Higher Education Commons^™

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 5, Nova Southeastern University

The Current

No abstract provided.

Examining Undergraduate College Students’ Experiences Participating In Longitudinal Qualitative Research, Rosemary J. Perez, Arely Acuña, Marissiko M. Wheaton

The Qualitative Report

While many researchers describe the potential benefits to individuals if they opt to participate in qualitative research, it is not always feasible to empirically examine how engaging in a study influence the participants. Acknowledging this gap, we conducted a descriptive qualitative study to explore how 67 low-income students described their experiences as participants in a larger longitudinal qualitative research project that involved regularly submitting video diaries and participating in interviews over the course of three years. Overall, participants characterized their experiences as positive and highlighted unanticipated benefits of the project. Although many individuals were drawn to the project for the …

An Autoethnographic Reflection From Two Black Women Ph.D.’S And Their White Woman Advisor On The Use And Impact Of Sista Circle Methodology In The Dissertation Process, B. Nathan, Rashida Love, Laurie A. Carlson

The Qualitative Report

Black Women doctoral students experience the journey as “outsiders within” (Collins, 1986), navigating how to excel and thrive while being on the margins (hooks, 1991). The authors of this manuscript reflect upon the impact of adopting a culturally relevant methodology and method, integrating various forms of Black Women’s art, and challenging tenets of traditional western research. An auto-ethnographic exercise illuminated the critical need for Nathan and Love to insert their Black Womanhood into their dissertation research process using Sista Circle Methodology, an active decision to decolonize research. Carlson provided a critical link to ensuring Nathan and Love graduated and provides …

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 4, Nova Southeastern University

The Current

No abstract provided.

Marrying A Good Story And A Well-Formed Argument: The Metanarrative Of Zyx, Megan X. Schutte

The Qualitative Report

This article uses a metanarrative of a fictional, gender identity minority community college student (named Zyx) to elucidate and humanize the experiences that students in this population undergo throughout the course of their college career. Using a journal entry format, Zyx (they/them) is followed from the day before their first day at school through to their graduation. Their experience includes being first-generation and mixed race, living through COVID-19, coping with academic failure, and ultimately triumphing over adversity. The story is meant to cover some of the myriad obstacles to success faced by gender identity minorities attending community college while also …

Examining Faculty’S Transition To 100% Online Learning During A Pandemic: A Narrative Inquiry, Christa Ann Banton, Jose Garza

The Qualitative Report

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quickly emerged as an unprecedented pandemic that has impacted communities at every level. Although online teaching is not a new concept, many faculty entered new territory as they transitioned into the online learning environment at the onset of the pandemic. This qualitative, narrative inquiry sought to capture the unique experiences of on-ground faculty during the rapid transition into online learning. Through these twenty interviews, some emerging themes included the instability and usage of technology, changes in engagement and participation, and the need for additional student and faculty support. Emerging themes provide insight to future implications related …

Strength In Numbers: An Exploratory Case Study On The Impact Of Conflict In Multi-Institutional Higher Education Collaborations, Michele Robyn Dinicola

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The higher education landscape is changing. Students seeking access to college are increasinglydiverse, geographically dispersed, socioeconomically challenged, and will require higher education administrators to closely examine their models to ensure they are well-suited to serve the needs of these students. Responding to these shifts will require higher education administrators to shed traditional approaches in favor of innovative, cost-effective, flexible models of education delivery. Many institutions address this challenge through a reliance on higher education consortia and collaborations. In Maryland, one approach to collaboration takes the form of multi-institutional Regional Higher Education Centers (RHEC) like the largest of them, the Universities …

Cause For Complaint: A Case Study Exploring Office For Civil Rights Complaints And Resolutions Related To Digital Accessibility At Public Colleges And Universities, Helen Gema Muñiz Bermudez

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

As the number of students with disabilities pursuing postsecondary opportunities continues to grow, along with an increase in digital educational content and technology, the issue of digital accessibility becomes increasingly urgent - both as a matter of equity and access for disabled students and as a matter of social and fiscal responsibility for postsecondary institutions. When postsecondary institutions fail to meet the requirements of disability legislation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is the federal entity responsible for enforcement and complaint investigations, handling hundreds of complaints related to digital accessibility at postsecondary institutions since 2013. There …

Haitian Immigrants Lived Experiences With Police In South Florida, Christie Laroche

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents a qualitative phenomenological exploration of the interactions between Haitian immigrants residing in South Florida and law enforcement. Despite existing research on the experiences of Blacks with the police, there is a noticeable gap concerning the unique encounters of Haitian immigrants, who bring distinct cultural, historical, and linguistic backgrounds to their interactions with law enforcement. Given the increasing population of Haitian immigrants in the United States, this study sought to comprehensively examine their encounters, treatment, and experiences with the police, including aspects such as demeanor, contact handling, and the resultant impact on their perceptions. Through in-depth interviews with …

Perceptions Of Business Private Sector Employers On The Employability Of Distance-Only Institution Candidates In The United States: A Case Study, Tanacha Gaines

Theses and Dissertations

The applied dissertation was designed to understand the perceptions of private-sector employers regarding the selection of candidates from distance-only higher education institutions. Guided by signaling theory as a framework, the study explored the mismatch between institutional, student, and employer expectations of skills and readiness for the labor market. Research into the employability of students and the acceptability of their distance-only degrees in the business sector could be informative as to whether the investment of students and their families provided fruitful employment opportunities. The literature showed an increase in enrollment for online learning, legislative expectations of higher education with the lack …

Percepción De Los Maestros De Educación Especial El Director Escolar Y Los Consejeros Escolares Sobre El Rol Administrativo De La Escuela Secundaria Para Cumplir Con El Proceso De Transición En Jóvenes Discapacitados, Yelitza Maldonado Santiago

Theses and Dissertations

Esta Investigación tiene como propósito determinar la percepción de los maestros de educación especial, el director escolar y el consejero escolar, sobre el rol administrativo de la escuela secundaria para hacer valer y cumplir el proceso de transición en jóvenes discapacitados, de acuerdo a las disposiciones y terminos institucionales. De igual forma, se pretende proveer información y herramientas necesarias para que el director escolar realice de forma efectiva los procedimientos de un plan de transición en la escuela secundaria.

Para lograr el propósito de esta investigación se utilizó un enfoque cuantitativo, con un diseño de carácter no experimental descriptivo. Además, …

Competencies Of Ombuds In Higher Education, Alicia Booker

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to deepen the understanding of ombuds (i.e., ombudsman, ombudsperson) who practice in higher education settings by exploring what ombuds consider the critical competencies to fulfill a variety of professional functions, how ombuds acquired those competencies, and how ombuds are assessed and self-assess. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to make an empirically researched recommendation for an ombuds in higher education competency model. The researcher gathered data from 23 ombuds in the United States working in institutions of higher education. The researcher analyzed the data gathered from semi-structured interviews using descriptive coding in the first coding …

2023-2024 Nsu Undergraduate Student Catalog, Nova Southeastern University

Undergraduate Programs Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

How Subordinates Describe Their Leader’S Political Skill And Their Organizational Citizenship Behavior (Ocb) During A Merger In The Airline Industry In Arizona: A Descriptive Perspective, Conrado Dela Cruz Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how subordinates describe their leader’s political skill and their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) during a merger in the airline industry in Arizona. This study aimed to provide further exploration on leader political skill relating to mergers in the airline industry and if leader political skill can positively influence merger outcomes by increasing subordinate OCB levels during a merger through the breadth of information provided by the participants of this study.

The study used a qualitative methodology with a descriptive design to capture the rich descriptions of how subordinates from a …

Improving The Quality Of Academic Advisors' Practices To Aid Distance Learners’ Retention, Kenyeta R. Pino

Theses and Dissertations

The popularity of distance learning has increased among higher education students owing to its flexibility and convenience, as it enables learning from any location and at any time. Despite the substantial number of enrollments, distance learners are experiencing high attrition rates, leading to low completion rates compared to students enrolled in traditional in-person courses.

Academic advising is a significant contributor to student retention and an effective intervention used to support students at-risk of dropping out; therefore, advisors must provide the same degree of support to their distance learners as they do to their face-to-face advisees. This applied dissertation was designed …

The Impact Of Job Demands And Job Resources On Clery Officers’ Feelings Of Self-Efficacy, Jacqueline Pontius-Hogan

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to better understand how to support university administrators serving in a compliance role. Safety on university campuses is of utmost importance and many collaborators work toward this endeavor. Generally, on any given college or university campus, there is one administrator tasked with compliance with the Clery Act. Administrators had varying direct experience and interest in serving in this role, though all understood the importance of compliance and the consequences of noncompliance.

The researcher interviewed Clery Officers from multiple campuses. Utilizing semistructured interviews, information was gathered as to how self-efficacious these administrators felt. The intent behind …

A Case Study Investigating The Strategies Used By Preclinical Osteopathic Medical Students To Successfully Transition To Their Clinical Years, Natacha Villedrouin

Theses and Dissertations

Osteopathic medical students experience academic challenges during their preclinical years of medical school due to the rigorous medical school curriculum. Prior research identified several challenges experienced by these students and the need to explore resilience strategies which can be employed to address those challenges.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and describe the specific strategies used by osteopathic medical students to navigate the academic and personal challenges faced during their preclinical years to persist and successfully transition into the clinical years of the medical program in a large medical school in South Florida. There is a …

El Uso Del Modelo De Aula Invertida En La Educación Superior: Revisión Sistemática De Sus Ventajas Y Retos, Gabriel Zepeda Martínez

Theses and Dissertations

El modelo de aula invertida (flipped classroom) se ha empleado cada vez con mayor frecuencia en la educación superior. No obstante, hay poca evidencia de estudios que sinteticen los resultados obtenidos en las investigaciones. En consecuencia, la presente investigación tuvo como fin realizar una revisión sistemática de las ventajas y retos del uso del modelo de aula invertida en la educación superior, incluyendo las actividades que se han usado dentro y fuera del aula, así como las opiniones de profesores y estudiantes sobre este modelo educativo.

Se revisaron las teorías que fundamentan el modelo de aula invertida, así como de …

Examining The Impact Of Postsecondary Correctional Education Programs On Participant Self-Stigmatization: The Student Perspective, Christal M. Clark

Theses and Dissertations

Legislators and correctional administrators are tasked with problem-solving current issues of mass incarceration and high criminal recidivism rates. Part of the solution is to implement successful rehabilitative initiatives through reentry programming. While Postsecondary Correctional Education programs are proven to reduce recidivism and assist formerly incarcerated persons in obtaining employment, little is known about the effects of obtaining a college degree in prison on individual self-stigmatization. Self-stigmatization can occur when a member of a marginalized group experiences poor self-concept. Those with mental illness, criminal histories, addiction, etc. are often viewed as undesirable by mainstream society. In an attempt to manage negative …

La Enseñanza Acorde Con Estilos De Aprendizajes Y Capacidades Sensoriales, Optimiza La Efectividad Del Aprendizaje En Los Estudiante De Una Universidad De Florida-Usa: Mito O Realidad, Juan Ramon Rodriguez

Theses and Dissertations

El propósito de esta disertación aplicada fue determinar si la enseñanza acorde con los estilos de aprendizaje y las capacidades sensoriales optimiza el aprendizaje en estudiantes universitarios en Florida-USA, o si es un mito. La presente investigación, basándose en los resultados obtenidos, rebate la teoría de Dunn y Dunn (1974) sobre la efectividad del proceso de enseñanza alineado con los estilos de aprendizaje y las capacidades sensoriales. En la investigación se aplicó con rigor el método propuesto por Pashler et al. (2009). El investigador llevó a cabo un estudio cuantitativo de enfoque no-experimental, longitudinal y de diseño panel en el …

How Doctoral Students With Low Gre Scores Succeed: A Grounded Theory Study, Dea Mulolli, June E. Gothberg

The Qualitative Report

Most U.S. graduate schools rely on the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) to predict readiness for graduate degree programs and differentiate between applicants in verbal and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills. Many times, low GRE scores create a barrier to entry into U.S. graduate programs despite research showing that selecting graduate applicants based solely on academic metric thresholds does not guarantee graduate student performance and many low scorers still attain a graduate degree on time (Miller et al., 2019b; Pacheco et al., 2017; Petersen et al., 2018; Wang et al, 2013). In this study, we used a constructivist …

Racism And Resilience: Counter-Narratives Of Asian International College Students In The Age Of Covid-19, Katrina Liu, Richard Miller, Sharolyn D. Pollard-Durodola, Lei Ping

The Qualitative Report

Using Asian Critical Race Theory and Resilience Theory, this qualitative study explores how Asian international college students experienced racism before and after the eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they developed and used resilience to counteract that racism. Eleven Asian participants shared their counter-narratives through semi-structured interviews. Results reveal that, before the pandemic, participants were regularly subjected to racist acts and attitudes grounded in a deficit view of Asians that treated them as inscrutable foreigners, blamed them as individuals for perceived shortcomings in their home countries, dismissed their expertise outside of technical STEM fields, and failed to recognize their …

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 3, Nova Southeastern University

The Current

No abstract provided.

Imposter Participants: Overcoming Methodological Challenges Related To Balancing Participant Privacy With Data Quality When Using Online Recruitment And Data Collection, Jacqueline M. Roehl Phd, Darci J. Harland Phd

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we describe the lessons learned when untrustworthy participants were included in a qualitative interview study. In online research, participants can more easily misrepresent their identity and volunteer for studies even if they do not meet inclusion criteria. The term “imposter participant” refers to dishonest participants who completely fake their identities or simply exaggerate their experiences in order to participate in qualitative studies. Untrustworthy participants are a threat to data quality, yet little has been published on how qualitative researchers should prevent and handle this unique methodological challenge. In this paper, we provide a detailed account of how …

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 2, Nova Southeastern University

The Current

No abstract provided.

Graduate Student Mothers And Issues Of Justice: Steps, Challenges, And Benefits Of A Systematic Review For Examining Master’S Theses And Doctoral Dissertations, Anna Cohenmiller, Zhanna Izekenova, Almira Tabaeva

The Qualitative Report

mothers in academia, literature review, PRISMA, coding, gender equity and inclusion, social justice

At Home Or On Tour? Mixed Race Filipina/O American Reflections On Identity And Visiting The Motherland, Lisa Delacruz Combs, Marc P. Johnston-Guerrero

The Qualitative Report

This duoethnography (a dialogic approach to studying the meanings given to a similarly experienced phenomenon among two or more individuals; Norris, 2008) engages dilemmas of identity and authenticity for two mixed heritage Filipina/o Americans on various points in their ongoing journeys toward decolonization. We center our analysis around recent travels to the “motherland” of the Philippines, engaging two guiding questions: (a) What does it mean for us to claim Filipino-ness within the context of the Philippines when we are solely visiting? And (b) How is the dissonance of being in a different national context helpful for better understanding our relationships …

Covid-19-Impacted Research And Education In Global Healthcare And Stem: Evaluation Of Case Studies, Yumna Indorewala, Santanu De

Trick to the Treat of Internships and Research

The zoonotic novel coronavirus has posed major challenges to the world’s economy, social development, and public health. Effects in the education and research in the field of healthcare and STEM are accentuated in lower-developed countries or communities where the access to technology and a reliable internet connection are luxuries making it difficult to attain education virtually. The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has also disrupted research and training in STEM and healthcare. With significant increases in infection rates there is an urge to redirect projects towards virology research and vaccine development. This comprehensive literature review includes case studies highlighting the …

Hidden Identity: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Of Black Male Identity Development At Historically Black Colleges And Universities, Therron Rogers, Donald Mitchell Jr.

The Qualitative Report

Identity development models for Black males are limited, particularly within the context of higher education. Within this qualitative study, we used constructivist grounded theory to develop a theory of Black male identity development at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). We were guided by the following research questions: (1) How do the experiences at a historically Black college or university influence the identity development for Black males? (2) What externalfactors influence identity development for Black males who attend a historically Black college or university? Eight Black males participated in this study, each completing series of semistructured interviews. Derived from the …

The Current - Volume 33 Issue 1, Nova Southeastern University

The Current

No abstract provided.