Do Universities Underpay Professors? Yes, Especially Women, Zhanhan Yu, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Faculty Advisor's Role In Student Retention And Success: A Case Study From The Student Perspective, Alice Lorraine Buchanan

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to understand the role of faculty advisors in student retention of traditional full-time undergraduate students in their final year of study at a four-year university. Guided by Bean’s theoretical model of student attrition, this study examined how organizational interactions influence students’ attitudes, advising satisfaction, and subsequent intent to leave. The Central Research Question was: How do faculty advisors influence student retention for traditional full-time undergraduate students in their final year at a four-year university? The setting was a small, faith-based, highly residential, private university in the Midwestern United States, where faculty advisors …

Not Retirement, But A Rewiring And Fresh Perspectives Post-Dbs, Says Piyush Gupta [Interview With Business Times], Su Shyan Lee, Piyush Gupta

Oral History Collection

In an interview with The Business Times, SMU Chairman Piyush Gupta discussed topics ranging from meditation and conservation to the future of education. On his role at SMU, he emphasised his desire to help shape tertiary education and noted that the rise of AI makes it critical to rethink how we learn. Mr Gupta believes that in an AI-driven world, students must move beyond domain knowledge to focus on interpreting information, "connecting the dots," and engaging others with genuine empathy. He is supportive of a more experiential curriculum at SMU — one that focuses on regional exposure through internships and …

Not An Afterthought: Addressing The Academic And Social Challenges That Create Barriers To Belonging For Transfer Students, Brooke Jankowsky

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the academic and social barriers to belonging for transfer students at four-year institutions, with particular attention to the University of Mississippi. The goal is to bring attention to the issues that surround transfer student populations in general by identifying some of the most pressing structural and interpersonal challenges that shape their experiences. A qualitative approach was used, drawing on existing literature, prior unpublished research at the community college level, and reflective analysis to explore themes such as transfer shock, creating and maintaining social networks, and gaps in institutional support. Findings suggest that transfer students often face a …

The Transformational Role Of Perceived Self-Efficacy In Combating Online Exam Anxiety, Ana Pereles, Carmen Romero-García

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective:This study investigates how university students’ perceived self-efficacy influences anxiety levels during online examinations, a pressing issue amplified by disruptions caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)–driven assessment concerns. The aim is to analyze the relationship between self-efficacy and online test anxiety, identifying effective strategies to mitigate its effects.

Method: A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was conducted. Searches in Scielo, Web of Science, Scopus, ProQuest Education, Google Scholar, and Dialnet databases included peer-reviewed articles in education, psychology, social sciences, and computer sciences, published …

Generative Ai In Higher Education: A Survey Analysis Of Ethics And Adoption Patterns Across University Faculty, Staff, And Students, Michele Gibney, Sinky Zheng, Cory Davia, Lindsay Gietzen, Karen M. Sarafian, Jennifer Helgren, Rajvinder Bains, Jonas Bianchi, Andrew Lloyd, Bhavana Raja

University Libraries Librarian and Staff Articles and Papers

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) emerges as a provocative new innovation in higher education, institutions require practical, evidence-based strategies for its integration. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of GenAI adoption, usage patterns, and attitudes by surveying the complete range of campus constituents – students, faculty, and staff – at one United States university (N=355). Moving beyond prior research that has focused predominantly on student or faculty perspectives, this multi-constituent approach reveals a more holistic view of institutional AI dynamics and uncovers a notable "ethics asymmetry," where individuals trust their own AI use more than others'. The findings offer actionable …

Leveraging Data Analytics For Student Success: Lessons From Building An Analytics Program At Bentley University, Jane De Leon Griffin, Edlira Stefani, Rahat Sabyrbekov, Patrick Dickson, Annie Raunikar

Student Success Publications

Higher education institutions across the United States face an unprecedented convergence of challenges: a shrinking pool of college-aged students, persistent learning gaps from the COVID-19 pandemic, the destabilization of longstanding federal support structures, and the rising cost of attendance, which increases public skepticism about the value of higher education and challenges access for low-income learners. In this environment, student success is no longer simply a strategic priority—it is an institutional imperative.

One way in which Bentley University has responded to these pressures is by launching the Building a Data-Driven Student Success Ecosystem (BaSSE) initiative, a comprehensive analytics program designed to …

Designing A Digital Media Experience: An Abundant Reflection On A Personal Journey In Higher Education, Student Experience, And The Adobe Creative Suite, Madison E. Warner

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

This rumination is a capstone reflection iterating the importance of brand identity when designing, and how good design is directly tied to successful events. The author reflects their personal journey through working in the industry, to their time working for an academic institution designing events for students pursuing higher education. Directly correlating their experience as a Digital Designer at a marketing firm, the author talks about the foundation that makes an event successful through measured means of defining identity, recognition, and maintaining a consistent, professional brand. Within this paper, the author highlights some of their experience in large-scale event orchestration, …

Unromanticizing Careers: Redesigning Students’ Beliefs About Success, Camila Bolsoni

Theses & ETDs

Contemporary higher education culture transmits a set of deeply internalized beliefs about career success that shape students' decisions, constrain their identities, and fuel anxiety, burnout, and rigidity, often without their awareness. This qualitative study examines how undergraduate students at a small public liberal arts college experience and narrate these beliefs through the lens of the Career Illusions Framework (CIF), a seven-dimension conceptual model, built from the ground up for this study, comprising the Straight Path, Identity Lock-In, Status Script, Hustle Loop, Dream Job Illusion, Risk Ceiling, and Quitting Stigma. Using Braun and Clarke's (2006) reflexive thematic analysis alongside systematic spreadsheet-based …

An Examination Of Single Mothers' Psychological Capital In Seeking Higher Education, Jennifer L. Stuart

Theses & Dissertations

AN EXAMINATION OF SINGLE MOTHER’S PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL IN SEEKING HIGHER EDUCATION

Jennifer Stuart

University of the Incarnate Word, 2025

Research Focus. In the United States, single mothers head nearly 80 percent of single-parent households, representing one of the most educationally vulnerable yet motivated populations. Despite increased visibility of single-parent families, limited research has examined the internal psychological factors that influence single mothers’ determination to pursue higher education. Much of the literature has emphasized external barriers—financial hardship, childcare demands, and social stigma—while overlooking internal strengths such as self-efficacy, resilience, optimism, and hope. These traits, conceptualized collectively as psychological capital (Luthans et …

Leaving College In Rural Central Appalachia: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of Lived Experience And Meaning-Making, Amanda Sawyers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explored how individuals raised primarily in rural Central Appalachian communities interpret and make meaning of their decision to engage in college departure prior to degree completion. The study examined college departure as a lived experience shaped by family obligations, cultural identity, and rural structural conditions. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee, and Western North Carolina who had enrolled in higher education but did not complete a degree. The main research question was: How do rural Central Appalachian residents interpret their college departure? Hermeneutic phenomenological thematic analysis …

University Student Mental Health: Service Utilization, Equity Gaps, And Strategies To Improve Access, Richard Mutua Kilonzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student mental health and access to care are pressing concerns in higher education. This study assesses mental health outcomes and access to campus mental health services at East Tennessee State University. Survey data from the 2023–2024 Healthy Minds Study were analyzed to report the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation across the student population. The study evaluates disparities in these outcomes and barriers to care across student groups, with particular attention to equity-impacted students, especially sexual and gender minority students.

Findings indicate widespread psychological distress alongside persistent barriers, including long wait times, limited-service availability, and stigma-related concerns. These barriers …

A New Approach To Generate Combinatorial Patterns In Logical Analysis Of Data And Its Application To Predict College Retention, Salihah Ahmed E. Jaafari

Theses and Dissertations

Student retention and degree completion remain central challenges for higher-education institutions, with significant implications for student success, institutional effectiveness, and public accountability. While advances in predictive analytics have enabled earlier identification of students at risk of withdrawal, many commonly used machine learning approaches suffer from limited interpretability, constraining their practical usefulness for advising, intervention, and policy decision making. This dissertation addresses the problem of predicting student persistence by developing and evaluating optimization based, interpretable classification models within the Logical Analysis of Data (LAD) framework. Building on existing LAD formulations, this research introduces two novel pattern generation models, the Best Term …

Learning Spaces As Pedagogy In Audio Education: Designing For Collaboration, Listening, And Mixing In Higher Education, Dean Belcastro

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

The rapid transformation of the music and audio production industries has significantly altered how people engage with audio creation and learning. While technologies for music production have become more accessible and decentralised, the pedagogical challenge of developing critical listening and audio mixing skills remains ongoing. This paper reflects on the design principles underpinning group learning environments intended to support the teaching of critical listening and audio mixing within higher education. Drawing on practice-led reflection, learning-space literature, and industry change, the paper argues that intentional learning-space design plays an active pedagogical role in fostering engagement, collaboration, and the development of shared …

From Consumers To Creators: Social Media Information Literacy Of University Students., Thuy Thanh Bui, Quyen Trang Mai Nguyen, Tu Thi Thanh Nguyen, Minh Cao Luu

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Social Media Information Literacy (SMIL) is increasingly important as social media platforms evolve. SMIL includes skills for navigating, evaluating, managing, creating, and engaging with social media content, aimed at effective information use and critical thinking. Using Heiss, Nanz and Matthes (2023) framework, this study surveyed 410 students via a self-assessment on a 5-point Likert scale. Results indicate students rated their SMIL as average, with the highest scores in appraisal and comprehension, and the lowest in digital creation. Female and senior students, as well as those in Education majors, rated themselves higher. Longer internet usage correlated with better SMIL, especially in …

Husky Paws S-Stem Summer Bridge Program Dataset (2024 Cohort), Michelle Jarvie-Eggart, Kathryn L. Hannum, Karlee J. Westrem, Lincoln Sorenson, Briana C. Bettin, Adrienne R. Minerick

Michigan Tech Research Data

This dataset was collected as part of the Husky PAWS (Pathways for Academic
Wellness & Success) S-STEM program at Michigan Technological University. It
includes anonymized quantitative and qualitative data from a three-week
pre-semester summer bridge program in 2024, designed to support low-income,
STEM-bound students. Data sources include pre- and post-program Likert and
open-ended surveys and daily written reflections aligned with instructional
modules on metacognition and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model (CWM).
The dataset supports research on how bridge programming influences
students’ sense of belonging, metacognitive development, and engagement
with institutional support systems during the transition to college.

Monopsony In Academia And The Gender Pay Gap: Evidence From California, Zhanhan Yu, Alfonso Flores-Lagunes

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We investigate monopsony power in a highly skilled labor market made up of tenure-ranked faculty in the University of California system, and analyze differential monopsony power exposure by gender. We infer the campus-level labor supply elasticity by estimating the elasticity of separations utilizing individual-level faculty data and two instruments based on campus revenues and salary scales. We find that the “exploitation rate,” a common measure of monopsony power, is about 7% for tenure-ranked faculty. There is a statistically significant difference in the monopsony power experienced by male and female faculty that appears to account for a relatively small percentage of …

Needs Assessment Plan: For An Undergraduate In Reearch Administration (Ra) Curriculum With Artificial Intelligenc Integration., Jo Ann Smith

All Research Ops Exchange Publications

This needs assessment plan establishes a framework for developing an undergraduate Research Administration (RA) curriculum that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) competencies across all program components. The plan synthesizes findings from research literature across workforce competency studies, national RA curricula frameworks, e-mentoring models in undergraduate programs, and AI pedagogy in professional education. Key findings reveal that entry-level research administrators require core competencies, including critical thinking, interpersonal skills, written communication, and knowledge of the research enterprise, which are valued by hiring managers (Parker, 2024; Signorelli et al., 2025). The evolving research administration landscape increasingly demands AI literacy, including the ability to interact …

Ethically Integrating Ai In Occupational Therapy Education: Enhancing Learning And Practice For The Future, Amy Sadek, Sabrina Gowette

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around since the 1950s and is gaining traction in higher education and among health care professions. In this era of technology, it is imperative we equip both educators and students to have tech centric skills to support learning, improve efficiency, and enhance skills. Faculty and students alike need to be able to understand the ethics behind using digital information, such as that from AI tools and sources. As educators and students become more reliant on technology, and specifically AI, it is imperative not to lose the human connection in education. Educators are an integral part …

An Investigation Into The Student And Faculty Knowledge, Perception, And Usage Of Chatgpt, Isabella Burns

Honors Theses

Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT) has become a significant topic in academia. Professors and university officials have been contemplating an all-out ban on utilizing such tools for undergraduate academic work. Sullivan et al (2023) noted “…student behaviors led some universities to ban the use of ChatGPT…” (p. 32). Instead of teaching students how to leverage ChatGPT as a powerful resource to enhance the learning process, universities have deemed use of ChatGPT unacceptable, equating its use with serious academic dishonesty offenses consistent with plagiarism (Hawdon et al., 2025). Directly copying from ChatGPT can constitute plagiarism and poses a significant issue for college-level studies, …

Attention To Their Uniqueness: Differentiation In A University Classroom, Robin Gingerich

MITESOL Journal: An Online Publication of MITESOL

University students come to campus with unique gifts and individual challenges. To meet the needs of diverse learners, one solution is differentiation. Differentiation involves deliberately planning lessons that address the unique learning styles of diverse learners by offering pedagogy informed not only by content, but also by the students themselves. While differentiation in elementary and secondary classrooms is considered best practice, professors in higher education face unique challenges when it comes to implementing differentiation. This paper examines definitions of differentiation, research on differentiation in universities, and, from the author’s personal experience, offers suggestions for university writing instructors.

A Quality Assurance Framework For Maintaining And Enhancing Academic Standards Of Ai-Infused Higher Education: Insights From Gcc Faculty Perspectives, Nina Abdul Razzak

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study addresses the gap in research on maintaining and enhancing the quality of artificial intelligence (AI)–infused higher education in a structured and systematized way by proposing a comprehensive quality assurance (QA) framework fit for that purpose.

Methods: The study employs a qualitative research design approach in the form of a constructivist or interpretive investigation, exploring in depth faculty members’ different perspectives and experiences in relation to AI implementation. The study combines a textual analysis of the international literature on the topic, with insights from four focus groups involving faculty members from various disciplines and colleges across the Gulf …

The Experiences Of Service-Learning From The Perspectives Of Physician Preceptors: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study, Claudia Moore

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of supervising medical students for physician preceptors at service-learning sites in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The theory guiding this study was the experiential learning theory, posited by Dewey and refined by Kolb, concerning service-learning and undergraduate medical education. This study explored four research questions presented to physician preceptors to examine the barriers to implementing service-learning requirements at medical schools. These questions stemmed from the central research question: What are the lived experiences of supervising medical students for physician preceptors at a service-learning site? This research …

A Case Study Examining Why Students Succeed When Exposed To Peer Tutors, Van E. Carpenter

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to identify the impact of online peer tutoring on students’ perceptions of their success for students who participated in online peer tutoring at Summit Faith University (a pseudonym used for this research). This research was grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, which provided a comprehensive framework for examining the factors influencing the effectiveness of peer tutoring among students. This study answered three research questions: How do online students use peer tutoring at Summit Faith University, how does online peer tutoring at Summit Faith University shape students’ perceptions of their success at Summit Faith …

Instructors' Lived Experiences Of Using Authentic Assessments In College Calculus Courses Across The United States: A Phenomenological Study, Christy Hart Kains

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of instructors with authentic assessments in college calculus courses across the United States. The theory guiding this study was Astin’s student involvement theory, which provided a framework to study the involvement of students in higher education. The central research question for this study was: What are the lived experiences of instructors who utilize authentic assessments in college calculus courses across the United States? This study used a qualitative design following the transcendental phenomenological approach of Moustakas. The sample included 12 instructors from two-year and four-year colleges in …

Championing Success: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study On Higher Education Leadership’S Role In Supporting Women Of Color, Inez Annette Hayes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore and understand the role of higher education leadership in providing institutional support to women of color. The lived experiences of women of color as students was analyzed to understand the factors influencing their persistence at higher education institutions nationwide. The theory guiding this study was Rendón’s theory of validation as a process that encourages and supports students’ academic and personal growth, initiated by both in-class and out-of-class influences. This study focused on the Central Research Question: How do leadership practices and institutional supports in higher education influence the persistence of …

Gender Equality, Diversity, And Social Inclusion: Validation And Development Of An Instrument For Higher Education, Nilo Jayoma Castulo, Maryfe M. Roxas, Arlyne C. Marasigan, Jayson L. De Vera, Ma. Laarni D. Buenaventura, Starr Clyde Sebial, John Michael Aquino, Bonjovi H. Hajan, Mark Ponce C. San Juan, Karen Abegail C. Lee

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Gender Equality, Diversity, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) are critical in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals number 4 (Quality Education), number 5 (Gender Equality), and number 10 (Reduced Inequalities), impacting various aspects of society, organizations, and individual well-being. While GEDSI remains a pressing concern worldwide, this study aims to design an instrument for the GEDSI situationer tool for students, administrative staff, and faculty members. The instrument undergoes a thorough validation and development process utilizing a mixed-method design. First, the item is designed through Focus Group Interviews (FGIs) on GEDSI in a prominent state university in the Philippines. Through exploratory Factor Analysis …

International Student Transition: An Autoethnographic And Archival Study, Abdulsamad Olajide Yusuf, Jepkorir Rose Chepyator-Thomson

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Within the framework of a globalized university campus, this study investigates the process that an international student goes through while adapting to a new culture. Using autoethnography and archival research methods, this study recounts the personal and lived experiences of a doctoral international student navigating the cultural adjustment contexts of a southeastern public university, providing an understanding of how the challenges and opportunities faced by international students are historicized and located within a broader cultural and social context. This approach includes maintaining a reflexive journal, self-analysis, personal conversations, and analyzing historical records and correspondences, including policy papers, factbooks, and institutional …

Clark Magazine, Spring/Summer 2026, Clark University

Clark Magazine

The Spring/Summer 2026 edition of Clark Magazine. Clark Magazine is a twice-yearly publication primarily geared towards Clark University Alumni.

The cover story is "From Dream to Destiny: 100 Years Ago, Robert H. Goddard Put Humanity Aboard a Rocket Ride to the Future".

The Role Of Institutes Of Higher Learning In Deepening Social Impact, Steve Loh, Janna Wong

Asian Management Insights

Institutes of higher learning do more than generate knowledge. At their best, they connect partners, evidence, policy and capability to make social impact more credible, cumulative and durable.