<p> Institutions of higher education are entering a new era, one where cost, value, and quality are at the front of mind. To proactively ensure long-term viability, institutions must operate differently. This qualitative case study examined how the St. Alexander University School of Education's Annual Report Process impacted institutional decision-making. Additionally, the study explored how the Annual Report Process could facilitate learning and improvement for a school of education. </p><p> Using the Professional Learning Community model as the conceptual framework, document analysis, process analysis, and semi-structured interviews were used as the primary methods for data collection. Using pattern analysis, four themes emerged in the study. First, there is lack of shared vision and understanding regarding the purpose for the SOE Annual Reports. Second, there is a disconnect between the SOE Annual Reports and the impact that they play in the decision-making process related to resource allocation. Third, the level of dialogue and impact that the SOE Annual Reports facilitate at the department and programmatic level is mixed. Finally, there has been minimal training for the SOE Annual Report process, which has resulted in a lack of quality in the reports. In turn, this has resulted in an overall frustration with the process for those that are involved in the SOE Annual Report process. The findings and recommendations in this study provide the SOE at St. Alexander a pathway to move forward with an Annual Report Process that positively influences the building of learning community, while positively impacting the decision-making process.</p>

<p>Through a quantitative, non-experimental design, the studied explored non-cognitive factor relationships to hybrid doctoral course satisfaction and self-efficacy, including the differences between the online and on-campus components of the student-selected hybrid courses. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analyses were used to analyze survey data from 139 doctoral students in healthcare fields, including both clinical and research-based doctorates. </p><p> The results reveal four key findings. First, the doctoral student experiences significantly differ between the online and on-campus components of a hybrid course for factors including task value (Wilks&rsquo; Lambda = 0.97, F (1, 130) = 3.93, <i>p</i> = .05) and faculty and peer support (Wilks&rsquo; Lambda = 0.97, F (1, 130) = 4.11, <i>p</i> = .05). On-campus task value was perceived significantly higher than online task value. Similarly, on-campus faculty and peer support was perceived significantly higher than online faculty and peer support. </p><p> Secondly, both online and on-campus student experiences with task value (r_p (139) = 0.59, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = 0.60, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)), faculty and peer support (r_p (139) = 0.39, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = 0.46, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)), and boredom and frustration (r_p (139) = -0.66, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = -0.56, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)) were correlated with course satisfaction. The correlations between task value and faculty and peer support were positive, whereby increased perceptions of task value and faculty and peer support correlate with increased course satisfaction. However, the correlation with boredom and frustration was negative, whereby increased boredom and frustration correlates with decreased course satisfaction. Online task value (&beta; = .25, <i>p</i> = .004), online boredom and frustration (&beta; = -.30, <i>p</i> &lt; .001), and on-campus boredom and frustration (&beta; = -.23, <i>p</i> = .01), predict course satisfaction. </p><p> Thirdly, both online and on-campus experiences with task value (r_p (139) = 0.50, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = 0.48, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)), faculty and peer support (r_p (139) = 0.37, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = 0.38, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)), and boredom and frustration (r_p (139) = -0.40, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (online), r_p (139) = -0.33, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 (on-campus)) were correlated with self-efficacy. Regardless of whether online or on-campus, when students experienced high levels of either task value or faculty and peer support, self-efficacy increased. However, when students experienced high levels of online or on-campus boredom and frustration, self-efficacy decreased. Of all the variables, only online task value predicted self-efficacy (&beta; = 0.28, <i>p</i> = .01). Finally, the fourth key results indicated course satisfaction and self-efficacy were positively correlated, r_p (139) = 0.55, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, and positively predict one another (&beta; = .50, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 for course satisfaction predicting self-efficacy; &beta; = .47, <i>p</i> &lt; .001 for self-efficacy predicting course satisfaction). </p><p> By understanding the relationships between non-cognitive factors in hybrid doctoral courses, academic administrators and faculty would become more informed regarding initiatives that may improve hybrid doctoral education, retention, institutional effectiveness, and institutional success. </p><p> Bandura&rsquo;s social cognitive theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study and limitations included the single institution and use of a convenience sample. Future recommendations to expand the study include improving reliability, increasing quantity of participants, establishing a baseline for self-efficacy, and completing additional statistical analyses. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> non-cognitive, doctoral, education, hybrid, non-traditional, task value, boredom, frustration, support, graduate, Bandura, persistence, motivation, andragogy, social cognitive theory, self-efficacy, satisfaction </p>

<p> The low rate of Latino graduate and professional degree attainment is a problem for the Latinos who are not attaining high levels of education, for their families, for the institutions of higher education that suffer from a lack of diversity, and for the local, state, and federal governments that lose tax revenue from the potentially higher income levels earned by advanced degree graduates. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the professional school aspirations of Latino community college transfer students at the University of California, Irvine who are first generation college students. This study investigated the influence of both community college and university experiences on the participants' advanced study goals and explored the interconnections between the participants' advanced study aspirations and their career development. To empower students of color and acknowledge their sources of cultural wealth, this study gave Latino community college transfer students who are first in their families to attend college an opportunity to tell their counterstories about their aspirations to pursue advanced study. Through semistructured, individual interviews with a sample of six Latina students, the following five theme emerged: (a) the importance of family, (b) required success: responsibility, pressure, and burden, (c) turning adversity into strength, (d) the role of mentors and peers, (e) career choice and advanced study decisions. The dissertation includes recommendations for policy, practice, and future research related to the findings.</p>

<p> College-going rates closely replicate the socioeconomics of a region, making a student's zip code a better predictor of college attendance than his or her SAT or ACT score. Students who are the first in their family to go to college often do not have the cultural capital to inform or family stories to inspire. In California, less than one half of the students who graduate from high school are academically ready for college; low socio-economic-status (SES) students are financially challenged; and first-generation in college student may find themselves facing invisible social and cultural barriers. </p><p> The purpose of this study is to learn from a group of low-SES students, who were first in their families to go to a four-year college, what motivated them to take this less-traveled path. This qualitative study is based on interviews with students who graduated from high schools with a high percentage of under-represented minority populations and low-college going rates. Their perceptions about their educational experience, their teachers' and family's expectations, and the factors that motivated them to take a different path from the majority of their peers were categorized into a framework that divided motivators between intrinsic and extrinsic. The themes that emerged provide information about how students perceive opportunities and lead to future studies and recommendations for the strategic application of interventions. </p>

<p> Service-learning is a teaching methodology instituted by colleges and universities that allows students to make connections between theoretical learning in the classroom and authentic experiences in society. Historically, mission statements for institutions of higher education have reflected an idea of service and preparing active and socially responsible citizens has been a goal for many colleges and universities as well. Service-learning participation has been attributed to several positive outcomes among college students. Research has suggested that service-learning is an effective educational tool in developing students' civic and social responsibility, allows students to engage in activities that may lead to more meaningful career opportunities and teaches students the value of teamwork when working through issues facing society. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to review the impact service-learning had on students' civic dispositions, choice of major, awareness of career options, personal cultural bias, cultural receptiveness and self-assessment of social skills. Additionally, determining whether the amount of change differs regarding the impact of service-learning between students' gender, age, race and/or ethnicity, class level, school of major and number of service hours completed was explored. Survey responses from service-learning participants enrolled in courses with a service-learning component during the Fall 2007&ndash;Spring 2011 semesters supplied the data for this study. </p><p> Several important findings emerged. First, service-learning participation was found to have a positive impact on students' civic dispositions, awareness of career options, personal cultural bias and self-assessment of social skills. Second, results from this study found no clear relationship between service-learning participation and students' choice of major and cultural receptiveness. In addition, findings suggest differences in the amount of change do exist regarding students' civic dispositions, choice of major, awareness of career options, personal cultural bias, cultural receptiveness and self-assessment of social skills and students' gender, age, race and/or ethnicity, class level, school of major and number of service hours completed. However, in some instances the amount of change reflected a positive impact following the service-learning experience and in other instances the amount of change actually showed a decreased or negative impact following the service-learning experience.</p>

<p> The arts represent a range of visual and performance based fields that have shown to have profound intrinsic and cognitive benefits. Building on this premise, one of the emerging ways to integrate the arts with other academic disciplines is the inclusion of the arts with the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning, renaming it STEAM. This qualitative study aims to understand the experiences of individuals that have pioneered university programs that integrate the arts with STEM and to share student learning experiences within these interdisciplinary programs. Bolman and Deal's theories of organizational development, sociocultural theory, and experiential learning theory are the three guiding frameworks in the analysis of leadership and student learning in the selected university programs. Using a collective case study methodology, I compare and contrast extant and interview data to paint the picture of two distinct university programs.</p>

<p> California community colleges are under pressure to increase core student attainment outcomes such as graduation rates, transfer rates, and certificate completion rates. This study examined whether, or how, the allocation of institutional expenditures for instructional, student support, administrative, and total educational and general activities influenced the student success outcomes and indicators of student progress and attainment rate (SPAR), percentage of students who earned at least 30 units (thirty-unit completion), and persistence rate (persistence) at California's community college districts. </p><p> This quantitative, explanatory, non-experimental study employed Astin's I-E-O model (Astin, 1977, 1993) as a conceptual framework, and examined through bivariate analyses, the relationships between (a) two input variables of socioeconomic status (SES) and district type (multi-college or single college); (b) eight mediating variables of various institutional expenditure categories and ratio metrics; and (c) three student success related outcome variables of SPAR, thirty-unit completion, and persistence. By understanding these relationships more completely, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers may be better able to develop strategies to improve student success outcomes within available financial resources, whether funding levels are decreasing, static, or growing. </p><p> The key findings revolved around SES being the dominant influencing factor in the attainment of each student success outcome of interest. Further, the relative level of SES seemed to drive the volume, cost, and distribution of programs and services from a district's finite budget, as low SES districts spent comparatively more than high SES districts on administrative functions and student support activities, and spent comparatively less on direct classroom instruction. Meanwhile, high SES districts did the inverse and spent comparatively less than low SES districts on administrative functions and student support activities and spent comparatively more on direct classroom instruction. Finally, institutional resource allocations of major topline expenditure measures for administrative, student support, and instructional were significantly different for low SES and high SES districts. Yet, because of the significant impact of SES on the outcomes, the differences did not make clear whether, or to what degree, the expenditure allocations for administrative, student support, and instructional activities directly influenced SPAR, thirty-unit completion, or persistence.</p>

No description available.

<p> The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how lived experiences prompt first-generation college students to engage as peer mentors, and how they experienced leadership development. Participants included thirteen first-generation college students, who engaged in peer mentoring. An explanatory model that surfaced from data collection is presented, demonstrating the process of leadership development that some first-generation college students underwent through their participation as peer mentors. Family, service, and validation, emerged as the central phenomenon of the model, which also included emerging themes: (a) (dis)engagement, (b) peer mentor engagement, (c) intrapersonal development, (d) professional development, and (e) transformational learning. </p>

<p> Universities are expanding and growing at rapid rates to meet the demand for higher education in America. The profession of student affairs serves as the beacon to help guide students outside of their classroom experience. In response to the changing campus climate, Student Affairs' divisions will be tapped to help shape university policy while meeting the academic and developmental needs of all students (Love, 2003). Student Affairs' departments require strong leadership in order to meet the needs of students financially, socially, and academically. Leading a Student Affairs' department is a senior-level administrator who is there to set vision, budgets, and help guide the Student Affairs' practitioners to engage students, develop an organizational culture, and meet the university's mission. This study examined how senior-level Student Affairs' administrators lead their Student Affairs' departments to build effective leaders and support new practitioners in developing their own leadership practices. Three research questions were used in this mixed-method study. The quantitative portion of this study was conducted through the Leadership Practices Inventory? (LPI) instrument which was sent to 40 senior-level Student Affairs administrators at two universities in California. The Leadership Practices Inventory^&copy; (LPI) survey has five fundamental leadership practices which are: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. These five fundamental leadership practices help leaders to create and accomplish extraordinary things (Kouzes and Posner, 1987). In the end, 23 senior-level Student Affairs' administrators completed the LPI survey. The qualitative portion of this research study used the technique of purposeful sampling in which four senior-level Student Affairs' administrators were selected to participate in a 30-minute standardized open-ended interview and answer questions about their beliefs and practices. The research study resulted in several key findings from data analysis. First, senior-level Student Affairs' leaders utilized Kouzes and Posner's (2003) leadership practice of Enabling Others to Act at high levels in their leadership styles. Second, the leadership practice of Inspiring a Shared Vision was the lowest utilized leadership practice by senior-level Student Affairs' leaders in this study. Third, senior-level Student Affairs' leaders utilized the themes of Relationship Building, Group Collaboration, Working towards a Common Goal, and Confronting Negative Behaviors in conjunction with LPI leadership practices to a high standard and perceived themselves to create a positive work environment. Fourth, senior-level Student Affairs' leaders perceive themselves as strong mentors, leaders, and trainers that pass on their leadership knowledge to the next generation of Student Affairs' practitioners through the themes of Role Modeling, Mentorships, and Support of Professional Developments in conjunction with LPI leadership practices.</p>