Professional preparation is important for individuals in any profession, as well as the profession itself. It is one of the hallmarks of any profession. Many sets of standards for the curriculum of student affairs preparation programs have been promoted throughout the years. Most recently the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) published a set of standards that outline areas of competency for student affairs professionals. The purpose of this study was to measure the degree to which recent graduates of student affairs preparation programs reported learning about the important foundational elements of the profession. I examined learning based on standards for student affairs preparation programs defined by CAS and compared amounts of reported learning from alumni based on the programs' adherence to the CAS standards (compliant v. non-compliant). To that end, I administered a 67 item questionnaire to recent graduates from student affairs preparation programs. The findings of the present study reveal that a majority of alumni from student affairs preparation programs report having a clear understanding of 57 of 60 identified foundational learning outcomes. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference between reported learning of alumni from CAS compliant and non-compliant programs based on these foundational learning outcomes on 58 of the 60 items. Data suggest that alumni from CAS compliant programs are more likely to feel confidence in their preparation in 48 of the 60 outcomes presented in the survey. Additionally, the results indicated that alumni from non-compliant programs were more likely to report higher levels of learning based on involvement theory and understanding the level of data a variable in quantitative analysis. / Master of Arts

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of participation in a federally funded TRiO program. Specifically, it was designed to determine if the TRiO program was a good indicator of producing statistically significant outcomes in college self-efficacy and perseverance of first-generation African American Women (AAW) in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)-related disciplines in comparison to those who were not enrolled in TRiO. The research design for this study was inferential statistics with a causal-comparative design. This study consisted of 55 participants enrolled at a large, 4-year, public, doctoral degree-granting institution in the Southeastern rural region of the United States who identify as first-generation AAW. Out of the 55 participants, the researcher identified 31 AAW who (a) were enrolled in STEM-related disciplines during the spring 2018 semester and (b) who were enrolled in a TRiO program. Analysis using a series of one-way ANCOVA tests found TRiO to not have a statistically significant difference for the perseverance score, consistency score, course efficacy score, and the social efficacy score. Moreover, years of participation in a TRiO program positively correlated with social efficacy. A Multiple Regression was conducted, and it was found that for social efficacy there was a statistically significant difference for the number of years of participation in a TRiO program. This study generated limited results in regards to identifying a statistical significant difference in the impact of college self-efficacy and perseverance of first-generation AAW in STEM-related disciplines based on their demographic characteristics (e.g., age, classification, family income) for the perseverance score, consistency score, course efficacy score, and the social efficacy score. Conclusions based on the findings in this study indicated that years of participation in TRiO positively correlated with social efficacy as there was a statistically significant difference for the number of years of participation in TRiO. Therefore, the researcher recommends that a longitudinal study be designed to monitor participants’ college self-efficacy and perseverance from their freshman year to their senior year of college.

No description available.

Despite the fact that over one-third of all colleges and universities have an advising center staffed by non-faculty, current research does not include systematic investigations of the impact of routine interventions of advising centers. The purpose of this study was to assess such an impact on freshman academic achievement, involvement in the university, and certain developmental outcomes. From a population of 628 freshman business students, 300 were randomly selected and assigned to three groups. Each group was randomly assigned to one of three treatments: a traditional advising center, an additional three interventions during the first term, or an additional six interventions during the first two terms. Academic persistence, progress and grade point averages were collected for each student. From the 260 students still enrolled at the beginning of the third term, 175 (67.3%) usable responses to the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) and the Advising Survey Form (ASF) were analyzed. Analysis of variance yielded no significant differences among the three groups in the three areas of academic achievement, involvement in the university, and developmental outcomes. However, the group receiving interventions for one term had the highest scores on five of the six ASF advising outcomes scales. Orthogonal contrasts between the no- intervention group and the two intervention groups yielded one unanticipated significant difference: the no-intervention group was more persistent than the two receiving interventions. Further orthogonal contrasts between just the two intervention groups yielded no significant differences. The number of student-initiated visits to the advisor did not appear to be a contributor to the impact; such visits had significant negative correlations with only academic progress and grade point average. A loglinear logit model used to compare the responses to the six interventions yielded a significant difference among the interventions on perceived caring from the advisor and effectiveness of the intervention. Although all interventions elicited high levels of perceived caring, the first intervention, an introductory call, elicited less than expected. Also, although all the interventions were largely perceived as effective, the second, a registration meeting, was found even more effective than the others. Perceived caring increased across the two terms, and second-term interventions were more effective than first-term interventions. Analysis of variance indicated that the follow-up calls made to obtain these evaluations did not have a significant effect on the impact on academic achievement, involvement in the university, and certain developmental outcomes. / Ph. D.

Recent legislative decisions in at least some states have removed the remedial function from the state university and placed it directly at the doorstep of the community college. Such decisions appear to have been made largely for reasons of parsimony or the mere presumption of the effectiveness with which two-year colleges address the needs of high-risk students. However, there are few empirical indicators of the differential effectiveness with which the two- and four-year collegiate sectors are helping high-risk students to attain their goals. Therefore, this study was designed to provide an empirical grounding for the aforementioned policy issue by determining how selected pairs of two- and four-year colleges are contributing to the progress of high-risk students. Multiple methods were used to address the issues central to this investigation. An assessment of the effect of remedial programs and other institutional variables on the progress of underprepared students across chosen two- and four-year collegiate sectors in a two-state region of rural Appalachia was performed. Moreover, the impact of residence status on students' progress was considered. Further, the effect of the remedial approaches at separate two- and four-year institutions on the progress of high risk students was assessed, and a comparison was made of the program orientations preferred by the leaders of participant institutions. The findings indicated that the redemptive practices at selected two-year colleges were generally more effective than those employed by participant four-year institutions, thus offering hope that recent trends to assign the remedial function to community colleges may be justified by the more effective delivery of services. The advantage accorded the remedial programs in the two-year sector was not primarily a result of differences in remedial approach but largely a function of the relationship between remedial practices and other institutional variables. Residence status had little effect on the educational progress of high-risk students. A tendency was observed among selected two- and four-year sectors to devalue the affective dimensions of development that were integral with more recent program designs and return to earlier conceptions of basic skills remediation as the primary means of defining existing programs. / Ed. D.

Using Bean and Metzner's conceptual framework related to non-traditional student attrition, the responsible use of Federal Pell Grants was studied by examining the retention and academic performance of college-credit seeking students in a public college in Florida that predominantly offered two year degree programs. Also analyzed were differences between Pell Grant recipients and non-recipients among various demographic categories. Chi-square tests of independence indicated that statistical significance existed between Pell Grant recipients and non-recipients in retention rates from fall to spring terms, as well as in the demographic variables of academic performance, gender, ethnicity, age group, residency, and credit hours achieved. Only the variable of ethnicity showed a medium practical effect size, with all the other variables indicating a small to no practical effect size.

"Forum conveniens serves as a forum for news, opinions, ideas, and especially whinings of the Law School community." --Masthead from Vol. 1, No. 1.

Some issues contain supplemental inserts and irregular numbering. / Arizona Advocate continued in 1995 by the Forum Conveniens.

Some issues contain supplemental inserts and irregular numbering. / Arizona Advocate continued in 1995 by the Forum Conveniens.

"Forum conveniens serves as a forum for news, opinions, ideas, and especially whinings of the Law School community." --Masthead from Vol. 1, No. 1.