Master of Science / Department of Counseling & Student Development / Kenneth Hughey / The challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students on college and university campuses are many. For example, LGBT students face harassment and discrimination at significantly higher levels than their heterosexual peers, and are twice as likely to receive derogatory remarks (Rankin, Weber, Blumenfeld, & Frazer, 2010). As the visibility of LGBT college students and the adversity they face has increased, there is ever more pressure on college and universities to evaluate whether LGBT students’ needs are being met. A dependable method of determining this is to conduct an assessment of the campus climate for LGBT students. Campus climate can be consists of the mutually reinforcing relationship between the perceptions, attitudes, and expectations of both individuals and groups, as well as the actual patterns of interaction and behavior between individuals and groups (Cress, 2008). Thus, in order to assess a campus climate, one must determine the current perceptions, attitudes, and expectations that define the institution and its members. Campus climate has a significant impact upon students’ academic progress and achievement and their level of satisfaction with their university. Whether or not a student feels as though they matter on their campus is largely a result of the climate. Evaluations of campus climate for LGBT students allow administrations to uncover what inequalities may exist on their campus, which is the first step toward being able to correct them. There have been many methods of improving campus climate that have been effective at a variety of colleges and universities. Administrations that wish to provide LGBT students on their campus with a better experience should invest in as many of these practices as possible. The most important action in improving campus climate is to institute an LGBT resource center or office with a full-time staff member and significant office space. Other impactful strategies include establishing a Safe Zone or Allies program, encouraging LGBT students to form organizations for themselves and their allies, increasing the amount of interaction between LGBT students and faculty—especially LGBT faculty, and establishing a Queer Studies academic program.

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 / 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 Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Robert J. Shoop / Previous studies of the experiences of mainland Chinese students in the U.S. have focused on graduate students, the most prolific Chinese demographic change before 2008. However, a significant increase in mainland Chinese undergraduate students has occurred in American universities since 2008, and these students have different features from Chinese graduate students. Meanwhile, research on the mainland Chinese undergraduate student experience was very limited. For example, what are the sources of stress of these Chinese undergraduate students? What were their coping strategies? What changes did they have in the process? How do they evaluate their experience in the U.S.? This study is an attempt to answer these questions. This study employed a qualitative research method and a case study research design to examine the experience of six mainland Chinese undergraduate students in a midwestern American public university. Convenience, snowball and criterion sampling were used to identify the participants, who were conducted a semi-structured interview with in-depth follow-up probing sessions to yield data. Berry’s (1997) acculturation framework was the theoretical framework for the study. Patterns that emerged from the data include: (1) six stressors are discovered in participants’ acculturation process: language barrier, cultural difference, life skills-related stressors, relationships with others, academic studies, and concern for the future (including job opportunity and pressure for marriages). The stressors vary based on individual factors and their length of time in the U.S; (2) participants used three coping strategies to cope with stressful situation: problem focused, emotions focused and avoidance-orientation strategies; participants mainly rely on friends or roommates to cope with problems and are not aware of university’s resources for help; (3) participants experienced many changes in this process, including improved English skill, independence, stress management, changed perceptions about U.S. and China; (4) participants’ overall evaluation of the experience is positive but they don’t think studying in the U.S. is for everyone; they hope university to provide more help overcome the difficulties; (5) participants also talked about dissatisfaction about Chinese education, cheating problems at the American university, using agents when applying for universities, desire to return to China eventually and their family financial support. Themes emerged crossing all patterns included: (1) participants did not what to expect before they went abroad but managed to overcome difficulties in the U.S.; (2) participants are willing to make changes and improve themselves by overcoming all barriers with the resources they know; (3) participants desire more help from the university to overcome the barriers to a better education; (4) participants seek better job opportunities whether in China or in the U.S. soon after graduation, but they eventually will go back China; (5) participants’ family fully support participants’ endeavor to study in the U.S. As a conclusion, the study makes recommendations to American university administrators, professors and Chinese students who plan to come to the U.S. American universities should develop a holistic approach to help Chinese international students. Language and cultural training and engagement is important. Partnership programs between American students and Chinese students may be established to help them with language and cultural training. At the same time, life-skills, relationship skills, academic study skills and training are needed for students who came during high school or after high school. The university should also use standardized test for admission to ensure quality of students. Professional career help is a very critical need for these students in China and in America. Finally, the study recommends further research to better understand this unique population.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Kevin L. Sauer / Satisfaction with internal communication is important in all organizations and is influenced by the quality and consistency of communication exchange. Job satisfaction is also widely studied in organizations and plays a significant role in employee behavior. Job satisfaction typically correlates with communication satisfaction across different occupations, yet little is known about the communication and job satisfaction relationship in the hospitality industry or specific foodservice organizations. This study explored multiple facets of communication and job satisfaction in a university foodservice setting using the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire and the Abridged Job Descriptive Index. Results indicated that student employees had the highest levels of communication satisfaction (M=181.75±38.24) while classified employees reported lower communication satisfaction (M=161.00±35.04). Managers reported the lowest levels of communication satisfaction (M=156.17±30.34) and also expressed the highest job satisfaction (M=78.66±18.66). Substantial relationships between job and communication satisfaction were not clearly defined in this study; however, specific themes and opportunities for future research were discovered. Results of this study advance the knowledge about communication and job satisfaction in the foodservice environment.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / The purpose of this phenomenological study was to provide insight into Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) graduates’ reflections on their cooperative education (co-op) experiences and resulting career self-efficacy. Wichita State University houses a cooperative education program, the only one of its kind in the state of Kansas. This program helps students in all academic disciplines find work experiences related to their major for which they can earn academic credit, and sometimes even get paid. Engineering and business students typically identify immediate benefits of participating in cooperative education; however, LAS administrators, faculty, and students have been slower to accept and include this experience in their academic programs. The two research questions that guided this study were: (a) How do former LAS students describe their co-op experience? and (b) What did these students gain, with regard to career self-efficacy, through their co-op experience? Because LAS students may not learn skills specifically related to a career due to the general nature of an LAS degree program, the current study focuses more on the graduates’ reflections of their own experiences within co-op as well as the skills that were developed. Data analysis revealed the following nine themes: (a) resume-building and interview preparation were essential skills learned to aid in their co-op search; (b) the ability to “try out” various settings and areas of interest was experienced; (c) participants’ initial anxiety was gradually replaced with greater comfort and confidence; (d) participants were able to learn from positive as well as negative characteristics of their co-workers; (e) positive feedback, support, and networking opportunities were received from co-workers and clients; (f) interviewing confidence as well as increased resume-building skills were useful in obtaining a full-time job; (g) an increased sense of professionalism was gained, along with job-specific skills, and communication skills; (h) positive attitudes were experienced, along with a perceived ability to handle success and challenges in a new job; and (i) participants gained leadership and supervisory skills, enabling them to take on responsibility in their current full-time work after receiving their degree. It was determined that participating in cooperative education is beneficial to students and that the graduates still consider it an integral part of their college experience. The students also shared that they were able to use the skills and knowledge learned from their co-op in the job search as well as in their current full-time job. Therefore, it is determined that the study supports the idea that career self-efficacy is in fact developed by recent LAS graduates while participating in co-op.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs / Kenneth Hughey / The characteristics and needs of college students across the United States are ever-changing. As Millennial generation students, born between 1982 and 2003 (Howe & Strauss, 2000), attend college, unique characteristics are present. Commonalities within the Millennial generation have been identified; however, socioeconomic status can impact a student’s ability to demonstrate these characteristics of the Millennial generation (Ramsey, 2008). Socioeconomic status still remains the greatest predictor of college aspirations but can prohibit some Millennial students from the opportunity to attend college (Greene, Huerta, & Richards, 2007). This qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of low socioeconomic Millennial generation college students. Bourdieu’s (1977; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977, 1990) Cultural Capital Theory was used as the framework to address four research questions regarding knowledge of college, academic experiences, types of support, and collegiate involvement. Research questions were developed utilizing a phenomenological methodology consisting of two semi-structured interviews with open-ended interview questions as the primary data source. Through the analysis of the participant interviews, themes of their lived experiences as a low socioeconomic status Millennial generation college student emerged. Participants shared that their families lacked knowledge and information about college although they encouraged and supported them and understood the importance of a college degree. Although the educational experiences of the participants varied, most encountered challenges transitioning from high school to college. The most important educational experience for the participants is obtaining a college degree, greatly impacting their future. Although self-supportive for most of their lives, attending college is possible through the financial support of the 21st Century Scholars Program. This financial support and the support of their collegiate friends going through similar experiences have been important. Involvement in collegiate activities was important for the participants’ future careers, relationships, and learning; however, they sought these opportunities on their own. This research supports and encourages student affairs practitioners to enhance and improve the services and support provided to low socioeconomic status students in the college community. In addition, this study supports the need for more research related to socioeconomic status within higher education as well as reexamining student development theories to take into consideration socioeconomic status.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Christy Craft / Nontraditional students are a growing and changing population of students that encompass a wide variety of demographics and have many external factors that contribute to their academic and social success. Institutions are meant to be a tool for social transformation, and as more nontraditional students move towards higher education, they are proving that lifelong learning is an essential aspect of human development not only for personal goals, but also for social, cultural, and economic purposes (Baptista, 2013). Institutions need to promote success for all students by continuously adjusting themselves to an always emergent and ever changing reality. Colleges will need to find and use best practices to guide nontraditional students in their academic and social success. Although their needs, motivations, and level of engagement may vary from traditional students, the overall mission of an institution is to create successful, well rounded, holistically developed citizens. Institutions would greatly benefit from creating a space that helps develop these students through the use of a center. A nontraditional center would allow practitioners to combine many of the best practices that can aid students in their college experience. Nontraditional student enrollment trends are unlikely to change in the future and investing in a space that addresses the factors and barriers that can inhibit degree attainment will be necessary for success. This master’s report will include the current enrollment trends of higher education, the differing characteristics of nontraditional and traditional students, history of nontraditional student enrollment, barriers and challenges to success, motivations to attend higher education, theoretical frameworks outlining success of nontraditional students and their adult identity development, how to promote nontraditional student success, and best practices that outline the characteristics of an ideal center.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Be Stoney / David C. Thompson / This qualitative case study explored the role of leadership in a mentoring program designed to work with students of color. Specifically, an instrumental case study was used to explore the leadership of the “Can We Talk” mentoring program. Utilizing the framework of Critical Race Theory and themes related to the current status of students of color along the with the concept of school culture, the purpose of this study was to explore the leadership of a program “Can We Talk” designed to work with students of color in a majority White high school located in the Midwest. This purpose was also driven by the rationale that districts and schools due to increased accountability measures have to incorporate different strategies to meet the academic and social needs of all students. Mentoring programs are one of the strategies gaining momentum in education, especially for students who come from marginalized socio-economic, ethnic, and racial groups. The findings indicated that the “Can We Talk” program was implemented into this school setting based on interest convergence. The principal needed the program in order to meet accountability measures such as adequate yearly progress. The founders of the “Can We Talk” mentoring program had an interest of increasing the academic and social opportunities for the students of color at this school setting. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the “Can We Talk” program was successful based on the mentors being able to share their experiences with the mentees, attract students from other gender, ethnic and racial groups, and increase the academic and social opportunities of the mentees by creating a shared voice. The implications of this study includes questions about the ways mentoring programs for students of color are implemented and maintained in majority White school settings. Therefore, this study raises the question about the role of school administrators, founders of mentoring programs, teachers, and the rest of the school community in terms of implementing, maintaining, and supporting programs designed to support the needs of children of color.