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The Virginia Tech Summer Academy (VTSA) Program, developed by through a collaborative partnership between faculty, administrators and staff concerned by attrition among-first year students, was introduced in summer 2012 as a campus initiative to assist first-year college students transition and acclimate to the academic and social systems of the campus environment. VTSA is a six-week intensive residential summer-bridge program that provides academic preparation, highly-individualized advising, learning communities, and the personal attention of faculty and peer mentorship through both academic engagement and structured activities. Although based on a substantive body of research concerning student retention, little is known about the empirical and influential value of this program. A two-phase, sequential explanatory mixed-methods (QUAN"" QUAL) study was developed to assess the value of student academic engagement in a first-year experience program.  Specifically, this research investigated the outcomes of participation on cognitive, behavioral, and affective factors of motivation, taking into account demographic and academic performance variables. In the initial quantitative phase, data from 89 students were analyzed to assess engagement and academic motivation. Data from the Scale of Educationally Purposeful Activities (SEPA) were used to determine levels of student engagement among VTSA students, while the Motivation Subscale of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) was used to investigate the change in student academic motivation before and after participation in VTSA. In the subsequent qualitative phase, 16 students participated in focus groups designed to explore student perceptions of engagement in the VTSA program and their connections to academic motivation. Both qualitative and quantitative data were assessed to provide an in-depth evaluation used to interpret and explain significant factors of student engagement that provide for internal and external academic motivation in college. / Ph. D.

Sufficient rest breaks are needed for optimal performance in traditional workplaces, but it is unclear how working with a loosely structured work schedule impacts recovery. Students have temporal flexibility and serve as a good proxy for all groups who work unstructured work schedules. Since most students and employees use the weekend to recover, this study investigated the relationship between recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment, relaxation, and mastery) over the weekend and the state of being recovered on the following Monday. Further, the relationship between the state of being recovered on Monday and weekday performance indicators (i.e., task performance and personal initiative) was investigated. Data was collected over three consecutive weeks from a cohort of first-year university students (N = 106) using a quantitative diary study design. This study administered seven surveys (i.e., a personal data survey once, a pre-weekend survey three times, and a postweekend survey three times). After three weeks, 66 participants (N = 66) had completed all the surveys at the person level, yielding 148 matched observations at the week-level. Multilevel modelling showed that weekend relaxation positively predicted the state of being recovered on Monday. Weekend psychological detachment and weekend mastery experiences did not predict the state of being recovered on Monday, and the state of being recovered did not predict weekly personal initiative or weekly task performance. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are presented, as are limitations and suggestions for future research.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In general, peers have a tendency to influence others positively and negatively. In the main, transition from school to higher education causes some students to experience stress; to respond negatively to new conditions; and to engage in risk behaviour, which hinders epistemological access, negatively affects performance, and often delays graduation. Nonetheless, participation in peer group activities has advantages and potentialities, which are often neglected in popular scholarly discourse. The main research question of the study was to investigate the experiences of peer pressure among first-year students? This study adopted a mixed-method research design and presents findings for both quantitative data which was collected through an electronic survey and qualitative findings from focus group interviews with three different groups: females, males, and, mixed gender. The population comprised first-year students living in two residences of a selected South African university. The qualitative data was analysed through thematic analysis, while the quantitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Spearman’s Rank correlation was used in the study. In consideration with the transition theory, social learning theory, and student involvement theory. Findings reveal that first-year students join different groups and they encounter both positive and negative experiences. Positive experiences were observed in relation to academic performance and sense of belonging. Negative experiences indicate that peers influence others to adopt anti-social behaviour, experience undue materialistic pressure, have poor class attendance, and depend on peers for decisions. Overall, it is found that academic success depends on students’ interconnectedness, sense of belonging, peer support, acceptance, and recognition. The findings can be utilized to inform practical strategies and policies to empower first-year students to deal productively and progressively with peer pressure within the higher education sector. The study recommends the implementation of a First-year Student orientation programme which is called University 101 that can assist first-year students with better transition to higher education and can increase retention output. The programme should address the crucial areas that will assists the first-year with better transitions such as diversity, well-being, self-esteem, academic excellence and peer pressure.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to work in the University Writing Center (UWC) at IUPUI. This opportunity influenced my life in many ways, but none more important than my teaching. Looking back on my time in the UWC, I did not realize the connection between writing centers and composition classrooms. As a graduate student, I began to read literature that defined composition classrooms and writing centers as separate worlds. However, once I was an instructor, these two worlds were seamless weaving in and out of each other to the point that I couldn’t separate them. In fact, I didn’t understand how one could. I had read literature defining composition classrooms and writing centers as different worlds but was having experiences in the classroom that contradicted this perception, so I wanted to investigate how these experiences influenced my teaching. I sought out literature that explored the writing center-composition classroom connection to look at specific elements of my teaching and how they tied to UWC practices. This case study grew out of the initial challenges I faced as a new instructor, which led me on a journey to find my own approach to teaching composition. That journey resulted in the implementation of writing center best practices, that I learned as a tutor, into my teaching philosophy, and this background equipped me to approach writing instruction as a facilitator, guiding students to become better writers.This case study examines which writing center practices, gleaned from my experiences in the UWC at IUPUI, I’ve incorporated into my classroom, why I’ve chosen these practices, and what student feedback reveals about these practices.

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This research was conducted to better understand how first-year college students make sense of the role of trust in the development of the relationship with their academic advisors and how they characterize the conditions that enhance or hinder trust in this relationship. An extensive literature review was conducted, identifying relevant scholarship concerning trust and academic advising--the history, philosophy, and professionalization of the field. Also, a brief section on distrust was presented to offer balance in the trust literature and to support the Lewicki, McAllister, & Bies’ (1998) theoretical framework that guided this research endeavor. Moreover, a profile of the traditional, first-year college student was introduced, as this distinct population was asked to participate in this study and to share their unique lived experiences, detailing the relationships they have developed with their academic advisors. A phenomenological research design was employed, collecting participant data via in-depth interviews, an advisor/trust orientation exercise, and member checking. After these data were collected, the Moustakas (1994) four-step approach to data analysis was utilized as a means of data reduction. Eight traditional, first-year college students participated in this research endeavor, and all indicated that the role of trust was important in the development of the relationship with their academic advisors. Also, they isolated four trust characteristics that may enhance trust in their advising relationships: initiative, knowledge/expertise, kindness, and reliability. Likewise, the inverse of these named trust facets may hinder trust in their advising relationships. These new discoveries offer powerful insights for advancing the field of collegiate level academic advising. Keywords: academic advising, academic advisor(s), advising relationships, first-year college student(s), freshman, relationships, trust