Every year universities across the United States administer the National College Health Assessment (NCHA) to assess their students’ general health based on nine topic areas (i.e. sleep, nutrition, mental health, drug use, sexual behavior, etc.) in relation to their impact on academics. Overall, there is low participation among minority-serving institutions, more specifically Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The lack of participation among these universities may be for several reasons, such as financial constraints on the university or the use their own instruments to assess their students’ health and wellness needs. Further, they may not see a need for the NCHA. Most universities use data analyzed from the NCHA to tailor their wellness programs to their students’ specific needs. This foundational research study utilized a case study design to explore the capacity of one HBCU to provide wellness programs and services to their students and to assess how the wellness needs of current students are identified and met. The secondary purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes of health administrators and students regarding their schools’ wellness programs and services as well as to identify the strengths and gaps in services provided. One-on-one interviews with university staff and administrators, student focus groups, and document analysis were used to collect data. Case analysis was performed to generate research themes to answer the research questions. Six themes were created to answer the corresponding research questions. Conclusions from this study may provide insight into how this university developed and implemented wellness related programs and services to meet the wellness needs of its students.

An exploratory study was conducted examining Internet usage among African-American college students. The study examined both psychosocial correlates, including technological anxiety and racial identity as well as socioeconomic measures, as they impacted Internet usage. Additionally, three distinct measures of Internet usage, thin access, thick access and the Internet Connectedness Index (ICI), were used as criterion variables in three separate multiple regression analysis (MRA) models. The results of the study found differences in predictive validity based on the criterion variable used, with the ICI accounting for the greatest amount of variance (54%). Racial identity, in terms of internal beliefs and feelings about being African American and internalization of Afrocentric values in a political context were found to be predictive of Internet usage as measured by the ICI.

No description available.

It is believed that purposefully constructed learning communities can have academic, social, and motivational advantages for its participants. In an effort to improve graduation and retention of students, some HBCUs have sought new ways to construct learning environments that are conducive to the learning styles of students of color. This study sought to investigate the impact of a learning community on pre-college level students standardized test scores and final grades. The Repeated Measures One-Way ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference in COMPASS score change between groups with the comparison group demonstrating a greater change than did the learning community group. In addition, Analysis of Covariance test was used to answer the research question regarding differences in final grades between the two groups. After adjusting for the COMPASS pre-test, there was no difference in final grades between groups. Using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), a Likert-type scale based on the Eccles et al. (1983) expectancy-value motivational model, three components of students motivation were investigated: task value, extrinsic value, and test anxiety. The Independent Samples t-Test was used to compare the means. There was a statistically significant mean difference in extrinsic value with the students enrolled in traditionally taught pre-college level English courses demonstrating more extrinsic motivation. There was a statistically significant mean difference in task value with students enrolled in the learning community demonstrating higher task value than the comparison group. Finally, there was a statistically significant mean difference in affect with students in the learning community group demonstrating more test anxiety. Conclusions and recommendations were presented for future research.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.