Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Active Military Student Persistence In Online Courses At California Community Colleges, Stephanie E. Gernert

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The diversity of higher education institutions is changing, and more post-traditional students, including those associated with the military, are engaging in higher education. Almost every post-secondary institution in the United States has military students. In 2020, $11.5 billion was spent on over 875,000 eligible military students. Military students often prefer online courses at community colleges due to flexibility around their military career, open-access, and affordability.

Yet, few studies examine active military servicemembers alone and, when research is performed, a lack of thorough data collection exists. Therefore, this study focused on active military students in online education in California Community Colleges. …

A Comparison Of Sorority Women And Non-Sorority Women’S Alcohol Use: Perception, Rate Of Use, And Consequences, Betsy Zimmerman

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

While alcohol use and Greek Life on college campuses have often become synonymous, little is known about the rate of use or the consequences of use for sorority women specifically. Gender has been identified as a risk factor relating to substance use on college campuses; however, there is a gap in the literature concerning compounding factors that influence substance abuse, such as membership in a Greek-lettered organization. With approximately 300,000 college women involved in Greek-lettered organizations annually (NPC, 2019), little is known about the impact of alcohol use for sorority women on college adjustment. An exploration of the perception of …

Broaching Race And Race-Related Issues: Phenomenological Inquiry Of Doctoral Student Supervisors Of Counselor Trainees, Judith Wambui Preston

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Clinical supervision is a central building block in counseling that ensures client welfare, fosters supervisees’ professional development, and facilities the gatekeeping process of those entering the profession (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019). In addition to gatekeeping, the American Counseling Association (ACA; 2014) Code of Ethics mandates clinical supervisors to be aware of and address multiculturalism’s role in the supervisory relationship. Because of this mandate, doctoral student supervisors of counselor trainees in CACREP-accredited programs are responsible for integrating multicultural considerations through broaching to ensure racially and culturally responsive counseling to clients from diverse backgrounds (Bayne & Branco, 2018; Jones et al., 2019). …

An Investigation Of Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives On The Tasks Of Mental Health Counselors In Hospital Settings, Suelle Micallef Marmara

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

With the global mental health implications reported by the spread of COVID 19 (Javed et al., 2020) and the amplified mental health illnesses reported by the State of Mental Health in America (Reinert et al., 2021), there is an increased need to address psychological and emotional health along with physical health. Mental Health Counselors (MHCs) can be the next professional body to support the multidisciplinary teams within hospital settings to complement holistic care focusing on physical and emotional well-being. Researchers have demonstrated addressing the psychological needs of patients from their first admissions to the hospital has significant positive implications on …

Validation And Measurement Invariance Of A First-Generation College Student Identity Scale, Kelsie K. Allison

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

First-generation college students (FGCS) comprise approximately 56% of the U.S. post-secondary institution population, yet they face substantially more academic, financial, and additional unique issues than continuing-generation college students. Research on FGCS has been steadily growing in recent years, however, literature on identity for this population is sparse. To address these gaps in the literature, the aim of the current study was to adapt, validate, and establish full factorial measurement invariance across Black and White FGCS for a multidimensional quantitative measure of first-generation college student identity. The final sample included 425 current FGCS (81.2% female; M_age = 24.4 years, SD …

"Quality-Less” Higher Education: Relationship And Neocolonialism In International Development In Afghanistan, Wolayat Tabasum

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study aimed to explore the internal quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) policy at University X in Afghanistan. A single case study and document review methods were chosen to examine the policy implementation process and its perceived effectiveness at a single university. This case study also explored faculty members' perceptions toward QAA, the policy's impact on teaching and learning, and the opportunities and challenges it might offer. The findings of the study produced unexpected and expected results. The expected findings were tailored around social relationships, labor division, the hierarchy of labor, incompatibility of the policy, and their impact on the …

Investigating Psychological Capital As A Moderator In The Relationship Between Incivility And Stem Students' Major Embeddedness, Kristen Denae Eggler

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Increasing the number of students who graduate from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors is a national priority in the United States as there is a need for more STEM employees in the labor force. However, less than half of students who initially declare a major in STEM graduate college with a STEM degree, in part because of the unwelcoming climate in STEM. The aim of the current study was to understand how incivility may undermine a student’s embeddedness within their undergraduate major and whether the individual difference of Psychological Capital could assuage the undermining effects. The presence of …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …