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In this study the researcher's intent was to examine the initial academic goals and objectives of successful adult-degree completers in 4 baccalaureate-degree programs at East Tennessee State University. Although there has been much written about adult motivation to re-enter formal education, there have been few studies of adult students' goals as they entered degree-completion programs. The purpose of this study was to provide a framework for the understanding of the academic goals and objectives expressed by adult students as they were starting to return to college. Research questions that guided the study included exploration of student goals and objectives, an examination of differences among adult students' statements with regard to age, ethnicity, or gender, and an examination of differences in those statements of goals and objectives written over a range of years. An open an axial coding method was developed to analyze 637 statements written by degree-completion students who graduated between 1999 and 2008. Seven themes emerged among students' essays that describe those students' motivations to re-enter the university and their goals at the point of entry to those degree programs. First, students indicated they wanted to earn degrees. Second, some students identified trigger events that had prompted their return to the university. The third theme included professional goals and motivators that were included in students' statements of goals and objectives. Fourth, students cited personal motivators and goals for completing their undergraduate degrees. Fifth, students wrote about institutional barriers that led them to choose a degree-completion program over a more traditional model. Sixth, students wrote about attractive features of their respective adult-degree-completion programs. Seventh, students placed their learning in the context of a broader commitment to lifelong learning.

Baccalaureate degree completion statistics are surprisingly low. National four-year graduation rates hover around 38%, and six-year graduation rates have remained steady at approximately 63% (Berkner, He, & Cataldi, 2002). At the University of Central Florida, as at many public research institutions, the numbers are even lower. Literature has emerged, however, which suggests that students who participate in cooperative education programs may experience increased motivation to continue the formal education process (Avenoso & Totoro, 1994; Schambach & Dirks, 2002; Somers, 1986). This study investigated the effect of co-op participation on undergraduate degree completion in the context of several risk factors for attrition. The population for this study was the cohort of full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking undergraduate students who entered the University of Central Florida as first-time-in-college (FTIC) students in the fall semester of 1999. Group One (Co-op Students) consisted of full-time FTIC students who successfully participated in the University of Central Florida Cooperative Education program and Group Two (Non-Participants) included full-time FTIC students with at least 20 credit hours completed and consistent grade point averages of at least 2.5 who did not participate in the University of Central Florida Cooperative Education program. The additional parameters on the Non-Participant group were included to control for any potential differences between the two groups due to increased requirements for participation in the co-op program. The two groups arrived at the University of Central Florida with nearly identical high school grade point averages and standardized test scores, and also were remarkably similar in age, ethnic composition, and college at entry. Results indicated that students who graduated within four years seemed to do so regardless of co-op participation, but for those who took longer, there was a correlation between co-op and degree completion. There was also some evidence to suggest that internships are associated with degree completion as well. Further, some of the known risk factors for attrition (lower high school grade point average, male gender, and non-White/non-Asian ethnicity) may be mitigated by the student's participation in their institution's co-op program, though additional research in this area is suggested.

Retention and matriculation are topics of heavy debate and inquiry in higher education as rising tuition costs, coupled with declining state support, have fueled the need for increased accountability. In Mississippi, few studies have been conducted that are unique to the public universities in the state in order to analyze success factors in higher education. The purpose of this study was to analyze these success factors at Mississippi’s public universities as measured by successful degree completion within a six-year time period. This study analyzed High School GPA, ACT Scores, Parental Income Levels, Parental Education Levels, Ethnicity, and Gender. Academic, demographic and socioeconomic data were gathered on two cohorts of resident first-time, full-time students attending a Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning. A total of 5,603 students were included in the study from the fall 2001 and 2002 semesters. Transfer students were not included in the study. A successful completer was defined as completing a bachelor’s degree within six-years of enrollment. Students still enrolled in the seventh year were not included. In addition, students seeking an Associate’s Degree were also not included. Descriptive statistics revealed that graduation rates fluctuated depending on high school GPA, ACT scores, income and parental education levels. The most significant differences in graduation rates occurred when analyzing high school GPA and income statistics. These findings were supported when logistic regression analysis was employed. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze these factors compared to graduation rates for the state, and by type of institution. In Mississippi, there are four regional universities and four research universities. High school GPA and parental income were significant predictors in all three models, while ACT was significant when analyzing data for the system. For research universities, the education level of the father was significant. For regional universities, ethnicity was a significant predictor. In all, universities should develop a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic background of students in order to ensure that proper scaffolding is in place to ensure successful matriculation.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived professional and self-developmental impact of a nontraditional baccalaureate degree program. Data were collected through self-reports of graduates from three predominantly black colleges in the United States. Surveys were mailed to a total of 272 May, 1991 through May, 1994 graduates in Organizational Management from Edward Waters College, Jacksonville, Florida; Saint Paul's College, Lawrenceville, Virginia; and Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio. Data analyses were based on the total number of 170 returns. The data analyses included frequencies, means, percentages, and cross-tabs for demographics, and also information on enrollment, current employment, graduate school, and assessment of program experiences. Chi-square tests were performed to show the relationships between participants' responses to inquiries by race and gender. The findings of this study revealed that in addition to meeting the needs of students to help them obtain their degrees, the contract Adult Degree Completion Program has been instrumental in helping students to achieve their goals for improving their professional and personal life situations. Overall, it was found that the program presented a major challenge to all students, but the significant findings of the research indicated that some students enjoyed a higher degree of success in their experiences with the program than others. This research suggested that blacks were more apt to change careers upon program completion than other groups; black females were the primary beneficiaries of the portfolio project, and males received a greater level of monetary support from employers than their female counterparts. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine the most significant factors that contributed to on-time undergraduate degree completion. On-time degree completion requires that a student complete all the requirements of their degree within 4.5 years or less. A grounded theory methodology was used to conduct the study. Narrative data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Thirty former students who completed their undergraduate degree at Virginia Commonwealth University were recruited for this study. To be eligible for the study, participants had to have completed their undergraduate degree in 4.5 years or less and graduated between 2004 and 2011. The analysis of the narrative data determined that preparation for on-time completion begins in high school and continues throughout a student’s college career. First, high school students who develop ‘academic self-esteem’ by participating in an honors courses or an early college credit program in high school enter college with the belief, or personal vision, that they can complete their degree in 4 years. However, in cases where the student matriculates without ‘academic self-esteem’ directed and intensive institutional support is an effective proxy. Next, a student must be self-motivated or determined to complete on-time. They must have an inherent reason for wanting to reach that goal post. However, since the findings indicated that motivation can be internal, external, or both, institutional support can be used as effective tool to develop these qualities where needed. Third, if students are to complete their undergraduate degrees on-time, they must develop a personal plan for accomplishing that goal at the very beginning of their college careers. This plan should be incorporated into the student’s academic advising sessions and updated as they acquire the credits required for the completion of their degree. And finally, students should be strongly encouraged to engage in campus life by participating student clubs, organizations, and/or athletics. Participation in campus life encourages persistence and therefore supports on-time completion.

Thesis advisor: Heather Rowan-Kenyon / This study's purpose was to compare the lived experiences of doctoral women studying Education, a prototypically female field, with women studying Engineering, a prototypically male field to illustrate the phenomenon of doctoral degree progress in the two fields. Using critical feminist theory and Valian's (1999) concept of gender schemas, this study examined doctoral education culture in Education and Engineering and how these cultures influence women's doctoral student experiences and in turn their degree progress (Tong, 2009). Although women represent over 50% of doctoral student enrollment and degrees earned, gender disparities exist in Education and Engineering. Once enrolled, women are proportionally more likely to complete Education doctorates and less likely to complete Engineering doctorates (Council of Graduate Schools, 2008; Gonzales, Allum, and Sowell, 2013; Nettles and Millett, 2006). This trend is important because it implies there is something about Education and Engineering doctoral environments that make them more and less conducive for women's success, respectively (Gardner and Mendoza, 2010). This study used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach to capture the essence of women's doctoral degree progress by interpreting the lived experiences of 10 Education and 11 Engineering doctoral women (Smith, Flowers, and Larkin, 2009). After 63 in-depth interviews and two focus groups, four themes emerged. Overall, the Education women reported fewer positive doctoral experiences and more barriers to degree progress than the Engineering women due to the funding and research assistantship structure, the faculty advisor relationship, and the department environment. Both groups of women described doctoral education culture as proactive, independent, and competitive - characteristics more consistent with masculine gender schemas. Doctoral education culture also reflected the feminine gender schemas of flexibility and collegiality/collaboration, which were more apparent in the prototypically masculine Engineering field than in the prototypically feminine Education field. Implications for how doctoral education can be re-conceptualized, delivered, and researched are provided, calling for the incorporation of more feminine gender schemas into doctoral education culture in order to promote and achieve gender equity. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

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Doctor Of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / There has been a steady rise in the number of adult degree completion programs in the last twenty years, and predictions indicate the trend will continue. Simultaneously there is a growing concern for quality in higher education. One of the ways that any organization can assess quality is to gain consensus from a variety of stakeholders as to what institutional goals should be pursued and then measure the level to which those goals are met. The Institutional Goals Inventory consists of 90 goal statements that measure 20 outcome and process goal areas and asks a variety of stakeholders to assess perceptions of both real and ideal goals within an institution. This exploratory, descriptive study polled faculty, students and administrators (n=224) in three Kansas area adult degree completion programs. Questions guiding this study included finding out what goal areas the various stakeholders deemed most and least important, whether or not there was a significant difference in those perceptions between stakeholder groups and/or institutions, and how well each of the institutions is meeting the goals their stakeholders deem most important. Results indicate that all stakeholder groups agree that the Principles of Good Practice for Alternative and External Degree Programs both is and should be important in these programs. Other highly ranked real and ideal goal areas were Academic Development, Community, and Intellectual Orientation. The results also show that while there is a fair amount of consensus among and between stakeholders and institutions on real and ideal goal in these programs, in virtually all instances the stakeholders rated all ideal goal areas as significantly higher than the real goal areas. Several recommendations for adult degree completion programs are offered as well as a lengthy list of suggestions for future research.