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Organizational learning has been studied and researched as a construct for organizational improvement. Although its definitions are varied, scholars continue to integrate its use through various disciplinary approaches. It has been studied at the organizational level, but not as much research has taken place at the individual level where day-to-day activities and tasks of the university take place. The goal of this study was therefore to understand the organizational learning processes individuals use in their day-to-day work. This phenomenological study sought to understand the specific activities or tasks individuals perform to acquire, share, and use knowledge throughout the organization. The research question that guided the study was, how do university administrative staff learn how to do their jobs? To answer this question, I generated data from 10 administrative staff by conducting in-depth semi-structured interviews. Their collective experience revealed that they learn how to do their jobs primarily by trial and error. Additionally, they learn through informal networks they have developed with colleagues in similar roles. Use of prior work experience to inform their new roles and access different types of training to acquire new skills. In summary, these findings offer strong support for this study’s organizational learning and workplace learning conceptual framework. The study also fills a gap in the literature on organizational learning among university staff that offers policy makers, institutional leadership, and management and educational researcher’s insight into how knowledge is acquired, shared, and used among university staff.

The community college has one of its missions to provide access for students who intend to transfer to a 4-year university using a vertical transfer pathway. As potential advocates for students in the transfer process, faculty who work in community colleges need to recognize the importance of supporting transfer students and help to improve the transfer pathways. Yet, little is known about the role faculty have in promoting transfer. The purpose of this dissertation study was to investigate the role of community college faculty in the vertical transfer process. The study addressed two research questions: How do community college faculty perceive their role in the transfer process? and How do community college faculty interact with potential vertical transfer students? A case study of a rural community college in Virginia with a high percentage of its students transferring and a dedicated transfer center served as the research site. Data analysis used the theoretical framework of momentum. Faculty perceived their role as a connector for transfer students and interacted with aspiring transfer students both in and outside the classroom. The community college faculty worked with content area faculty at the local 4-year schools and collaborated with the college’s transfer center to inform students of transfer resources. In particular, a faculty member was highlighted as a role model in advocating vertical transfer and bridging academics and advising. This advocacy role helps extend the understanding of the momentum theory. The study contributes to new insights into faculty’s essential role in building transfer students’ momentum toward a successful transfer and showcasing rural community college faculty involvement in vertical transfer to inspire higher education institutions to engage faculty in achieving institutional transfer mission, supporting transfer students, and fostering more equitable transfer pathways.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions and development of community college students as they navigate stigmas associated with a 2-year collegiate institution within the mid-Atlantic region. Community colleges continue to be labeled as a disservice in regard to academically and holistically preparing nontraditional students to matriculate to 4-year institutions. This persistent myth has been presented through the lens of prominent researchers. However, the literature lacks research from the perception, experiences, and most importantly the voice of the nontraditional student. This study enables this marginalized population to be heard through a phenomenological approach. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of urban community college students and how they are able to navigate through trials/tribulations and extenuating circumstances to obtain an associate’s degree. More specifically, this study focused on eight student-athletes and examined these nontraditional students’ holistic and wellness development, personal and academic development, and self-identity. / Educational Leadership

The purpose of this mixed-methods program evaluation was to assess how first-generation students related their participation in the Success Program at LU with their sense of belonging. I used the CIPP model to conduct the mixed-methods program evaluation. The evaluation questions were: (1) To what degree do first-generation students who participate in the Success Program report a sense of belonging? and (2) What components of the Success Program do first-generation students find meaningful, based on student perspectives? The General Belongingness Scale (GBS) was used to collect quantitative data by measuring the levels of sense of belonging reported by program participants. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with nine participants who possessed varying levels of belongingness, based on their GBS scores. The quantitative component of the evaluation found that student respondents possessed positive levels of sense of belonging to the program. The qualitative identified which components of the program were meaningful to students. The two emerging themes included: (a) The meaningful components of the program were activities that enabled students to interact with others, and (b) students found activities were meaningful because they were provided in an encouraging environment.

Followers grant legitimacy to leaders whom they perceive to be a good fit for the role, yet the conceptual framework for this study illustrated how dominant discourses related to gender and leadership continue to negatively affect a woman’s potential in achieving legitimacy as an academic president. This study examined the predominant discourses taken up by women during their inaugural addresses to legitimate their role as leaders of the colonial colleges—a unique sample of institutions because of their long legacies of male leadership and strong organizational sagas deeply rooted in masculine preferences and cultures. The inaugural address represents a celebration of the organizational saga while also being a challenge of discourse for any new leader in establishing legitimacy before becoming fully incorporated into the institution’s community. By applying a feminist poststructural approach to discourse analysis, the methods of this study involved multiple phases of deductive and inductive coding of the speeches along with a parallel interrogation of the data which revealed gendered subjectivities that positioned the women in this study as relatively powerful or powerless in their quest for presidential legitimacy. The conceptual model that emerged from this analysis illustrated how the negotiation of gendered discourses and the accommodation of discourses related to institutional, environmental, and moral legitimacy positioned the women as relatively powerful in their speeches, and thus, charted a course for navigating the male preserve of higher education leadership. Perspectives provided from this study challenged the dominant discourses of gender differentiation and expanded the discourses available to those aspiring to the college presidency.

Greek letter organizations are unique student organizations because they are supported, not only by student affairs professionals, but also by alumni chapter advisors. These advisors can influence organizational culture unconsciously through their underlying assumptions and beliefs. The purpose of this study was to examine how Fraternity and Sorority Advisors (FSA) perceive the influence of alumni chapter advisors. A survey instrument collected data from 289 respondents on eight separate constructs based on current literature. Through data reduction the survey items became five factors: high-risk behaviors, leadership development and mentorship, diversity equity and inclusion, philanthropy and service, and persistence and retention. Multiple regression analysis indicated FSAs who advise NIC organizations perceive alumni chapter advisors as promoting high-risk behaviors. The data also indicated FSAs perceive alumni chapter advisors as more accepting of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Northeast when compared with the South. Qualitative data collected information from FSAs about the “pressing issues” associated when working with alumni chapter advisors. Additionally, FSAs perceived differences when working with the alumni chapter advisors from different organizations. National headquarters and campus leaders can utilize the findings of this study to enact policy changes or explore creating better curriculum for alumni chapter advisors. However, this study is only the first step in understanding the role of alumni chapter advisors on the culture of undergraduate Greek letter organizations.

Students transfer from one institution of higher education to another for many different reasons, and students’ decision-making processes and enrollment patterns can be complex. This, coupled with a declining postsecondary enrollment nationally and the number of high school graduates leveling off, has forced the transfer admission offices to think creatively as they work to help fill an emerging enrollment gap and maintain current enrollment levels. This program evaluation took place at Liberal Arts University (LAU), a small, primarily undergraduate, liberal arts university in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and used a case study approach. The theoretical framework that supported this study was composed the negative or deficit narrative around transfer (Green, 2006; Harper 2010), Schlossberg’s (1981) transition theory, and Weick’s (1995) sensemaking. To answer the evaluation questions, a qualitative approach was used, which incorporated focus groups, individual interviews, observational data, and a digital and material review. While each transfer student had their own individual experiences throughout the recruitment, admission, and enrollment processes, the themes they identified can help administrators to better understand the typical experience of this student population. The first major finding included understanding the transfer student journey with themes including (a) preparation for transfer and associated adjustments; (b) strategies for the transition and beyond; (c) expectations or obligations students had outside of the classroom; and (d) engagement on campus. The second finding was the transfer student concerns and negative experiences. The themes included (a) on-campus admission tours; (b) the overall structure of academic advising for new transfer students and the experience with academic advisors; (c) full-time student expectations; (d) on-campus housing; and (e) new transfer student orientation.