Higher Education Commons^™

Older And Wiser? Relative Age And College Course Failure, P. Wesley Routon, Jay K. Walker

Economics Faculty Publications

A student's relative age in their schooling cohort has been shown related to several measures of academic and labor market success. Here, we focus on a singular outcome: the probability of college course failure. Even within a sample constrained to students with traditional academic progression and who completed their college degree program, we find evidence relatively younger students were more likely to fail courses. The estimated impact is larger for males, minorities, and those with less academic success before college. Statistical significance remains constant across the parental income distribution. Students within the sample represent over 600 colleges and universities across …

For A Lost Drachma: Contesting Hindutva Subjectivation In India’S Universities, Bhavika Sicka

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The aim of this essay is to apply Michel Foucault’s ideas on power and the practice of freedom to the context of India’s increasingly neoliberalized higher education landscape. The essay revisits Foucault’s notion of subjectivation to analyze the cultural politics of the Hindu Right, which, through organized violence and self-disciplinary mechanisms, has attempted to masculinize, privatize, saffronize, and brahmanicize the nation-state (and the public university), erase the othered body from the nation (and campus spaces), and shape how individuals understand themselves, their identities, and their modes of being in relation to savarna-capitalist power and knowledge. This essay will also suggest …

The Classification Paradox: Historically Black Colleges' And Universities' Complex Relationship With Inequitable Experiences With The Carnegie Classification System, Felecia Commodore

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Higher education in the United States boasts of diverse institutional offerings to students. From community colleges to well-resourced liberal arts institutions, this diverse array of institutions and types has created a system commonly viewed as having a variety of access points for those seeking higher learning. Higher education stakeholders can argue that this diversity is a strong suit of American higher education, but an argument can also be made that this same institutional diversity laid the groundwork for systemic racism and inequities within the higher education system.

These inequities exist through various intersecting systems and practices, such as the …

In Pursuit Of Consumption-Based Forecasting, Charles Chase, Kenneth B. Kahn

Marketing Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Today's most mature, most sophisticated, best-in-class forecasting is what we call consumption-based forecasting (CBF). In contrast, the least sophisticated companies typically do not forecast at all, but rather set financial targets based on management expectations. Companies beginning to use statistical forecasting techniques usually take a supply-centric orientation, relying on time series techniques applied to shipment and/or order history. The next stage of progression is to incorporate promotions data, economic data, and market data alongside supply-centric data so that regression and other advanced analytics can be used. Companies pursing CBF utilize even more advanced capabilities to capture, examine, and understand …

Contributing Factors To Withdrawal Decisions Of Military And Nonmilitary Nursing Students, Beth Tremblay, Janice E. Hawkins, Robert E. Hawkins, Karen Higgins, Lynn Wiles, Jamela Martin

Nursing Faculty Publications

Retaining nursing students in courses is key to increasing the number of new nurses. This study examined factors associated with nursing course or program withdrawal among students with and without prior military experience. The purpose of this study was to uncover differences between groups of students who withdrew compared to those who did not. A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire surveyed current or recent nursing students (n = 420) using the Educational Requirement Subscale and the Student Withdrawal Questionnaire from Jeffreys’ toolkit. Uncovering differences between groups of students who did and did not withdraw from nursing courses or programs …

Information Literacy, Media Literacy, And The Attitudinal Positioning Of Wpas Combatting Mis/Disinformation, Joshua Nieubuurt

English Faculty Publications

Informational flow is paramount to the success of interpersonal communication as well as macro communication that allows for people to engage with the overarching sociopolitical apparatuses as a citizen. Chief among hindering informational flow are the obstacles of mis/disinformation. This research project is an exploratory study into the attitudinal positioning of a wide range of WPAs across R1 research institutions. Results found that WPA's perceptions are positively aligned in agreement with the value of IL and ML. Furthermore, WPAs are utilizing IL and ML within their programs both knowingly and serendipitously. Despite the positive attitudes toward interdisciplinary approaches to combating …

A Descriptive Quantitative Exploration Of College Students Of Promise During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Tameka Womack, Kim E. Bullington, Pietro A. Sasso

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

The term Students of Promise is used for students considered to have a heightened risk status, which not only has a negative effect on students but also on the higher education institutions they attend. This quantitative study explored how the COVID-19 virus has impacted student populations at various US higher education institutions and to uncover what specific issues (financial, emotional, social) impacted students during this unprecedented time in light of student categories and student demographics. This study found statistical significance in Students of Promise characteristics and presents data on the behaviors, activities, and tools necessary for success, concerns surrounding COVID-19, …

Historically Black Colleges And Universities Are Vital And Valuable To The United States, James V. Koch, Omari H. Swinton

Economics Faculty Publications

Though Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are little recognized, both in the United States and internationally, rigorous empirical analysis reveals that given their circumstances, they typically perform at a high level. This is the first comprehensive empirical analysis that has examined the performance of HBCUs.

Rhizomic Communication Practices Bridging International Students And The Host Society And Beyond, Suvi Jokila, Charles Mathies

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted international student communities while reflecting wider societal inequalities. This study in the Finnish context examined international students’ experiences of the published national crisis communication and media usage during the first year of the pandemic. Using the national COVID-19 crisis communication practices as an example, we examined what kinds of strategies the international students deployed to access information in this non-English-speaking country and how they perceived the information communicated. Theoretically, we based the analysis on the theories of crisis communication and information inequality, which identify communication practices, such as language choice, that …

Attitudes About Cybersecurity Articulation Agreements And Transfer Students: A Statewide Survey Of Faculty Members And Advisors, Brian K. Payne, Tracy Vandecar-Burdin, Daniela Cigularova

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In this study, cybersecurity faculty and academic advisors from community colleges and 4-year universities in the southeast region of the United States completed a survey assessing attitudes about and support for articulation agreements and related transfer policies. Hypothesizing that professional structures shape attitudes and experiences, the researchers conducted an exploratory quantitative study with primarily descriptive analyses. The results reveal differences in attitudes between community college and 4-year stakeholders and between faculty and academic advisors. The results of this study are discussed in relation to faculty and advisor training and communication.

Pulling Back The Veil: What Determines Hbcu Campus Enrollments, James V. Koch, Omari H. Swinton

Economics Faculty Publications

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are among the least researched sectors of American higher education. This article addresses a portion of this knowledge deficit by focusing on the determinants of the full-time equivalent enrollments of 50 HBCUs between fiscal year FY 2005 and FY 2018 and then comparing them to a broad sample of 182 non-HBCUs. The most noteworthy specific results generated by our analyses are: (1) increased recruitment of white students by HBCUs may not hold the key to HBCU enrollment success; (2) the incomes of the households from which students emanate have a major positive influence on …

Teaching In The Times Of Pandemic, Mileta Tomovic, Cynthia Tomovic

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The changes in academia are typically slow but very purposeful, they are carefully reviewed and strategically implemented, that is, until unpredictable massive tectonic shifts occur in society. Historically, academia has not experienced major distress on a global scale that would require a fundamental change and adaptation to new set of circumstances, until the world faced COVID-19 pandemic of proportions which caused academia to rapidly adjust to new realities and make major changes. The time frame in which the changes needed to be done, weeks and months, were so short that academia was placed under the significant stress to which it …

Research In Action: Impacting Library Communities With Field-Based Projects, Elizabeth A. Burns

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Our library and information studies (LIS) program is grounded in the principals of social justice, leadership, and authentic practice. One way candidates of the program meet these ideals is through participation in a required internship. During the internship students complete an independent project on site at their internship location.

Using Elliot’s (1991) steps of action research, the students in the internship course identify an issue, collect or use data to inform action, analyze the findings, and reflect on the results. An initial needs assessment is conducted. This includes establishing a rationale to inform practice. Students then implement a hands-on response …

Fostering Cognitive Presence In Online Courses: A Systematic Review (2008-2020), Robert L. Moore, Courtney N. Miller

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, cognitive presence has been central to success in higher education settings. This systematic review examined 24 articles published between 2008-2020 that empirically analyzed cognitive presence in online courses. We share the patterns that emerged regarding the interplay between teaching and cognitive presence and social and cognitive presence. We also explore how the four phases of cognitive presence—triggering event, exploration, integration, and resolution—were evident within specific instructional activities. We conclude with implications for practice that will be helpful for course instructors and designers seeking to foster greater cognitive presence within their online courses.

Above-Average Student Loan Debt For Students With Disabilities Attending Postsecondary Institutions, Kim Bullington, Kaycee L. Bills, David J. Thomas, William L. Nuckols

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Black students with disabilities face more hurdles to academic success and completion than do their non-Black non-disabled peers. With an increased reliance on student loans to finance higher education, this double-at-risk population is even more vulnerable than either Black or disabled students individually. This study examines whether there is an additional debt burden to this intersectional population. The Baccalaureate and Beyond public dataset was used to explore student debt for students who graduated in 2017. This analysis found that Black students with disabilities graduated with significantly higher debt burdens than either non-disabled Black students or students with disabilities from other …

Enabling Resilient Educational Support Network During Covid-19 Pandemic For Undergraduate And Second Career Seeking Students, Phillip Dillulio, Oleksandr Kravchenko, Konstantin Cigularov

Psychology Faculty Publications

During times of local and national quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic, universities had to close campuses and expediently convert operations and services from face-to-face to virtual learning environments, including virtual classrooms, learning communities, offices, and meeting/advising rooms. Many engineering faculty and students experienced personal, technical, and psychosocial challenges associated with this dramatically altered reality, which may have significant and unprecedented effects on their personal and academic lives. The current study presents results from a needs assessment survey examining the perceptions of 157 engineering students majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering about the strengths and challenges exhibited by their professors/instructors …

"Letters", James V. Koch, Seth Forman

Economics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Scholarship Integration In Professional Athletic Training Programs And Resources Needed To Overcome Barriers: A Report From The Association For Athletic Training Education Research Network, Julie M. Cavallario, Cailee E. Welch, Stacy E. Walker, Lindsey E. Eberman

Rehabilitation Sciences Faculty Publications

Context: Athletic training program administrators have identified that it is important to incorporate a scholarship component into professional education curricula.

Objective: Explore the barriers to implementing student scholarship in professional programs and identify resources necessary to overcome the barriers.

Design: Consensual qualitative research.

Setting: Individual teleconference interview.

Patients or Other Participants: A total of 17 program directors of professional programs was interviewed.

Data Collection and Analysis: Programs reported an average of 3 ± 1 core faculty supporting 37 ± 21 students, with 3 ± 2 faculty involved in scholarship activities of their students. Data saturation guided the number of participants.Interviews …

The (Un)Sustainability Of Higher Education Institutions In Jordan, Sumaya Bint El Hassan, Kyle E. Cordova, Ghaith Rabadi, Wejdan Abu Elhaija

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Higher education in Jordan has been tied closely to the state-building process in the century since the modern Hashemite state's foundation in 1921, with its explicit purpose being to educate and train high volumes of students who are competent and capable to serve as contributors to the state's development. Though this purpose has largely been successful to date, it is becoming increasingly clear that more is needed than simply issuing degrees. In an increasingly globalized world, it is necessary to educate those who can contribute to future research arenas and labor markets over which a single state has limited control. …

The Forgotten Students: Covid-19 Response For Youth And Young Adults Aging Out Of Foster Care, Mauriell H. Amechi

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

[First paragraph]

In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic upended American higher education and shuttered campus doors across the country. As the opening vignette illustrates, many college students reported severe housing and food insecurities as a result. Nevertheless, not all college students experienced COVID-19’s effects and consequences equally. For example, Ivory, a current student enrolled at Concordia University Texas who spent 17 years in foster care, illuminated some of the difficulties she has personally faced in the wake of COVID-19. College students impacted by foster care make up approximately 5% of all undergraduates, and many are struggling to have their basic …

The First Year Of An Undergraduate Service Learning Partnership To Enhance Engineering Education And Elementary Pre-Service Teacher Education, Stacie I. Ringleb, Jennifer Kidd, Pilar Pazos, Kristie Gutierrez, Orlando Ayala, Krishnanand Kaipa

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

This IUSE project was designed to address three major challenges faced by undergraduate engineering students (UES) and pre-service teachers (PSTs): 1) retention for UESs after the first year, and continued engagement when they reach more difficult concepts, 2) to prepare PSTs to teach engineering, which is a requirement in the Next Generation Science Standards as well as many state level standards of learning, and 3) to prepare both groups of students to communicate and collaborate in a multi-disciplinary context, which is a necessary skill in their future places of work. This project was implemented in three pairs of classes: 1) …

Enhancing Teamwork Skills Through An Interdisciplinary Engineering Service Learning Collaboration, Pilar Pazos, Francisco Cima, Jennifer Kidd, Stacie I. Ringleb, Orlando Ayala, Kristie Gutierrez, Krishnanand Kaipa

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research paper is to explore whether participation in an interdisciplinary collaboration program partnering Preservice Teachers (PST) and Undergraduate Engineering Students (UES) results in an increase in teamwork effectiveness. The interdisciplinary collaboration was designed as a service-learning project within existing undergraduate programs that included the development and delivery of engineering content to a K-12 audience. The collaborations were integrated into existing courses in two colleges, engineering and education. The Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) version of the Comprehensive Assessment of Team Member Effectiveness (CATME) was used midway and at the end of the project to evaluate teamwork …

Advising The Online Student: A Breakout Of Advising Frequency, Preferences, And Satisfaction Of Online Students, Maeghen Macdonald, Brittani Wyskocil Garcia

University Administration Publications

This breakout study reviews the findings of a 2017 study of Penn State University's World Campus undergraduate online students. The study surveyed students to report demographic, academic, preferences, and satisfaction information and sought to develop relationships between these variables by their levels of academic success. This breakout study focuses on the findings related to three of the study's variables: academic advising frequency, interaction preference, and satisfaction of undergraduate online students.

Pre-Service School Librarians' Perceptions Of Research Librarians' Perceptions Of Research Pedagogy: An Exploratory Study, Jeffrey Discala, Elizabeth A. Burns, Sue C. Kimmel

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This article is an exploratory study of graduate-level instruction on research designs and methods for pre-service school librarians (PSSLs). Using a focus group of one cohort of PSSLs, we examine students' perceptions of understanding research methods, course content and delivery, and self-reported application of new knowledge from a sequence of two graduate research courses in a Master's degree program. Findings indicate increased appreciation and understanding of the research process among participants and the ability to integrate the research findings of others into their own practice, while also indicating little or no confidence in their own abilities to conduct research in …

Color-Blind Racial Attitudes In Dental Hygiene Students: A Pilot Study, Emily A. Ludwig, Jessica R. Suedbeck, Susan L. Tolle

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: Color-blind racial attitudes and biases have been linked to racial prejudice which may potentially affect dental hygiene care to diverse patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the color-blind racial attitudes of dental hygiene students.

Methods: A 20-item, Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS) electronic survey was sent to a convenience sample of 41 first-year and 30 second-year dental hygiene students (n=71) in a dental hygiene program in Virginia. The CoBRAS instrument measures contemporary racial attitudes and stereotyping in three subcategories: Unawareness of Racial Privilege, Institutional Discrimination, and Blatant Racial Issues. CoBRAS scores range from 20-120, with …

Advising Student-Athletes For Success: Predicting The Academic Success And Persistence Of Collegiate Student-Athletes, April A. Brecht, Dana D. Burnett

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Stakeholders at institutions across the United States are continuously looking for ways to improve the academic success and retention of students. We used logistical regression in an examination of noncognitive, cognitive, and demographic factors as predictors of academic success and retention of Division I first-year student-athletes. The results indicated that high school GPA is the best predictor for academic success. The Transition to College Inventory index, self-confidence, institutional commitment, and independent activity focus can be used in the prediction of academic success. Retention was most accurately predicted by students' first-year cumulative GPA. University advisors can use the results of this …

The Information Literacy Continuum: Mapping The Acrl Framework To The Aasl School Library Standards, Elizabeth Burns, Melissa Gross, Don Latham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The Association for College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the American Association for School Libraries (AASL), two major divisions of the American Library Association (ALA), both recently released new guidelines. These documents form the basis for information literacy and library skills instruction for PK-20 education. In this study, we explored the alignment between these documents to identify the continuum of knowledge and skill expectations as well as the dispositional attributes toward information literacy that learners are presented. Our findings identified where the content of the ACRL Framework and AASL Standards Framework for Learners documents is strongly aligned as well as …

Board 78: Establishing A Pathway To Completion For Pursuing Engineering And Engineering Technology Degrees Through A Scholarship Program At Old Dominion University, Vukica M. Jovanovic, Anthony W. Dean, Kim Bullington Sibson, Cynthia Tomovic, Rafael Landaeta

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

There are various barriers facing adult students and veterans completing engineering degrees. Many of these student’s work part- or full-time while in college. In order to help these students, enable high retention rates, and decrease time to graduation require an in-depth understanding of specific student populations, especially ones classified as underrepresented. This paper provides an initial look into the first year of a scholarship program, funded by the National Science Foundation, and student success activities designed to support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need pursuing bachelor's degrees in engineering and engineering technology. Support services and scholarships are for veterans …

Applying A Modified Technology Acceptance Model To Qualitatively Analyse The Factors Affecting Microblogging Integration, Tian Luo, David Richard Moore, Teresa Franklin, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to examine factors affecting students’ perception and engagement of microblogging integration using a qualitative approach. We employed a qualitative case study design to explore potential factors affecting microblogging integration in a hybrid course. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) model as an umbrella framework, we examined through in-depth interviews with 18 participants the impact of microblogging integration into instruction that affected students’ reported use and perceptions of their microblogging-supported learning experiences. We found that individual differences, system characteristics, social influence and facilitating conditions all have impact on student participation and engagement in microblogging integration …

Program Evaluation In Doctoral-Level Counselor Education Preparation: Concerns And Recommendations, Christopher A. Sink, Gergory Lemich

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Within the context of intentional collaboration between doctoral-level program evaluation and counselor educators, this article addresses the need for advanced training in program evaluation for preservice doctoral-level counselor education (CE) students. To determine the current level of evaluation training provided to doctoral students attending a nationally accredited CE program, 81 institutions and their program websites and accompanying materials were analyzed. Approximately 25% of these graduate programs appeared to provide a modest level of training. Over 50% of these units did not fully identify what program evaluation preparation was required or offered to students. Recommendations to enhance the program evaluation component …