The primary purpose of this study was to develop case studies providing a description of how two higher education institutions addressed the role of values. The researcher attempted to provide insight and understanding into the implicit and explicit values of the institutions through a values audit process. The methods of transmitting those values internally and externally were examined, as well as, implications for students, faculty, and staff. There was also an analysis as to what evaluation process was used to ensure compliance or alignment and to gauge that alignment between educational practices and the institutions' mission and purpose. The study examined the established and appropriate reward systems for recognizing and assuring compliance or alignment. The ethnographic case study was chosen as the research model for the investigative process for this study. Two case studies were conducted in which a four-year public institution, East Tennessee State University; and a four-year private Christian, liberal arts institution, Milligan College were examined. Each institution was treated as a case study, then a cross-case analysis was conducted between institutions noting similarities and differences. Four ethnographic techniques were used in the data collection phase of the research study: researcher's notes, face-to-face interviewing, document analysis, and participant observation. In each technique, the researcher emerged as the primary instrument for data collection. Based on the data collected, it was found that an institution's vision, mission, values, and goals provide the context in which it operates. The leader emerged as the individual who sets the tone for values for the institution. Effective strategies for communicating and implementing the values throughout all levels of the organization are critical. Compliance and alignment of members with the values must be expected, encourages, rewarded, and punished. Institutions may employ differing, yet, effective strategies for values definition, communication, and implementation. Recommendations made, as a result of the study are the following: (1) a periodic, broad-based review of the vision, mission, and values be conducted, (2) effective and continuous communication strategies be formulated and implemented into the hiring, supervision, and evaluation process, (3) an individual or an area be responsible for reviewing, transmitting, and evaluating the values, (4) periodic values audits be conducted internally and externally, and (5) further research be conducted in areas impacted by institutional values.

The purpose of the study was to examine what teaching methods new college teachers received and which ones they believed were important. New college faculty were asked questions on teaching methods to determine which, if any, were made available to them before they entered college teaching. The research questions under study were: (1) What type(s) of methodological preparation do/does higher education faculty receive? (2) What methodological preparation would be beneficial to new higher education faculty? (3) How do new higher education faculty learn methodological preparation? (4) What strategies could be developed to assist new higher education faculty in the development of instructional skills? (5) Are there differences between faculty who teach at institutions classified according to the Carnegie Classifications (1987) regarding the importance of methodological preparation and the amount of training received? The conclusions of the study were that new faculty were not prepared for the overall duties of the career as college teacher, except for being knowledgeable in their subject area. New college faculty also indicated a large difference between what they should know prior to beginning their college teaching and what they actually know. There were differences between faculty at two year colleges and at four year colleges, both in what was perceived as important to know and in the amount of training received. The recommendations of the study were that training programs for new college faculty should prepare these faculty in more than content; that as more non-traditional students return to college, faculty need to know more about how adults learn, different student learning styles, and how to increase student motivation; colleges should include training mechanisms for new faculty, such as how to teach, developing mentoring relationships, or creating internships; and orientation programs should be set up for newly hired faculty.

The purpose of this study was to determine what activities from the ETSU experience influence students' opinions about their growth and development. This study also examined the influence of sex, age, and classification in college. Three research questions and five hypotheses were examined. The Third Edition of the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) was the instrument used in this study. The CSEQ was administered to 50 undergraduate classes at East Tennessee State University during the Spring Semester 1994. There were 19 independent variables and five dependent variables in this study. The 19 independent variables included students' scores on the 14 Quality of Effort Scales along with sex, age, and classification in college. The dependent variables were five factors extracted from the Estimate of Gains Scale. This study utilized a correlational research design with five hierarchical multiple regression models (one for each of the five factors). All hypotheses were tested using an alpha level of.05. Results showed that the five factors extracted accounted for 60.8% of the variance in the Estimate of Gains Scale. The five factors were Factor I (Personal/Social Development), Factor II (Intellectual Skills), Factor III (Science/Technology), Factor IV (General Education, Literature, Arts, and Social Sciences), and Factor V (Vocational Preparation). For each of the five factors, the combined effects of age, sex, classification in college, and the Quality of Effort Scales explained more of the variance in the Estimate of Gains Scale than did age, sex, and classification in college alone.

The purpose of this quantitative correlation study was to determine whether a significantly statistical relationship exists between student participation and final grade performance within an online environment at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) Regents Online Degree Program (RODP). The study used data retrieved from the Desire2Learn (D2L) course management system and the Student Information System (SIS) for the 2013-2014 academic year. The stratified sample consisted of 360 individual students enrolled in either one or more of the 43 TCAT RODP course sections randomly selected from a total of 217 course sections offered during 3 semesters. The courses were offered in an online setting and are representative of the following academic programs: academic areas of Business Systems Technology (BST), Computer Aided Drafting (CAD), and Computer Information Systems (CIS). The sample included 261 students from the BST program, 42 students from the CAD program, and 57 students from the CIS program. The gender demographics sample includes 273 females and 87 male students. The hypotheses in this study were tested through data analysis using the Spearman’s rho correlations test. The findings of the study revealed that no statistically significant relationships exist between discussion activity, course login activity, and course content interaction and final grade. The findings of the study indicated statistically significant relationships among course content interaction and final grade for students enrolled in the BST program, course login activity and final grade for students enrolled in the CAD program, and course login activity and final grade for female students.

Excerpt:This quantitative study examined the perceptions of selected university administrators and legislators concerning levels of support for Tennessee public higher education.

This quantitative study examined the perceptions of selected university administrators and legislators concerning levels of support for Tennessee public higher education. The purpose of the study was to gain a greater understanding among the various constituents as to the needs and restraints facing higher education funding. The population targeted for this study was comprised of 132 members of the Tennessee General Assembly, the Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), the Chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), the President of the University of Tennessee System, and 36 Chief Administrators at nine state-supported universities. The principal investigator used a web-based survey development company to design, collect, and store survey responses. Analysis of the data revealed that legislators and higher education administrators in the State of Tennessee perceived funding for higher education differently. There were significant differences between the two groups concerning: use of higher education reserves during weak economic times, the explanation for tuition rises, how much costs students should incur for higher education, level importance placed on state appropriations for funding higher education, and how they perceived priority of higher education in the state budget. There was a significant difference between one’s political party affiliation and their perception of access to higher education being an issue. A significant difference was also found between one’s education level and ranking of higher education in the state budget.

abstract: How does a university create a culture of affinity where students seek and maintain life-long connections to the institution? The purpose of this action research study was to examine how affinity increased or developed for undergraduate students at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus through meaningful student-centric activities. Three theoretical frameworks guided the study including the work of Baumeister and Leary, Kuh, and Ajzen. In this mixed method study, quantitative data about affinity, attitude, toward Arizona State University was collected using pre- and post-intervention surveys and qualitative data were gathered through individual semi-structured interviews at the conclusion of the study. Study participants were degree-seeking, undergraduate students whose degree programs were affiliated with the Polytechnic campus. The study was conducted during the first semester for first-year students. The intervention was implemented over a four-week period and consisted of providing information and opportunities to students to initiate connecting to the institution. Quantitative data exhibited slight upward changes or slight to modest decreases in the dependent variables between pre- and post-intervention assessments. Qualitative data provided a content-rich explanation that helped in understanding the quantitative results. For example, students indicated high behavioral beliefs, attitudes toward involvement, and intentions. Moreover, they demonstrated high levels of connectedness and loyalty to the institution. Discussion focused on describing the complementarity of the data, explaining outcomes relative to the theoretical frameworks, limitations, implications for practice and future research, and lessons learned. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

Community college leaders have spent years trying to improve success rates for students in developmental mathematics (DM) courses, but with little progress. This quantitative study, using a pre-experimental static-group research design, examined if a change in a community college district's policy and practices for student placement into DM courses could improve student success in online DM courses. Bounded rationality theory provided the lens to view how students' decision making is influenced by the lack of timely and appropriate information during the placement process. The study addressed whether a composite placement score, the result of combining the ACCUPLACER placement scores for elementary algebra and reading comprehension, would improve predicting student success in the online DM courses of basic arithmetic and introductory algebra. Logistic regression was used to analyze archival data from a student population of 39,585 students from which 767 participants were identified using a stratified random sampling method. The findings indicated that the composite score was a statistically significant predictor of the likelihood of student success only for the online basic arithmetic course (β = .024, Exp(β) = 1.024, p < .0005), which means the higher the composite placement score, the greater the likelihood of success. Providing DM students with information on reading proficiency's influence can increase student success rates. The social change implications are that when students are placed properly in a DM course they complete the sequence in less time, reach their academic goals sooner, and spend less money. In turn, the community college and local community also benefit.

Male survivors of sexual assault face increased mental health concerns due to commonly held beliefs and lack of quality services. College and university administrators, under guidance provided by the Office for Civil Rights and the Department of Education, must respond to all incidents of sexual misconduct, no matter the gender identity of the complainant or respondent. The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate how the Title IX Coordinators at small colleges understand and implement governmental guidelines to decrease the secondary victimization experienced by male survivors by analyzing current policies and programs. Critical theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. The participants were 4 Title IX Coordinators employed by small colleges. Two participants were selected from a list of schools under investigation by the Office for Civil Rights and two from a random selection of all small colleges in the United States. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with Title IX Coordinators and a review of services provided to survivors of sexual assault. Analysis of the data included cross-case synthesis to identify emergent themes. Participants focused on the equality of services provided to all survivors; however, more focus should be placed on equity in services to overcome the oppression facing male survivors. Training involving the collegiate and surrounding communities may achieve the social change needed to support male survivors of sexual assault. Title IX Coordinators may act as catalysts of social change that begins on campus and expands to the surrounding community.

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain insight into the factors that military students perceive to have an impact on their persistence. The conceptual framework for this study was Knowles' principles of andragogy. The research questions were designed to explore military students' persistence, measures of engagement in academic activities, decisionmaking to assure success, and the strategies considered important to earn a degree at an online college. Demographic surveys, status reports and degree plans, and semistructured telephone interviews were collected from 13 military students. Interview data were transcribed and all data were open coded and thematically analyzed. Military students experienced longer than desirable time to degree while they managed institutional factors (policies and procedures), situational factors (school, work, and family obligations), and dispositional factors (age and past experiences). Specifically, military students indicated that the following factors contributed to their academic success: (a) military-friendly policies and procedures; (b) balance between school, work, and family; (c) and maturity gained from real-world experiences. They purposefully planned to persist, successfully addressed complex situations, and looked to experts in academia to ensure that those who could impact their progress were keenly aware of military students' diverse needs. Findings were incorporated into a white paper to inform academic leaders on how best to assist military students in completing their online degree programs. Implications for social change are that military students will be better prepared for more career opportunities and help mitigate the financial difficulties and high unemployment rates that disproportionately impact veterans.