Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / An examination of the literature revealed that conflict is prevalent throughout American colleges and universities-especially within divisions of student affairs-and that senior student affairs officers are expected to assume an important role campus-wide in the management of conflict. Trends suggest a significant increase in their involvement with conflict over the next twenty years. This study sought to identify the nature of conflict and the conflict resolution process at small liberal arts colleges and to examine differences among senior student affairs officers in the methods they use to resolve conflicts, the theories they report as underlying these methods, and the sources of these espoused theories of conflict resolution. Interviews on these matters were held with 15 senior student affairs officers in such colleges in the American mid-west. The following are among the most important findings: 1) the deans have a firm understanding of how to handle conflict (contrary to many prior research findings); 2) the deans have a strong dislike for conflict; 3) one-third of the deans report that they avoid conflict whenever possible; 4) the deans see it as their responsibility to handle any conflict involving students and they have the potential to be directly and indirectly involved in almost any such situation, even outside their divisions; 5) handling conflict is reported to take up three-fourths of their time; 6) half of the deans attempt to mediate (minor) violations of policy while others deem it inappropriate; 7) factors which most frequently contribute to conflict include communication, and diversity-the interplay among people from different cultures and backgrounds; 8) the deans view issues of diversity as being the most difficult to handle because of their emotional intensity; and 9) the deans reported a predominantly trial-and-error preparation for dealing with conflict rather than through formal education. The findings suggest that further research is needed to address such questions as these: 1) What is the relationship between espoused theories of handling conflict and theories-in-use? 2) How does having a strong dislike for conflict affect one's ability to manage it? 3) How does institutional culture affect the handling of conflict? 4) What are the consequences of conflict avoidance? 5) How do institutions support deans in handling conflicts involving diversity issues? (6) What consequences typically ensue from trying to mediate policy violations? The findings also suggest the need for practical programs and policies such as the following: 1) improving relevant pre-professional programs; 2) improving in-service programs for those having responsibility for managing and resolving conflict; 3) changing the recruitment, hiring, and evaluation process for the dean of students position; 4) transforming college cultures in ways that better support conflict management and resolution; 5) institutionalizing the process of the effective management of conflict; 6) addressing the issue of avoidance to ensure that conflict is being addressed in a timely manner; 7) developing an ombudsman position to centralize and formalize the process of assisting faculty, staff, and students to resolve conflicts; and 8) creating a Center for Conflict Management to provide faculty, staff, and students with resource materials, training workshops, and assistance with mediating and managing conflict. / 2031-01-01

Thesis advisor: Ted Youn / The intent of this single-case study was to explore the effects of a competitive environment on organizational decision making. The study examines the decision making processes that resulted in the adoption of an undergraduate business major at a traditional, middle-tier Liberal Arts College and offers an analysis of academic leaders’ perspectives on institutional identity, environmental pressures, strategic decision making and organizational change. This qualitative study uses Institutional theory to examine organizational behavior in competitive environments. Analysis of interviews and institutional data revealed four important findings. 1. The external environment defined the organizational reality and significantly influenced and shaped behavior and decision making; 2. A unique organizational culture and identity moved the organization to rely on rules and routines which reflected historic institutional values; 3. Responses to uncertainty produced an organizational adaptation that reflected a decoupling of one subunit which represented a new institutional strength, and 4. The environment exerted isomorphic pressure on the College to adopt a change that was incongruent with its historic values. The implications of the study include identifying the pressing need for new revenue streams that strengthen the financial model for tuition-dependent liberal arts colleges while preserving the values of a liberal education. Also, organizations should find ways to extend and share leadership in order to facilitate necessary organizational learning and time-bound responses to organizational threats. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Hierarchical regression was used to determine if high school community type is an effective predictor of academic success when controlling for demographics, prior academic achievement, socioeconomic status, and current commitment or work habits for students entering Austin College in 1992,1993, and 1994 . Findings revealed that there is a relationship between attending high school in community types of rural and independent town controlling for the effects of SAT scores, high school rank, sex, and late application deposit on first semester grade point average.

The University of Piano was a private, liberal arts college with a campus in Piano, Texas and an extended campus in Frisco, Texas. The University was incorporated in 1964 under the original name of the University of Lebanon. Classes began in temporary space in downtown Dallas in 1964 and continued on its campuses in Piano and Frisco until the summer of 1976. The University of Piano was comprised of two separate schools within the University: the School of Developmental Education and the Frisco College of Arts and Sciences. This study explores the curricula of both schools and the students and faculty who participated in both programs. This study focuses on the establishment, development and final closing of a wholly privately supported university which accepted both traditional college students and students whose basic academic skills or neurological development prevented their acceptance into traditional college programs. It addresses the history of the University, the roles of its leaders, and the lasting effects of its programs.

Service-learning, with a longstanding history in American higher education (Burkhardt & Pasque, 2005), includes three key tenets: superior academic learning, meaningful and relevant community service, and persistent civic learning (McGoldrick and Ziegert, 2002). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created an elective classification system – Carnegie Community Engagement Classification – for institutions of higher education to demonstrate the breadth and depth of student involvement and learning through partnerships and engagement in the community (Dalton & Crosby, 2011; Hurtado & DeAngelo, 2012; Kuh et al., 2008; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos, & Korn, 2007). Community engagement "is in the culture, commonly understood practices and knowledge, and (CCEC helps determine) whether it is really happening – rhetoric versus reality" (J. Saltmarsh, personal communication, August 11, 2014). The study considers the applications of three Carnegie Community Engagement Classification designated institutions to understand the institutionalization of service-learning over time by examining the 2008 designation and 2015 reclassification across institution types – a Private Liberal Arts College, a Private Teaching University, and a Public Research University located in the same metropolitan area. Organizational Change Theory was used as a theoretical model. Case study methodology was used in the present qualitative research to perform document analysis with qualitative interviews conducted to elucidate the data from the 2008 and 2015 CCEC applications from the three institutions. Using intra- and inter-comparative analysis, this study highlights approaches, policies, ethos, and emerging concepts to inform how higher education institutions increase the quality and quantity of service-learning opportunities that benefit higher education practitioners as well as community leaders.