Digital Commons Network^™

Individual Differences As Predictors Of Success For Learning Community Students, Nicole Haffield

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Learning communities have been receiving attention by the higher education community in recent years (Cross, 1998; Smith, 2001; Stassen 2003). The attention around learning communities seems to largely be centered around their apparent wide-ranging benefits for student outcomes, including improved student retention, achievement and engagement. This research focuses on which types of students may be most successful in learning community programs in a college setting. Specifically, we wanted to understand if and how the Hogan Personality Inventory, and other motivational factors predict learning community student outcomes such as GPA, retention, and program engagement. None of the original hypotheses were supported. …

Evaluating A Measure Of Student Effectiveness In An Undergraduate Psychology Program, Colin Omori

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study evaluates the utility of a measure of student knowledge in various areas of psychology. The 40-item measure is a revision of a pilot test from last year, and was distributed to 90 undergraduate psychology students at a Midwestern university. The average score on the assessment was 19.87 (SD = 6.20), or 49.68%. Future directions for the assessment include validation by professors, leading to the revision and removal of items. An additional suggestion is increased enforcement in regard to student participation: The study's 90-student sample was obtained after omitting 173 students who did not finish the exam, did not …

Bryant University Undergraduate Course Catalog 2017-2018

Bryant University Undergraduate Course Catalog

No abstract provided.

A Quantitative Study On The Influence Of Persistence Factors On American Indian Graduate Students, Aislinn Rae Heavy Runner-Rioux

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The underrepresentation of American Indian students continues to exist at the undergraduate and graduate levels of postsecondary education despite increases of American Indian student enrollment. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to identify correlations between academic factors and graduate student persistence, as well as to understand how likely graduate degree completion is based on known academic factors for American Indian students. The analyses of the data included survey results, descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation, and multivariate regression. A sample of n=63 American Indian Graduate students represented 41 tribes and villages with over 32 unique tribal languages. The respondents indicated …

Called To Teach: A Mixed Methods Exploration Of Community College Adjunct Faculty’S Teaching Self-Efficacy, Christy L. Tyndall

Theses and Dissertations

Adjunct faculty teach over 50% of courses in U.S. higher education but little is known about them as educators. Strong evidence has been found in the K-12 literature demonstrating the link between teachers’ beliefs, instructional practices, and subsequent student outcomes. Teaching self-efficacy, beliefs in one’s capabilities to perform specific tasks in a particular context, is an important contributor to motivation and performance (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). This research advances teaching and learning literature in higher education and provides insight into an understudied population of educators by exploring adjunct faculty’s teaching self-efficacy and factors that influence those beliefs. In this mixed …

The Influence Of Academic Momentum And Associate Degree Credit Requirements On Community College Student Degree Completion, Daniel Knox

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study addresses gaps in the theoretical and policy literature by examining the relationship between associate degree program credit requirements and four student outcomes: associate degree attainment, time to degree, final associate degree grade point average, and persistence. Using student unit record data, a longitudinal quantitative study of a cohort of community college students was conducted for the observational period of fall semester 2011 through winter semester 2016, in order to determine if community college students enrolled in academic programs with higher minimum credit requirements have different outcomes than students in programs with lower minimum credit requirements.

International Students Experience In Teacher Education: Creating Context Through Play Workshops, Dawn Joseph, Elizabeth Rouse

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Higher education in Australia attracts many international students. Universities are challenged to prepare them with the necessary understandings, knowledge and skills to effectively participate in their study. For international students, understanding Early Childhood contexts in Australia is a new way of viewing teaching and learning from their own cultural perspective. This paper situates itself as part of a wider study “Improving work placement for international students, their mentors and other stakeholders”. A pilot program was run at Deakin University for the Master of Teaching Early Childhood students to undertake play workshops before commencing placement. Questionnaires were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological …

Found In Translation : How Social Work Education Can Support Student Practice With Language-Discordant Client Systems, Martha Ann Early

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study’s research question was "How can schools of social work support their students to work with language-discordant client systems (LDCS)?" In addition to the need for general support, social work students are preparing to enter a field where the patient population is growing increasingly diverse in terms of ethnicity, culture and language ability. Participants in the study described herein were current and recent social works students who were recruited for sample membership via broad social media outreach, supplemented with outreach to the researcher's professional network

The findings of this study indicate that the role of schools of social work …

Student’S Oral Health Knowledge, Oral Health Practices, And Their Susceptibility To Oral Health Diseases At A Midwestern University, Mouhamed Koubaytari

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Poor oral health knowledge and poor oral health practices have been a silent epidemic in the United States of America. This self-perpetuating cycle of poor oral health knowledge and poor oral health practices have affected groups of people in the United States with low income who are at risk of population due to the lack of insurance. Scholars have shown that poor oral health can result from a lack of access to preventive care (dental appointments) and restorable care when dental diseases or issues may be fixed. Poor oral health knowledge may lead to poor oral health self-care practices down …

Dwelling In The Ruins: Recovering Student Use Of Metaphor In The Posthistorical University, Daniel P. Richards

English Faculty Publications

This article argues that the field of Rhetoric and Composition has long harnessed the active potential of metaphor to change its own practices but has considerably overlooked student use of metaphor--a particularly urgent oversight given the metaphorical battleground that constitutes the discourse of contemporary higher education. Using this exigency, the article 1) explains how a more thorough reading of Lakoff and Johnson's popular work on metaphor theory can re-energize Rhetoric and Composition to be more inclusive of student experiences in classroom coverage of metaphor and 2) offers imaginative but concrete pedagogical approaches and activities aimed at facilitating student learning of …

Mapping Student Days: Collaborative Ethnography And The Student Experience, Andrew Asher, Jean Amaral, Juliann Couture, Barbara Fister, Donna Lanclos, M. Sara Lowe, Mariana Regalado, Maura A. Smale

Publications and Research

Research on students’ educational experiences demonstrates the importance of a holistic understanding of the complexity of students’ lives in developing library programs, services, and resources that effectively address undergraduate needs. The “A Day in the Life” (ADITL) Project investigated a typical day for over 200 students at eight diverse higher education institutions in the US. Examining the local and individual expressions of student taskscapes – the ensemble of interrelated social activities across time and space – placed each student’s relationship to their library in a larger description of their academic and personal lives. By exploring the whole student experience, this …

Black Degrees Matter: A Phenomenological Study Of Southern Californians With Hbcu Bachelors' And Mainstream Institutional Graduate Degrees In California, Kenya Kirklen Cobb Boykin

Theses and Dissertations

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established with the main objective of identifying and empowering people of African descent. Over the years, these institutions have grown, enrolling 16% of Black high school graduates and during graduation, almost 20% of African-American graduates. Using a qualitative study design, the main goal of this study was to identify the effectiveness of HBCUs’ ability to serve the interests and needs of African-American students who chose to attend and graduate from HBCUs as undergraduate students then attend and graduate from graduate schools at predominantly White institutions (PWIs.) This study inquired about focusing on the …

Best Practices In Adult Online Learning, Autumn Luscinski

Theses and Dissertations

Students in the United States are obtaining more college degrees than ever before. In 1975, 21.9% of Americans held bachelor’s degrees, and in 2012, 33.5% of Americans held bachelor’s degrees (Rampell, 2013). A study in 2011 indicated that Americans possessing a bachelor’s degree earn approximately $2.27 million, those with master’s degrees earn $2.67 million and those with doctoral degrees earn $3.65 million over their adult lifetime, dwarfing those with some college, who earn $1.55 million, or no college, who earn $1.30 million (Burnsed, 2011). Unfortunately, the increase in college degree attainment in the United States does not include all Americans. …

2017-2018 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.

Perpetual Evolution: A School's-Focused Public Law Litigation Model For Our Day, James S. Liebman

Faculty Scholarship

In celebrating the monumental accomplishments of the new form of public law litigation that Constance Baker Motley and her colleagues pioneered, this Essay reinterprets their paradigm-shifting body of work in a manner that obliges the current generation of civil rights advocates to change direction. In the hopes of reengaging the affirmative force of constitutional litigation after decades in which it has waned, this Essay argues that the central lesson to be derived from Motley’s generation lies not in the mode of public law litigation it pioneered but in the design of that litigation in the image of the dominant form …

African American Students In A California Community College: Perceptions Of Cultural Congruity And Academic Self-Concept Within A Black Culture Center, Tenisha Celita James

Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the cultural congruity and academic self-concept of African American students in a community college setting who participated in a Black Culture Center. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between cultural congruity and academic self-concept through the following two research questions: what relationship, if any, exists between cultural congruity and academic self-concept, and does cultural congruity influence academic self-concept among African American students participating in a Black Culture Center in a two-year historically White college setting. The results of this study provide support for both hypotheses: there was a significant positive …

Research Brief: "Understanding Transition Experiences Of Combat Veterans Attending Community College", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This brief summarizes a scholarly article of the same name. It reviews research which examines the transition experiences of student veterans as they navigate attending community college.

Weatherford: Undergraduate Catalog 2017-2018, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Sayre: Undergraduate Catalog 2017-2018, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Undergraduate Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Reflector Magazine, Georgia Southern University, Student Media

Reflector Magazine

• Gnat's Landing: A Place You'll Always Want To Come Back To
• Food For Thought
• A Town For Recovery
• Basics of Birth Control
• Hop Into This Spring's New Trends
• Basics of Birth Control
• Hop Into This Spring's New Trends
• Kratom: The Lesser-Known Herb Fighting for Equality
• Traveling in Your 20's
• Career Tips For College Students
• Paying the Price for Higher Education
• Pros vs. Cons: A Glance at Business vs Liberal Arts Degrees
• Underground Statesboro
• The Art of Fiction: The Importance and Relevance of Political Media

Graduate Student Perceptions Of Support Services In Online Degree Programs, Lydia Karakolidis Cross

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Increasing enrollments of online students has impacted higher education institutions over the last twenty years. While much of the research related to online learning has focused on instructional design and student persistence variables, the role of student support services is a needed area of research. This study set out to evaluate online graduate students’ perceptions of their satisfaction and importance in three student support service areas: enrollment services, academic services, and student services at one public, four-year institution in southeastern Georgia. Findings from this quantitative study indicated satisfied online graduate students in a majority of the areas, with mean difference …

Chinese International Students In A Northwest University: Investigating Cultural Academic Learning And Teaching Preferences, Michael L. Bevis

Theses and Dissertations

As Chinese international students on American university campuses continue to rise, the importance of these institutions to accommodate the students in adapting to a different academic culture has become more critical. On a public, coeducational research university located in the Pacific Northwest, a concurrent triangulated mixed method research design was implemented to investigate cultural factors with preferred learning and teaching styles of Chinese international students along with what corroborative descriptions these students provide as effective learning experiences in American college classrooms.

The study brought attention to Chinese international students’ differing cultural values from the previous literature understanding, it supported previous …

Finding Voice In The Academy Through Yellow Storytelling: An Asian American Autoethnography On Suffering In Higher Education, Thuong Thi Nguyen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT Higher education institutions in the United States (U.S.) were founded for a select segment of the population, i.e. white Christian men from upper socioeconomic classes (Thelin, 2011). Research shows the policies, pedagogies, and practices created for use within majority populations and dominant cultures are not as beneficial or effective for individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. As the U.S. becomes more diverse and college enrollment among diverse students increases, higher education institutions need to identify more holistic approaches and investigate alternative methods to better serve these populations. This dissertation is a response to that need. In order to offer other alternatives, …

An Examination Of The Impact Of Venture Philanthropy On The Mission Of Higher Education, Shon Baker

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Across the United States, state legislative funding declines are forcing colleges and universities to rapidly adjust to a variety of shortfalls in revenue. Even the most prosperous universities, normally immune to decreases in funding, find themselves experiencing financial difficulty. To offset fiscal gaps caused by budget shortfalls and legislative decisions, university presidents are increasingly turning to fundraising as a means of filling the financial void and no donors are more poised to give transformational gifts than venture philanthropists. While the donations of venture philanthropists are highly sought, little research has been given to the potential for threats to academic freedom …

Investigating Student Engagement In Blended Learning Settings Using Experience Sampling And Structural Equation Modeling, Kristine C. Manwaring, Ross Larsen, Charles R. Graham, Curtis R. Henrie, Lisa R. Halverson

Faculty Publications

We investigated activity-level student engagement in blended learning classes at the university level. We used intensive longitudinal methodology to collect activity level engagement data throughout a semester for 68 students enrolled in six blended courses across two universities. We used structural equation modeling to gain a holistic understanding of learning environments, including the influence of personal characteristics, course design, and student perceptions of the learning experience on in-the-moment cognitive and emotional engagement. To investigate longitudinal relationships between emotional and cognitive engagement, we employed cross-lagged modeling techniques. Findings showed that course design and student perception variables had a greater influence on …

Horse Use And Management In University Equine Programs, Hui Zhao

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Horses are utilized in numerous higher education programs in United States. However, there is limited information on horse use, especially in university and college programs. Due to increasing enrollment, greater demand is placed on horse use while institutions are experiencing reduced funding and smaller herd numbers. Thus, this project was conducted to evaluate horse use and management in university and college programs. It was hypothesized that most equine programs over used their horses. A pilot study was conducted to validate the instrument used for the overall study. The survey instrument was created on SurveyMonkey® and released to equine programs (n …

University Professors' And Department Directors' Perceptions Regarding Support For Freshman Academic Performance, Karen Sauer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Chile, 50% of students who enroll in Chilean colleges do not graduate, negatively impacting their families' economic situations as well as national development. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions held by math, English, and general education professors regarding the support provided to freshman students in a program at 1 campus of a private Chilean university. Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory emphasizing internal and external motivations and social constructivism theory emphasizing development as a process comprised the conceptual framework. Both theories provide meaningful understanding of the drivers that support …

Expatriate Students' Perceptions Of Attendance And Persistence At A Private Malaysian Institution, Jin Deng

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although Malaysia primarily relies on expatriates to develop its economy, a private Malaysian institution had not examined the retention of expatriate students who might contribute toward the country's future economy. The problem that prompted this study was the institution showed low graduation rates for expatriate students and had not assessed the perceptions of key factors that impacted their attendance and persistence. The purpose of this study was to provide insights about expatriate students' perceptions of key factors about attendance and persistence at the institution. Tinto's longitudinal model of dropping out and the conceptual model guided this study. With a guiding …

Academic Performance And Moral Competence: A Match Made In Heaven?, Umaru Mustapha Zubairu, Chetubo Kuta Dauda, Olalekan Busra Sakariyau, Isa Imam Paiko

REID (Research and Evaluation in Education)

This study aims to empirically assess the relationship between accounting students' academic performances and moral competencies by focusing on final-year accounting students enrolled at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The students' moral competencies were measured using a scenario-based instrument developed through a collaboration with Islamic accounting scholars, called the Muslim Accountant Moral Competency Test (MAMOC), whilst students' academic performances were measured using their Cumulative Grade Point Averages (CGPAs). Contrary to the expected positive relationship between these two variables, the study found a negative, and insignificant, relationship. The implication of this result is that IIUM's Accounting Department needs to conduct …

Do In-State Tuition Benefits Affect The Academic Performance Of Non-Citizens? Data From Texas Public Universities, Terry K. Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

This paper investigates whether receiving in-state tuition benefits effects the academic performance of non-citizen students attending Texas public state-universities. Using data from the Texas Higher Education Opportunity Project, it examines the effect of the HB-1403 policy on contributing factors affecting academic performance of non-citizen students.