<p> This case study examined co-curricular portfolios and transcripts at two institutions to investigate the use of co-curricular portfolios, how they are developed, how institutions utilize them, and how they shape student learning. This research contributed to the literature by documenting evidence of student learning, describing how students and institutions utilize these programs, and providing in-depth comparative analyses of two cases. Five assessment frameworks and the conceptual framework of Preparation for Future Learning were used to analyze the data gathered. </p><p> Twenty-four students, four administrators, and one faculty member participated in interviews on two campuses where co-curricular involvement is documented by portfolios or transcripts. The findings indicated evidence of intrinsic student gains in the areas of self-awareness, pride and self-confidence, and transfer of learning; as well as extrinsic benefits including enhanced remembering and marketability. In addition, findings related to institutional perspectives described design and practice recommendations, practicality benefits, and challenges in implementing these programs.</p><p>

<p> Technological developments in the workplace in the United States have led to a demand for highly skilled laborers in the workforce. Hence, adult students return to college to earn four-year college degrees or obtain certifications in order to meet the demand for highly skilled positions. Thus, colleges and universities must find learning models that best meet the needs of adults. The problem addressed in this research study focuses on adult learners&rsquo; experiences and whether or not technology paired with immediate intervention services in the developmental English language courses meets their needs by improving their learning outcomes. Hence, adult participants were asked in face-to-face interviews what experiences best served them. A random, purposeful, and heterogeneous sample of first-year adult learners, exclusively ranging from 25 to 60 years of age, was recruited. A basic qualitative research methodology was used in this study, which involved semistructured interviews with the adult participants, the open and axial coding of the responses of the participants, and the interpretation of the coded responses. Themes then began to emerge from the coded data collected from the interviews. The interpretation of the coding revealed that the adult participants in the study testified that the computerized program was user friendly, helped them develop computer skills, and was a superior learning tool. They also testified that the immediate intervention and personal attention of the instructor and computer lab staff assisted them as adult learners with their concentration, encouraged them to attend four year colleges, provided them with in-service training, and helped them in the development of their careers. Briefly, the findings show that students appreciated computer-learning programs because they could develop computer skills and also acquire basic skills by accessing hypermedia/multimedia and game stimulation on computers, which they found user-friendly. It was clear that students felt that they made significant progress in their English development because they had support services readily available to them. Further, since they were independent adult learners, it was evident that they preferred to self-pace and self-regulate their learning. It is hopeful that the examination of the findings of the study will generate new strategies for improving students&rsquo; learning experiences.</p><p>

<p> Research on college choice decisions of high school students has increased over the past forty years but has generally centered on demographic characteristics such as race, gender, or socio-economic status of students. There has been little research on the influences on the college choice decisions of high academically achieving students from rural areas. Nationally, 27% of rural high school students attend four-year colleges, compared to 37% of students who come from urban or suburban areas. In addition, 73% of students choose to attend college within their home state. However, preliminary data from one rural school system in North Carolina showed that over a two-year period, 96.45% of students who attend high school in that county school system remained in the state of North Carolina for college. This data implies that rural high school students remain in state for college at a higher rate than students from urban and suburban areas and do not seek admission to highly prestigious colleges around the United States to which they may be attractive candidates for admission. </p><p> Seven to nine students and the faculty member or members who works most closely with students during their college search were interviewed from one rural high school each in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to determine their perceptions of the influences on their college choice processes. Focus group sessions were held with the student participants at each of the high schools to insure the accuracy and understanding of data and to expand on themes identified during the coding of data. </p><p> This study found that rural students face a variety of barriers in their college search processes. These barriers, both real and perceived, worked to lead rural students to choose in state colleges that were in proximity to their homes. Rural students and the high school faculty who work with them often work with incomplete or inaccurate information of the opportunities available to students outside of their own states of residence.</p><p>

<p> Contemporary social issues, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change, exceed the capacity of a single sector to solve and require the collaboration of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. In this context, universities play a unique and increasingly comprehensive role in educating students, generating new knowledge, and advancing the social and economic conditions in their communities. </p><p> Over the past decade, explosive growth has occurred in social entrepreneurship and social innovation initiatives on university and college campuses. Whether offered through a center, initiative, or program, a groundswell of curricular, co-curricular, and convening activities has emerged that educates and engages students, faculty, and a range of stakeholders in the pursuit of solving pressing social issues in innovative ways. </p><p> Using qualitative research methodology and a grounded theory approach, the purpose of this study was to explore the broad phenomenon of and the proliferation of university-based social impact centers in the United States. Through the perspectives and lived experiences of 43 social impact leaders, from multiple higher education institutions, this study developed a grounded theory model which explains the forces driving the emergence and evolution of the university-based social impact centers. The phenomenon can be explained by these &ldquo;windows of opportunity&rdquo; where internal, external, and cultural forces intersect, interact, and overlap with one another, within institutional-specific contexts, to produce new centers. While each institution boasts a unique culture and contextual characteristics, the data demonstrated that mission-driven students, market pressures on higher education institutions, and donor support were the most significant forces driving the expansion of social innovation on college campuses. Akin to the double-bottom line, it was both mission and markets that catalyzed the university-based social impact phenomenon. </p><p> While the social impact phenomenon initially evolved out of elite graduate business schools, it has expanded cross-campus into public policy schools and central administrative units, and across all institutional types. Social impact education now expands across and down the curriculum and co-curriculum. Some universities now even have multiple social impact initiatives within their own institutions. Participants described the need to differentiate themselves and to compete for resources, students, and attention given the plethora of existing civic and socially-oriented programs on their campuses. </p><p> This study filled a distinct gap in the literature by studying university-based social impact centers, framed in the broader historical context of the evolutionary role of university engagement in their communities, coupled with the recognition of the realities of contemporary market pressures on higher education institutions. Social impact centers exhibit the intersectionality of a host of issues plaguing higher education, such as resource constraints, access, academic silos, specialization, and bureaucracy versus innovation. Finally, social impact centers are a microcosm of the tension that exists between the marketization of higher education and the pressure to hold true to public purposes&mdash;and ultimately, whether or not institutions can effectively mediate those two pressures.</p><p>

<p> Recently, the issue of campus sexual violence and the term Title IX have become commonplace with the majority of college-aged individuals within the United States. This time of increased regulation began as a crescendo with the U.S. Department of Education and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Dear Colleague letter of April 2011, which was enhanced by the reform of the Campus SaVE and VAWA Acts and the 2014 Question and Answers guidance documents. This guidance resulted in a significant increase in the number of institutions under federal investigation of alleged violations of Title IX by the OCR, with an increasing number of students also engaging in formal litigation with their institutions. </p><p> This qualitative study set out to better understand the impact of addressing campus sexual violence and sexual harassment, public scrutiny, and a U.S. Department of Education and OCR investigation of an alleged violation of Title IX on 19 student conduct administrators or Title IX coordinators who were responsible for administering, enforcing, and reporting incidents associated with Title IX at 11 Association of American Universities (AAU) institutions. Additionally, this study sought to give a voice to a U.S. higher education professional staff population that is often silent, either because of federal regulations or due to the social stigma associated with their work. Eight main impacts were identified: (a) lack of clear guidance, (b) shifts in institutional organization structure and staffing, (c) legalization of the student conduct processes, (d) staff feeling on trial, (e) greater public scrutiny, (f) changes in relationships with students, (g) personal impacts, and (h) shifts in career ambitions. Overall, the process of addressing and responding to campus sexual violence and sexual harassment of student conduct administrators and Title IX coordinators has fundamentally changed. </p><p> Ultimately, this study demonstrated how the practitioners who deal most directly with campus sexual violence and sexual harassment experienced both positive and negative impacts in regard to addressing and responding to campus sexual violence and sexual harassment in this ongoing period of heightened U.S. federal regulation, guidance, and public scrutiny.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to understand the role that White people can play in dismantling systemic racism and oppression in the supervision of people of color in student affairs. The primary goal of the study was to better understand, from the perspectives of people of color, how systemic racism and bias in the supervision of people of color could be disrupted and what role, if any, White people can play in the disruption. Using a critical race theory (CRT) framework, the study sought to outline how White people can demonstrate allyship and engage in dismantling systemic racism. This was a qualitative research study using a CRT framework. The researcher conducted 20 interviews with participants who all identified as student affairs professionals of color about their experiences with workplace racism, what inclusive workplaces would look like, and how White folks can play a role in contributing to an inclusive environment. The findings showed that workplace racism was prevalent among participants, with many outlining experiences with bias or racism in multiple roles and on different campuses. Further, all 20 participants agreed that there is a role for White folks to play in fostering inclusive environments. Based on participant descriptions and a CRT lens, a framework emerged for White people who seek to engage as allies and accomplices to racial justice in student affairs. This framework includes: learning, understanding, self-reflection, and action on the individual, group, and organizational levels.</p><p>

<p> The career college sector of the post secondary education industry contributes more than $20 billion to the U.S. economy annually, but turnover in executive leader roles at career colleges is extremely high. Usually, such turnover occurs without succession planning or knowledge transfer for the new executive. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the need for knowledge transfer when executive turnover occurs in career colleges. This single case study was framed on theories of knowledge addressing concepts such as knowledge stickiness, transfers, and gaps. The overarching research question concerned how lack of knowledge transfer during executive leadership succession at a career college influences stakeholder engagement, where stakeholders are executives, administrators, and faculty. The conceptual framework for this study was Szulanski&rsquo;s sticky knowledge concept, which pertains to how knowledge transfer from one executive leader to the next may be blocked. Knowledge attrition can be the basis for declining performance and outcomes in an institution such as a career college. In this bounded, exploratory case study using semistructured interviews with stakeholders, the aim was to understand how to improve knowledge transfer in these colleges so that they may remain available for the students they serve, who usually represent the first generation in their families to obtain any postsecondary certification. This aim is socially significant because completion of career education can be a factor leading individuals into the middle class. Social change for a portion of the underserved population can certainly emanate from educational opportunities that lead to career placement, which is why understanding executive succession in career colleges has significance in American society.</p><p>

<p> The need for experienced leaders to fill senior positions in the field of international education in higher education is growing. However, the disproportion between the numbers of women in mid-level positions compared to the number of women in senior level positions remains elusive. This qualitative research using narrative inquiry analysis produced rich data specifically related to the process of leadership development of women in mid-level positions. Seven women in mid-level international education positions at U.S. institutions of higher education voluntarily participated in multiple interviews. The social constructivist framework informed the construction of a three-phase data analysis process that included iterative participation of the study participants to establish the emergent themes of experiences of knowledge transfer and access related to leadership development. The iterative process resulted in narrative portrait vignettes of the participants and led to the identification of six themes affecting the experiences of knowledge transfer and access of women, which included financial resources, educational degree, gender, confidence, physical location and institutional impact. The narrative inquiry process resulted in theme interpretations and recommendations for the field of international education to &lsquo;mind the gap;&rsquo; both the gap in the literature on this topic and the gap in the stories of women&rsquo;s professional experiences. The results presented practical implications for the field of international education and informed recommendations to expand the body of future research for women in international education in the United States. </p><p>

<p> This study utilized a qualitative approach to examine academic leaders&rsquo; perceptions of the impact of the changes occurring in the higher education environment on leader development and the faculty governance model. Interviews were conducted with academic leaders in four regionally accredited, 4-year, private, similarly-sized, religiously affiliated institutions in a rural region of a Midwestern state. The interviews explored the perceptions of academic leaders on the impact of changes within the context of the social construct of the higher education environment, the contextual influence on leaders and leadership development, and the faculty governance model. The results suggested that individuals socially reconstruct their environments by revisioning the challenges in the context of the mission of the institution. The results further revealed the philosophies of trust, support, mentoring, followership, and decision making as critical to shared leadership in the higher education environment. Academic leader development, the faculty governance process, and shared governance were influenced by the changes occurring in the environment. These findings have important implications suggesting the need to examine the construct of leadership in the higher education environment and academic leaders&rsquo; influence on faculty governance and shared governance. The findings also raise interesting possibilities for advancing an augmented view of leadership in the higher education environment.</p><p>

<p> The U.S. physician population lacks diversity, and this lack of diversity is reflected in the medical student population. Medical schools have implemented various types of programs to increase the diversity of their student population, and by extension, the physician population. A public Northeastern medical school implemented a postbaccalaureate premedical (PBPM) program for military enlisted service members with a goal to increase diversity among its medical school cohorts. A quantitative causal-comparative ex post facto study compared diversity variables of the PBPM military enlisted students with the public medical school student group, as well as the national student group.Chi-square analysis found significant differences between the military enlisted students and the two other comparison groups in four of five diversity measures. The military students were statistically different in age, marital status, number of dependents, and socioeconomic background. The groups did not differ significantly in terms of their racial/ethnic demographics. The study validated Tinto&rsquo;s framework of student persistence with a military population.</p><p>