Digital Commons Network^™

Characteristics Of The 21st-Century Honors College, Andrew J. Cognard-Black, Patricia Joanne Smith

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Today, honors education can be found in almost every corner of U.S. higher education. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there also has been significant growth in the number of honors colleges in the United States, but there have been limited data to describe with any precision how fast that growth has been. Sederberg (2005, 2008) was among the first to document the emergence and growth of a distinct honors college organizational form and to identify unique characteristics that distinguish honors colleges from honors programs, but further growth within the organizational field of higher education necessitates an updated profile …

Honors Colleges As Levers Of Educational Equity, Teagan Decker, Joshua Kalin Busman, Michele Fazio

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

While higher education is widely imagined as a tool for social mobility, the realities of enrollment, retention, and professional trajectories betray the conservative mechanisms through which higher education too often reproduces the status quo of inequality. Honors colleges can and should strive to act as levers of equity in this scenario of entrenchment, but the nature of this project varies depending on the institution’s own class position vis-à-vis its students. Elite, highly selective institutions may advocate for enrollment strategies that target student populations that do not typically attend those institutions, but other institutions likely already enroll such students in large …

Revised Avenues Of Assessment In Higher Education In The Presence Of Ai Generative Contents, Muhammad Iqbal

HECA Research Conference

This study explores the impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools on academic assessments, focusing on their efficacy in generating unique content across various domains. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal from CCT College Dublin emphasizes the increasing prevalence of AI generative tools and their potential influence on learning quality in academia. The study addresses concerns related to assessment standards in higher education and proposes the evaluation of AI-generated content reliability.

Developing The Change Agent Competencies Of Occupational Therapy University Students: Using A Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Approach In A Canadian Program, Étienne Lavoie-Trudeau, Tim Dubé, Michaël Beaudoin, Annie Carrier

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Canadian occupational therapy (OT) university programs must teach change agent competencies. These include promoting social justice and empowering clients, which United States occupational therapists also do. Change agent competency requirements are challenging to teach and involve multidisciplinary knowledge and non-traditional skills. As few occupational therapists feel competent to act as change agents, university programs must engage in a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) approach and identify areas of improvement. The aim of this study, informed by SoTL, was to document, as described by participants, the pedagogical activities related to teaching the change agent role in an OT program in …

Policing The College Campus: History, Race, And Law, Vanessa Miller, Katheryn Russell-Brown

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

The structure, impact, and historical roots of campus policing on the American college campus receives little academic attention. In fact, campus policing is often overlooked in legal analyses and research studies, including its relationship to race. Campus policing and race deserves a critical assessment from legal scholars because race is fixed to the ways the criminal-legal system presents itself on campus. The racialized implications of policing on campus are rooted in historical social and legal contexts that still exist today. However, the lack of research on campus policing is not surprising. American colleges and universities have successfully marketed themselves as …

Retaining Employees In A Higher Academic Institution During A Volatile Job Market, Benjamin Novak

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the root cause of the increased rate of employee turnover at a higher educational institution and how to retain their current employees. The importance of this study was to help the educational institution reduce their employee turnover so they do not continue to struggle to find new talent to replace their former employees. The methodology that was utilized in this study was mixed methodology with a convergent design where both the quantitative and qualitative data were collected simultaneously. The quantitative data was collected through an anonymous survey that utilized a 4-point Likert …

Recent Community College Alumni: Increasing Donors Through Communication And Engagement, Beverly Loraine Rufty

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Due to ongoing financial cuts and budget restraints, community colleges have turned to alumni association fundraising to support their mission and advance their institution. Fundraising for any organization is challenging, but community college alumni institutions have a more difficult time than their university counterparts in recruiting alumni donor support. Community college alumni associations must maintain effective communication to successfully engage recent alumni and build relationships with potential donors. The purpose of this study was to analyze the literature and data collection using a convergent mixed methods design to address the lack of financial support from recent community college alumni. This …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Engaged Alienation: Sotl, Inclusivity, And The Problem Of Integrity, Michael K. Potter, Jessica Raffoul

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) defines itself as an inclusive field of study, and scholars have long lauded its ability to engage academics from each and every discipline. Yet SoTL’s research culture has long been dominated by a narrow conception of social science. As a result, the lived experience of scholars from other disciplines, particularly the humanities, is one of engaged alienation. The borders created by SoTL’s research paradigm are invisible to those within and somewhat impenetrable to those who are othered by virtue of their disciplinary identities. This paper interrogates the contradictions between SoTL’s espoused values and …

Transgender And Gender Non-Conforming College Students’ Challenges, Supports, And Successes: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Jennifer R. Curry, Imre Csaszar, Tiffany Shierling

Journal of Higher Education & Student Affairs

We report findings from an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) participants’ perceptions of their on-campus experiences. Participants reported their lived experiences of campus culture in the Deep South. The data was viewed through a minority stress framework. Four major themes emerged: a) supports for students; b) barriers for students; c) undergoing personal change; and d) influencing systemic change.

Title Ix Coordinators’ Perspectives On Title Ix Investigations And Due Process, Arcetta S. Knautz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Title IX Coordinators are responsible for implementing standardized procedures related to each component of Title IX procedures on college and university campuses. The problem this study addressed was the gap in practice regarding the ways colleges and universities implement standardized procedures to ensure equitable due process for involved parties in sexual misconduct cases. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore perspectives of Title IX Coordinators regarding their challenges with implementing standardized procedures set forth by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education, particularly related to sexual misconduct cases and ways to improve equitable due …

2023-2024 Course Catalog, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of The Registrar

University of Montana Course Catalogs, 1895-2024

An annual catalog of courses and course descriptions offered at the University of Montana.

Community On Campus: Examining The Impact Of Campus Climate, Belonging, And Flourishing On Bystander Behavior Among Diverse University Students, Amelia Liadis

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory, nonexperimental study aimed to investigate the relationships among diverse undergraduate and graduate students’ perceived campus climate, flourishing, and university belonging on bystander intentions and bystander behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study’s theoretical framework combined the Theory of Planned Behavior and feminist theory, and examined intersectionality through an Identity Risk Index. Data used in the current study were originally collected as part of an institutional Healthy Minds Survey, on health behaviors of college students; responses from n = 171 of the randomly selected participants were used in the current study’s analyses. The majority of participants indicated at least …

Perceptions Of College/University Students On High School Science And Stem Courses, Brian Park

Theses and Dissertations

Over the years, the evolution of science along with technology, engineering, and mathematics has been noticeably evident while science education, on the other hand, has shown little development. The research study aimed to investigate future change initiative implementation in secondary science curricula. In addition, the purpose of the research was to learn and examine postsecondary students' perceptions of how well secondary science education prepared them for the postsecondary level plus for schools to utilize the feedback received from students to further improve the quality of science education. The data for the study were collected through semi-structured interviews with 10 college/university …

Drawing To Conceptualize Research, Reduce Implicit Bias, And Establish Researcher Positionality In The Graduate Classroom, Alissa A. Droog, Kari D. Weaver, Frances Brady

Faculty Books & Book Chapters

Through reflection, coupled with literature to ground our thinking, this chapter discusses the experiences of three librarians with the use of conceptual drawings about research processes as an equitable pedagogical practice. This drawing technique has pushed each of us to understand research in different ways and reflect on our own positionality as researchers and as teachers in the classroom. First, Kari D. Weaver considers how drawing research shapes an individual’s understanding of themselves as a scholar. Second, Alissa Droog reflects on the use of drawing to understand how research relates to our identities. Finally, Frances Brady connects drawing to further …

Beliefs Of Higher Education Online Faculty Regarding The Integration Of Multimedia, Kimberly Diane Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Integration of multimedia resources in higher education curricula continues to be a concern for today’s teachers, especially in identifying effective, efficient, and engaging resources that provide individualized instruction and meet a variety of learning needs. However, there was a gap in the literature regarding teachers' beliefs about multimedia integration within the context of adult learning in online higher education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the benefits and challenges higher education online teachers experienced when integrating multimedia resources into their courses. The research question explored the beliefs of higher education online instructors about their experiences when …

Title Ix Coordinators’ Perspectives On Title Ix Investigations And Due Process, Arcetta S. Knautz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Title IX Coordinators are responsible for implementing standardized procedures related to each component of Title IX procedures on college and university campuses. The problem this study addressed was the gap in practice regarding the ways colleges and universities implement standardized procedures to ensure equitable due process for involved parties in sexual misconduct cases. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore perspectives of Title IX Coordinators regarding their challenges with implementing standardized procedures set forth by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education, particularly related to sexual misconduct cases and ways to improve equitable due …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Running The Gauntlet: Barriers For Black Women Academics In Higher Education Research Productivity, Crishana Dionne Benton

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Internationally, research productivity bears significance for an institution’s reputation and overall research ranking. Many previous efforts surrounding faculty issues have focused on individual faculty research productivity. This study reimagined the definition of productivity as an academic’s impact on scholarly research, evidenced by their h-index.

At the same time, the need for diversity of faculty populations is becoming more urgent, even in a time when the number of tenure-earning faculty positions is diminishing and those which remain are occupied mainly by white men. To add to the disparities, it is reported that only 4% of full-time faculty are Black women. Black …

An Introduction To Local And Global Health Behaviors Using A Collaborative Online International Learning Exchange, Niamh M. Higgins, Lisa B. Smith

Psychology Faculty Publications

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), uses technology to facilitate the engagement of students from different countries in collaborative coursework and sharing of cultural perspectives. The existing literature concerning COIL exchanges points to the need to further explore student satisfaction and engagement with such exchange projects, and whether course learning outcomes are being achieved. This practice paper describes a COIL exchange between students of health psychology at Mary Immaculate College, Ireland, and Sacred Heart University, in the United States. During this 10-week project students were required to engage in synchronous and asynchronous activities. Following the completion of the COIL project, students …

Exploring The Role Of Institutional Culture In Student Affairs Assessment Practitioners’ Experiences Implementing Equity-Centered Assessment, Jaime L. Williams

Theses and Dissertations

Student affairs assessment is a field in higher education that emphasizes the measurement of effectiveness and student learning in student serving programs that take place outside of the classroom. Outcomes-based assessment is the basis of most assessment practices in student affairs, and focuses on the continuous improvement of out-of-classroom programs, services, and student learning. Many assessment practices stem from traditional research methods, which have been developed by people who hold mostly majority identities. These methods were not created with the rapidly changing demographics of today’s college-going students in mind. To help address the increasing diversity of college students and the …

Feedback In Context: A Case Study Of Students’ Perceptions Of The Role, Value, And Use Of Instructor Feedback In A College Writing Course, Susan J. Roach

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This case study investigated first-year composition students’ perceptions of instructors’ written feedback. Participants reported on their understanding of the role of feedback, how they processed feedback, and if and how they used it. Thirty-one participants completed a short online survey; the responses were analyzed to identify students who exhibited a range of attitudes and practices. From this group, 15 students were chosen to participate in semi-structures interviews that included a think aloud exercise that asked them to go over previously graded drafts from their class. The findings of this study support that, although students profess they appreciate and see value …

Identifying Success Strategies For Hmong American Students In Higher Education, Jason Xiong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Hmong Americans' postsecondary completion rates remain low when compared to other Asian ethnic groups. As the Hmong population continues to grow, so does the need for intervention to increase the total number of postsecondary graduates. Many Hmong Americans are first-generation college students and continue to face challenges and barriers that prevent them from being successful in higher education. “Forty-seven and a half percent of Hmong adults (25 years or older) reported having attended college, but not earning a degree” (National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, 2011). Without a college degree, Hmong Americans face limited resources …

Beliefs Of Higher Education Online Faculty Regarding The Integration Of Multimedia, Kimberly Diane Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Integration of multimedia resources in higher education curricula continues to be a concern for today’s teachers, especially in identifying effective, efficient, and engaging resources that provide individualized instruction and meet a variety of learning needs. However, there was a gap in the literature regarding teachers' beliefs about multimedia integration within the context of adult learning in online higher education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the benefits and challenges higher education online teachers experienced when integrating multimedia resources into their courses. The research question explored the beliefs of higher education online instructors about their experiences when …

Leading A Business School, Julie Davis, Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel, Rolf D. Cremer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Business schools are critical players in higher education, educating current and future leaders to make a difference in the world. Yet we know surprisingly little about the leaders of business schools. Leading a Business School demystifies this complex and dynamic role, offering international insights into deans’ dilemmas in different contexts and situations. It highlights the importance of deans creating challenging and supportive learning cultures to enhance business and management education, organizations and society more broadly. The book traces the historical evolution of the business school deanship, the current challenges and future sources of disruption. The leadership characteristics and styles of …

Navigating Conflict During Periods Of Change In Higher Education: Deconstructing Academic Leaders’ Construction Of Meaning, Tyler Guy Olson

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Navigating departmental and organizational conflict is an essential function and responsibility of an academic unit leader (dean, associate dean, director, or chair) in higher education institutions (HEIs). During periods of organizational change, conflict tends to increase in complexity and difficulty—in part due to resistance to change—making it more difficult to manage in a constructive manner (Marcus, 2014). Much of the literature that looks at the academic unit leader and conflict focuses on personal conflict styles (or modes), types of conflicts encountered, and training on techniques and skills for conflict resolution and management. Missing from the literature is research that examines …

Student Evaluation Of Teaching: Reactions Of Australian Academics To Anonymous Non-Constructive Student Commentary, Marie Hutchinson, Rosanne Coutts, Debbie Massey, Dima Nasrawi, Jann Fielden, Megan Lee, Richard Lakeman

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Within Australian higher education, student evaluation of teaching (SET) is regularly conducted and data are utilised for quality control and staff appraisal. Within current methodologies, students can anonymously provide further feedback as written commentary. There is now growing evidence that, once this narrative becomes derogatory or abusive, it may have the potential to create harm. To investigate staff reactions to receiving anonymous non-constructive commentary, a one group point in time design was constructed, and a survey conducted. Participants (N = 741) from a broad cross-section of Australian universities responded to Likert questions asking about their reactions. A significant impact was …

Dismantling The Master's House: A Decolonial Blueprint For Internationalization Of Higher Education, Bhavika Sicka, Minghui Hou

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

While critical scholars have attempted to decenter internationalization, limited research has aimed to understand internationalization efforts in the context of the socio-historical particularities of the postcolonial condition. This paper takes a decolonial perspective in the study of internationalization, in light of the Eurocentric tendencies of modernity, whose major manifestation in higher education is neoliberal globalization. We unpack internationalization in the U.S. and examine how it is embedded in and reproduces neoliberalism, racism, and colonialism. Since decolonization is not merely deconstructive but also regenerative, we reconceive what it means to be international and recommend how internationalization can be deployed as a …

Becoming A Restorative University, David R. Karp Phd

School of Leadership and Education Sciences: Faculty Scholarship

This article describes the concept of a restorative university, an organisation that embraces restorative justice principles and practices. The article reviews the emergence of contemporary restorative justice; a framework for restorative justice in higher education; implementation in student affairs; the place of restorative justice in academic affairs; restorative justice and organisational culture; what we know about campus implementation, including results of a survey of universities; and suggestions for practical next steps for higher education institutions to become more restorative. Where possible, the article references restorative applications globally, but predominantly focuses on university campuses in the United States.

Title Ix’S Unrealized Potential To Prevent Sexual Violence, Katharine B. Silbaugh

Faculty Scholarship

The mandate of Title IX is equality in educational opportunities. If educational institutions could prevent sexual assaults from occurring, they would more fully ensure that students are not limited in their ability to benefit from the school’s educational programs. However, Title IX administration on college campuses still focuses far more on post-assault infrastructure than on assault prevention.

Yet with the ever-increasing particularity of the assault response requirements emanating from the Department of Education (“DOE”)2 and courts, Title IX jurisprudence has strayed too far from this basic purpose: to ensure that students in federally funding schools are not denied or limited …