Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Kenneth F. Hughey / Judicial affairs play an integral role in the functioning of an institution and in the moral development of students. Thus, it is critical to have an understanding of the structures that are utilized, how to choose the most effective structure for one’s specific institution, and how to successfully bring about the moral and ethical development of students. The purpose of this report is to examine the judicial structures that are in place at institutions of higher education and their impact on students. Topics discussed include the history of discipline and current judicial structures that are commonly utilized (e.g., legalistic, collaborative, honor codes, and restorative justice), how they function, and if an ideal judicial structure exists. In addition, the report addresses the theoretical foundations of moral and ethical development through the work of Gilligan (1982), Kohlberg (1964), Perry (1981), and Piaget (1965), and provides perspectives and insight on the judicial process from both judicial and student affairs administrators as well as students who have experienced the process. The findings presented in the report include the transition from judicial systems run by administrators to those run primarily by students, and the importance of understanding theories of student moral development despite the process that is chosen. Also noted are the significant impact of a student’s moral development on their perceptions of the process and on their resultant behaviors, and the role the campus environment plays in regards to behavior and discipline. Additionally, the findings convey the importance of employing judicial structures that are effective for the student population at the institution, and not subscribing to a one-size-fits-all model. Finally, the crucial role of evaluation and continual improvement in creating an effective structure, and the implications for future practice that come from this are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Aaron H. Carlstrom / This study extends existing student ratings research by exploring how teaching methods, individually and collectively, influence a minimum standard of student achievement on learning objectives and how class size impacts this influence. Twenty teaching methods were used to predict substantial or exceptional progress on each of 12 learning objectives. Analyses were conducted in four class-size groups, Small (between 10-14 students), Medium (between 15-34 students), Large (between 35-49 students), and Very Large (50 or more students). Archival data were over 580,000 classes of instructors and students who responded to two instruments within the IDEA Student Rating of Instruction system: Instructors completed the Faculty Information Form, and students responded to the Student Ratings Diagnostic Form. Significant progress, for the purpose of this study, means students indicated they made either substantial or exceptional progress on learning objectives the instructor identified as relevant to the course. Therefore, student ratings of progress were dichotomized and binary logistic regression was conducted on the dummy variables. Descriptive statistics and point-biserial correlations were also conducted to test the hypotheses. Teaching methods that stimulated student interest were found to be among the strongest predictors of significant progress on the majority of learning objectives across all class sizes. For all class sizes, significant progress was correctly classified from a low of 76% of the time to a high of 90% of the time. The higher students rated the instructor in stimulating them to intellectual effort the more progress they reported on a majority of learning objectives across all class sizes. Higher instructor ratings on inspiring students to set and achieve challenging goals were also associated with significant student progress on learning objectives across all class sizes. Class size was not a major factor affecting the predictive strength of groups of teaching methods on student progress on learning objectives. However, it was a factor concerning the predictive strength of individual teaching methods. The larger the enrollment the greater was the predictive strength of key teaching methods. Implications of the study for faculty professional development and for future research are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Melody L. A. LeHew / The UN has challenged higher education to integrate sustainability across all disciplines, declaring 2005-2014 the Decade for Educational for Sustainable Development (DESD) (UNESCO, 2003). Education for sustainable development (ESD), a UNESCO initiative, advocates for reorienting education away from the industrial model of education, and has significant pedagogical implications for cultivating knowledge, skills, and values thought to support sustainable development (Rode & Michelsen, 2008; Sterling, 2004). Responsive action to this call has been sluggish (Everett, 2008; Rode & Michelsen, 2008). Concurrently, product development and design protocol is becoming more progressive in an effort to limit the impact of products on people and the planet, and there is an urgent need to evolve apparel and textile (AT) curriculum to better prepare undergraduates for this evolution. ESD may provide a way forward, but little is known about how it may succeed current educational practice or how such practice may impact learners in AT. The purpose of this study was to examine the learning and development experience of students enrolled in an apparel product development (APD) course that has been redeveloped according to the ESD framework. A qualitative case study was conducted during one semester to examine how students experienced the course. Data collection included student reflective writings, focus group interviews, and a researcher reflexive journal. Also, a survey was utilized to determine how students perceived their progress in the development of skills related to ESD. Both theory-driven and inductive coding procedures were used to identify themes across the qualitative data. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the quantitative survey data. Results of the study indicate that students yielded a positive, though challenging, learning and development experience in the course, and one that was considered exceptional in comparison to other courses in the same program. Among the learning and development outcomes experienced in the course considered most important, according to students, were sustainability literacy and the development of change agent skills. Further, the pedagogical perspectives of ESD which influenced the course redevelopment were perceived to be highly impactful. The study has identified pedagogical and curriculum design approaches which may be used to integrate sustainability more effectively into the AT curriculum and better foster the development of change agent skills.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / This bounded case study explored ten purposefully selected physician participants’ perceptions of the effectiveness of an eight session, two year in-house physician leadership development program at a major Academic Medical Center (AMC) in the Midwest. While physicians are generally educated to care for patients in their specialty area, reforms necessitate the need for physician leadership involvement in metric tracking by healthcare organizations in order to provide a focus on quality patient care and safety. Participants indicated finding the course effective, especially the negotiations and finance modules. These modules provided new language, a better understanding of processes and an opportunity to develop skills through interactive class exercises such as case studies. Participants described an increased self-awareness of their interpersonal skills and expressed a desire for greater exposure to emotional intelligence principles. Participants experienced a transformational shift in how they constructed their identity as a physicians and leaders, and questioned assumptions about the physician’s role in healthcare. While effective in initiating a process of exploration, this course was not sufficient to meet the goals and objectives of the program. Therefore, recommendations for the advanced course included a focus on leadership competencies identified by Dye and Garman (2006) as cited by Dye and Sokolov (2013), emotional intelligence, and transformational leadership.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Kenneth F. Hughey / In academic courses, assessment is used to evaluate the effect of teaching on student learning. Academic advising has been viewed as a form of teaching (Crookston, 1972); therefore, it is necessary to assess the effect of academic advising on student learning. The best practices of assessment of academic achievement involve three key steps: the identification of student learning outcomes (i.e., what is assessed), the development and use of good measures of student learning (i.e., how assessment is conducted), and the use of sound professional judgment to understand the information gathered and to make changes to improve student learning (i.e., how assessment results are used). However, the assessment of academic advising is often minimal, narrow, and inconsistent. Further, when assessment of academic advising is conducted, it is most commonly a survey of student satisfaction of their advising experience (Carlstrom, 2012; Habley, 2004; Macaruso, 2007; Robbins, 2009). The purpose of this study was to learn about the assessment practices in the profession by surveying those who conducted or were responsible for assessment of academic advising. The study found that 80% of participants had identified academic advising student learning outcomes in their situation. The most frequently reported outcome was that students would know degree requirements. A little over half of the participants who identified student learning outcomes assessed the achievement of those outcomes and student surveys were the most frequently reported measure used. Seven percent of participants reported to use three or more measures to assess student learning outcomes. Multiple measures are needed in assessing outcomes to gather comprehensive evidence of outcomes achievement. Sixty percent of participants reported they used assessment information to make decisions regarding improvement of services and student learning. The most frequently reported use of information was making revisions to the advising process/delivery outcomes. The results of the survey indicated that participants viewed advisors’ belief in assessment as important to facilitating assessment of academic advising. They also viewed administrators’ use of information in making decisions and changes to improve advising practices and increase student learning as important.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Carla Jones / Multiracial identity development has been a topic of study that has slowly begun to grow interest in academia. While it is important to acknowledge the process of multiracial identity development in and of itself, it is also essential to understand how this development is influenced by different ecological factors in higher education, such as when and where a multiracial student may encounter instances of marginalization, as well as instances of mattering. One of the more prominent facets of this ecology is race-oriented student services, which can provide either a space in which multiracial students feel marginalized, or one in which they feel that they matter. This report will examine multiracial identity development and why it is needed in order to better understand multiracial students’ needs, as well as how race-oriented student services affect development and expression of their identity.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / The increasingly integrated presence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on university campuses in recent decades has prompted calls for a better understanding of how students use ICTs in higher education, including the transition to college. While research indicates that students with higher self-efficacy are more likely to persist in college, current research makes few connections between students’ self-efficacy with ICTs and persistence. Additionally, researchers in the area of student retention call for educators to understand how their students perceive the college’s cultural environment so as to help students fit in at an institution and persist. Exploration of ICTs as part of a student’s social, academic, and cultural experiences at the university offers educators and administrators the possibility of modifying the college’s cultural properties in response to student needs. This qualitative study investigated first-year college students and their use of technologies to address the following research question: How do first-year college students perceive their experiences using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the higher education environment? Employing interviews and a phenomenological approach, this study explored the experiences of 19 undergraduate students. Six faculty members or instructors were interviewed about their teaching experiences with first-year students and the extent to which ICTs were incorporated in those experiences in order to provide triangulation of data. Through the analysis of interview transcripts and open coding, three themes emerged regarding how students experience ICTs in higher education. Statements from students and faculty suggest that students experienced ICTs in higher education as: a process of academic integration; situations for which they held internal or external loci of control when using them for academic purposes; and tools to use when becoming socially integrated into the university. The findings of this study have the potential to assist university faculty, instructors, and other staff who are designing courses and services for first-year students. First, the study’s findings indicate that instructors need to be as explicit as possible with their expectations of student use of technology. When students are expected to demonstrate certain behaviors with ICTs those behaviors should be both supported and modeled by faculty and instructors. Secondly, when using ICTs for academic purposes, faculty can help students feel more responsible for their learning by providing them with opportunities to make decisions about how ICTs are used or to incorporate their own problem-solving or learning techniques with ICTs when completing coursework. Finally, faculty, instructors, and other staff should be aware that when first-year students are using ICTs socially, they are trying to create and maintain in-person relationships. Faculty, instructors, and other staff can guide first-year students to events and resources that will help them meet people and locate a social group in which they feel like they fit in.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Doris Wright Carroll / This study reviews the development of distance education, adult students and specifically looks at the reasons for online course withdrawal. The study specifically examines personal and course-related reasons distance students withdraw from courses. Online students who withdrew from a course were invited to complete a course withdrawal survey to provide additional information about why they withdrew. Students reported balance between coursework and work/family commitments most frequently as the primary reason for course withdrawal. Results indicated that students withdrawing because of work/family reasons have higher intentions of re-enrolling in the future. Faculty and staff response time was another reason reported for course withdrawal. A perceived delay in communication was related to course withdrawal. Results are discussed further and implications are addressed.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / It is estimated that nearly twenty-five percent of graduate students experience symptoms of depression, anxiety, or seasonal affective disorder (Kernan, Bogart, & Wheat, 2011). Graduate students are defined as being unique, vulnerable, and at risk for experiencing a variety of challenges (Hyun, Quinn, Madon, & Lustig, 2006). Several of these challenges can result in high levels of stress (Oswalt & Riddock, 2007). Failing to cope with this stress can lead to increased stress levels, more severe mental health concerns or illness, and potentially dropping out (Hamaideh, 2011). Graduate students are not completing programs at the rate that they should, in fact attrition rates are estimated to be as high as fifty percent for some graduate programs (Kent, 2013). Understanding the effect mental health has on a student’s ability to persist through a graduate program is crucial to understanding the graduate student experience. It is suggested that higher education institutions begin to acknowledge the stress graduate students endure, the transitional struggles they encounter, and the barriers graduate students overcome to seek help. Based on the literature and personal experience, it is proposed that higher education institutions focus on preventative measures when combating the mental health challenges graduate students experience. This report provides a summary of the best strategies to consider when focusing on graduate student mental health. These strategies include the creation of an office devoted to providing graduate students with the support services they deserve.

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Sarah Riforgiate / College residence halls house thousands of students every year. This provides students an opportunity to live closely with new people and develop social skills sought by employers (Myers & Larson, 2005). Living with new people also provides the opportunity for anxiety and conflict (Ingalls, 2000). Many residents reject the idea of initiating or processing their own conflicts, often turning to destructive conflict management behaviors such as avoidance (De Cecco & Richards, 1974; Sillars, 1980). A clearer understanding of influences on student conflict behaviors will help colleges and universities assist students in having positive experiences living on campus. While attempts to understand student conflict management are varied, few consider behavior patterns as systems (Duran & Zakahi, 1988, Kiernan & Gray, 2013, Martin & Anderson, 1995). This qualitative study applies an organizational communication framework and structuration theory (Giddens, 1984; Poole & McPhee, 2005; Sewell, 1992) as a lens to address conflict behavior systems and structures within post-secondary residence halls. Theoretically, this research adds to existing scholarship by applying structuration theory to a non-business context, extending the theory beyond the employer/employee dynamic it is often constrained to. Additionally this study uses structuration theory in a practical manner (Sewell, 1992) in the hopes of informing and improving roommate pairing and conflict approaches. Twenty-three student residents participated in in-depth interviews to answer research questions designed to address communication practices that relate to rules and resources of conflict structures as well as how the dimensions of structuration, power, meaning, and norms, influence the use of rules and resources (Poole & McPhee, 2005). The study identifies resources of authority, space, favor reciprocity, mutual respect, routines, external others, and time and discusses the associated rules within college residence hall rooms. These rules and resources are informed by systems of “coexistent” and “engaged” harmony. Additionally the study identifies how the dimensions of structuration shape systems within the residence hall room and between the roommates by influencing the way rules and resources are used. Largely, this study contributes to the field of structuration research while attempting to incorporate pieces of Sewell’s (1992) critique in the form of practical implications.