Higher Education Administration Commons^™

Delaying College For Domestic Civic Service: The Gap Year Experiences Of City Year Americorps Alumni, Christopher John Bryson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade the concept of taking a gap year has become mainstream in the US. This idea of delaying enrollment, or taking a break from college, before beginning a bachelor’s degree, has gained popularity, especially as the cost of attendance in higher education has soared and the burden of paying for it has been placed on the student as the consumer. Similarly, the sought-after gap year experiences offered in the private sector are often costly. With the rising popularity of gap years, it is important to identify experiences that are accessible to a wide variety of backgrounds and …

Critical Civic Engagement: Creating Yards And Building Community At Predominately White Institutions, Heather Moore Roberson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article details the journey of a Black Greek professor who created yards on a predominately white campus. This piece of scholarship challenges the historical narrative of the civic engagement movement and considers equity and inclusion with existing civic engagement literature. Specifically, this research contends that civic engagement scholarship must consider the historical legacy of historically Black Greek letter organizations, their commitment to service, and undergraduate education. The construction of “yards” is a civic engagement initiative that builds meaningful connections between college campuses and local communities.

Practical Leadership In Implementing Online Education Programs, Felix O. Quayson, Christopher Zirkle

Journal of Research Initiatives

The growing presence of online education can become a challenge for academic leaders and institutions to lead, manage, and explore in higher education. Online education can be complex when considering the social presence (Keast, 2022; Quayson, 2022), course development (Martin et al., 2019; Orlando, 2019), and economic outcomes (Burnett & Conley, 2013; Rubin, 2013; Seaman et al., 2019). However, unraveling the fundamentals of practical leadership can help educational leaders to facilitate, maintain, and implement online education programs. The study found published research studies that helped us to extricate the fundamentals of practical leadership in implementing online education programs in the …

Generation Z : Who Are They And What Do They Expect From Student Affairs On Campus?, Mary Elizabeth Wake

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This quantitative study aimed to expand upon existing research, which discussed student expectations, the relationship between expectations and retention, persistence, and student success, as well as why understanding student expectations is important to supporting student success. This research study explored these concepts from a lens of Generational Theory, which includes the notion that each generation has differing values, experiences of life events and motivational factors. Effective delivery of services, which can aid student success and retention, is enhanced when professionals within student affairs are able to appreciate students as individuals, as well as who they are as a generational cohort. …

Faculty Perspectives On Online Teaching In Higher Education: A Qualitative Approach To Understand Faculty Members’ Challenges And Experiences, Felix O. Quayson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored faculty members' perspectives on online teaching in higher education and described, analyzed, and interpreted faculty members challenges and experiences of teaching online courses. Participants were twelve (12) faculty members who have taught online courses or currently teach online courses. Data was collected from 60-minutes semi-structured interview sessions, 78 open-ended questions, three research driving questions, background questionnaire, and personal artifacts from faculty members. Five major themes with subthemes, 15 code categories, and code co-occurrences emerged from the data collection, field notes, memos, and data analysis. However, not all of the code categories were replicated by all of the …

Obstacles Women And Historically Marginalized Racial And Ethnic Groups (Hmreg) Face In The Computer Science Field, Simone Elias, Edward Cromarty, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article approaches the problem of underrepresentation of women and marginalized ethnic groups in the computer science fields from a developmental learning perspective. It proposes that systemic social barriers need to be addressed to overcome the bias toward women in the technological fields. The article surmises that even though stereotypes have changed in the past few decades, Gender Socialization which begins at birth and intensifies through adolescence contributes to inequalities of education, employment, and empowerment in adult life. It suggests that changing the educational paradigm beginning in early education, may result in more inclusive diverse perspectives, increase representation of women, …

Factors For Success Of International Female Doctoral Students In Science In The United States, Maria Patricia Cantu

Theses & Dissertations

Factors for Success of International Female Doctoral Students in Science in the United States

Many international doctoral female students in the sciences in the United States do not obtain a degree despite their large investment in time, effort, and financial resources. The loss of highly prepared and credentialed international female doctoral students, who have a genuine interest in science but who choose not to pursue their studies to graduation or switch careers due to real or perceived barriers, signifies such a loss not just for the women themselves and their families but for their countries of origin, their hosts universities, …

Exploring (Mis)Alignments Between First-Year Students’ Expectations And Experiences, Matthew G. Meyers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding what expectations first-year students have for their first semester of college can help university faculty, staff, and administrators have a better understanding of how to best provide support and resources that meet the needs of their students and lay the necessary foundations for their academic and social success early on. Unfortunately, many students report a variety of social, academic, personal, and environmental experiences that do not fully match their expectations. The purpose of this study was to examine what expectations and experiences first-year college students had about their first semester and how they interpreted both alignments and misalignments between …

Secret To Success: A Survey Of The University Of South Carolina Student Success Center, Lilian Mitchell

Senior Theses

This paper seeks to survey the practices of the Student Success Center (SSC) at the University of South Carolina (USC) and show the effectiveness of those practices. Through the analysis of the history of student success in higher education, current literature on student success, and the 2020- 2021 Blueprint for the SSC at USC, it is clear that the SSC has developed a successful and effective method of guaranteeing student success on USC’s campus. At USC, the main focus is on Supplemental Instruction, Peer Tutoring, and Academic Coaching (a.k.a. Success Consultations). By setting goals and measuring the outcome of those …

Retention Issues In Nonprofit University Foundations, Sarah Kay

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Turnover of major gift officers (MGOs) within university foundations has been a problem for foundations and their affiliated universities. Turnover of MGOs results in less fundraised dollars, fewer donor-fundraiser relationships, and higher incomings costs. Retention of MGOs is vital for foundations’ success and directly correlates to the overall prosperity of the respective university. The purpose of this descriptive, non-experimental study that utilized a cross-sectional survey design was to examine perceptions of currently employed MGOs, in the interest of determining what was important to them to remain employed at their nonprofit university foundation. Using a web-based survey, data showed MGOs need …

Cultural And Gender Shifts: Trends And Factors Hmong Male Students Face In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Sai Yang Xiong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The educational trends in the attainment of Hmong American students in higher education have grown significantly over the past 40+ years. However, modern academia is still somewhat new to most United States Hmong refugees since their resettlement in 1975 after the Vietnam War. Hmong students are children of refugee immigrants who came to the United States with no formal schooling, limited English proficiency, and a low-socioeconomic background. Hmong parents believe that having an education will enable their children to seek employment, perform well in society, and gain financial stability. The purpose of this study was to analyze challenges that contribute …

Policymaker Discourse In Colorado Public Higher Education Appropriations, Nathan Willers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State funding for higher education is one of the most pressing issues facing both institutions and policymakers in 2022. Colorado has seen significant declines in the amount of state funding per student over the past two decades, resulting in increases in student burdens for tuition. Policy discourse analysis through a poststructural and neoliberal lens provided insight towards the legislative process and the discursive themes utilized by Colorado policymakers during the 2021-22 legislative budgeting cycle. Twelve artifacts were analyzed, including a mix of policy briefs, hearings, and budget and appropriations reports, for discursive data related to the state’s appropriations for public …

Housewives To Heroines: Continuing Education For Women At The University Of Kentucky, 1964-1988, Allison L. Elliott

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Beginning in the early 1960s, the movement for the continuing education for women (CEW) brought together a seemingly unlikely alliance of American activists, educators, philanthropists, and government agencies. Fueled by philanthropic funds, accelerated by the quest for “womanpower” to bolster national defense, and aligned with regional workforce needs as well as the personal goals of individual women, CEW programs pioneered new models of academic advising and student support that continue to influence higher education practitioners today. By studying the experiences of both administrators and students involved with CEW at the University of Kentucky, this study sheds light on how one …