According to Zawacki-Richter, Backer, and Vogt (2009), literature focusing on student services falls into three general categories: learning theories and attrition research, student needs and satisfaction, and models for best practices. Research addressing the specific training needs of student affairs practitioners responsible for implementing and managing student support services for online students is not a major area of focus (Moore & Kearsley, 2012). Therefore, unlike the faculty and technology subsystems, the student affairs subsystem has not become securely anchored in delivering services to fully online students (Crawley & Howe, 2016; Moore, 2013; Moore & Kearsley, 2012). The lack of research focusing on the challenges and professional development needs of student affairs professionals responsible for delivering services to online students demands attention, as these critical stakeholders are responsible for transforming student services operations to meet the needs of the growing fully online student population. This phenomenological study examined mid-level enrollment management practitioners' experience with implementing student services designed to support the operational objectives of online education innovations at traditional universities, and the subsequent influence on their preparedness to develop and sustain services for fully online students. The Quality Implementation Framework (QIF), a meta-framework comprising of 14 steps for high quality implementation, and The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), which has general standards for advancing quality student affairs programs and services, guided the study design and data collection processes.

Throughout its storied history, higher education in the United States has dealt with the challenges of free speech. From Harvard's 1766 'bad butter riot' to hateful speech directed towards students by non-university community members, balancing the need for free speech with maintaining a welcoming and inclusive campus environment stands as an immense test for higher education (Papandrea, 2017). Idealism and ethicality aside, lost in the academic debate over liberty and protections are the views of those who should best help shine a light on such a divisive issue: students. This dissertation creates a quantitative path to understanding those very viewpoints. Using the theoretical framework of Social Judgment Theory (Sherif & Hovland, 1961), the study discerns student attitudes towards free speech by measuring student ego involvement and latitudes of acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection. This study examines one main question: are student attitudes towards the general concept of free speech congruent with their attitudes towards the perceived acceptability of specific types of speech? Results from more than 2,300 participants revealed that while college students generally regard free speech as an extremely important right in higher education, there are still instances of protected free speech that are considered unacceptable. On the topic of partisan politics, respondents identifying as Republican and Democrat were not statistically different in any measure of ego involvement or range of latitudes. Females reported higher ego involvement scores and a much higher propensity to finding certain examples of speech unacceptable, indicating a reduced belief in the importance of free speech.

This study sought to identify what expectations international students' had with regards to academic advising and how satisfied they were with their advising experience at a large community college in a southeastern state in the United States. Previous research on academic advising services (e.g. Belcheir, 1999; Hale, Graham, & Johnson, 2009; Mottarella, Fritzsche, & Cerabino, 2004; Propp & Rhodes, 2006; Lynch, 2004; Smith & Allen, 2006) had not distinguished between domestic and international students' expectations of and satisfaction with advising especially at the 2-year and community college levels and in organizational structures where the foreign student advisors serve as both the students' academic and immigration advisors. Such research is timely in the face of the highly competitive international education market and the increasing demands for U.S. institutional of higher education to meet students' consumer expectations with regards to educational services. Grounded in Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and employing a quantitative research design, this study investigated how factors such as age, gender, country of citizenship, class standing, and degree program impacted international students' expectations of and satisfaction with academic advising. Descriptive statistics, analyses of variances, and a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) were used to answer the research questions. While the advising literature strongly advocates developmental advising, students in this study expressed a strong desire for elements of prescriptive advising.

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of twelve college student-athletes, from two NCAA Division I institutions, who participated in leadership development programs provided by their athletic department. There is a demonstrated need for this level of exploration as evidenced by the growing trend of college athletic departments providing leadership development programming for their respective student-athlete populations. However, there is not a commensurate level of scholarship related to the effectiveness of these programs, nor is there an understanding of the lived experiences of the student-athlete participants that is grounded in research. Therefore, this qualitative study utilized Moustakas' (1994) Transcendental Phenomenology to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of college student-athletes who participated in leadership development programs provided by their athletic department. This study applied Dweck's (2008) theory of Mindset to distill the role effort, failure, and adversity played in the participants lives, and their leadership development. Textural and structural analysis of the data revealed six themes and the essence of the phenomenon. The themes were: (1) Personal Growth and Development; (2) Skill Development; (3) Engaging Pedagogies; (4) Meaning of Effort; (5) Meaning of Failure; and (6) Problem Solving Mindset. Recommendations for college athletic departments implementing leadership development programs include: Intentionality of design; focus on personal growth and development; provide tangible skill development; and include training on growth mindset.

Socialization may be described as a process in which an individual learns and takes on the knowledge, values, attitudes, and expectations of a group within an organization (Corcoran & Clark 1984; Staton & Darling, 1989), ultimately leading to the development of a professional identity that includes attributes of the group (Merton, Reader, & Kendall, 1957). Much of the literature regarding professional and organizational socialization experiences of new faculty focus solely on either clinically trained faculty or academically trained faculty, with minimal research comparing the professional and organizational socialization experiences of both degree types. Therefore, this research study explored the professional and organizational socialization experiences of new clinically trained and academically trained faculty. A qualitative phenomenological research design was implemented to explore these experiences and emergent themes revealed from the research study. During the data analysis process, there were ten clinically trained and academically trained faculty themes that emerged from the interviews and represented similarities and differences in professional and organizational socialization experiences of the faculty groups. Those themes included: self-awareness, clinician to academic, how to be an academic, mentoring, orientation, research preparation, lack of andragogy, graduate student experience, role balancing, and learn as you go. The participants' professional and organizational socialization experiences within each degree type reflected different, yet similar findings, as both groups encountered difficulties socializing into their respective faculty roles. The information gained through this research may lead to practices and program development that may improve the efficacy of professional and organizational tactics used to prepare future faculty members and for those already active in faculty member roles.

The cyberbullying phenomena has been recorded as affecting students and faculty alike in the K-12 and higher education systems. Cyberbullying in higher education has negative effects to the institution and its stakeholders, including faculty turn over and student suicide. While these responses are highly publicized, the effects of cyberbullying on the online classroom remain relatively untouched by researchers. There are very few resources available to faculty who teach online courses for creating strategies to combat cyberbullying in that context. Furthermore, many states, including Florida, defer conduct policies and their enforcement to the individual institution. While there are many aspects of cyberbullying within the online course in higher education that remain unexplored by research, this study seeks to breach the subject by analyzing the policies at Florida public universities. Using document analysis, this study analyzed policies from the 12 state universities capturing the definition of cyberbullying and recommended reporting practices for faculty on cyberbullying from each institution. By framing the results of the analysis through the community of inquiry, this study provides value to faculty seeking to strengthen their online teaching presence through providing clear guidelines established by each Florida institution. It will also provide value to administrators at institutions within the United States who are reviewing their policies addressing online abuse and cyberbullying by identifying to common definitions currently used within public institutions.

Most of the literature concentrating on Black males, focuses on retention problems that have gone unresolved. The purpose of this study was to explore qualitatively the nature of the academic success of Black males in programs for high achievers at a community college. A detailed literature review was completed, focusing on educational themes such as motivation, high achievers, persistence, and honors programs. The theoretical framework used was GRIT developed by Duckworth (2007). The researcher used a six-step process as suggested by Moustakas (1994) to determine results. In addition, interviews were conducted with seven Black males who were defined as high achievers. The following six themes were identified from this phenomenology approach: supporting family, starting early, guilt, involvement, no failure, and academic success.

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of an accessibility services office on student achievement and cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). This research was a quantitative exploratory study designed to investigate student experiences with using accessibility services and transitioning into a Major Southeastern University (MSU) in the United States. Participants in the study were actively enrolled undergraduate students with a learning exceptionality. The students that completed the questionnaire answered questions regarding their experiences with using the services provided by the office, along with their experiences with transitioning into the university. The results of this research are intended to provide administrators with insights about how students use services from the office, their perception of the office, and areas in which they can better address student needs. The implications of this study may influence the decision-making of Accessibility Services offices at other universities.

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