<p> The number of U.S. undergraduates who study abroad is growing, as are expectations that the experience will result in increased intercultural competence. Conclusions in the literature regarding actual outcomes of study abroad, however, remain limited, and often are contradictory. This research examines whether a semester of study abroad is associated with significant change in students&rsquo; ways of understanding and approaching cultural difference (&ldquo;intercultural development&rdquo;), as compared to remaining on one&rsquo;s home campus for the same period. It also assesses whether certain demographic characteristics and background experiences of students, as well as characteristics of study abroad programs, may have significant impacts on outcomes for international education participants. </p><p> Changes over a semester in Developmental Orientation and Cultural Disengagement scores on the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) are the primary dependent variables. An experimental (i.e. study abroad) group of 108 undergraduates from Large Urban Private University (LUPU), which has a high rate of study abroad participation, completed the IDI before and after studying abroad in either the Fall 2014 or Spring 2015 semester. A control group of 65 LUPU undergraduates who remained on the home campus completed the IDI at the beginning and end of the Fall 2014 semester. The impact of study abroad as such, and of students&rsquo; personal characteristics, was analyzed via group comparisons using analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques. Correlational analysis and ANOVA were used to explore the effects of study abroad program characteristics on experimental group members. </p><p> Experimental group members experienced a statistically significantly greater positive change on both IDI scores, pre- to post-test, as compared to control group members, with small-to-medium effect size. In other words, students became on average slightly more interculturally-minded, and also less conflicted about their cultures of origin, after a semester of study abroad. But shifts from one way to another of understanding and addressing cultural difference (as defined in the IDI) were uncommon. Study abroad participants who were female, identified as members of more than one national culture, or had a grandparent born and raised outside the United States were significantly more likely than others to increase their intercultural-mindedness. Surprisingly, in light of the relevant literature, none of the study abroad program characteristics tested was significantly associated with pre- to post-test IDI score change for the experimental group members.</p>

<p> The position of the Emergency Manager within an organization&rsquo;s emergency management program is often written about in the context of professionalization, duties, responsibilities, and core competencies. However, the organizational placement of the Emergency Manager as it relates to his or her location, or simply his or her spot within an organization, is seldom the subject of research. There is an ongoing range of opinions about placement. A typical university organizational structure places the position several levels of authority away from the university leadership/decision makers. The typical placement can be problematic for university Emergency Managers because, the further they are away from the leadership/decision makers, the less influence they have on items that affect the university emergency management functions. Improper placement can limit their ability to have influence and places them in a reduced position to conduct issue selling. University Emergency Managers need to be in position to influence policy and promote readiness. A survey was conducted involving university administrators at private institutions of higher education which consisted of a series of questions about their institution&rsquo;s emergency management program. A key finding was that organizational placement of the Emergency Manager had no impact on the success of an emergency management program. The success of an emergency management program rests in the ability of the Emergency Manager to develop a network and to conduct issue selling. </p>

<p> Deciding whether or not to open an international branch campus requires that senior leaders at higher education institutions have an understanding of the benefits and risks associated with one of the riskiest forms of internationalization. Three historical waves characterize the modern incarnation of the international branch campus, which began in the 1980s. The benefits and risks for opening an international branch campus have evolved during each wave. The current wave has seen the rise of government-sponsored education hubs where a tight partnership exists between the host country and the foreign higher education provider. Few studies have explored decision-making processes used by higher education institutions when determining whether or not to open an international branch campus. This study provides a deeper understanding of the decision-making process used by Ghent University when choosing to open the Ghent University Global Campus in Songdo, South Korea. Ghent University&rsquo;s decision demonstrates that the benefits and risks are evolving for international branch campuses. Locating a branch campus in a government-sponsored education hub lowers one of the foremost risks that higher education leaders must address, the financial ones. This case also reveals that benefits are developing to include research opportunities abroad, new employment prospects for postdoctoral students, and support for internationalization activities.</p>

<p> The academic success of Division I student-athletes remains a critical issue for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) institutions, since institutions who fall below the minimum academic progress rate are being sanctioned. The two groups or &ldquo;cells&rdquo; continually not meeting these requirements are black male student-athletes (BMSAs) participating in revenue-generating sports and athletes attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Researchers synthesized student academic success and Division I student theories to create a conceptual model of academic success for Division I student-athletes. Former research indicates that commitments, both precollege and during college, delimited to institutional, goal, and sport affect academic research and are in need of further research. Using the model as a conceptual framework, a descriptive, multiple-case study was conducted. Nine purposefully selected BMSAs at a HBCU were interviewed to gain their perspectives of the three types of commitments before attending and after interacting with academic and social systems. Secondly, they gave their perspectives on any influences of their commitments. Data were collected using semi-structured, open-ended interview protocols, a background survey, and grade transcripts. Transcripts were coded and a cross-case and within case analysis conducted. When it comes to how BMSAs develop their precollege commitments, the following themes emerged: family, the school, academics, the team, and self. In regard to their precollege commitments, the themes were the following: expectations of the institution, expectations as a student, and expectations as an athlete. The participants had no commitment changes after interacting with the academic and social systems for a semester; however, built relationships, impact of academic advisors, intrinsic motivation, and realistic identity were themes regarding how their commitments are being maintained. In the future, researchers should conduct more studies that focus on the aspects of commitments and commitment development among BMSAs at HBCUs.</p>

<p> Shared governance is seen by higher education professionals as a necessity to effectively run a university. This form of governance requires that faculty at institutions of higher education have the primary responsibility over curriculum, subject matter, methods of instruction, research, faculty status, and aspects of student life which relate to the education process (American Association of University Professors [AAUP], 2011). </p><p> In order to garner the benefits of shared governance, faculty and administrators, plus governance boards should exchange information and opinions freely and often. Governance bodies should be created that facilitate communication among faculty, administrators, and governance boards (AAUP, 2011). In addition, Jenkins and Jensen (2010) argued that faculty members must be willing to commit time and energy to work and cooperate with the administration. Unless faculty members work on committees, spend hours reviewing documents and express informed points of view, sharing responsibility for governing the institution cannot succeed. Today shared governance may be weakened by the increased reliance on adjunct faculty members who may rarely be expected or given the opportunity to participate in institutional governance. This often leads to situations in which there are too few full-time faculty members to share the responsibility of governing the institution. The goal of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between academic administrators' leadership styles and two variables. These variables included faculty's level of participation in governance and faculty's satisfaction of shared governance. In addition, this study compared levels of participation in governance and the satisfaction of shared governance between full-time and adjunct faculty members.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to examine the organizational culture of community colleges&rsquo; departments to gain an understanding of whether or not a specific style of organizational culture, as determined by the leaders, had a relationship with the level of perceived empowerment by adjunct faculty. The current use of adjunct faculty within community colleges has increased over previous years, which has drawn attention to the practice. Therefore, the community colleges&rsquo; increasing reliance on adjunct faculty has generated an interest within these domains. The relationship between organizational culture and the empowerment was explored by administrating two surveys. Department chairs were identified as leaders and completed the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS) (Denison et al., 2012). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument (PEI) (Spreitzer &amp; Quinn, 2001) was given to the followers, who were identified as adjunct faculty members. Hypotheses were formulated to assess whether there is a relationship between a specific style of organizational culture and empowerment of adjunct faculty. Both are quantitative surveys designed to produce data sets illustrating potential relationships. The two concepts were not found to be statistically significant.</p>

<p> Working mothers face the challenge of balancing multiple roles while adhering to or rejecting the societal norms associated with those roles. The unique perceptions of the effects motherhood places on the working mother can shed light on the current and best practices in providing support for working women transitioning into working mothers. The purpose of this study was to identify and evaluate workplace and relationship perceptions of postpartum women employed in higher education. A qualitative, case study approach was developed and framed with three theoretical perspectives: the theory of work adjustment, role theory, and Maslow&rsquo;s hierarchy of needs. To complete this study, 10 subjects were chosen from a Midwestern college based on the age of their children and higher education employment at the time of maternity leave. Results of this study included the emergence of six relevant themes: (a) mothers acting as superwoman, (b) fulfillment as mothers and employees, (c) inconsistency and decentralization, (d), decisions to place jobs on hold versus assigning task completion, (e) level of satisfaction based on job type, (f) strive for self-actualization, and (g) prioritization. The findings of this study were supported by previous research on the topics of work-life balance and need for social and organizational support for new mothers. Perspectives of supervisors, human resource professionals, and working fathers should be further explored in future research.</p>

<p> This study seeks to relate to two problem statements. First, higher education literature is largely missing a conversation about strategy. Second, while some universities succeed at remediating their troubles and adapting to new situations; others fail. This study, then, explores the role of strategy in developing successful solutions for financially distressed institutions of higher education. A review of current literature on strategy in general supports the research, and aided in the formulation of the four research questions. </p><p> The goal of the research was to understand specifically the strategies chosen to move the universities forward; what actions and behaviors they take in forming strategies as well as in their implementation; the role of leadership in facilitating those solutions together with their teams; how the leaders communicate their ideas&mdash;both to their teams and their institutional communities; and the ways that history, mission, and culture interact with strategy to lead to successful outcomes.</p><p> Conducted as a comparative case study of three institutions of higher education, this study seeks to better understand how strategy evolves during financially challenging times on university campuses. Colleges and universities seem to be able to successfully employ divergent strategies through innovative programs, opening new markets and/or building novel business models. Thus, the institutions were selected based on their success in accomplishing one of these three criteria. </p><p> Three small to mid-size, private, non-profit institutions of higher education comprised the focus of the case studies. The findings emerged out of site visits to the campuses, personal interviews and review of historical documents. While the histories, missions, cultures and leaders differed at each site, several common themes surfaced and the study revealed some important revelations and implications for both the literature and leaders in practice today. For instance, the findings demonstrated the significance of an aggressive approach to growing enrollment through various diversification mechanisms, as well as focusing decision-making on student needs, support and success. Ultimately, strategy matters for higher education success stories, and the universities herein studied provide models which can likely be emulated.</p>

<p> This qualitative research study examined higher education administrators experience with social media as it pertains to their profession and work. As social media use among students and the general public continues to grow, this new technology has found its way into universities in administrators&rsquo; professional and private lives. The relatively young age of social media as a technology has raised many questions for administrators about how to adapt and adopt it as a tool to ultimately improve the student experience at colleges. In this qualitative study, eight administrators at California State University, Long Beach were interviewed to explore their views, concerns, and challenges related to social media. Findings from this study show that administrators had privacy concerns utilizing social media and faced challenges navigating the dual relationships that could form on social media platforms. Administrators see the need for social media competency training that can increase the effective use of social media on a college campus. The results of this study clearly call for universities to assist administrators with adopting and adapting to new technologies, and for further research to be done on how student-teacher relationships are changing due to social media. Implications include social media use by administrators improving the universities relationship with the community, as well as developing online privacy training sessions for administrators. </p>

<p>This dissertation is an examination of the implications of the sudden increase in the use of agents in admission practices. For a variety of reasons, there has been an increased interest in globally educating students, both on the part of host institutions and on the part of sending countries. Reasons include worldwide visibility of universities, enrollment targets, diversity goals, full fee-paying &ldquo;customers,&rdquo; but also impact on local economies, not only because of revenue brought by these students but because of contributions to the labor force. This interest has fueled the admission profession&rsquo;s gradual acceptance of agents and third parties working with international populations. With the emergence of China as a new &ldquo;market&rdquo; of able, fee-paying students, there has been explosive growth in agents and third-party vendors, often with little attention to regulation of the practice. This study examines in greater depth the forces which have contributed to the acceptance of agents, the resulting cynicism of students and educators, and the possible long-term effects of the growth of the industry. </p>