International University of Grand-Bassam (IUGB) first opened its doors in Cote d'Ivoire, in a sociocultural context where a significant number of freshmen students were French speakers. Because the instructional language was English, students were faced with a language barrier that triggered more issues including difficulties in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The purpose of this study was to uncover French speaking students' challenges in academic literacy at IUGB and to suggest some solutions that would benefit students and instructors. The research questions focused on faculty members' perceptions of French speaking students' challenges in academic literacy, and their suggestions for improving student proficiency in English at IUGB. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory of learning, as well as Cummins's theory of language acquisition framed the conceptual foundation of this study. A qualitative case study research design was used with data gathered from 8 classroom observations, 8 individual interviews, and 1 focus group discussion. Participants were instructors selected from all 3 schools of the university. Data analysis included open coding and data triangulation. Major findings included students' lack of proficiency in English that negatively affected the beginning of their tertiary education. As a response, faculty members used a variety of instructional strategies to support their students. They also called for administrative authorities to help create an environment more conducive to student proficiency. A project was developed suggesting ways to overcome French speaking students' challenges in academic literacy at IUGB. Implementation of these suggested changes could result in significant improvements in student learning at IUGB and benefit both students and faculty.

Effective integration of active learning technology tools in classrooms is a key component of 21st century higher education classrooms. Challenged with outdated technology access and traditional classrooms, a local university in North Carolina initiated a strategic plan to update classrooms and laboratories with the 21st century technology. The problem of the study was that limited information existed regarding faculty perceptions regarding benefits of and barriers to integrating active learning technology tools. The goal of this study was to uncover the faculty members' views and perceptions about redesigning classrooms with the active learning technology tools. The technology acceptance model (TAM) framework was used in this qualitative exploratory case study to explore perceptions of 8 faculty members through semistructured interviews. The research questions were focused on exploring faculty members' perceptions about the main benefits and barriers of upgrading the local university's classrooms with active learning technology tools. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for recurring themes. Insights from this study revealed that it is a teaching technique and style of the faculty members in the use of the active learning technology tools that determined the nature of their perception of success, rather than the active learning tools themselves. The resulting project study is a position paper intended to deliver the results of the case study. The position paper includes recommendations to the senior leadership to increase an understanding from the faculty members' perspectives to better align the implementation of these tools. Positive social change may result from this study, improving 21st century higher education classrooms through more effective implementation of active learning technology tools.

The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of transformative learning within the context of instructional beliefs and practices among collegiate math and science faculty. Participants included nine full-time instructional faculty teaching within a biological science, mathematics, or physical science department at a public, two-year degree-granting state college. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, engaging participants in semi-structured interviews through a descriptive phenomenological design. Qualitative coding and thematic analysis were conducted, consistent with Colaizzi's (1978) Method for phenomenological research. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of four themes related to transformative learning experiences and four themes related to the participants' resultant instructional practice. The four themes addressing transformative learning experiences were: misaligned expectations, heuristic nature of learning to teach, developing authenticity and mastery, and evolving perspectives. The four themes pertaining to the influence of faculty beliefs on instructional practices were: perceptions of student challenges, confronting barriers, adaptive course design, and establishing classroom culture. The findings of this study indicate that collegiate faculty experience several dimensions of transformative learning, promoting a transition towards increased faculty authenticity in their instructional practices. Further, the findings of this study revealed that faculty, as a result of the transformative learning process, transitioned away from a content-delivery focus and towards a student-centric perspective that resulted in the adoption of an adaptive course design. The findings of this study may lead to enhanced practices and program development related to faculty induction and socialization protocols. Further, the findings of this study provide a needed context for informing faculty evaluation and development procedures.

As more non-native English-speaking students enroll in English-medium universities, even more faculty will instruct students who are unprepared for the rigors of post-secondary academic writing in English. Many faculty members lack training and knowledge regarding the assessment of non-native English-speaking students' writing, as well as the ability to provide effective feedback. This quantitative study investigated the possible attitudinal factors, including demographics, which might affect faculty preparedness and grading practices for both native and non-native English-speaking students' academic writing and plagiarism, as well as the reasons faculty do not deduct points from both populations' writing errors. Structural equation modeling and SPSS Statistics were employed to analyze the results of a faculty questionnaire disseminated to individuals who had taught non-native English-speaking students in academic subject courses. The findings from this study illustrated that faculty's native language, years, taught, and institution type were significant factors in not deducting points for academic writing errors and plagiarism, and the major reasons for not deducting points for errors were that faculty had too many students to grade, not enough training in assessing student written errors and plagiarism, and that the errors and plagiarism would have taken too long to explain. The practical implications gleaned from these results can be applied to most departments in English-medium post-secondary institutions regarding faculty preparedness and training in student academic writing errors and plagiarism, and recommendations for future research are given for similar types of preparation and guidance for post-secondary faculty, regardless of degree path or academic subject.

International graduate students at the University of Central Florida (UCF) are not completing graduate programs at the same rate as domestic graduate students. One of the main differences in the admissions process for international graduate students compared to domestic students is the English language test requirement. The purpose of this study was twofold: to test if the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the (International English Language Testing System) IELTS scores have any statistically significant linear relationships to international graduate students' academic success as defined by their cumulative grade point average (CGPA). Secondly, this study sought to understand how international graduate students feel about the TOEFL and/or IELTS, and whether or not they feel prepared for study with regards to their English language ability. Using mixed-methods research, data were retrieved from international graduate students who graduated from UCF during the 2012 – 2016 academic school years. Information from a total of 583 international graduate students was included in the retrieved data collection and data analyses. A survey was also utilized to assess current international graduate students' perceptions of the English language test and requirements. A total of 235 students completed the survey. The study demonstrated that TOEFL and IELTS scores do not have any statistically significant linear relationship to international graduate students' CGPA. Therefore, results from this research study did not indicate that the English language test scores have an impact on academic success for international graduate students who met the UCF admission requirements. The findings also demonstrate that international graduate students generally feel the scores are an accurate assessment of their English language abilities. However, many international graduate students expressed a desire for additional English language resources. The findings are beneficial in able to better understand whether or not English language test scores have any impact on international graduate students' success, and to more accurately comprehend the international graduate students' perspective regarding the language requirement.

Qualified student enrollment to nurse education program is limited by admission criteria predetermined by faculty; however, little is known regarding the development and consistency of selection criteria. The purpose of this study was to examine the admission requirements of nursing programs to better understand the philosophical underpinnings and complexity of selection criteria. The conceptual frameworks of teaching philosophy, complexity, and gatekeeping guided this research. This descriptive correlational study used a cross-sectional design to survey a purposeful sample of full-time faculty teaching in nurse education programs in a southeastern state. Descriptive analyses, independent t test, and a Lambda analyses were employed on self-reported program practices, teaching philosophy, and demographic data. Descriptive analysis documented that nurse education was a limited access major with 73% reporting either very or extremely competitive admission. Descriptive analysis identified 35 distinct admission criteria that were usually combined into a weighted scoring system that favored empirical evidence aligned to accreditation and licensure requirements. Independent t test revealed that associate degree programs employed significantly more criteria than did baccalaureate programs to select students. Lambda analysis found no association linking faculty teaching philosophy to the complexity of admissions criteria. This study demonstrated that competitive admission processes exist but vary significantly across programs, and suggests that more research is required since this variability in criteria may impact diversity within nursing education. Positive social change can be achieved by a critical review of admission requirements to ensure a more diverse nursing workforce able to deliver culturally competent care.

Performance-based funding is becoming the norm in higher education. High-impact practices like first-year seminars hold promise for improving some of the key metrics in the funding model, such as first-year retention rate and first-year institutional GPA. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of retention rate and institutional GPA between first-time-in-college (FTIC) students who completed a first-year seminar and those who did not. Additional data regarding pre-college experiences and expectations for college were investigated to gain insight into retention and academic success behaviors of FTIC students. Three years of data including institutional Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) scores, high school GPAs, enrollment data, and student grades were collected. Due to a significant difference in high school GPA between summer and fall admits, all analyses were conducted separately for each group. For both summer and fall admits, results from the chi-square tests of homogeneity and independent samples t tests indicated no significant difference in retention rates or mean institutional GPA between FTIC students who completed a first-year seminar and those who did not. Logistic and multiple linear regression tests were conducted to determine whether FTIC student retention and institutional GPA could be predicted by pre-college experience and expectations as measured by the BCSSE. For fall admits only, two of the nine BCSSE scales, expected academic perseverance and perceived academic preparation were significant predictors for retention. For predicting institutional GPA, summer and fall admits shared two significant predictors from the BCSSE: high school learning strategies and importance of campus environment. For fall admits only, there were three additional significant predicators: high school quantitative reasoning, expected collaborative learning, and perceived academic preparation. The results of this study may encourage higher education institutions to consider assessment of their own first-year seminars. The impact of a first-year seminar may be improved by developing curriculum that addresses the skills, experience, and expectations unique to each institution’s first-year students.

Though the pervasive rumor that the “traditional” dissertation persists because of the “I suffered, so they too should suffer” mentality — the professor revenge theory — students are often the ones eager to pin down writing genres so that they can master them. However, hopes to stabilize and thus capture the secret or equation of the dissertation genre are futile, since genres, like language, are alive: rhetorical, evolving, and flexible. Thus, to demonstrate the contemporary context of the dissertation genre, the conflicting perspectives of university stakeholders, the forces working on the genre to enact change, and the process by which genre knowledge develops and transfers in the highest levels of university writing, Mapping Dissertation Genre Ecology explores the discourse, both written and spoken, which constitutes the dissertation as a discursive construct — what I call the dissertation genre ecology. To better understand how dissertations are shaped institutionally, I ask the following questions: How is the dissertation as a genre constituted by various stakeholder groups at the university? How do these myriad accounts contribute to a larger system, a dissertation genre ecology at the university? And, ultimately, how does the dissertation genre ecology affect genre change? Through the use of rhetorical genre theory, my study develops a broad, interdisciplinary conception of genre, one that is not mired in formalistic worries about fixing genre in place. I use the voices of students and faculty from the humanities and social sciences as well as interdisciplinary documents as data for this project. By examining these discursive artifacts and making institutional tensions explicit, my project has broad implications for WAC/WID literature in transfer and genre studies.

Faculty are the academic heart of colleges and universities. They guide learning and facilitate student academic and social integration in the campus community. As described by Tinto, student integration is an important component to success in college. Out-of-class and in-class faculty-student interaction supports student integration and may lead to improved college completion. Students enter college with expectations for what they are about to experience, including expectations for faculty interaction. Smart adapted Holland's vocational choice theory to study college disciplines and found that faculty in six broad categories of disciplines displayed specific environmental and personality traits and interacted differently with students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine relationships between first-time-in-college (FTIC), prior-to-matriculation student expectations of faculty-student interaction and two dependent variables: four-year degree completion and FTIC, prior-to-matriculation student's major, as categorized in one of Holland's categories. High school GPA, ethnicity, and gender were controlled in the study. The sample consisted of 3,144 FTIC, prior-to-matriculation students enrolled at the University of South Florida, a large, metropolitan public university in the South during the summer or fall of 2008. Students completed the College Student Expectations Questionnaire (CSXQ) as part of a mandatory university orientation program. Seven items on the CSXQ's "Experiences with Faculty" section were summed and used to assess a FTIC, prior-to-matriculation student's level of expected faculty-student interaction. Students' prior-to-matriculation majors were assigned to one of seven Holland major categories --investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, realistic, conventional, and not in Holland. However, only five categories; investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and not in Holland were used because no FTIC, prior-to-matriculation student majors were assigned to the realistic and conventional Holland categories. A binary logistic regression was used to investigate the potential relationship between (FTIC), prior-to-matriculation student expectations of faculty-student interaction score and four-year degree completion. A statistically significant relationship (p<.05) was not observed between a FTIC, prior-to-matriculation student's expectation level for faculty-student interaction score and four-year degree completion. A statistically significant relationship (p<.05) was observed between the independent variables of high school GPA and gender and the dependent variable of four-year college completion. A one-point increase in the student's high school GPA showed an increase of the odds of four-year graduation by a factor of 2.96. The study also found the odds of a female graduating in four years is increased by about 1.3 times over a male four-year graduation. A multinomial logistic regressions were used to evaluate the relationship between (FTIC), prior-to-matriculation student expectations of faculty-student interaction score and Holland's categories. A statistically significant relationship (<.05) was found between a FTIC student's expectation level for faculty-student interaction and a student's FTIC Holland classification. As the level of the faculty-student expectation score increased by one point, the odds of being a member of the investigative category over the artistic, social, or enterprising category increased by 1.05 times, 1.03 times, or 1.04 times, respectively. The results must be interpreted with caution, given the small effect sizes, as exhibited by a Cox and Snell's value of .005 and a Nagelkerke value of .006.

This research study investigated the relationship to the pre-enrollment factors of admissions-to-enrollment and orientation-to-enrollment timespans to transfer student success as measured by persistence and the length of time taken to earn a baccalaureate degree. This quantitative study analyzed secondary data (N = 357) from a large, four-year, public research institution in the southeast United States. A logistic regression analysis was used to explore the relationships between the pre-enrollment timespans and persistence. The relationship between the admissions-to-enrollment timespan and persistence was not statistically significant. The orientation-to-enrollment timespan was found to have a statistically significant relationship to persistence (p < .05). This indicated that students who had increased orientation-to-enrollment timespans were more likely to persist. To further explore this relationship, a multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to control for possible extraneous demographic, pre-enrollment, and enrollment variables. The relationship of orientation-to-enrollment timespan and persistence continued to be statistically significant. An ordered logistic technique was used to explore the relationship between the admissions- and orientation-to-enrollment timespans and time-to-degree completion. Neither timespan was found to have a significant relationship with time elapsed to complete the degree. Implications for admissions and orientation timespans were discussed in relation to transfer student transitions.