Education Commons^™

Factors Affecting Undergraduate Female Transfer Student Degree Completion Rates, Kristi A. Robey

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

The purpose of this study was to explore what factors affect the degree completion rates of undergraduate female transfer students, ages 19 and older, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL). Five sub-research questions explored the areas of (a) common factors among the issues faced by the participants; (b) monetary issues’ affect on degree completion; (c) the affect of family responsibilities on persistence; (d) age as a possible factor in degree completion rates; and (e) the number of hours worked and the affect it has on degree completion rates. The study explored the reasons undergraduate female transfer students had for transferring …

Factors Contributing To Student Athlete Selection Of Nebraska Wesleyan University, Benjamin M. Santo

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

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into which factors of recruitment were important to a student-athletes decision regarding their choice of college. It is vital for recruiters to recognize factors that potential student-athletes consider important in the recruiting process, because a successful recruiter is one who can build a strong relationship with the student-athlete. The researcher selected Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) football student-athletes to conduct the study for the research.

Seniors, juniors, and sophomores were selected to participate in the study. Participants completed a 12 question survey instrument that was designed to assess important recruiting …

A Quality Scorecard For The Administration Of Online Education Programs: A Delphi Study, Kaye Shelton

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

As the demands for public accountability increase for the higher education industry, institutions are seeking methods for continuous improvement in order to demonstrate quality within programs and processes, including those provided through online education. Because of the rapid growth of online education programs, institutions are further called upon to demonstrate that quality education is being delivered to students at a distance. This study sought to create such a method to provide institutions offering online education an instrument for assessing quality within their programs: a quality scorecard for the administration of online education programs. A six round Delphi study was undertaken …

Global Competence: Determination Of Its Importance For Engineers Working In A Global Environment, Gregg M. Warnick

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

We live and work in a world that is even more interconnected and interdependent than ever before. Engineers must now not only develop technical engineering competence, but must also develop additional skills and competencies including global competence to obtain success within a global engineering environment.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether multinational companies considered global competence an important skill in mechanical engineering graduates when making hiring decisions. The study was an exploratory study that utilized an extensive literature review to identify eight global competencies for engineering success within a global environment and also included a survey instrument …

Talent Management In Higher Education: Developing Emerging Leaders Within The Administration At Private Colleges And Universities, Steven Riccio

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

This research focused on identifying a series of successful practices relating to administrative talent management within the higher education setting. The field study included a thorough examination of seven small to mid-size private colleges and universities that have incorporated employee development strategies. These strategies were aimed at growing future leaders from within the organization in order to achieve continuity and support institutional priorities. Specifically, several focus areas were investigated including presidential vision, leadership commitment, talent management’s place among institutional priorities, program characteristics, and program evaluation.

Among the commonalities that were gathered included support at the senior officer level who serve …

The Impact Of Undergraduate Experiences On The Decision To Become A Student Affairs Professional, Jay A. Fennell

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

This study explored the undergraduate experiences of student affairs professionals and how those experiences impacted their decision to enter the student affairs profession. The study explores how student affairs professionals perceived their undergraduate experiences and how this time in their lives impacted their career decision, their career path, the way they interacted with students as professionals and what they do as student affairs professionals to encourage students to enter the field. Three themes emerged in this study: (a) The importance of campus involvement, (b) mentor relationships, and (c) encouraging students to enter student affairs. The results of this study help …

Interactions Of Senior-Level Student Affairs Administrators With Parents Of Traditional-Age Undergraduate Students: A Qualitative Study, Tanya A. Winegard

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

The purpose of this research was to explore the interactions between senior-level student affairs administrators and the parents of traditional-age undergraduate students. Student development theory had little to say about a role for the parents of college students, yet senior-level student affairs administrators who participated in this study acknowledged spending more time responding to parental concerns, questions, and complaints than they did five years ago. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 16 senior-level student affairs administrators at mid-size, private, highly residential master’s colleges and universities according to the Carnegie Foundation’s classification (2009).

The researcher addressed the grand tour question: How …

Appreciative Advising From The Academic Advisor's Viewpoint: A Qualitative Study, Nancy G. Howell

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

Appreciative Advising represents a revolutionary new approach to the field of academic advising. Based on Appreciative Inquiry, which was developed by David Cooperrider at Case Western Reserve University in the 1980’s, Appreciative Advising is also influenced by positive psychology, reality therapy, and strengths based advising. The Appreciative Advising model makes use of positive, open-ended questions and a the development of a reciprocal relationship between student and advisor to help students achieve their academic and career goals.

Pioneered by Bloom, Hutson, and He, Appreciative Advising is fully student centered and shows great promise in helping students from a wide variety of …

Understanding The Influence Of Strengths On The College Experience: A Qualitative Case Study Of Undergraduate Business Students, Jennifer A. Mostek

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

The purpose of this qualitative, interview-based study was to identify the way that students and advisors utilized knowledge about students’ strengths in college. Strengths were defined by StrengthsQuest, a product of The Gallup Organization. Five college students and three academic advisors from the business college at a large, public research university, representing various cultural backgrounds, family statuses and ages participated in the study. Student and advisor participants explored the influence of strengths on self awareness, confidence, relationships, academic matters, as well as future plans. Advisor participants also discussed the need for additional courses or integration of strengths-based education in existing …

A Study To Determine The Influence Of Student Status And Gender On The Learning Styles Of Freshmen Students, Ali J. Morris

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

The purpose of this study was to compare the learning styles, as defined by David A. Kolb, of traditional freshmen students and non-traditional freshmen students to determine if there is a significant difference between them. The researcher also collected data to determine if there is a correlation between learning styles for gender and traditional/non-traditional student status.

Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (LSI) was used as the survey instrument and was administered to all students in the sample. The stratified random sample population consisted of 550 students selected from the freshmen class and provided to the researcher by the Office of Institutional …

Can Student Reflection Predict Academic Success And Clinical Performance In A Physical Therapist Education Program?, Jeanne L. Cook

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

The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine if a predictive relationship existed between student reflection and student academic and clinical success as determined by student performance on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) and the Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI). Secondary questions included whether higher and lower reflection scores would correspond with higher and lower NPTE and CPI scores respectively, and whether students’ reflection scores would increase between the first and fourth clinical internships. Journal entries were submitted by students from a physical therapist education program at a large North Central Region university over the course of two clinical …

Presidential Leadership During Strategic Transition: A Case Study Of Two Christian Institutions Of Higher Education, Douglas N. Searcy

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

This qualitative research addressed presidential leadership during the strategic transition of the respective Boards of Trustees at Gardner-Webb and Wingate Universities (private, Christian institutions in North Carolina). In addition to interviewing each institutional President, personal 60-minute interviews were conducted with selected faculty members, trustees, administrators, and students and relevant documents were perused for substantiating information. The objective of the study was to learn how each institution’s President guided their respective constituencies toward acceptance of change while conveying a sense of stability and focus on visioning.

Leadership theories and studies were introduced illustrating presidential considerations, roles, and implications encountered during institutional …

Making The Transition: African American Female Sophomores At A Midwestern Research-Extensive University, Sheena M. Kennedy

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

The purpose of this study was to explore the college experiences of African American females in their sophomore year at a Midwestern Research-Extensive institution. This study investigated these individuals’ transitions to college and sought to understand their lived experiences. Also, the study examined what strategies these individuals employed to persist in college. The intent of this study was to contribute to research on African American women in higher education by documenting their experiences.

This study upheld the literature that African American students encounter feelings of isolation, alienation, and marginality on the college campus (Allen & Haniff, 1991; Fleming, 1984; Gossett, …

The South Omaha Community Scholarship Program: A Qualitative Study Of Persistence Of Hispanic Students At Bellevue University, Tracy J. Mctavish

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

The purpose of this case study was to determine the impact of the South Omaha Community Scholarship Program on the persistence of the Hispanic students who participated. Previous research on Hispanic student persistence has focused on the reasons why students do not persist and more recent research has been conducted on programs and retention efforts, colleges and universities are implementing on their campuses. This study researched a specific program, The South Omaha Community Scholarship Program, designed to provide financial, academic and other needed resources to help Hispanic students persist to graduation. The researcher believes this study was important because it …