Digital Commons Network^™

June 17, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Project-Based Learning Model On Entrepreneurship (Pjbl-E) With A Deep Learning Approach On Students' Problem-Solving And Cognitive Skills, Ricce Oktasari, Irwandi Irwandi, Siti Darwa Suryani

Jurnal Pendidikan Sains

This study aims to examine the effect of the Entrepreneurship-based Project Based Learning (PjBL-E) model integrated with a pedagogical Deep Learning approach on students’ problem-solving skills and cognitive learning outcomes in biology learning. The novelty of this study lies in the integration of entrepreneurship values and pedagogical deep learning principles into Project Based Learning to create contextual and meaningful learning experiences. Entrepreneurship integration encourages students to develop innovative products, identify real-world problems, and apply biological concepts in practical and socio-economic contexts. Meanwhile, the pedagogical Deep Learning approach promotes reflective thinking, conceptual understanding, critical analysis, and the ability to connect theory …

Barriers And Beliefs: Narratives Of Mental Health Help-Seeking Among First-Generation Latino/Hispanic College Students, Karina L. Alba Lockhart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Mental health challenges among college students in the United States have increased in recent years, yet first-generation Latino/Hispanic college students continue to underutilize available services while facing unique cultural and structural barriers to care. This qualitative narrative study explored how first-generation Latino/Hispanic college students made meaning of mental health help-seeking in relation to perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and cultural values such as familismo and stigma. Guided by the health belief model and cross-cultural psychology, this study recruited 15 participants from four-year institutions in the United States and collected data through an online asynchronous questionnaire. Thematic and narrative analysis revealed that …

Internships As A High-Impact Practice: A Phenomenological Study Of Hbcu Student Experiences With Soft Skills, Michelle Bennett Simmons

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe soft skill development gains through high-impact practice internship experiences for Black students at an HBCU in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The theory presented informed and supported the focus of inquiry was Kolb’s experiential learning theory. This theory served as the theoretical framework for the study to answer the following central research question: What are the lived experiences of HBCU Alpha University students who participate in HIP internships? Participants included 10 Black students at Alpha University who completed an internship. The participants were selected using purposeful sampling. Data was collected through …

Responsive Rigor And Strategic Care: Faculty Praxis For Holistic Student Success In The Community College, Jennifer Elizabeth Kelley

Dissertations

This qualitative study examines how community college faculty conceptualize, communicate, and enact academic rigor and care in their teaching practice. While post-pandemic debates have positioned rigor and care as opposing forces—evident in the "Rigor Wars" that framed care as performative laxity and rigor as gatekeeping—community college faculty successfully integrate these practices to support holistic student success. This research addresses critical gaps in higher education scholarship, which has studied rigor and care separately, focused primarily on four-year institutions, and overlooked faculty perspectives on how integration occurs in practice. Drawing on a single-case study of 38 faculty members at a large Midwestern …

June 16, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Prompt: Coding The Magis In The Age Of Ai, Vanessa Rotondo

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

As a scholar-practitioner in Jesuit higher education, I’ve witnessed how generative AI is not merely a tool students use—it’s a formative force that shapes how they reflect, imagine, and even pray. Drawing on the Catholic imagination, Ignatian pedagogy, and sociological frameworks like liquid modernity, I argue that Jesuit institutions must respond not just technologically and reactively, but actively anticipate methods of integrating AI both theologically and pedagogically. I introduce the concept of Imaginative Intelligence as a formative goal—an embodied, sacramental way of knowing that invites depth, wonder, and resistance to automation. This is not a call to reject AI, but …

“Cool People Doing Good Work”: A Rights-Based, Relational Model For Research, Teaching, And Outreach Rooted In Urban Settings, Saúl López, Gabriel Velez, Melissa Gibson, Robert Smith

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Urban Catholic institutions of higher education are being challenged to do more when it comes to working with communities that surround them at the same time as they face multiple external pressure and must clearly define the value of their mission. In this article, we present a model for community-engaged practices that emerge from the ground up to move these institutions more in line with Catholic Social Teaching. “Cool People Doing Good Work” is an adaptable model centered around relationship building and authentic engagement with local experts, stakeholders, and community members that then builds to institutional change. This model places …

Faculty And Staff Formation In Jesuit Higher Education: The Scholarship And Art Of Accompaniment, Belle Liang, Maria Gregoire, Elisa Liang

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

This study examines the formative impact of selected faculty and staff formation initiatives offered at Boston College, with particular attention to those shaped by Ignatian spirituality. Drawing on qualitative survey data from 134 participants, the analysis identifies interrelated conditions through which formation is experienced as a coherent process rather than a set of discrete programs. Across initiatives, renewal and vocational clarity were most often described through four conditions: People, Pause, Place, and Purpose, understood here as the alignment of values, commitments, and lived practice. Presence emerged as the relational medium through which People, Pause, Place, and Purpose became formative. Presence …

Integral Education, Institutional Solidarity: A Response To Arturo Sosa’S 2025 Iaju Address, Paul L. Lynch

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

During the 2025 meeting of the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) at the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa offered the keynote address, “The Jesuit University: Witness to Hope, Creative and Dialogical Presence.” He urged the global university apostolate to respond to our common challenges: the climate crisis, political reactionism, institutional mistrust, and economic inequality. The Jesuit university, he insisted, must reimagine itself in order to respond to these threats. But the precise manner in which Jesuit universities should respond must still be articulated. This essay begins that project. It opens with an analysis …

Editorial: On Change, Again, Kari Kloos

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Classroom: Leveraging Community Engaged Learning To Teach Corporate Social Responsibility In Sport Management, Amanda Greene Dr., Charles Jones, Natalie Smith

The COSMA Journal

This manuscript presents a case study exploring the use of community engaged learning (CEL) to teach corporate social responsibility (CSR) in an upper-level sport management course. The purpose of this study is to examine how participation in a semester long community engaged learning experience influences student understanding of corporate social responsibility, civic identity, and theory-to-practice application. Students partnered with a local nonprofit affiliated with a professional sport organization to design and execute a donor engagement event addressing youth needs in the community. Guided by experiential learning theory, the course emphasized out-of-classroom learning, industry mentorship, and reflective practice. A longitudinal qualitative …

The Muddy Waters Of The Syllabus: A Tale Of Feminist Pedagogical Failure And Redemption., Kristin Comeforo

Feminist Pedagogy

This critical commentary interrogates the syllabus, and questions whether these ubiquitous documents can ever be consistent with feminist pedagogy. Through discussion of literature around syllabus (re)design, I suggest that current feminist pedagogy syllabus practices are ill-suited for overturning what I call the “neoliberal university syllabus complex” that makes teaching and learning for transformation impossible. More suited for this task is the radical practice of “the un-syllabus,” a collaborative document written by the class community.

Transfer Of Learning From Simulation To Clinical Practice: Slp Graduate Student Experiences In Medical Externships, Karen D. Villanueva, Kerry C. Mandulak, Amanda Stead, Patrick Walden

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The purpose of this project was to explore the impact of participation in simulation-based learning (SBL) with standardized patients on graduate speech-language pathology students’ clinical experiences in healthcare externships. This study aims to understand how students perceive the impact of prior SBL participation during clinical practice and how this perceived impact changes over time. Students chose to participate in SBL experiences centered on conducting a clinical swallow evaluation (CSE) with adult standardized patients prior to completing full-time medical externship placements. During their externships, students participated in two structured interviews and completed three anonymous critical incident technique (CIT) questionnaires over eleven …

Community Within Medical Universities: Finding Belonging, Elizabeth Cunio

be Still

This piece highlights the importance of community and belonging in higher education, specifically medical education. This piece reflects on how value of the student in the design process ensures a sense of beloning in the community.

The Flight Of The Purdue Owl: An Institutional History, Harry C. Denny, Vicki R. Kennell, Garrett I. Colón

The Founders Series

The Flight of the Purdue OWL: An Institutional History chronicles both the widely known Purdue OWL website and the lesser-known but much-celebrated on-campus writing center. Purdue University is renowned for its world-class STEM curriculum as well as its intercollegiate athletics. The university also receives considerable attention, however, for the OWL website, which is one of the most used educational resources in the world. The on-campus OWL is also a highly regarded collegiate writing center. This book tells the history of how the Purdue OWL grew out of decades of faculty working with students and their desire for a laboratory where …

2026-06-15 Message From The President, Morehead State University. Office Of The President.

Staff Congress Records

Message sent on June 15, 2026 by the President to the campus community regarding modified hours, upcoming dates of importance, Board of Regents meeting summary, and campus personnel announcements and updates.

Human Wisdom And Artificial Intelligence: Role Of Liberal Arts Education In A Neoliberal World, Purna Chandra Bhusal

Critical Humanities

Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that originated in the 1930s and 40s, gained momentum in the late 70s and 80s, and peaked in the 90s and 2000s. Since its inception, neoliberalism has promoted a free-market economy with minimal state intervention, granting individuals the freedom to compete and succeed. Since the last quarter of the twentieth century, the neoliberal system has invested in, incorporated, and promoted Artificial Intelligence (AI), valuing an AI-enhanced corporate ethos. As a result, the success of higher education is generally measured by the quantity of technologically sound, market-ready, AI-trained human capital it produces for industry. …

Enhancing Access And Social Mobility: Metro State University's Liberal Arts Mission In Action, Kristen Lillvis, Kate Ries

Critical Humanities

This article examines how a liberal arts framework has guided Metropolitan State University’s responses to political, financial, and social pressures on higher education. Drawing on the university’s history as an access-oriented, urban institution, the authors present two case studies—the North Star Promise scholarship and emergency grant funding—to demonstrate how mission-driven investments in students’ basic needs advance social mobility and strengthen institutional sustainability. The authors argue that prioritizing student supports, including those available through short-term or contingent opportunities, yields long-term benefits for learners, their communities, and the university.

Submitted: April 13, 2026

Accepted: May 21, 2026

Bridging Interprofessional Gaps: A Pilot Study On Aac And Asl Training For Allied Health Profession Students, Angela M. Riccelli, Danielle Osmelak, Leslie Guca, Keith Werosh, Valerie Coolman, Rebecca Kvasnicka

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Interprofessional education (IPE) is recognized as a critical component of health professions training, equipping future clinicians with the skills necessary for collaborative practice and patient-centered care. However, students in speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy programs often have limited exposure to individuals who rely on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) or American Sign Language (ASL). This study evaluated the impact of a grant-funded, AAC- and ASL-focused IPE event at Governors State University on students’ self-reported interprofessional competencies. Using the Interprofessional Collaborative Competencies Attainment Survey (ICCAS-R) developed by Archibald, D., Trumpower, D., and MacDonald, C.J., in 2009 and revised in …

Big Fish Or Little Pond? National Evidence On The Relationship Between Transferring And Athletic Performance Within Division I Men's College Basketball, Kendall Cole, Francis A. Pearman Ii, Saurabh Khanna

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Beginning with the introduction of the transfer portal in 2018, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made several policy changes that have made transferring both easier and more desirable among student athletes, particularly in Division I (DI) revenue-generating sports. Yet, little is known about the relationship between transferring and student athletes’ athletic performance. Using individual- and team-level data on all DI men’s college basketball student athletes from the 2018-19 season through the 2023-24 season, we examine the relationship between transferring and athletic performance, specifically one’s points per game, minutes per game, and number of games started per season. Results …

June 12, 2026 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnerships Humanize Teaching And Learning: A Phenomenological Study, Kiersten Ann Hillkirk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study, guided by Gadamer’s (2004) ideas, explored the lived experiences of student consultants and faculty members participating in a student-faculty pedagogical partnership program. Framed by humanizing pedagogy (Freire, 1970; Salazar, 2013) and students as partners (Healey et al., 2014) as the conceptual foundation, the study examined how collaborative teaching and learning relationships can promote more equitable, dialogic, and transformative educational practices. Participants included three student consultants and three faculty members at a private research university in the western United States.

Data were collected through nine in-depth phenomenological interviews (Seidman, 2019) and supplemented with written reflections and entry/exit …

Higher Education Institutions In U.S. Blockchain Innovation Governance Documents, Clarissa Terracciano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blockchain technologies have attracted growing attention as an evolution of digital recordkeeping, prompting interest in higher education governance, credentialing, and data management. Yet, no systematic analysis exists on how U.S. government blockchain documents define institutional roles and governance authority within higher education institutions. As the national blockchain innovation system expands through governance infrastructure, the inclusion of higher education institutions as governing actors is imperative for coherent and equitable deployment. This qualitative study examines what roles the U.S. government blockchain documents assign to higher education institutions within the national blockchain innovation system.

Using innovation systems theory, particularly the triple-helix model of …

Exploring Engineering Technology: A Multi-Year, Multidisciplinary Project-Based Engineering Technology Workshop, Benito Mendoza, Angran Xiao, Muhammad Ummy

Publications and Research

Many students enter engineering technology programs with a limited understanding of disciplinary differences, curricular expectations, and career pathways, contributing to early dissatisfaction and attrition. To address this challenge, we developed Exploring Engineering Technology, a multidisciplinary, project-based workshop that introduces students to Mechanical, Electrical, and Computer Engineering Technology through a shared robotic systems project. This paper presents a multi-year design-based educational research (DBER) study documenting the iterative refinement and sustained implementation of the workshop across three consecutive summers (2023–2025) at a large urban public college. Using a consistent post-workshop survey administered across cohorts and aggregate student progression indicators, we examine …

20260612: School Service Bureau & List Of School Plays, 1897-1925, President's Office

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of the President at Marshall University from 1897-1925. Items were received in the 1980s sometime but were not processed until 2026. Items in this collection include notable materials including 14 brochures and handouts of "school plays." Although unsure why they were with the president's papers, they do document the events taking place at Marshall in an early era. Also included is the Marshall College School Service Bureau (brochures and pamphlets from 1924-1925) and a list of community speakers. Please download the inventory for a complete list of the contents.

20260611: Institutional Advisory Board, 1971-1983, President's Office

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of the President at Marshall University from 1971-1983. Items were received in the 1980s at some point and include notable materials including notes from the Presidential Advisory Board in 1971 and 1983 respectively, and from the Presidential search in 1983. Please download the inventory for a complete list of the contents.

June 10, 2026 Blazer Weekly, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

Blazer Weekly (student newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Evolving Roles And Realities In Canadian Academic Law Libraries, Yemisi Dina, Sharon Wang, Sooin Kim, Alexia Loumankis

Librarian Publications & Presentations

Canadian academic law libraries are undergoing profound transformation, shaped by shifting university funding models, restructured institutional reporting lines, and the accelerating move toward digital legal information. This plenary session will explore how law libraries across Canada are responding to these pressures while continuing to support legal education, research, and access to justice.

20260610: Academic Affairs, 1995-1996, Academic Affairs

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the office of Academic Affairs at Marshall University from the 1995-1996 Academic Year. Items were received in 1997 and were processed in 2026. Materials from the Accreditation self-study from the 1995-1996 school year are present in this collection. There are two copies of this report.