This study examined differences between Extenders (students who extended their continuous full-time enrollment beyond eight semesters) and Completers (students who completed their degree within eight semesters of continuous full-time enrollment). Student perceptions of the influences of faculty on the enrollment pattern of students were also investigated. Subjects included 81 Extenders and 211 Completers enrolled in a large research university in the southeastern United States. Demographic independent variables included student gender, ethnicity, verbal and math Scholastic Achievement scores, and college affiliation. Measures of student environmental press, characteristics of faculty, student-faculty interaction, and faculty concern for teaching and student development were independent perceptual variables. Other independent variables related to development of a major, average weekly out-of-class faculty contact and career orientation of students. The dependent variable was pattern of enrollment (Extender/Completer). / Ed. D.

Understanding how prospective students make their final choices of colleges or universities is important to students, their parents, and to the institutions. When it comes to academically advanced students, or Honors students, there is a question as to whether the same factors are influential to their higher education decisions. The purpose of this study was to compare the responses of Virginia Tech Honors students with current literature to determine the influences associated with college or university selection between the two data sets. The methodology used in this study included qualitative focus-group interviews of Virginia Tech Honors freshmen who had been admitted into the Program for the fall semester of 1992 and had remained Honors eligible for the spring semester of 1993. six interview sessions were arranged for 50 students. An interview protocol was designed to ask six questions to the participants, focusing on how they made their final decisions to attend virginia Tech. Thirty-six students actually participated in the interviews. Six conceptual categories emerged from the interviews. These categories included: (1) Academic Programs; (2) Campus Atmosphere/Life; (3) Influential People; (4) Location; (5) Money; and (6) Recruitment. Seven conceptual categories were discovered in the literature. These categories were discovered included: (1) High School Grade Point Average; (2) Tuition; (3) Geographic Location; (4) Parental, Peer, and Alumni Influence; (5) Academic Reputation; (6) Job Placement; and (7) Campus Visit. The results from the study indicated that most students, regardless of their status, consider similar factors in their choices of colleges. Most important among the factors included the cost, campus visit, and reputation. / Master of Arts

The decline of trade unionism is a well-documented phenomenon. Possible causes for this decline include the changing demographic composition of the workforce and effective anti-union campaigns by employers. Unions and employers share several common avenues in their respective efforts (1.c., increasing union membership and continuing effective anti-union efforts) including issues of importance to employees and socializing new labor market entrants. Such issues of importance include employment rights issues (e.g., drug testing, polygraphs, privacy, and scheduling work). Such groups of new labor force entrants include forthcoming college graduates. This study, therefore, investigates employment rights issues and attitudes toward unions in a sample of college students. More specifically, the study is formulated as a test of the classic Fishbein and Ajzen theory of beliefs and attitudes. Fishbein and Ajzen proposed that one’s attitude regarding an issue (e.g., drug testing) or object (e.g., unions) is a function of one’s factual knowledge regarding that issue or object and one’s socialization experiences regarding that issue or object. Thus, attitude toward unions is a function of factual knowledge about unions and socialization experiences. This study extends this model by proposing that attitudes toward employment rights issues should be related to attitude toward unions, such that individuals valuing employee rights should be more pro-union or view unions as protectors of employee rights. In this sample, factual knowledge about unions was not found to be related to attitude toward unions. However, personal experience with activities such as drug use was found to be inversely related to attitude toward an employer’s right to engage in activities such as drug or polygraph testing. Furthermore, work experience was found to be negatively related to attitude toward an employer’s right to engage in typical business activities such as scheduling work and determining pay. Factual knowledge regarding the legality of employer activities was also found to be negatively related to attitude toward an employer’s right to engage in personal inquiries. Finally, consonance between attitude toward unions and attitude toward employee/employment rights issues was demonstrated with respect to attitude toward an employer’s right to engage in activities such as personal inquiries and employer’s right to engage in normal business activities. / Master of Science

This study sought to explore the lived experiences of five female, first-generation, low-income students who attend a metropolitan commuter university, and investigate how a structured undergraduate research experience exerts influence on the women's academic and social involvement. A qualitative case study with a narrative and grounded theory analysis was selected as the most appropriate approach for exploring this topic and addressing the guiding research questions. Interview and journal data were collected and analyzed to identify significant themes. The importance of finding an academic home, the significance of interacting with faculty and peers, and the validation of a metropolitan commuter university education through a scholar development process emerged as significant findings. Implications and recommendations on programmatic and institutional levels are included, as well as suggestions for future research.

This study compares American and Turkish male and female university students in terms of moral orientation (justice and care) and Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning to examine the influence of culture and gender on moral development. A total of 324 undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 46 are administered the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and the Measure of Moral Orientation (MMO). Statistical analyses indicate Turkish participants reflect more postconventional reasoning, while American participants reflect more conventional reasoning, particularly Stage 4 reasoning. Analyses also reveal Turkish participants reflect significantly more care orientation and more justice orientation compared to American participants. These findings are discussed in terms of cultural and gender influences in moral decision-making.

I interviewed twenty-four International students from the following countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico and Spain. Hereafter I shall refer to the respondents as Hispanic International students. My primary interest was to learn the way in which Hispanic International students defined themselves in view of ethnic definitions imposed on them by the administrative system in the U.S. First, Hispanic International students defined themselves primarily by their nationality. The second finding dealt with the usage of language. The Hispanic International students spoke Spanish with relatives and friends. They spoke English when a non-Spanish speaker joined the conversation. The third finding was related to the problems and adaptations encountered by Hispanic International students.

This study examined organizational member and housing staff perceptions of organizational culture and effectiveness of residence hall associations. Two instruments, the Residence Hall Government (RHA) Effectiveness Instrument designed by Tucker (2001) and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) designed by Cameron and Quinn (1999, 2006) were utilized to gather quantitative data, while individual interviews and focus groups were conducted utilizing selected questions from the Interview Questions for Doing a Competing Values Organizational Analysis (Quinn 1988) to collect qualitative data. A mixed methodology was utilized to collect and analyze data from three sites yielding 217 assessments, 27 interviews, and 6 student focus groups with members of residence hall associations during the spring 2008 semester. The study indicated that there is a positive relationship between all ideal culture type scores identified by the OCAI and effectiveness constructs identified by the RHA Effectiveness Instrument. Additionally, there is a difference in the perceptions of Clan and Hierarchy ideal culture type scores and Housing Relationship and RHA Effects effectiveness construct scores based upon housing staff membership or RHA Legislative Body membership. Furthermore, the research indicated that level of student involvement, emphasis on leadership development and training, patterns of communication and teamwork, financial resources, implementation of rules and procedures, roles in program planning, student voice, member evaluation, collaborative partnerships with host housing departments, and relationships with university Student Government were constructs for the development of organizational culture and influenced the organizational effectiveness of RHAs. Recommendations are provided for the organizational development and evaluation of residence hall associations. / by Lawrence B. Faerman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The growing Haitian population in the United States is directly affecting all institutions of higher education As institutions continue to diversify across the country, HBCUs are also responding to this trend According to Ricard and Brown (2008), HBCUs are changing in order to keep up with the growing demand of institutional diversity, and they recognize that having a diversified student body will make the institutions more competitive Although their historic mission focuses on educating Black students, there remains a gap in the literature on HBCUs on one of the largest Black groups in the United States: the Haitian immigrant In the literature, the Haitian population constitutes approximately 15% of the total US foreign-born population, and 15% of the total Black immigrant population in the US, behind Jamaicans at 18%, respectively Moreover, Haitians make up the fourth largest immigrant population from the Caribbean behind Cubans, Dominicans, and Jamaicans (Anderson, 2015) However, these numbers do not include the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who fled the Country after the devastating earthquake of 2010 nor the thousands of undocumented Haitian immigrants currently living in the US This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the college choice process of ten Haitian students who chose to attend a highly selective HBCU located in the Northeast region of the United States Moreover, this study sought to explore how these ten Haitian students developed a sense of belonging to the HBCU campus The primary methods for data collection included semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a demographic questionnaire, and artifact analysis Using the theoretical frameworks of Chapman’s (1981) Model of College Choice and Sense of Belonging, this study discovered the factors that influence Haitian students’ decision to attend a highly selective HBCU centers around family Moreover, this study discovered that Haitian students at a highly selective HBCU described their sense of belonging through various forms of relationships / Includes bibliography / Dissertation (PhD)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

The purpose of the study was to interpret and compare the meanings attributed to furisode by selected female Japanese college students living in Japan and living in the U.S.A. The furisode is a type of kimono worn on formal occasions by young Japanese women. Face-to-face interviews were conducted in this exploratory study to further understand meanings attributed to the furisode by Japanese college students. A symbolic interactionist perspective was employed to understand the meanings which participants attached to the furisode. A purposive sample of two groups of Japanese college students were investigated: seven female Japanese college students living in Japan and seven female Japanese college students living abroad. The college students were recruited at a university in eastern Japan and at a university in western U.S.A. The semi-structured questions asked during the interviews captured participants' experiences and memories related to the furisode, its meanings, and participants' demographic characteristics. The findings revealed that there were no particular differences in the meanings attached to the furisode by the college students in this sample living in Japan and living abroad. Emergent themes were classified into three groups: 1) symbolic themes related to culture: formal wear, age or youth, marital status, entrance into adulthood, national costume of Japan, a costume or kimono related to culture and tradition, a traditional costume, a dress that represents conformity to other girls, a dress that represents ideal cultural images of a wearer; 2) themes related to individual perceptions: a dress that enhances the spiritual and mental state of the mind of a wearer, a dress that makes a wearer feel pleased or happy, a dress that represents a valuable experience, a dress that reflects feelings or moods of perceivers, a dress or kimono which is valuable, a dress or kimono seen as an heirloom, a dress or kimono that represents the individuality or personality of a wearer, a dress regarded as a memento ; and 3) themes associated with the furisode itself: A dress or kimono with increased costs for preservation and maintenance, a dress or kimono that restricts the movement or activity of a wearer, a dress or kimono that takes time and labor in preparing for wear, and a dress or kimono that is rarely worn in everyday life. The study also found the sources of information for participants in both countries were a mother, a grandmother, the mass media such as TV, magazines, and a book, leaflets to promote the sale of the furisode, clerks at a kimono shop, staff at a beauty salon who had a participant put on the furisode, friends at school, friends outside the university, and neighbors. Further, the themes that emerged from the interviews also illustrated that symbolic meanings attached to the furisode were communicated meaningfully between a wearer and a perceiver in Japan. Based on the results from this study, the furisode appears to be a cultural symbol for which shared meanings are attributed. Future research may analyze the relationships among meanings, demographic variables such as age, and other variables that influence the attitudes toward or perceptions of the furisode, such as practicing Japanese traditional arts and the wearing of other Japanese traditional costumes. / Graduation date: 1999

The student perspective is a largely ignored element of educational research. This study used the college student viewpoint to assess the influence Black high school educators have on their pupils. Given today's reality of racism in this society, the existing literature addressing this topic is inadequate. Using an open-ended questionnaire, the responses of 272 students enrolled in speech communication and education courses at a Northwestern land grant institution were analyzed using a descriptive methodology. Students having no experience with a Black educator answered the questionnaire from an imagined standpoint. Results indicated a large majority of the predominately White subject pool found their Black high school educator(s) to be credible. Aspects of institutionalized racism emerged when students deemed their Black educator(s) credible by measuring them against an assumed "White standard of credibility." Findings from this study provide additional evidence of the racism, albeit covert, in our public school classrooms. / Graduation date: 1998