The problem selected for this thesis is "A Study of the Grades of the Western Kentucky State Teachers College during the Years 1929-30, 1930-31, 1931-32." The purpose of the study is as follows: To compare the distribution of grades by the various instructors of the college. To weight the grades assigned by the individual instructors. To compare the distribution of grades by the various departments. To weight the grades assigned by departments. To compare the grades given by instructors within the same departments. To compare the grades given by the college as a whole with other colleges. To compare the grades given in residence with those given in extension study.

Administrators of programs of student personnel services are being called upon to be more effective in their planning, to redefine and modify organizational structures, and to find ways to bring more control and flexibility to the budgeting process and staffing patterns. Further, student personnel administrators need to be more effective in assessing student needs, in evaluating programs, in determining problematic areas, and in providing proactive leadership within a more democratic and legalistic framework. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to report on the current organizational structures of divisions of student personnel services in selected colleges and universities and (2) to determine the impact of selected problems on programs of student personnel services throughout higher education. The study, through the use of a two-part questionnaire, surveyed student personnel administrators at institutions that (1) had enrollments between 7,500 and 14,999, (2) were public supported, and (3) were primarily residential. The first part of the questionnaire sought information regarding where each of 21 defined student personnel functional areas reported within the institution's organizational structures. The institution's organizational structures were divided into the four following major divisions: (1) academic affairs, (2) business affairs, (3) development, and (4) student affairs. The second part of the questionnaire sought information as to how student personnel administrators perceived the negative effect of 37 selected problem areas on their abilities to administer their programs of student personnel services. Each of the 37 problem areas were to be rated from one to seven, ranging from no negative impact to having great negative impact. A summary of the findings is as follows: (1) Analysis of the data revealed that under the Division of Student Affairs,- student organizations, greeks, discipline, orientation, financial aid, health services, counseling, housing, career planning and placement, recreational activities, religious activities, and minority affairs reported generally to this area. (2) Under the Division of Academic Affairs, only academic advising reported generally to this area; however, records and registration, recruitment, and admissions reported most of the time. (3) Of the nine problem areas having the greatest negative impact, five are directly related to the depressed state of the economy. (4) Of the nine problem areas having the least negative impact, four of these problem areas received considerable attention during the 1960's and 1970's. From the study the following recommendations, as well as others mentioned in the context, are made: (1) Because of the financial-related problems cited in this study, divisions of student affairs throughout higher education should continually evaluate the delivery system of their services and programs. (2) Because several of the problem areas that had the greatest negative impact upon the student affairs community are related to economic-related factors, public supported institutions of higher education should formulate sets of strategies designed to offset the inevitable losses of financial support.

This study contributes to the knowledge and understanding of the application of hazing law and response of courts to case law where hazing has been alleged between the years of 1980-2013. This study expands upon the 2009 research conducted by Carroll, Connaughton, Spengler and Zhang, which used a content analysis methodology to look at anti-hazing case law as applied in cases where educational institutions were named as defendants, and the 2002 unpublished dissertation of Guynn which explored anti-hazing case law and its application in cases involving high school students. This study examines all court cases between 1980-2013 where a judicial opinion was written and an allegation of hazing or an injury resulting from hazing occurred. This study uses content analysis methodology to identify, code and analyze cases and applies analogical reasoning to the case review to 1) examine the breadth of legal cases that occurred between 1980-2013, 2) identify the legal issues most likely to be created by an incident of hazing, and 3) apply predictive analysis for how those issues may impact individuals, organizations, and institutions. The study identified that legal issues related to 1) tort liability and negligence, 2) allegations of violations of 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, 3) hazing, 4) assault and battery, and 5) Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 were most commonly argued in courts of law following an incident of hazing. A discussion of each area of law and the parameters under which a court would make decisions in this area of law were provided for discussion.

Over the years, the academic dean position has evolved from mainly focusing on student matters to an emphasis on promoting quality teaching and academic programs. The dean’s role is comprised of academic and administrative duties and responsibilities, requiring working with various stakeholders. The complexities associated with reduced budgets, increased enrollment demands, guarantee of quality education, and expectations from the private and public sectors create a perennial need for strong, competent leaders. Attributes for those in the dean’s position have been described as being able to keep peace among various groups with competing priorities. Other abilities address the many internal and external pressures confronting the position, and the need to motivate, plan, and establish a shared vision for the college. Research has found academic deans traditionally advance from faculty to administration with few opportunities to train for the administrative leadership aspect, having trained and oriented predominately for academic careers in scholarship and teaching. In the absence of administrative training, academic deans have found they lack the breadth and depth of administrative leadership practices. This research study examined the essential administrative competencies and preferred professional development method for academic deans responsible for discipline-specific colleges within the California State University (CSU) system. The study employed a mixed methods research design for the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The findings from the surveys and interviews revealed significant results for identifying essential administrative competencies, and preferred professional development methods for effective academic deans. A common theme that emerged was that their prior academic training and experience did not provide a significant amount of transferable skills. Interview results described serving on committees, working with mentors, training with immediate supervisors, and attending professional development programs as the methods selected for administrative development. Survey results identified hands-on experience, and attending seminars as the most preferred professional development methods for the majority of administrative competencies.

In recent years attention has been concentrated on the experiences of traditional college students, with very little research or attention on the experiences of transfer students. The purpose of this causal comparative mixed-methods study was to describe the experiences of transfer students who engage in the experiential learning activities of service learning and/or internship activities at a four-year public Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the Inland Empire. Relationships were found between transfer students who participated in service learning and/or internship activities and those transfer students who did not participate in those activities on the following: level of satisfaction with their educational experience, current job/career, and sense of connectedness to the university, and beliefs about how much the university contributed to their acquisition of job- or work-related knowledge and skills. Predominant concepts regarding transfer students' beliefs about what the university could do to help them be successful, were the implementation of a transfer student orientation and creating a transfer student center.

This study reviews the tenents of adult learning. Christian education and creative drama and presents the observation that there are parallel objectives in each of these three major areas. Noting that creative drama is rarely used in adult Christian education, which is primarily cognitive-based and lecture-discussion oriented, the study proposes the application of creative drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a drama strategies to provide an alternative experiential learning process and therefore create a balance of focus between cognitive, affective, reflective and active learning styles in adult Christian education. It also suggests that through the application of creative drama strategies teachers may more effectively realize the intentions of Christian education: to nurture sensitively aware individuals who are continually growing in faith and empathic love for others. Extant theoretical writings about the practice of creative drama and also literature dealing with the principles and intentions of adult Christian education are reviewed for this study. In the process of surveying current theory and practice in adult evangelical Christian education, the study elaborates on its two basic concerns: adult learning and Christian education. The study discloses a discernible gap between theory and practice through which creative strategies in adult evangelical Christian education have fallen. The study advances the conclusion that this gap may be addressed by application of the creative drama process. Creative drama is presented as one viable means of refreshing individual adult creativity and adult group creativity in Christian education and as an additional way through which to nurture empathic awareness and personal spiritual growth. The underlying assumption is that creative drama is a powerful, often neglected, tool by which adult evangelical Christian education groups may be stimulated to more effective learning and growth. Creative drama, adult learning, and Christian education converge in this study to present an advantageous educational angle. Creative drama is an improvisational, non-exhibitional, process-centered form of drama in which participants are guided by a leader to imagine, enact and reflect upon human experiences. Built on the human impulse and ability to act out perceptions of the world in order to understand it, creative drama requires both logical and intuitive thinking, personalizes knowledge, and yields aesthetic pleasure. The strategy clearly interfaces with current findings in adult learning which represent the effective teacher as a facilitator who seeks to guide the adult learner toward more enhanced self-direction and growth rather than primarily as a disseminator of information who seeks to lead the learner into gaining more knowledge. Adult development findings reveal that adults learn best when their needs and interests are considered, their backgrounds, skills and knowledge are recognized as key resources, and they engage in active problem-solving. Likewise, creative drama draws its framework and impetus from similar concerns of the participants, using their interests and resources as the basis for enactment. In another venue, the intention of evangelical Christian education is to nurture believers toward higher levels of faith development, enhanced integrity in moral behavior, and clear exhibition of genuine love and service toward others. In a similar vein, creative drama also seeks personal growth and moral development through empathic awareness in enactment. Hence, the potential for achieving the ideal outcomes in the fields of adult education, and specifically adult Christian education, is more realizable with the application of the creative drama process to adult Christian education. In the course of literature review and the establishment of a rationale for considering the integration of the creative drama process as an instructional strategy in adult evangelical Christian education, additional ancillary, yet significant, aspects of personal and group growth and awareness are considered as part of the affective learning process and therefore discussed in terms of their applications to the proposal. These aspects include: major learning styles, the experiential learning cycle, adult development, group ctynamics, moral education, creativity development, play and the dramatizing impulse, imagination, metaphor, and empathic awareness and sensitivity. Each is considered as an important link in the connection of the creative drama process to adult evangelical Christian education. The study then lays out potential guidelines for the application of the creative drama process as an instructional strategy in adult Christian education. The potential benefits of creative drama are considered in the processes of determining educational objectives and setting up instructional guidelines for the adult student in the Christian education context. The guidelines include: considerations for effective adult motivation, establishment of positive physical and emotional atmosphere for creative experiential learning, and the sequential process for creative role-playing from warm-up, through enactment, to final evaluation. Suggested specific applications of creative drama in Christian education are presented with extensive sample lesson plans, including the rationale and implementation of guidelines for each step. The study concludes with suggested future research and training to achieve the potential of inculcating creative drama techniques in an adult evangelical Christian education context on a more systematic basis and over a broader scope of application. Recommendations are made for future publications and presentations in order to raise awareness of the need find potential effectiveness of more creative and experiential strategies in adult Christian education as well as to train for better teaching and leadership in those areas.

This study compares the instructional, academic support, and student services needs of international and American students at Portland State University (PSU), Portland, Oregon. Variables measured include the perceived importance of university-related services, and the level of satisfaction with services received. A questionnaire with 26 background questions and 41 service-related items for ranking and discussion was mailed to 225 undergraduate international students and 225 undergraduate American students, with a response rate of 52%. Responses were tabulated to ascertain demographic profile of PSU students, importance of university services to international students at PSU, current level of satisfaction of international students in regards to university services received, importance of the various university services to U.S. students at PSU, current level of satisfaction of U.S. students in regards to these university services, if U.S. and international students at PSU differ in the importance they assign to university services, if U.S. and international students differ in their level of satisfaction with services at PSU, relationship between perceived importance and level of satisfaction for U.S. and international students, relationship between perceived importance and level of satisfaction for international students, perceived reasons for dissatisfaction concerning service quality for U.S. and international students, and any suggestions these students have for improving the quality of services. Respondents' descriptive characteristics were reported and tabulated as background information. Frequency distribution, the chi square test of significance, and means were calculated using responses to queries about the service-quality items, and responses of international and American students were compared. Major findings included that there are many areas of agreement between international and American students. However, significant differences were found: 2 "need" items under instruction, 5 "need" items under academic support, and 13 "need" items under student services. Focus group interviews were also conducted. Researchers can use this additional data to develop theories about answers given; university administrators could use this information to develop programs to ameliorate perceived problems, or make changes in the quality or delivery of existing student services.

This research explores the roles of academic professionals in higher education, specific to how they engage in decision-making processes. Academic professionals provide important functions in higher education work but there is little in the literature about these actors and their contributions to leadership and governance. A literature review triangulated role theory, organization theory, and the shared-governance field of study to bring together actors within higher education and compare their involvement based on the shared-governance model in operation at different institutions. The researcher introduced the hypothesis that when registrars are not involved in curriculum management, there may be negative effects on student success. In the study, a survey was administered to registrars and faculty members representing nearly 200 institutions to ask about the role of the registrar in specific policies and curriculum practices. Results were measured using Fisher's Exact Test but also interpreted through multiple qualitative approaches, including inductive analysis. Outcomes were not significant in the quantitative test results, but respondents overwhelmingly indicated that the role of the registrar in shared governance affected student success. Themes were recorded to articulate the most common reasons respondents offered for how the registrar was involved in academic policy, curriculum management, and supporting student success. Results of the inductive analysis provided several themes that pointed to unique roles for the registrar, such as leading from behind and acting as a compliance authority, even when partners do not appreciate being held to compliance standards. Implications for practice focused on the qualitative outcomes of the survey. Suggestions for future research included further review of quantitative data outcomes and exploring ideas from inductive analysis around leading from behind and acting as a compliance authority.

While fraternity and sorority life continues to make headlines and is called upon regularly to validate the purpose it holds to remain on college campuses today, many still believe that when fraternity and sorority are done right, it is one of the best opportunities on college campuses today outside of the classroom. Much of their success is due to the efforts and support of the fraternity and sorority life professionals. This dissertation will offer the first Scholarly Personal Narrative of a mid-level, seasoned, fraternity and sorority life professional working in higher education. Current research shows the average age of a fraternity and sorority life professional is twenty-seven and over half the professionals have been at their place of employment for two years or less. I will explore my own personal journey over the last twelve years with hopes of finding meaning in this uncommon career path and explore where resilience and passion resulted in professional longevity.

At a time when the higher education as a whole is experiencing an incredible leadership turnover and a narrowing pipeline of prepared or willing leaders to step into these important roles, the industry is also experiencing more scrutiny than ever before, creating a challenging time for the leaders of these institutions. Small private colleges in New England, in particular, have their own unique set of complications, which makes finding the right kind of future leaders particularly important. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 14 small private college presidents amidst an incredibly unique set of factors which substantially complicate the roles for leaders of small, private institutions in New England with modest endowments. The study found two primary roles that the presidents must fulfill: a Leadership Paradox of communication strategies and a Leader/Follower responsibility to its Board. Finally, the emotional consequence of fulfilling these two roles is explained in the Treading Water in a Changing Tide theme. This study fills a gap in the literature related to this specific niche of the industry, at a time when leadership succession and the future of small private colleges is an important conversation for the future of higher education.