Higher Education Commons^™

To Belong Or Not To Belong: Bipoc First-Generation Community College Students’ Experiences, Christine Orbeta

Theses and Dissertations

Using narrative interviews, this study explored the experiences of belonging among eight first-generation college students (FGCS) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). By applying Strayhorn's Belonging and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Framework, this study sheds light on the challenges and benefits BIPOC FGCS encounter as they strive for academic success at two-year institutions within the City University of New York (CUNY) where approximately 44% of CUNY's student body comprises FGCS (CUNY, 2019). According to participants, families and institutions played significant roles in shaping students' sense of belonging. It also highlights the intricate negotiations BIPOC FGCS undergo as they …

On The Lower Levels Of The Ivory Tower: What Color Collars Do Adjunct Faculty Wear?, Frederick Tucker

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Institutional reliance on tenure-line faculty reached a historic low after the Great Recession in 2009, remaining at approximately a third of all faculty through 2022. Postsecondary institutions have steadily increased their reliance on full-time adjunct faculty over the last two decades. Part-time adjuncts, meanwhile, were hired in great numbers before and during the Great Recession, as student enrollment increased, but have steadily declined since 2012, as college enrollment waned. Almost all evidence suggests that tenure expansion would benefit both the recipients of tenure and their students, but would come at a cost. There are few studies, however, that distinguish between …

Supporting Social Equity Through Informal Spaces On An Urban Campus, Eve B. Klein

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on applying research to design in the setting of higher education. Specifically, it explores the informal spaces outside the classroom at a predominantly Black college in an urban setting. The existing structural challenges facing college students are many, including issues related to financial resources, mental health/wellness, family responsibilities, psychosocial identity formation, and structural racism. These challenges were compounded by the events of the spring of 2020, when a heightened awareness of anti-Black racism, combined with the hardships of COVID-19, brought college campuses to a close and masses of people to the streets to protest the unjust killings …

Examining Mental Health Differences Between Traditional And Nontraditional College Students From 2017-2022, Terrence A. Calistro Jr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The COVID-19 pandemic and societal changes in response to the pandemic have contributed to increasing the prevalence of mental health issues among college students globally. Because of their additional responsibilities, the prevalence of mental issues among the subpopulation of Nontraditional College Students (NTCS) is even more concerning. NTCS possess at least one of the following characteristics (e.g., working full-time, part-time employment, having financial dependents, etc.) that differentiates them from typical college students who enter higher education right after high school. Prior research has shown that NTCS generally experience more life stressors and challenges associated with mental health issues (e.g., depression, …

Thinking Blue / Writing Red: Marxism And The (Post)Human, Stephen C. Tumino

Publications and Research

Thinking Blue/Writing Red interrogates contemporary culture across a range of texts, from the pandemic (‘Covid’ and ‘Trump Speak’) to high theory (Melville's narratives) and popular culture (Beyoncé's ‘Formation’ and Super Bowl performance, Twin Peaks , metamodern ‘cli-fi’ films). Inspired by Derrida’s idea of the secret, Tumino examines the significance of social movements (Black Lives Matter, Occupy, alter-globalization) and naïve art (Darger, Ryden) to argue that these texts speak of the secrets that capitalism cannot speak. Contending that the cultural surfaces narrate only the ‘nonsecret,’ that to see the social logic of the culture one must dig into what Bruno Latour …

Toward Otherworlding The Teaching-Learning Of Psychology With Community College Students, Francisco Medina

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation reimagines a different relationality to teaching-learning psychology in the community college classroom through a series of three separate articles. Each article draws on quasi-ethnographic, autoethnographic, and group discussions elements to wonder about the types of theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical dimensions that might make psychology courses more attuned and accountable to younger generations and the end of the world as we know it. The first article explores the metaphysical inseparability, interdependence, and co-constitution of teaching-learning, theory-making, and collective world-making in the psychology community college classroom as an invitation to the end of psychology as we know it. I argue …

Twenty Years Of Community-Based College Success: Oral Histories From Practitioners, Partners, And Peer Mentors Supporting City University Of New York (Cuny) Students, Benjamin J. Carey

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For the past twenty years, community-based college success programs have supported a generation of young people entering all twenty-five City University of New York (CUNY) Colleges. As the country’s largest urban university system, CUNY has historically been a major engine of economic mobility for young people in New York City. However, gaps in academic preparation and navigational support have weakened student persistence and graduation rates. Community-based organizations (CBOs) that have provided college access support to New York City public school students since the 1980s began to extend their services into college to provide targeted interventions and improve student outcomes. Grounded …

Identifying Graduate Students’ Instructional Strategies And Approaches Towards Teaching Employable Skills, Elizabeth S. Che

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

College instruction tends to focus on imparting disciplinary knowledge rather than employable broad-based skills emphasized by undergraduate guidelines. The lack of emphasis on broad-skill development may leave many undergraduate students unprepared for the workforce. Graduate students who are future professoriate, are teaching undergraduate courses with various attitudes and strategies. This dissertation comprises three published studies that used data from two surveys identifying graduate students’ instructional strategies and approaches to teaching employable skills in their courses.

The first study asked whether graduate students teaching undergraduate courses (N = 114; 70.2% women, M age = 30 years) aim to teach employable …

Applying An Intersectional And Multi-Systemic Level Approach To Adei Institutional Assessments In Social Work Higher Education, Diana A. Melendez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Institutional Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI) tools and assessment models are needed to support schools of social work in demonstrating compliance with the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). This study develops a new tool and model for ADEI institutional assessment in social work higher education using a collaborative, intersectional and multi-systemic level approach. The primary aim of the project was to develop and test a new tool to gather and document experience(s) of coloniality within a social work higher education institution, from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives, as a usable model of ADEI …

Pltl Develops Scholars For Majors In The Built-Environment​, Shpat Halili, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

The National Science Foundation S-STEM program at NYC College of Technology (City Tech), Developing an Ecosystem of STEM success for Built Environment Scholars (Award Number 2150432), focuses on supporting and developing scholars in the majors relating to the Built Environment. The proposed project includes the expansion of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) at City Tech. The PLTL model creates a supportive learning environment and supplements the faculty-centered classroom with student-led and student-oriented workshops. At City Tech, existing workshops provide curricular support in statics and mathematics. The PLTL program benefits promising first-year STEM students, and the S-STEM program utilizes the PLTL model …

Defining Faculty’S Role In Supporting Student Mental Health Needs In Higher Education, Erica B. Riba

Student Theses

The subject of mental health among college students has been prevalent for decades. Today, college students are facing more challenges to mental wellness than ever before. Faculty are often the first and only point of contact for many students. Faculty have a role to play in supporting student mental health, but that role has not been clearly defined. This study aims to bring clarity to some of these critical issues and offers a lens into this broad topic from faculty themselves. A mixed-methods design was used for this study. 889 people who have downloaded The Jed Foundation’s Faculty Guide to …

Predictors Of Student Reenrollment And Graduation During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Student Characteristics And Circumstances, David Wutchiett, A. W. Logue

Publications and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic decreased college enrollment and disrupted academic progress, particularly among disadvantaged students and institutions. Just before the start of the pandemic in spring 2020, 31,511 undergraduate students attending colleges of The City University of New York responded to a survey detailing their circumstances. Lasso regression followed by mixed-effects logistic regression modeling were used to identify predictors of (1) fall 2020 reenrollment, (2) associate’s-degree graduation or transfer to a bachelor’s-degree program by associate’s-degree students by fall 2022, and (3) graduation with a bachelor’s-degree by bachelor’s-degree students by fall 2022. Part-time status, food insecurity, gender, and major predicted reenrollment and …

A Model For Embedding Nature-Based Learning Across Disciplines: A Pilot Study At An Urban Community College, Nicole Kras

Publications and Research

Nature-based instruction offers students the benefits of experiential learning while spending time in nature. Research supports nature-based learning (NBL) with younger students (Pre-K–12), yet there is a dearth of research focused on students in post-secondary education. To advance research in higher education, an NBL project was launched with 16 faculty members (two cohorts) from different disciplines at a commuter community college in New York City to pilot the implementation of NBL into the curriculum. This paper offers a model to guide the implementation of NBL in a variety of disciplines. It is hoped that this model may be used by …

Performance Outcomes In Introductory Statistics: R Vs. Spss Usage At A Community College, Venessa Singhroy Ph.D., Bianca Sosnovski

Publications and Research

This dataset corresponds to a study investigating the performance outcomes of students enrolled in two sections of an introductory statistics course at a community college in New York. The study, titled "Examining Differences in Performance Outcomes between Statistics Classes using High-coding vs. Low-coding Statistical Software Packages," explores the impact of utilizing different statistical software packages (R and SPSS) on student performance and motivation. The dataset comprises assessments administered to participants, including the Mathematics Motivation Questionnaire, Reading Comprehension Assessment, Algebra Assessment, Statistics Assessment, and Coding Assessment. Participants were divided into two sections: one utilizing R and the other utilizing SPSS for …

Using Smartphones To Innovate Laboratories In Introductory Physics Courses, E. Bernardini, M. Carli, M.Y. Elkhashab, Andrea Ferroglia, Miguel C. N. Fiolhais, L. Gabelli, H. Jessen Munch, Darya Krym, P. Mastrolia, Giovanni Ossola, O. Pantano, J. Postiglione, J.S. Poveda Correa, C. Sirignano, F. Soramel

Publications and Research

The SmartPhysics project involved two higher education institutions, one in Italy and one in the US, with the aim of exploring the use of smartphones for laboratory experiments in introductory Physics courses. Here we present and discuss two experiments that were developed in the project: the pendulum experiment, consisting in the measurement of the gravitational constant using a proximity stopwatch, and the ‘bouncing ball’ experiment, aimed at measuring the energy lost in inelastic collisions with a hard surface. Both experiments were tested with the students in the academic year 2021-22. Our results and didactical reflections contain suggestions for the use …

Using Formative Assessment And Feedback From Student Response Systems (Srs) To Revise Statistics Instruction And Promote Student Growth For All, Grace Pai

Publications and Research

Instructors are increasingly using interactive student response systems (SRS) to foster active learning and deepen student understanding in statistics education. Yet most studies focus on either the benefits of SRS or on how students can receive and use feedback, rather than on how instructors can use formative assessment data to inform instructional revisions for the purpose of enacting inclusive pedagogy to reach more learners. This article draws from a case study of an introductory statistics course at a community college to detail a framework for how an instructor can engage in what I call a reciprocal formative assessment and feedback …

Leveraging The Dual Role Of The Oer Practitioner/Administrator: 'Making It Count' At An Individual And Institutional Level, Cailean Cooney

Publications and Research

This case shares activities the author has engaged in through their dual role as faculty member and administrator of the college’s OER initiative. Topics will include how the author has leveraged their OER work to amplify the documents and activities required in their own tenure and promotion process and how they have approached this subject in faculty development programming. Practical models will be offered for faculty, librarians, and OER coordinators to adapt to their own contexts.

Adapting For Anti-Racism: Collaboratively Diversifying Faculty Open Professional Development, Stacy Katz, Sherry L. Deckman

Publications and Research

Higher education institutions have become increasingly interested in exploring the innovative learning opportunities afforded by open educational resources and practices (OER). These same institutions have begun to more seriously consider ways to eradicate racism. However, few institutions have considered the ways that OER may prove useful in dismantling anti-racism and how to prepare instructional faculty to do so. Given their expertise and research skills, librarians may be uniquely positioned to take on this role. In this paper, we explore one such online asynchronous effort–adaptation and implementation of the Open for Anti-Racism faculty workshop in Learning Management System – and offer …

So Many Roads, So Much At Stake: The Composition Of Faculty Bargaining Units, William A. Herbert, Joseph Van Der Naald

Publications and Research

This book chapter from Contingent Faculty and the Remaking of Higher Education: A Labor History traces the history of faculty bargaining unit composition in higher education. It examines the evolution in higher education from wall-to-wall bargaining units to professional craft units of tenured, tenure-track, and contingent faculty to separate contingent faculty units. The chapter presents historical examples of bargaining units, starting with early CIO wall-to-wall units in the 1940s, and the facts, preferences, and legal doctrines that has resulted in faculty being placed in combined or separate bargaining under collective bargaining laws. It will also explore the conflicting and congruous …

Herding Cats: The Benefits And Challenges Of A Large Research And Development Team, Xin Bai, Leslie Keiler

Publications and Research

We explore the journey of a nine-member-and-growing research team that is collaborating to develop, implement, and study a Computer Integrated Teacher Education (CITE) program at an urban commuter college. Team members have a range of subject area expertise and research training, as well as full-time jobs in the education field. The multi-member team has learned from each other and enriched the final products while facing challenges resulting from the composition of the team.

Using Poetics And Technology To Inform Pre-Service Educators’ Transformative Pedagogy Via Innovative Sociocultural Interactivities, Lindamichelle Baron, Xin Bai

Publications and Research

Using Poetics and Technology to Inform Pre-Service Educators’ Transformative Pedagogy via Innovative Sociocultural Interactivities

During the HICE workshop my colleague and I will demonstrate and engage HICE participants through learner centered practices we developed and studied during the Covid pandemic. We embedded oral and written poetic expression with a variety of technological practices to offer pre-service educators creative opportunities to learn and participate in the course through unique expressive movements, music, and media during on-line instruction. These approaches will show how to create a culture of care and Social Justice in a synchronous online classroom.

Baron, Lindamichelle –— York College, …

The Power And Peril Of Program Reviews: The Resource Paradox Of Assessing For Improvement, Justin Rogers-Cooper, Rejitha Nair, Arthur O'Keeffe

Publications and Research

In this essay, we explore program reviews as important sites for the tension Peter Ewell defines at the core of outcomes assessment practices: that is, between assessing for accountability and assessing for improvement. We address this tension through the example of our Industrial Design program on our urban campus in New York City. In exploring Ewell’s tension between accountability and improvement, we develop the concept of the resource paradox. Simply stated, program reviews require institutions to invest time and resources to close the loop on implementing improvements – yet those actions often require resources many institutions lack. Using our case …

A Handbook On Mentoring Students In Undergraduate Research: Proven Strategies For Success (2nd Edition), Nadia Benakli, Monica Berger, Aida Egues, Hamidreza Norouzi, Kate Poirier, Diana Samaroo

Open Educational Resources

This Handbook was developed by the multi-disciplinary Undergraduate Research Committee (URC) at New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York (CUNY). The URC provides unique opportunities for students to participate in authentic research experiences with trained faculty mentors. Committee members themselves are trained mentors who are actively engaged in interdisciplinary and disciplinary research that spans the fields of anthropology, architecture, astronomy, biology, chemistry, communication design, engineering, health sciences, history, literature, management, mathematics, philosophy, physics, psychology, robotics, sociology, and theater.

Additional information about this and the first edition of the Handbook can be found …

Motivation, Learning, And The Workplace: A Study Of Community College Student Affairs Professionals And Continued Professional Learning, Joseph M. Ginese

Theses and Dissertations

Continued professional learning is a consistent focus of attention for the field of student affairs within higher education. Yet, very little research has been conducted on the factors that influence the motivation of student affairs professionals to pursue continued professional learning, especially professionals within community colleges. This study utilized a quantitative research design to examine the physical and psychological factors of the work environment that can influence a community college student affairs professional’s motivation to pursue continued professional learning. Through the theoretical lens of Lewin’s Field Theory and Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Theory, I designed a 58-item survey (N = 41) …

It’S About Time, Part Ii: Does Time Poverty Contribute To Inequitable College Outcomes By Gender And Race/Ethnicity?, Claire Wladis, Alyse C. Hachey, Katherine M. Conway

Publications and Research

Existing research demonstrates gender- and race/ethnicity-based inequities in college outcomes. Separately, recent research suggests a relationship between time poverty and college outcomes for student parents and online students. However, to date, no studies have empirically explored whether differential access to time as a resource for college may explain differential outcomes by gender or race/ethnicity. To address this, this study explored the relationship between time poverty, gender or race/ethnicity, and college outcomes at a large urban public university with two and four year campuses. Time poverty explained a significant proportion of differential outcomes (retention and credit accumulation) by gender and race/ethnicity. …

Oe@Kcc: Crash Course In Open Education, Shawna M. Brandle

Open Educational Resources

These slides cover a very fast introduction to open education for Kingsborough faculty and staff.  They are full of lots of links to helpful resources, so please use/adapt this however you like!

Email Invitation And Survey For Faculty Whose Experience Has Mostly Been With Actual Vertical Transfer Students, Alexandra W. Logue, Vita Rabinowitz, Yoshiko Oka, Nayeon Yoo, Rhina Torres, Kerstin Gentsch, David Wutchiett

Publications and Research

Copy of survey used for faculty whose experience has mostly been with actual vertical transfer (bachelor's-degree) students, along with email sent to faculty inviting them to complete the survey.

“Once That Ball Goes Flat, What Are You Gonna Do?” How Being A Student-Athlete Uniquely Affects Black Men, Amaya S. Mcdonald

Capstones

With less experience in the world outside of sports as compared to their non-athlete peers, student-athletes are often left to find careers in other fields where they may be unprepared after college.This trend disproportionately affects Black male college-athletes, who make up a majority of the student-athletes on revenue sports teams, like basketball and football, which generate billions of dollars for academic institutions.

Interviews with former student-athletes, activists and educators reveal the source of this disparity and how the student-athlete role can affect a student's college experience, their own self-perception and their transition into a life without sports post-graduation. https://medium.com/@amayamcd24/once-that-ball-goes-flat-what-are-you-gonna-do-1f0baaa14cf4

Education And The Epistemological Crisis In The Age Of Chatgpt, Casandra Silva Sibilin

Publications and Research

The emergence of ChatGPT and its ability to imitate student work has precipitated a crisis in education. Responses range from practical efforts to detect or prevent ChatGPT use to existential reflection about learning and assessment. However, the crisis is also epistemological, with educators struggling to determine what students know and fearing that student knowledge is diminishing. The educational philosophies of Socrates, Dewey, and Freire suggest that recognition of ignorance of different kinds (inquisitive, predictive, and practical)on the part of educators is uncomfortable but essential for improving the aims and methods of education. In this way, ChatGPT and the philosophy of …

“No One’S Hearing Me”: A Grounded Theory Case Study Of One University's Institutional Discourse And Women Staff Perceptions Of Campus Climate, Lorianne Crowder

Student Theses

This qualitative case study explores the relationship between institutional discourse and women staff perceptions of campus climate at one public university. Through a critically informed grounded theory approach, findings revealed how ambiguous institutional values functioned as empty signifiers which, while aimed at creating the image of inclusivity, were subject to various interpretations that may have fostered conditions for the dismissal of care ethics and relational knowledge expressed by women staff. Embedded hierarchies also persisted, shaping recognition of women staff along gendered, racialized, and professional lines. Despite exclusionary discourse cultivating climates of epistemic marginalization, women staff exhibited agency through connection and …