Digital Commons Network^™

The Power Of Social Capital For First-Generation College Students, Inez M. Gonzalez Perezchica

Journal of College Access

First-generation college students (FGCS) face unique challenges in achieving career success, challenges which stem from limited access to social capital. Social capital refers to the value derived from access to social structures, which serve as resources that enable individuals to pursue and attain their interests (Coleman, 1988). Enhancing mentoring for FGCS requires an understanding of how social capital facilitates success and upward mobility. FGCS face information gaps that can hinder their ability to navigate college bureaucracy, advance their careers, and beyond. To address this information gap, FGCS can seek advisors and mentors, or institutional agents, who can provide critical insights …

Complete Issue, Claudia Martinez, Lorenzo M. Sianez Jr

Journal of College Access

No abstract provided.

Cultivating Connections: Toward A Framework For Equity In Social Capital Development In College And Career Pathways, Samantha L. Perez

Journal of College Access

The attention on college and career pathways over the last decade has revitalized interest in key activities like early career exploration, work-based learning, and labor market alignment of career and technical education. One essential element of this work, and perhaps among the most critical, has not received as much attention. Research shows that social capital—the relationships and networks an individual has and their ability to build, leverage, and mobilize them— is often how people get access to new information and educational and career opportunities; however, it is not something that most school systems have made an explicit priority for preparing …

Smu Arts Fest 2025 Marks Smu25 And Sg60 With A Six-Week Celebration Of Bold, Original Works, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

From 22 August to 28 September 2025, the Singapore Management University (SMU) will open up its campus and surrounding precinct for SMU Arts Fest 2025 — a six-week celebration of creative expression in honour of SMU’s 25th anniversary and Singapore’s 60th birthday. Anchored in this year’s theme of “2560”, the festival bridges two milestones to reflect on how both institution and nation have grown together. The festival will explore heritage and imagination through youth-led storytelling, professional collaborations, and a showcase of original, homegrown works.

Smu Launches International Tax Research Initiative With Grant From The Tax Academy Of Singapore, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

Singapore Management University (SMU) Yong Pung How School of Law (YPHSL) and Tax Academy of Singapore announced the establishment of the Singapore Tax Academy Research Initiative (STARI) which will be undertaken by YPHSL’s Centre for Commercial Law in Asia. Supported by a grant from the Tax Academy of Singapore, this initiative aims to both contribute to the international tax academic community and serve the body of tax professionals in Singapore through three main streams of work: 1) conduct world-class international tax research; 2) develop local academic capacity in taxation; and 3) build links with international thought-leaders in taxation.

Impact Flc Report Spring 2025: A Report By The Impact Evaluation Team, Evaluation And Learning Research Center, Impact Evaluation Team

IMPACT Reports

This is the 2025 Spring report of Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT) Week. IMPACT was created in 2010, and is a large collaborative initiative on the Purdue West Lafayette campus involving multiple key partners across campus including the Office of the Provost, Center for Instructional Excellence (CIE), Purdue Online (PO), Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies (Libraries), the Evaluation and Learning Research Center (ELRC), and Institutional Data Analytics and Assessment (IDA+A). IMPACT works with instructors to redesign large enrollment, foundational courses with the aim of engaging students more fully in their learning and creating a more student-centered …

I Want To Make You Cry: An Emotional And Philosophical Inquiry In 'Parrallel Lines' Through Montage, Affect And Empathy., Frehley Silvester

Postgraduate

This project consists of two components, a creative artefact, and written exegesis. The creative artefact is a short film script called 'Parallel Lines' which explores a conversation between a mother and her daughter after the death of the mother.

In my creative practice, cinema is the most impactful medium of generating meaning. I would go as far to state that cinema is a necessary medium in order to explore human emotions. Representation is known to impact audiences and it is for this reason that I have chosen cinema to be the mechanism to examine in depth within the work.

Using …

Building Toward A Timbral Tool-Kit: A Practice-Led Exploration Of Timbre As An Inspirational Tool In The Composition Process, Kailan O’Dell

Postgraduate

This exegesis is a practice-led investigation into the role of timbre as a tool of inspiration and musical expression in the composition process, with a specific focus on keyboard instruments. Two contrasting compositions for grand piano were recorded, then recorded again using four other distinct keyboard instrument timbres. The composer’s emotional perception of each keyboard instrument timbre was evaluated through reflective analysis, and with the use of the Geneva Emotional Music Scale. Knowledge of the emotional associations of the various timbres was used in the creation of four new compositions, one for each of the four distinct keyboard instrument timbres. …

Faced With Genai, Educators’ Engagement Capacity Matters More Than Ever, Thomas Menkhoff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources (Education) Thomas Menkhoff stressed the need for educators to upskill so they can guide students in using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) responsibly, rather than dismissing it. He argued that universities should move beyond prohibition and invest in AI literacy to safeguard academic integrity. Prof Menkhoff mentioned that combining the use of GenAI tools with effective prompting and Socratic questioning transforms students’ use of technology from passive consumption to active, reflective and critical engagement. To achieve this, he said that schools must set clear guidelines and design AI-compatible assessments that …

Student Impressions Of Undergraduate Art Therapy Education: A Survey, Shana Baird

EVMS School of Health Professions Theses & Dissertations

In addressing art therapy education, Taylor (1991) suggested that undergraduate art therapy education is controversial in that professional entry into the field is at the masters' level. Undergraduate programs offering degrees in art therapy range from providing a combination of psychology and studio art courses, offering art therapy courses and fieldwork experience, in addition to psychology and studio art, with variances in program curricula and requirements between the two extremes.

Therefore, graduates of undergraduate art therapy programs who further study art therapy at the graduate level enter with diverse levels of introduction to the field, preparation, and experience. Because differences …

Latina Senior-Level Leaders In 2-Year Public Higher Education Institutions In Texas: A Life Story Narrative Study, Monica Yvette Escobar-Leblanc

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study was designed to understand the personal and academic experiences of Latinas in senior-level leadership positions in 2-year public higher education institutions in Texas and the impact, if any, of these experiences on their leadership development. Although Latina undergraduate college enrollment has continued to increase, Latinas remain significantly underrepresented in senior-level leadership roles in higher education institutions. Using a life story narrative approach and LatCrit as the theoretical lens, this study examined leadership development across the life span from adolescence to middle adulthood. The thematic analysis of the four Latinas' life story narratives, employed in 2-year public higher education …

Origin Of Purpose, Career Satisfaction, And Life Satisfaction: A Quantitative Study On Early Career Professionals, Anne K. Hocking

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 2000s, research has increased on purpose and how it correlates with fulfillment outcomes in life and career satisfaction. This research has been valuable in professional and academic fields and helped develop leadership practices and interventions for organizations to increase satisfaction levels among employees and students. This study focused on the general problem that research dedicated to purpose has not adequately addressed whether origin of purpose affect its outcomes on fulfillment levels, particularly those of life and career satisfaction. To address this consideration, the researcher conducted a quantitative associative correlation to measure if and to what extent origin …

Graduate Students’ Perspectives On Universal Design For Learning (Udl) 3.0 Guidelines: A Q-Methodology Study, Taylor C. Rodriguez

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore graduate students’ perspectives of Q-methodology to understand their insights on the newly updated Universal Design for Learning (UDL) 3.0 guidelines and how they feel these guidelines support their academic journey. A Q-sort instrument consisting of 36 statements aligned with UDL 3.0 principles was administered to graduate students at the master’s and doctoral levels. Thirty-two participants completed the Q-sort activity, and factor analysis revealed four distinct viewpoints reflecting varied perceptions of UDL’s relevance and impact within graduate education.

Findings indicate areas of consensus among students, particularly regarding the importance of developing student autonomy …

'Managed Hearts’ In Helper-Education: Gender Non-Binary Helper-Educators’ Experiences Of Emotional Labor, Jordan Pearce

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

The unique experiences of people who identify with a gender beyond the binary paradigm dominant in the Global West are not well understood. The literature provides little insight into the experiences and perspectives of these individuals in a variety of contexts, including in their workplaces. As various social movements collide, they bring amplified attention to the mental health of marginalized communities and to workers, as well as the dynamics of modern work environments, and the specific needs of certain individuals doing certain types of work. The current study explored the experiences of gender non-binary individuals (GNI) working as helper-educators engaged …

From First-Generation To Flourishing: Exploring The Influence Of Academic, Social, And Deeper Life Interactions In Higher Education, Melissa Jean Overton

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Despite comprising half of all undergraduate students (RTI International, 2024) and being widely studied in higher education literature, first-generation students experience many barriers to success and are less likely to graduate than continuing-generation students (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Fry, 2021; Kezar et al., 2023). Social science and higher education scholars have identified flourishing, the presence of complete mental health and holistic well-being (Keyes & Haidt, 2003), as an important outcome of higher education beyond more traditional success metrics, with the thought that flourishing promotes success in other areas.

This study explored how first-generation students’ academic, social, and deeper life interactions …

Toward More Challenge-Engaging Stem Students: A Narrative Inquiry Into Student Persistence In The Face Of Failure, Stephanie R. Fahey

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) postsecondary graduates greatly contribute to advances in technology and research, and STEM fields promise graduates careers with positive long-term outcomes. Many postsecondary students initially choose STEM majors; however, less than half of those students graduate with a STEM degree. High STEM attrition is a problem that continues to vex educators and researchers. One attributable factor to high STEM attrition is students adversely reacting to initial academic failure in challenging STEM educational contexts. However, there are a lack of studies that investigate the individual experiences of students who persist despite academic failure to better understand …

Persistence And Completion Rates Of Community College Students: The Impact Of Receptivity To Social Engagement Scores Compared To Recorded Cocurricular Activity, Nancy Wagner Boylan

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between Ruffalo Noel Levitz College Student Inventory Receptivity to Social Engagement scores and the persistence and completion of community college students. The Ruffalo Levitz College Student Inventory assesses student receptivity to institutional support services. Receptivity scores indicate a student's willingness to accept help in areas such as academic support and social engagement as well as career and financial guidance.

This research explored the impact of documented cocurricular involvement, measured through student activities indicators, on persistence and completion outcomes. Using ex post facto data and binary logistic regression analyses, the research focused on three populations at …

Practicing In The Laboratories Of Democracy: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of How Political Science Faculty Use Simulations With Community College Students, James Stewart Shifflett

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Political science faculty members have often used simulations to promote civic engagement and build political efficacy in students. However, the use of political simulations with community college students has not been studied as extensively as it has with their four-year counterparts. Through the interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, this study examined the experiences of nine political science faculty members who use simulations with community college students to understand how instructional designers might better support their civic engagement and design efforts. Faculty members who participated in the study use simulations as constructive social interactions; as comprehensive learning experiences integrating preparation, facilitation …

Bridging The Gap: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Trio Student Support Services In Promoting Retention, Persistence, And Graduation At Boise State University, Ryan Brevik

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the effectiveness of TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) programs at Boise State University in promoting academic success of first-generation college students, students from financially limited backgrounds, and students with documented disabilities. Using a quantitative, quasi-experimental design, a secondary data analysis was completed to compare fall-to-fall retention rates, four-year graduation rates, and six-year graduation rates between TRIO SSS participants and a matched comparison group of non-participants with similar demographic and academic characteristics. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Appreciative Advising, self-efficacy theory, sense of belonging, student involvement theory, and student persistence models, this study adds to the existing …

Collaborative Action In Education: Empirical Explorations Of The Role Of Partnerships In College Readiness Programs, Jose A. Sanchez

Dissertations

Education gaps exist in the United States in large part because not everyone has equal access to the educational resources or role models that will prepare them to seek a college education. To help combat this phenomenon, Federal and State Governments have promoted college readiness programs via collaborative partnerships between school districts, on the one hand, and colleges and universities, on the other.

To better understand the role that partners can play in creating and sustaining college-readiness programs, this study focused on the history and current practices of collaborations involving oversight of college readiness programs in two school districts. Partnership …

Does Teach Lead To More Teachers? Evaluating The Effects Of The Federal Teach Program, Daniel Sparks

Counseling, Leadership, and Research Methods Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teachers are critical to education production. Yet, recruiting and retaining teachers has remained challenging, particularly in high need fields, at schools serving a high proportion of students from low-income backgrounds, and from racially diverse backgrounds. To incentivize enrollment in teacher preparation programs and to support teacher candidates through degree completion, the federal government implemented the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant in 2008. The TEACH Grant offers undergraduate and graduate students up to $16,000 and $8,000 in grant aid, respectively, to pursue degrees in high need teaching fields. I use difference-in-differences analyses to estimate the effects …

An Editorial Moment Of Silence In Honor Of H. Len Vacher, Nathan D. Grawe

Numeracy

H. Len Vacher, co-founding editor of Numeracy and giant in our field, passed away April 21, 2025. A brief testament to his contributions to numeracy can be found in an editorial in the previous issue of this journal. Here, we take a moment of editorial silence in Len's honor.

20250731: Office Of Assessment, Program Reviews, 2000-2008, Academic Affairs

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of Academic Affairs at Marshall University from 2000-2008. Items were received in 2025 and include program reviews for undergraduate, graduate, and MU SOM programs. Please download the finding aid for a full list of contents.

So Much Fun, They Don't Realize They're Learning: Creating & Implementing Experiential Activities, Steven Austin Stovall

Journal of the North American Management Society

One of the challenges of teaching business students is meaningfully driving home the concepts in a course. Certainly, this can be achieved through lectures, but many instructors want to engage the students in a more active manner. This is where experiential activities come into play. An exercise can be not only an opportunity to reinforce course material, but it can be fun as well. This paper presents a roadmap for developing one’s own experiential activities and is written by an author who has written a casebook on human resources and is a regular contributor to Cengage, Prentice Hall, Sage, and …

Editorial Note, Heather S. Mcmillan

Journal of the North American Management Society

No abstract provided.

July 30, 2025 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Promise In Practice: Building Belonging And Persistence Through Academic Advising, Mary E. Lawrence

Masters Projects

Promise scholarships were created to remove financial barriers to higher education, but financial support is not enough to help students succeed. This project focuses on developing an academic advising office at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) to support students receiving the Grand Rapids Promise Zone (GRPZ) Scholarship. Using Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model and Sanford’s Theory of Challenge and Support as a foundation, the project outlines a culturally responsive and student-centered advising framework. The goal is to improve student retention and persistence, increase academic advising, and build meaningful relationships between students and advisors. Project components include an advising handbook, a …

The George-Anne Daily, Georgia Southern University

George-Anne Media Group: Newsletters & Magazines

No abstract provided.

July 29, 2025 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Schooling: From Industrial Obedience To Techno-Autonomy, Seb Taylor, Ron Roberts Ii

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

This paper examines the enduring architecture of the American education system as a mechanism designed for compliance, not creativity. Rooted in 19th-century industrial logic, the structure of schooling, its physical design, time constraints, and assessment methods, has remained largely static despite seismic cultural and technological shifts. Through historical analysis and contemporary critique, this work interrogates the persistence of standardized methods, institutional prestige, and top-down instruction as barriers to meaningful learning and value creation. Drawing from interdisciplinary research and live case studies, including Alpha School’s AI-powered, mastery-based model, the paper advances the concept of techno-education: a student-centered paradigm informed by feedback …