<p> The topic of this study was student motivation and intention to graduate at a for-profit university. The research problem addressed is only 23% of bachelor&rsquo;s degree-seeking students at for-profit universities persist to graduate within six years. Students who leave without graduating incur more debt and earn less money over time. Grounded in an integration of self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this quantitative, casual comparative study was to predict student intention to persist to graduate based on motivational profiles. Cluster analysis revealed two distinct motivational profiles (internally motivated and externally motivated) of 158 students at an online, private, for-profit university. Differential tests indicated attitude and subjective norms were significantly different between the two profiles. The significant differences between the two profiles offers support for the multidimensional nature of motivation as argued by self-determination theory. Therefore, is recommended that future research adopt a person-centered approach in investigating student motivation. However, no differences were found between motivational profiles and intention to graduate. Regression analysis confirmed motivational profiles did not predict intention. The lack of difference between motivational profiles and intention challenges the integration of self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. Since all students in this study had high levels of intention to graduate, but only 31% are graduating at this university, it is recommended that future research use a longitudinal approach to investigate the sustainability of distinct motivational profiles. The results offer insights into the motivations of bachelor&rsquo;s degree seeking students attending a for-profit university. Over two-thirds of the students in this study exhibited external forms of motivation. It is recommended practitioners employ methods to increase autonomous forms of motivation in the online, for-profit educational setting.</p><p>

<p> This study follows incoming freshmen students for three semesters, tracking their GPA along with several psychological constructs. Theory of Intelligence, Performance Goals, Learning Goals, Confidence in Intelligence, Campus Connectedness, Sense of Belongingness: Antecedents, School Coherence, Leadership, and Followership were assessed. Results are discussed for each semester, along with the three-semester differences in scores and GPA. Retention is addressed in correlation with the measures.</p><p>

<p> To pursue higher education in the United States can be a rewarding opportunity for many Chinese/Taiwanese international students. However, many challenges including acculturative stress may hamper the students&rsquo; ability to succeed in the US. Previous literature about the factors affecting Chinese/Taiwanese international students&rsquo; acculturative stress indicates mixed findings. One of the purposes of this study was to add clarity to this literature base by re-examining the impact of a range of factors noted in the literature, paying close attention to two distinct groups; students from mainland China and peers from Taiwan. Data was collected via an online survey from a predominantly minority serving institution on the West coast of the United States. In all, 112 Chinese/Taiwanese international students completed the survey. The results indicated that age, gender, and years in the United States do not predict Chinese/Taiwanese acculturative stress. However, education level was significantly related to Chinese/Taiwanese acculturative stress. Additionally, graduate Chinese/Taiwanese international students experienced significantly lower acculturative stress than undergraduate. No meaningful differences in terms of acculturative stress patterns were found between mainland Chinese and Taiwanese because of the small Taiwanese sample size.</p><p>

<p> The development of empathy in the healthcare setting is integral to high-quality patient care as empathy provides the ability to connect with patients to gain a better understanding of their emotions and experiences. Empathetic education is a component of medical education and nursing education; however, it is not a required curricular component in most laboratory-based education programs. In laboratory-based education programs, the teaching of empathy is conducted through role modeling, which has been identified as an optimal teaching strategy to assist students with developing their empathetic abilities. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the role modeling process; however, limited research on instructors&rsquo; experiences with utilizing role modeling to teach empathy has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences instructors in laboratory-based education programs have had utilizing role modeling to develop students&rsquo; empathetic abilities, focusing on instructor successes and challenges. The study utilized Bandura&rsquo;s social learning theory as the theoretical framework. The study was conducted utilizing a basic qualitative study design. The sample comprised eight instructors from the histology technician, cytotechnology, and medical laboratory sciences programs at an academic medical institution in the Midwest. Data analysis was conducted utilizing the constant comparative method. Findings from the study indicated that past experiences provided participants with opportunities to identify and apply positive role modeling skills to elevate their teaching abilities. While challenges were not well-described, the ability to connect with students through role modeling empathy allowed participants to demonstrate how empathy can be beneficial to others. The impact of empathy on student development was observed by the participants as students actively utilized empathy to create a connection to the patient, thereby promoting a higher quality of laboratory services.</p><p>

The United States has yet to reach the White House’s 2020 goal of attaining the top international ranking in college degree attainment among young adults. Researchers have investigated the academic performance variables associated with timely degree attainment for first-year college students. Prior research has indicated that poorly motivated students are likely to struggle academically, experience academic stress, and drop out of school. However, it remains unknown which types of motivation significantly affect academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to better understand which Reiss basic desires of motivation predict undergraduate academic achievement. An additional purpose of this study was to determine which basic desires of motivation, among gender and age groups, predict cumulative grade point average (GPA). Based on Reiss’s theory, I used the Reiss School Motivation Profile (RSMP) to examine which of the motivational factors predicted cumulative undergraduate GPA. Using a convenience sampling method, I recruited 459 community college students to complete the online surveys. The bivariate ordinal logistic regression results indicated a modest yet significant relationship between 4 of the Reiss motivation factors (curiosity, order, status, and vengeance) and cumulative GPA. The multivariate ordinal logistic regression results indicated a modest yet significant relationship between 3 Reiss motivation factors (order, vengeance, and physical exercise) and cumulative GPA, but not between gender, age, and cumulative GPA. The results of this study may provide useful insights to academic institutions administrators regarding how they can use motivational factors to identify students who may need academic assistance.

<p>This research project explored the anatomy of satisfaction of undergraduate students&rsquo; experiences in order to identify the themes common to students who were satisfied with their college careers. The study also examined the conditions that help students thrive on campus focusing on college seniors who self-reported as very satisfied with their college experience. Furthermore the study analyzed the motivation behind satisfied students&rsquo; behavioral choices, including their choice of major and extracurricular involvement. Assessment of the quality of students&rsquo; relationships to others on campus served as a component of this research as well. A grounded theory qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data. The study found that satisfaction is a function of a student&rsquo;s integration on campus. Integration resulted when students enjoyed their majors, actively engaged in campus life, and formed and maintained successful social relationships. Characteristics common among satisfied students included openness to experience, self-awareness, sociability, and a willingness to make intrinsically motivated decisions with respect to behavioral choices. Students thrived in an environment that promoted the exploration of their intrinsically motivated behavioral choices, where they felt seen, valued, and supported in their identities, activities, and interests, and where they were afforded opportunities to discover, grow, and expand their capabilities and skills. </p><p> <i>Keywords</i>: college satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, student engagement, thriving </p>

<p> The current trends observed in 4-year college graduation and retention rates (ACT 2011; 2012; 2013; 2014; Tinto, 2006) demonstrate a need for improvement in student academic achievement outcomes. Overwhelmingly, research finds that the first year in college is the time of greatest risk for student academic failure and drop out. Challenges associated with academic-oriented forms of stress and anxiety (Baillie &amp; Fitzgerald, 2000; Bembenutty, 2008; Cassady, 2010; Collier &amp; Morgan, 2008; Jean, 2010; Pike &amp; Kuh, 2005; Soria &amp; Stebleton, 2012; Turner et al., 2012) coupled with limitations in effective coping strategies (Hofer et al., 1998; Kitsantas et al., 2008; McInerney, 2011; Pintrich &amp; Zusho, 2002; Robbins et al., 2004; Zimmerman &amp; Schunk, 2008) lie at the center of the difficulties these first-year students experience, which ultimately play a significant role in persistence and achievement outcomes. This is particularly true for students from at-risk populations (e.g., first-generation students, ethnic minorities; Balemian &amp; Feng, 2013; Borman &amp; Overman, 2004; Choy, 2001; Engle, 2007; Jones et al., 2010; Pascarella et al., 2004; Toldson, 2012).</p><p> The wide body of research confirms that no single factor reliably predicts college academic success or failure, although institutions have traditionally relied upon indicators of prior achievement (i.e., H.S. GPA and college entrance exams) for such inferences (Alarcon &amp; Edwards, 2013; DeBerard et al., 2004; Harackiewicz et al., 2002; Kowitlawakul et al., 2013; Randsell, 2001; Zypher et al., 2007). Rather, it is the collective of factors from environmental, behavioral and personal domains that interact and have the potential to positively or negatively influence college student achievement (Bandura, 1986; 1997; 1999; Lazarus &amp; Folkman, 1984; Snow et al., 1996). As such, the Transactional Stress and Coping model (Lazarus &amp; Folkman, 1984) provides a comprehensive model through which the influence and interaction of multiple factors associated with student stress-appraisals, coping responses, and eventual outcomes can be examined within investigations of college academic achievement. </p><p> The main purpose of this study was to examine the degree of influence student background characteristics, indicators of prior achievement, anxiety-laden cognitive belief states, and self-regulated learning had on first-year college student achievement. Informed by the Lazarus and Folkman (1984) framework, a proposed academic-oriented stress-appraisal and coping model was tested for viability in predicting student achievement outcomes at the conclusion of their first-year in college. This study investigated research questions specifically associated with: 1) the influence of gender, ethnicity and first-generation status on first-year achievement; 2) the influence of student prior achievement (i.e., H. S. GPA and SAT scores) on first-year achievement; 3) the potential mediating influence of cognitive appraisals on first-year achievement; and 4) the potential moderating role of self-regulated learning in first-year achievement. For this archival study, all student demographic data, measures of prior achievement, first-year college achievement (cumulative GPA) and self-report responses to the LASSI-HS (Weinstein &amp; Palmer, 1990) instrument were accessed from a large sample (<i>N</i> = 29,431) of first-time, first-year students enrolled at a mid-sized, Midwestern 4-year university during years 2004-2012. Using an established model of stress-appraisal and coping (Lazarus &amp; Folkman, 1984) within an academic context, five models were tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to answer the specific research questions and investigate the utility of the models in predicting first-year college achievement. </p><p> The results revealed that although all background factors (i.e., gender, ethnicity, first-generation status) were statistically significant predictors of first-year achievement (GPA), their influence on first-year GPA was minimal. Additionally, prior achievement had a statistically significant, but weak, influence on first-year GPA. Although the direct path relationships for all pre-existing personal factors were statistically significant, the results also indicated anxious cognitive appraisals served a mediating role between these factors and first-year GPA. Thus, a partially mediated model best represented the relationships among these variables. The potential moderating effects of motivational regulation and active coping strategies did not have any meaningful impact in the two self-regulatory coping models tested. Although some statistically significant relationships were observed and provided evidence that background factors, prior achievement, anxious cognitive appraisals and self-regulated learning are associated, their influence was minimal and offered little practical utility in explaining first-year college student achievement. </p><p> Overall, the results of the study were unexpected given the strong theoretical and empirical support for the measures utilized in the study and literature supporting meaningful and rather robust relationships among the variables of interest. This atypical finding seemed to be due primarily to the first-year student GPAs, and suggests attending to concerns related to the evaluation of student performance and achievement in the first year of college. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)</p>

<p> This qualitative study contributes to the very limited body of literature available on the identity development of undocumented students. Specifically, this study focused on the experiences and identity development of Latina/o undocumented students enrolled in California community colleges. From the voices of 21 students, a three-position identity development framework emerged: (a) discovering difference, (b) making meaning of difference, and (c) coming to terms with being undocumented. The identity development process for Latina/o undocumented students is one that is directly linked to the degree of inclusion and acceptance that is present in their environment. A political context was evident in all three of the positions demonstrating that there is a larger policy context that is important in the identity development of this student population. Recommendations for practice and policy are offered. </p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative, correlational research was to assess the relationship between academic motivation and sport motivation among NCAA Division I student athletes enrolled at colleges and universities in the southern and western regions of the United States. The theoretical foundation was based on the Self-Determination Theory. The Self-Determination Theory includes three specific types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation. The study was comprised of three research questions, which were designed to determine the relationship between academic and sport intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation among NCAA Division I student athletes. The research was undertaken at two public higher education institutions in the southern and western portions of the United States. The sample for the study included 91 NCAA Division I student-athletes. The analysis involved nonparametric Spearman&rsquo;s correlations. The findings indicated a statistically significant relationship between academic and sport intrinsic motivation among NCAA Division I student-athletes (<i>r_p</i> = 0.210, <i>p</i> = 0.046). The findings indicated no statistically significant relationships between academic and sport extrinsic motivation (<i>r_p</i> = 0.126, <i> p</i> > 0.05) and between academic and sport amotivation among student-athletes (<i>r_p</i> = 0.091, <i>p</i> > 0.05). The results justify further research on student-athlete motivation. </p><p>

<p> The study explored the gendered racial identity status of Black female student-affairs professionals and how their identity status influences both their personal and professional experiences at predominately White institutions. The existing scholarly literature has focused on females in higher education in general; very few studies have focused on issues specifically the intersectionality of gender and race regarding Black female student-affairs professionals at predominantly White institutions. The research question that explored this phenomenon was: what is the experience as a Black female working as a student-affairs professional in a predominately White institution? A generic qualitative approach was used to provide an understanding of the experience of these women. The study included eight Black female professionals working in the division of student affairs at an upper Midwest accredited four-year institution in higher education. The data revealed experiences of being stereotyped, devalued, silenced, ignored, and undermined while navigating their professional world as a double minority. This study also highlighted how these Black women&rsquo;s racial pride, sense of self, love and support from their families and their commitment to the students they served contributed to their success as professionals. </p><p>