Digital Commons Network^™

A Mixed-Methods Study: Self-Efficacy And Barriers To Participation In Workplace Wellness Programs, Massiel Perez-Calhoon

Dissertations

America needs a healthy workforce to sustain the country. The scourge of obesity continues to plague Americans despite government initiatives such as the Affordable Care Act and wellness programs in the workplace to combat this epidemic. However, despite initiatives to make America healthy, barriers continued to impede the nation’s health. Lack of awareness and sensitivity to what motivates individual participants versus group participants built formidable barriers to accessing all workplace employees equitably. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, the intent of this study was to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the impact on participation and engagement when …

The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership Style And Employees’ Perception Of Leadership Success In Higher Education, Tatrabian Jackson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The problem addressed examined whether two merged academic institutions was successful in implementing a transformational leadership style within the united organization. Successful leadership cannot be limited to the perception of only the leader, but must include the perceptions of the follower as well. The focus of this study was to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership style and the employee’s perception of leadership success. This research study provides the opportunity to advance the fields of organizational change, management, and academics by examining the success of transformational leadership through the perception of the employees in higher education as it related to …

What Gets Lost In The Numbers: A Case Study Of The Experiences And Perspectives Of Black And Latino Faculty In Academic Medicine, Sylk M. Sotto Santiago

Higher Education: Doctoral Research Projects

The doctoral research examines the experiences and perceptions of underrepresented minority faculty in academic medicine through a case study approach. The study focuses on several stages as presented through a model referred to as the faculty life cycle. Specifically, the study addresses the socialization, mentoring, and professional development experiences of URM faculty in academic medicine. How do URM faculty experience their environment, culture, and climate in academic medicine? And what is their perception of the impact of diversity and inclusion initiatives and offices in academic medicine? This study utilizes the conceptual frameworks of Inclusive Excellence (IE} and Culturally Engaging Campus …

Leadership Perspectives Of Chief Student Affairs Officers, Jeff Beavers

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Leadership in student affairs continues to be a challenging enterprise for universities. Colleges are expected to help students succeed while providing for abundant needs through graduation. Chief student affairs officers have increasing demands of students and faculty amid decreased funds. This exploratory study took an in-depth look at the leadership perspectives of 19 chief student affairs officers at 4-year, public universities across the Midwest. The researcher sought responses on common leadership perspectives, challenges faced, and opportunities encountered. The three emerging themes were elements that inform leadership, knowledge and skills, and mindful leadership outlook. These emergent themes formed the basis for …

Implementation Of State Developmental Education Policy: A Multiple Case Study Of Community College Faculty Perceptions Of Involvement, Shirley Davenport

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Numerous studies have indicated that developmental education as it is currently offered in many colleges and universities produces dismal results, with student success rates averaging as low as 25%. To address this issue, legislators in some states have begun to intervene, adopting policies that vary from suggestions for improvements to mandated pedagogical approaches. However, given the higher education organizational environment, the manner in which any change is implemented can be key to its success.

The purpose of this comparative multiple case study was to describe and interpret the perceptions of developmental education faculty regarding their level of involvement in developmental …

Conceptions Of Change: A Phenomenographical Study Of The Reinvention Initiative At The City Colleges Of Chicago, Jennifer M. Horace

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to add to the literature on community colleges and organizational change. This study explored how interested parties, internal and external, understood the organizational change called the Reinvention Initiative occurring at the City Colleges of Chicago and how this organizational change influenced constituencies' definition of efficiency and effectiveness for the organization. In order to accurately answer the research questions, a qualitative research method called phenomenography was employed. The study used overt and covert data collection to obtain data from stakeholders of the City Colleges of Chicago. The researcher did semi-structured interviews and as well as …

An Interpretative Phenomenological Study Exploring The Experiences Of African American Males In Same Race/Gender Mentoring Relationships While Attending A Predominately White Institution In The South, Jonathan C. Pettigrew

All Dissertations

This exploratory study was undertaken to assess the experiences of undergraduate (and recent graduate) African American male students who were currently involved in a mentoring relationship with another African American male, while attending a Predominantly White Institution in the South. The researcher used purposive sampling to select undergraduate participants who had formed mentoring relationships with other African American males. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and the interview transcripts were analyzed for structural elements or master themes, using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) as a guide. The findings suggest that these relationships played a role in helping undergraduate African American males navigate college …

Information And Communication Technology (Ict) Literacy: Refining A Construct For Assessment, Louis Michael Verdusco

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This research effort conceptualized, developed, implemented, and examined the psychometric properties of an Information & Communication Technology (ICT) literacy assessment instrument designed for students entering college. This process began with the development of a working definition of the ICT literacy based on the literature and the input of a panel of experts regarding the proposed literacy sub-constructs and the individual test items. A pilot test was conducted to identify areas for improvement. Once these improvements were incorporated, the final assessment instrument was administered to the freshmen class at a private Midwestern comprehensive university with religious affiliation.

The psychometric aspects of …

A Big Idea: The Rollout Of Open Suny, Karen E. Case

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Leveraging technology may be a viable solution in the higher education industry as enrollments decline and institutions have a hard time meeting their projected budgets. One innovative approach to mitigating this problem was approved in March of 2013 by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York (SUNY). It is called Open SUNY. Open SUNY consists of nine components: the creation and expansion of online programs to meet workforce development needs, the development of online credit-bearing experiential learning experiences, support for training of faculty who opt to use emerging technologies, support for student access to online courses, …

Love Of Place: The Metropolitan University Advantage: 2015 Cumu National Conference In Omaha, Joseph A. Allen, Kelly Prange, Deborah Smith-Howell, Sara Woods, B. J. Reed

Psychology Faculty Publications

The theme for the 2015 CUMU National Conference in Omaha, NE was “Love of Place: The Metropolitan University Advantage”. The 2015 theme celebrates key elements that establish the identity of metropolitan universities and CUMU as an organization. The theme recognizes the unique opportunities and benefits provided by metropolitan universities for students and communities. Metropolitan universities provide students with enriching educational experiences while contributing to building and strengthening the community. These enriched experiences also support faculty and staff growth as members of the university and community. The theme encouraged conference participants to explore new pedagogical approaches, strategies for sustaining meaningful partnerships, …

Collective Impact Versus Collaboration: Sides Of The Same Coin Or Different Phenomenon?, Kelly Prange, Joseph A. Allen, Roni Reiter-Palmon

Psychology Faculty Publications

Collective impact is a recently developed concept and approach to solving social problems that rectifies many of the issues associated with isolated impact. We compared collective impact and the formal definition of collaboration and made integrations between the two concepts. Specifically, we explored effective assessment and facilitation methods and applied them to collective impact initiatives in order to facilitate more purposeful implementation of collective impact. We concluded that collective impact is a specific form of collaboration.

Arts Education Academics’ Perceptions Of Elearning & Teaching In Australian Early Childhood And Primary Ite Degrees, William J. Baker, Mary Ann Hunter, Sharon Thomas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article presents the findings of an investigation of eLearning & teaching in Arts education in Australian Initial Teacher Education (ITE) degrees. This project used survey and interviews to collect data from academics in 16 universities in 5 Australian states regarding their experiences of eLearning and Arts education. A rigorous and comprehensive thematic, inductive approach to the analysis of data revealed four main themes: congruence and incongruence of eLearning in Arts education with academic identity, dissonance between eLearning and the nature of Arts education, negatively perceived reasons for teaching Arts education in an eLearning mode, and some expressions of positive …

University Food Gardens: A Unifying Place For Higher Education Sustainability, Leslie A. Duram, Sydney K. Klein

Publications

This research describes the key characteristics of campus food gardens and investigates their contribution to overall campus sustainability. An email-survey of fifty-two campus garden managers in North America provided quantitative and qualitative data for this analysis. It was found that gardens are often student initiated and managed, but also bring together diverse stakeholders from the campus and community. These sites increase sustainability awareness as well as overall institutional sustainability. University food gardens provide formal education that overcomes many institutional barriers to interdisciplinary programs. Informal education also occurs at these sites through experiential learning which leads to greater environmental awareness among …

Insights Into Perspectives On Environmental Sustainability, Amber R. Shobe

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

As scientists become more aware of the imposing threats associated with climate change, university leaders are encouraged to become familiar with the principles of sustainability. Abundant research already supports the relevance of environmental sustainability in higher education; however, there exists a gap in the literature which investigates an understanding of environmental sustainability and the implementation of its practices. By examining colleges at the University of Kentucky, this study identifies organizational barriers to recognizing a thorough understanding of environmental sustainability at the departmental level. The results indicate that out of the eight colleges selected, two have no existing environmental sustainability programs …

America’S College Promise: An Economic Evaluation Of President Obama’S Free Community College Plan, Yue Guan

Scripps Senior Theses

In his 2015 State of the Union Address, President Obama announced “America’s College Promise,” a plan to make community college free for all American families making less than $200,000. In this thesis, I provide an analysis of the plan and provide an evaluation of its potential impact on the education attainment gap in the United States. I also evaluate the plan’s various components and assess its potential impact on community college student enrollment, completion, and transfer to four-year universities. Lastly, I offer recommendations for improvement.

Identifying Critical Success Factors: The Case Of Erp Systems In Higher Education, Billy Mathias Bm Kalema Dr, Oludayo O. Olugbara Prof, Ray M. Kekwaletswe Prof

The African Journal of Information Systems

This paper reports on a study that uses a combination of techniques to formally characterize and determine the critical success factors influencing the effective usage of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, with special reference to higher education institutions. The thirty-seven ERP success factors identified from the literature are classified into: Critical, Active, Reactive and Inert categories. The classification of decision factors can generally support organizations to explore their current challenges and to adequately prepare decisions in a more participatory way for future endeavors. This study suggests a possible alternative that decision makers should take when a factor or a set …

Testing The Relationships Among Transformational Factors In A Postsecondary Environment, Gayle B. Wooten

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The external environment is forcing many higher education institutions into transformational change. However, institutional change remains elusive and little research exists that explains how organizational change has been implemented in higher education. This study employed structural equation modeling to test the transformational factors in the Burke-Litwin Organizational Performance and Change model (1992) in a statewide technical college system. Results suggest the extraordinary influence of the external environment in the host organization permeates the culture and mission and strategy, weakening the role of leadership in the organization. The findings support the need for future research in the unique role of transformational …

The Price Of Prestige: A Study Of The Impact Of Striving Behavior On The Expenditure Patterns Of American Colleges And Universities, Kevin Iglesias

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the effect that striving behavior has upon an institution’s expenditures. While not the first study to examine such effects, it was the first to look across a multitude of institutional types, spanning seven levels of Carnegie classifications and encompassing public and private not-for-profit bachelors-granting schools to public and private research institutions. Further, by including 8 distinct lines of expenditures, the study was the first to provide such a comprehensive look at changes in institutional expenditures. The study drew on numerous theoretical constructs, including resource dependency, theory of strategic balance, isomorphism, and Perrow’s theory of prestige in order …

Staff Perceptions Of Work-Environment Factors Affecting Morale In Southeastern Registrar's Offices, Rheanna Plemons

Dissertations

Studies on morale are prevalent in industry, healthcare, and public educational systems. However, morale studies are limited within higher education and focusing on the support staff at universities. This qualitative study used focus groups to identify themes among support staff in selected Registrar’s Offices in the Southeastern region of the United States. Institutions were chosen based on comparable enrollments and similar organizational structure. The researcher asked participants to discuss their perceptions on current morale levels in the office and how different work responsibilities affect morale. In addition, participants were asked to discuss motivators used by leaders and whether those motivators …

The Incorporation Of Sustainability In Higher Education: A Research Synthesis, Catherine M. Bartolini

Higher Education Student Work

In the past decade, sustainability efforts in higher education have become more prevalent across the nation and the world. However, some institutions lack the resources and information on how to successfully create a campus-wide culture that is dedicated to environmentally friendly practices. This study was designed to help direct institutions on the actions they can take to create a sustainably focused campus. Six participants from the offices of sustainability at Babson College and Bryant University were interviewed for this qualitative study. Findings included the significance of incorporating sustainability into the foundation of the institution through signing specific documents that outline …

Integration Of Technology Into A Nursing Curriculum Using A Mixed Method Approach, Susan Ramnarine-Singh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine and 2010 Affordable Care Act addressed the need to use technology in nursing programs. The purpose of this study was to understand faculty perceptions of technology use and integration into the nursing curriculum at a college located in Texas. Lewin’s change theory acted as the theoretical framework to explore organizational dynamics involved in effective strategies. The guiding research questions explored faculty perceptions of technology use, types of technology used, and correlation to teaching experience using a convergent mixed-method approach. Thirty faculty members completed the Teacher’s Intention to Use Technology survey and 15 faculty members …

The Making Of Nova Southeastern University: A Tradition Of Innovation, 1964-2014, Julian M. Pleasants

NSU Books and Book Chapters

Nova Southeastern University is a flourishing university with a fascinating past. Arising from the shared dream of local community businessmen in Broward County, Florida, the university was chartered in 1964. At the time, it had no buildings to its name--just an empty plot of land and a dedicated group of visionary advocates.

On the fiftieth anniversary of NSU’s founding, this book tells the amazing story of what is now one of the largest not-for-profit universities in the United States. Today, Nova Southeastern University serves more than 27,000 students and has produced more than 150,000 alumni. Its main campus in Fort …

Managing From The Middle, Lisa Williams

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

How can middle managers successfully improve work conditions and performance of their staff as part of becoming a better manager? This synthesis reviews relevant literature to develop five key principles in my argument: Motivation is the key, the change process begins with me, change is an ongoing and fluid process, middle managers have a need for team and middle managers play different roles during team building. I have also developed a handy booklet for the middle manager to use in changing their management style, which is included as Appendix. The booklet first briefly explains the principles. It then discusses four …

Academic Realignment: An Investigation Of Change Within A New Academic Unit At A Research University, Abbygail Tull Langham

All ETDs from UAB

Even in normal times, limited resources require U.S. universities to be more open to change. In late 2007, however, a global recession, the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s, intensified constraints on higher education. To achieve intended outcomes, leaders at colleges and universities often reorganize or realign their organizations during challenging times. Indeed, one public doctorate-granting research university with very high research activity in the southeastern United States has responded to the economic crisis by realigning four academic schools into one large college. Scholarly inquiry was needed to understand the impact of this realignment. The purpose of this …

Anomalies In The System: Is A New Educational Paradigm Upon Us?, Ed Cunliff, John Barthell

Administrative Issues Journal

In this article, we describe the palpable changes of a paradigm shift in higher education. Although this shift has been described and/or predicted elsewhere, we affirm the transition from over 30 years of collective teaching and administrative experience at a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI) with historical roots as a state normal school. In many respects, the anomalies that Thomas Kuhn predicted in such a transition are all the more evident given our institution’s history. These anomalies include (but are not limited to) 1) the state of knowledge “ownership” (as mediated by the internet), 2) student-centered (vs. faculty-centered) educational practices, 3) …

The Experiences Of Senior Administrators In Creating Performance Excellence In Thailand's Private Universities, Sarun Saifah

Dissertations

Higher education in Thailand is challenged with increasing pressures. Like other kinds of organizations, universities have been challenged by external, uncontrollable forces. The increased challenges in Thailand's higher education have prompted senior institutional administrators to understand the nature of higher education institutional affairs, and to articulate new solutions and adapt the business world's operational paradigm in quality management to direct their institutions in allocating their limited resources. The purpose of the study was to discover and make meaning of institutional administrative affairs in private universities in Bangkok, Thailand, as perceived by senior level administrators. A case study methodology with constructivist …

Building A Learning Community For Dental Hygiene Faculty, Nancy Baccari

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Have you ever felt isolated in your work environment that left you feeling perplexed and stuck only to find out that colleagues felt the same way you did but had no idea to work around it? Through this practioner’s narrative, I journey through my struggle of teacher isolation to my action plan to make it better. Finding a way to identify my feelings, strengths and weaknesses and move towards change to improve my own work environment describes my experience in the Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) graduate program. This new awareness changed the way I see myself as a leader …

A Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Analysis Of Factors Affecting Technology Adoption By Higher Education Program Faculty, Rolando Jose Marquez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Researchers have revealed that among the reasons provided as barriers to the adoption of technology are: lack of technology resources, time, professional development and support (National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, 1997; Parker, 1996; Sheldon & Jones, 1996; Sheldon & Jones, 1996; NCATE, 1997; Shelly, Gunter & Gunter, 2010, U.S. Congress, 1995). Several models used to explain the usage of technology within education such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) have been somewhat ineffective in explaining or providing a holistic view of the factors that come into play when examining technology infusion and diffusion as they …

It Governance As An Institutionalized Organizational Response In Higher Education: Case Studies Of Three Public Universities, Evelyn E. Winston

Theses and Dissertations

The changes in the environment of higher education related to globalization, immigration, rising social-economic inequality, the knowledge economy and cultural identity (Benjamin, 2003, Collis, 2003) are requiring institutions to make some basic strategic choices. One of these decisions is the extent to which institutions of higher education will make conscious decisions to effectively govern scarce and expensive IT resources. As the role of information technology (IT) evolves into an integral part of most organizations (Liew, 2006), there have been "dramatic technological changes that have transformed computing from a back room utility to a strategic organizational resource" (Ross & Feeny, 1999, …

Peer Mentoring In Higher Education: A Review Of The Current Literature And Recommendations For Implementation Of Mentoring Schemes, Poppy A. Husband, Pamela A. Jacobs

The Plymouth Student Scientist

No abstract provided.