays, Kimberly C. Young

Doctor of Education Capstones

Many undergraduate students participate in on-campus employment while pursuing their academic programs. Increasingly, institutions of higher education recognize student employment not only as a resource to address institutional workforce needs or students’ pressing financial needs, but also to promote students’ overall learning, development, and success. To better understand on-campus undergraduate student employment in the context of Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Division of Student Affairs (DSA), this descriptive study employed a mixed-methods approach using surveys, interviews, focus groups, secondary data analysis, and artifact analysis. These methods were applied to explore the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, including undergraduate student employees, supervisors of …

Exploring Black Queer Doctoral Student Experiences With Utilizing Campus Services, Mitchell Everett

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study utilized narrative inquiry to examine the experiences of Black Queer Doctoral Students (BQDS) with campus services and their ability to ameliorate minority stress and establish community with other students minoritized by their sexual or gender identity. I used the minority stress model and intersectionality as frameworks to understand how students minoritized by their race and sexual identities experienced campus services. The minority stress model provided an explanation of the stress BQDS may experience due their minority identity (Meyer, 2003, 2013). Connecting to community is also an ameliorating factor in reducing minority stress. In addition, structural intersectionality addressed the …

The Impact Of Financial Wellness On Student Success, Holly Hamilton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

For many traditional-aged students, college can be their first major financial undertaking. Along with navigating the task of funding a college education, traditionally aged students may face additional financial challenges while entering adulthood. This financial responsibility can cause added stress for students and have a bearing on their financial wellness. This study explored the impact of financial wellness on students' abilities to succeed in college. Through the exploration of four financial wellness measures, financial self-efficacy, financial socialization, financial strain, and financial optimism, the researcher sought to first understand the relationships among the various wellness measures and then to determine what …

Stereotypes Of A Black Man Misunderstood: The Experiences And Development Of Black Men With Bipolar Disorder On College Campuses, Gerron Scott

Theses and Dissertations

Black men graduate from universities at a lower rate compared to other groups. Students with disabilities also graduate at a lower rate. When the two groups intersect, the results can be disastrous. Black men with bipolar disorder face a host of problems on college campuses. From a lack of sense of belonging to trouble in class, they struggle to stay afloat in college. The purpose of this study was to document the experiences and development of Black men with bipolar disorder on college campuses. A grounded theory approach was used in this study. Grounded theory was chosen because it leads …

Using Asset-Based Community Development To Increase Student Engagement And Improve Student Experience In Schools, Jacqueline Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

The following is a dissertation in the three-paper dissertation format. The first section will give background information on the issue of alienation in schools and how asset-based community development (ABCD) could be an effective tool for educators to combat alienation and disengagement, especially with students with marginalized identities. This first section will also show the significance of the three papers as a whole and how they connect to one another. The first paper is the conceptual literature review, the second paper is an empirical study of the ABCD model in schools, and the dissertation will end with a practitioner's article …

Internal Funding Newsletter, Academic Year 2023-2024, Uno Office Of Research And Creative Activity

Internal Funding Newsletters

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is committed to providing students and faculty unique, hands-on opportunities, internships, service learning, applied research, and other collaborative activities that enhance time in and out of the classroom. The 2023-2024 Academic Year saw many exciting opportunities for us to invest into even more programs promoting research and creative activity. This year's programs provided over $800,000, more than double the funding in 2022-2023, for student and faculty projects.

Effective Strategies For International Phd Applications, Srinivas Sulugodu Ramachandra, Shelly Arora, Vijay Kumar

Health Professions Education

Introduction: This article introduces a fresh perspective on the digital and communication challenges faced by international PhD applicants. This article focuses on issues such as digital literacy, email etiquette, and communication barriers, offering practical strategies to help applicants effectively navigate online applications and remote interactions with supervisors and Graduate Research Schools. This article provides insights for international doctoral applicants in navigating the complex process of approaching potential supervisors and applying to PhD programs at top-ranking international universities.

Methods: The availability of limited number of positions, supervisors and funding opportunities compared to the number of applicants makes the competition …

Trends, Challenges, And Evidence-Based Strategies For School Dropout Prevention In Virginia, David B. Naff, Thea Racelis, Regina Frazier, Meleah Ellison, Christina Tillery, Andy Bristow, Audra P. Lancaster, Sabrina Evans, Leah Wiedenhoft, Dina Abdul Rahman, Sharrie Merritte, Karli Johansen, Sooyeon Moon, Jean Samuel, Tara Davison

MERC Publications

This MERC research and policy brief explores school dropout prevention by focusing on recent trends and research. It addresses the following questions:

1) What are recent trends in school dropout?
2) What factors contribute to school dropout?
3) What are the consequences and implications of school dropout?
4) What are evidence-based strategies for school dropout prevention?
5) What are federal, state, and division-level policies related to school dropout prevention in the MERC region?

It concludes with a series of key takeaways and recommendations.

The Relationship Between Participation In A Student Success Course And The Retention Rate And Academic Success Of First-Year Freshmen At A Historically Black University, Madeline Martinez

Dissertations

Problem

Amongst the highest at-risk student populations are minority students (students of color), first-generation college students, students from low-socioeconomic status, students experiencing financial challenges, and those who enter college academically underprepared. Furthermore, studies have found a significant gap in the educational achievement of African Americans in comparison to other peer groups. Closing this achievement gap requires educators to take a closer look at the complex concept of student retention and understand the variables and factors associated with students’ successful outcomes from both an individual and institutional perspective. An in-depth examination of the effectiveness of strategies specifically designed for the retention …

Trigger Events And Leadership: Crucible Moments In Leadership, Timothy M. Authier

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Being and becoming an educational leader is a process that engages multiple levels of challenge, training, processing, and understanding. The many demands placed on school administrators create many challenges and put a great deal of adversity in the pathway of administrators. The training process involving graduate degrees in educational leadership attempts to support aspiring principals and district leaders by applying technical skills and practices. However, the challenges and adversity that arise in education consistently cause other factors, of which administrators may have some awareness but need more official training and teaching on navigating. Thus, topics frequently discussed, such as emotional …

Impact Of Administrative Support On Staff Mental Health, Crystal L. Capps

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the impact of administrative support on staff mental health. Research questions were created for this research study and were investigated throughout its design and implementation. This research study involved participation from three district-approved schools: one elementary, one middle, and one high school in eastern North Carolina. Two surveys were designed, one for educators and one for administrators. Once the research was completed, the data were analyzed for key themes regarding how mental health affects educators in the classroom. Themes were identified to determine the impact of administrative support on staff …

The Role Of Special Education Job Design And Principal Support: A Mixed Methods Study In A Small North Carolina School District On Special Education Job Design And Principal Supervision Over Special Education Programs, Nicole Mccue

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study focused on understanding special education teacher perspectives in a small, North Carolina school district, in terms of job design, as well as strategies principals use to supervise effective special education programs. Special education teachers were surveyed using Hackman and Oldham’s (1974) job diagnostic survey, which measured teacher perspectives on job design elements. Five school principals were interviewed and asked to provide insight on how they oversee their special education programs and support special education teachers. Special education teachers had motivating potential scores within the average range, meaning there is an average amount of job satisfaction and are neutral …

Environmental Sustainability, Healthcare Workers And Healthcare Students: A Literature Review Of Attitudes And Learning Approaches, Pamela R. Mccauley, Kavita Mathur, Reza Kamali Miab, Nina Cohen, Kedena Henriques-Thompson, Jyo Gopinath

Health Professions Education

Purpose: Today, increased attention has been placed on the healthcare industry and its workers in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Increases in facemask production, personal protective equipment, and the number of patients admitted into hospitals have resulted in a sharp rise in medical waste and environmental concerns. This has led to a greater interest by the research community to study the type of training and education that healthcare workers and students receive which could facilitate the implementation of sustainability activities during their work.

Design/Methodology: We have conducted a literature review (2010 to 2024) on healthcare worker …

Mapping The Historical Discourse Of A Right-To-Read Claim: A Situational Analysis, Mursalata Muhammad

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation project used an interpretivist qualitative research design to study how the right-to-read claim made by seven teenagers attending Detroit public schools in 2016 reflects, addresses, or describes contemporary discussions about educational access. Using situational analysis (SA) as a theory/method, the entirety of the claim comprises the situation of the social phenomenon being studied, not the people. This research combines critical race theory (CRT) with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems and uses situation analysis to map historical discourses to conduct a study that examines the history of a present situation of inquiry as presented by this question: How does the 2016 …

Teaching During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Multiple Case Study Exploring Faculty Experiences In Fostering Positive Interaction With U.S.-Based Undergraduate Students, Lauren J. Bullock

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

COVID-19 changed how faculty members approached teaching in higher education in the United States. This study specifically looks at the changes in faculty-student interaction (FSI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. While extensive literature exists on the topic from the student perspective, the disruption in education necessitated a more extensive study of the faculty perspective. A multiple-case study methodology was employed to explore the experiences of a small cohort of faculty members at a single institution and how they fostered positive interactions with students from Spring 2019 through Spring 2023. The data collected included semi-structured interviews, course syllabi, teaching philosophies, and a …

Homeplace: An Afterschool Club For Adolescent Black Girls At A Predominantly White Middle School, Jana L. Johnson-Davis

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Adolescent Black girls often experience marginalization in schools due to zero-tolerance policies, oppressive classroom curricula, and teachers who lack cultural competency. The literature on adolescent Black girls in school revealed that there are spaces within schools that can serve as homeplaces for Black girls. This study explored how adolescent Black girls experienced homeplace in an afterschool club at a predominantly White middle school in Decatur, Georgia. This research also expands bell hooks’s (2001) theory of homeplace from the home environment to school buildings. Narrative inquiry was the methodology used for the study, and interview data was analyzed through thematic analysis. …

Examining Social Identity Among Urban School Leaders: A Case Study Of Five Principals In New York City, Victor G. Frias Jr.

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Exploring how school leaders address underrepresented student voices, meaning those of marginalized experiences along the continuum of social identity including though not limited to race, class, gender, immigration, and LGBTQ issues in schools is more essential than ever following the novel coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19). Principals’ social identities (i.e., race, class, and gender), and their connected social locations and personal histories reveal how their leadership styles can contribute to the support of marginalized communities. Hence, this qualitative research study employed a case study methodology to investigate whether and how the social identities and lived experiences of principals in the Brooklyn …

An Investigation Into Perception Of The Correlation Between The College People Attend And Their Long-Term Happiness, Gary F. Madvin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study investigated perceptions about the correlation between the college people attend and long-term happiness. Its inquiry into whether college graduates believe where they go to college affects the chance for long-term happiness is a response to the growing concerns of high school students who are anxious about acceptance into an elite undergraduate college. There is substantial literature demonstrating that graduates of elite schools earn more money and professional success than graduates of standard schools (Rumberger & Thomas, 1993). At the same time, there is evidence that individuals who attend a lower tier school while having similar characteristics to those …

The Pulse Of Connection: Professors' Experience Of Positive Relationships With Students–An Interpretative Phenomenology And Photovoice Study, Ileya N. Grosman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

In higher education, the focus on student success often takes center stage in research and the professor-as-teacher practice. While numerous empirical studies concentrate on the growth and development of undergraduate students, this dissertation delves into professors’ relational and felt experiences in positive teaching-learning relationships. Four terminal-degreed professors from four different schools and three different disciplines–education, humanities, and leadership–engaged in photography and were then interviewed. Participants reflected on their photographs and their experiences in a teaching-learning relationship with their students. The present study aimed to illuminate the unspoken language of connection by utilizing interpretive phenomenology and photovoice to uncover professors’ relational …