<p> College athletics is a complex, revenue generating industry within the United States higher education system. This commercialized segment of education generated 9 billion dollars of income in 2015 from the efforts of 482,533 student athletes (Gains, 2016; NCAA, 2015). This system creates a unique spectrum characterized on one end by the insatiable desire for winning led by coaches, athletic departments, and alumni, resulting in athletic isolation to protect the &lsquo;athlete investment.&rsquo; On the other end of the spectrum is the pursuit of a degree, academic success, and career development guided by faculty and an institution&rsquo;s academic mission and reputation to protect the &lsquo;student investment.&rsquo; Student athletes are caught between the strong pull of these two opposing pressures which requires advising to assist them in navigating this complex environment and calls for current research to better understand the student athlete advisor role, its evolution, and related impact on student athletes within this academic-athletic spectrum. </p><p> Qualitative research methods explored the lived experiences of 32 athletic academic advisors from mid-sized Division I NCAA institutions. Semi-structured interviews conducted over a two-month period explored how their role, experience, and approach influence student athletes. The study drew eight primary findings and analyzed them within three original research questions that covered: (a) the evolution of student athlete advising in higher education; (b) how student athletes engage in the broader university; and (c) the range of advising from simply maintaining athletic eligibility to optimizing academic engagement. </p><p> The findings of this study illustrate the lived experiences of athletic academic advisors and unveils a mentorship role that exceeds academic advising. The findings also highlight the increasing numbers of advisors, their backgrounds, challenges, and the evolving role of student athlete advising along the athletic-academic spectrum. The results of this study can help guide institutional leaders in structuring advising and other support systems to benefit the academic and career prospects for student athletes.</p><p>

This dissertation examined the critical role of human and social capital in the evolution of the NCAA Division I men’s collegiate basketball product over time. Specifically, it sought to understand the characteristics of coaching networks that were consistently successful in perpetuating leader development over time, thereby theoretically replicating positive performance outcomes over long time spans. Interviews, content analyses and a literature search were performed to evaluate factors such as the processes of identification and selection of assistant coaches, the learning systems associated with their leader development, the strategies for their career advancement and growth, and the support structures of ongoing mentorship and professional networks that are important subsequent to their external promotion. Mixed methods were employed in the study. First, a quantitative analysis was performed in the early phases of the research project to identify the relevant coaching networks to be evaluated as well as to assess statistical relationships between five measures of coaching networks and success outcomes. This analysis was followed subsequently by qualitative ethnographic methods in relation to the selected coaching networks. The final output was the development of a conceptual model to be utilized for future research. Apart from some limited exploration by members of the popular press, there are no empirical studies known by this author that have examined characteristics of successful coaching networks and development systems.

<p> Doctoral Programs in Educational Organizational Leadership have evolved significantly over time. In the last few decades, some programs have adopted blended or hybrid instructional formats for learning and have begun employing cohorts led by cohort mentors. However, in southern California, a web search identified only four doctoral programs in educational organizational leadership that offer a hybrid model and doctoral cohorts led by cohort mentors. Therefore, the purpose of this ethnographic case study was to examine, understand, and describe the best practices that university cohort mentors employ to support the transformational leadership development of doctoral students at Brandman University. Through methodology that included interviews with cohort mentors, mentee interviews, observations of mentors in cohort meetings, and interviews with university personnel, this study was designed to answer the question: What best practices do cohort mentors in the Brandman University doctoral program employ to support the transformational leadership development of doctoral students? The results of this study identified eight major themes: (a) Builds trust through congruency of character, integrity and transparency; (b) Builds a culture of open and honest two-way communication; (c) Challenges students to be creative, innovative and connect theory with real world application; (d) Demonstrate emotional intelligence and support its development in students; (e) Establishes high expectations for self and others and acts as a role model; (f) Fosters a culture of political intelligence, problem solving and decision-making; (g) Nourishes a safe and supportive climate of collaboration and team building; (h) Supports students to envision, anticipate and plan for the future. These findings have important implications for the effective design of future doctoral programs that integrate the cohort mentor model. The results serve to inform researchers and practitioners of higher education and leadership development programs regarding the cohort mentor best practices identified by doctoral mentors and students.</p>

No description available.

This research seeks to understand the actual perception of the proper role of athletics on the part of student-athletes, faculty, and presidents within the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), an intercollegiate athletic league comprised of 11 highly selective National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III institutions. Data for this research was collected using a survey instrument to sample attitudes and perceptions from all three constituent groups so as to ascertain more fully conference-wide trends. The greatest perceptual differences overall in responses to these statements were registered between faculty and student athletes. Faculty were considerably more skeptical of the values to be gained from the time and effort expended on intercollegiate athletics, while student-athletes consider these same expenditures to be not only valuable, but on an equal plane with those made in the academic realm. Presidents and student-athletes demonstrated perceptual similarities on those statements that examined the perceptions of the relative importance of intercollegiate athletics in relation life on NESCAC campuses. Follow-up interviews with presidents were held to collect qualitative data to formulate a more complete picture of conference-wide attitudes and perceptions. Presidents were chosen to be interviewed because they have the most power and influence over the formation of intercollegiate athletic policy as outlined in the conference bylaws. Findings from these interviews indicate that perceptual “sub-groups” exist amongst the presidents. These perceptual sub-groups can be defined as “promoters,” “acceptors,” and “doubters.” Presidents in each sub-group maintain that NESCAC reflects their own personal notions of the classic and ideal role of intercollegiate athletics, believe that the above cited classic and ideal perceptions are under fire and are increasingly difficult to maintain, and declare that NESCAC has not been immune to the growing interest and emphasis in sport in American society. In addition, many presidents were surprised at the level of significance attributed to and required for the management of intercollegiate athletic policy and were therefore unprepared to deal with the increased managerial expectations and attention required to deal with athletic policy issues.

No description available.

<p> Since the first intercollegiate athletic event in 1852, a patriarchal hegemony has controlled the governance, policy making, and leadership of intercollegiate athletics. Not until 1972 did women enter the national narrative on college sports participation and administration, albeit through federal mandate and in marginal fashion. More than forty years after the passage of Title IX, intercollegiate athletics still lacks a strong female presence in executive administrative positions. The National Association of Collegiate Women Administrators (NACWAA) is the only professional organization devoted solely to developing and advancing the success of women in the profession of intercollegiate athletics. </p><p> This study examined the lived experiences of seven women athletics administrators who participated in a leadership development program, the Institute for Administrative Advancement (IAA), offered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and NACWAA. This dissertation used hermeneutical phenomenology to qualitatively describe how IAA participants make sense of this leadership development experience. By thoroughly characterizing the meaning ascribed to the IAA experience as well as the actualization of the IAA curriculum, the results of this study characterize how participants of the NCAA/NACWAA IAA perceive a) career development and leadership and b) leadership self-efficacy. </p><p> Seven themes emerged through data analysis: 1) Discrimination is evident. Many forms of discrimination were perceived, 2) Individual perceptions of leadership were varied and dynamic, 3) Self-assessment of leadership skills evolved over the duration of the IAA, 4) Expectations of the IAA experience were modest yet hopeful, 5) Participants experienced contrasting emotional states throughout the IAA, 6) Actualization of the learned skill set resulted in a variety of outcomes, and 7) The IAA was an empowering and transformative experience.</p><p> Based on the emergent themes, implications and recommendations are offered to counterbalance the underrepresentation of women in athletic administration. The findings from this study also serve a broader application to higher education. The narratives shared by the participants can provide a pathway to empower other women and members of historically underrepresented and socially excluded groups within higher education administration toward professional advancement. </p>

<p> Athletic programs have been an exciting staple of the higher education experience for over a century. Although student athletes have been studied near exhaustively in higher education research, less attention has been paid to the relationship of athletic academic staff members and corresponding institutional operations in supporting student athlete goals. This study was designed to create a full, rich description, ultimately contributing to the literature of the cultural, social, economic, and academic environment of the staff of the athletic academic support unit from 1991-2014. The overall research question is thus: How has NCAA legislation shaped the administrative institutional action at the "Big Football University" athletic academic support unit from 1991-2014? </p><p> A case study methodology was chosen for the research design. The study utilized a constructivist epistemological orientation and two theoretical lenses: Organizational Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Data collection was conducted through interviews with key informants and primary and secondary document analysis. Data displays, domain analysis, and open coding was be used to answer the research question. To increase both internal and external validity, trustworthiness tactics were used ensuring that the results matched reality, that there was a saturation of data, and that a truthful portrayal was created by providing a clear synthesis of patterns found. During data analysis, four constructs were used as macro categories for themes including University Responses, Identity Changes, Legislative Influences, and Leadership and Role Conflict.</p><p> The results from this study led to three major findings. First, the data collected has the ability to contribute data furthering research in the fields of Social Identity Theory, Organizational Identity Theory, and constructivist epistemology influences in higher education environments. Next, the hyper focus of the study on one institution's administrative choices was a pragmatic choice by the researcher to be able to recommend how other schools can adjust their own support services if they are faced with similar scenarios. And lastly the study highlights the need for more athletics research to improve practice within the field.</p>

Higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world and in the developing countries in particular e.g. Libyan HEIs are facing challenges that increase the pressure on them. Some of these challenges are related to the remarkable changes in population growth and fast changes in the development of knowledge and technology. Also, providing adequate resources, maintaining quality, raising funding and strengthening the curriculum are other challenges that need to be faced by those institutions. This research is aimed to investigate issues enabling and affecting the quality of services provided by Libyan public universities using principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy as a framework: Al-Fateh University (AFU) as a case study. The research is qualitative in nature, employing a case study approach and using indepth semi-structured interviews (from different levels including senior leaders, faculty members, support staff, students, and main employers) as the main data collection tool within the two selected embedded case studies. Those embedded cases are Electric and Electronic Department (EED)-Faculty of Engineering-AFU and Social Service Department (SSD)-Literature Faculty-AFU. Documents are used in addition to interviews in order to fully understand issues enabling and affecting the quality of services provided by the two embedded case studies. Contribution to knowledge is evident by the study, which represents the first attempt to empirically investigate issues enabling and affecting the quality of services provided by Libyan public universities: AFU as a case study through two selected embedded cases EED and SSD. This research provides specific original findings which include the use of Arabic and English language in the same lecture, the concept of students' administration and its consequences, the speciality of leaders biases the understanding of the needs of subordinate staff, suspension of the students' performance regulations affected the quality of education programmes, and a unique situation was found to be the senior and junior staff programme that attempted to improve teaching through knowledge transfer. This research has reduced the gap in knowledge in Libyan HE context in specific and in Arabic HE context in general. Other implications for HEIs are also provided by this research.

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)/E-Learning has been adopted extensively by Higher Education (HE) in the UK and in the case study Coventry University (CU). Frameworks predicated upon pedagogic considerations evaluate VLEs/E-Learning but the evaluation of the management of VLEs/E-Learning through Knowledge Management (KM) Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) and Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) has not been considered. Furthermore there are no frameworks that seek to reconcile the intent of VLEs/E-Learning with the resultant instantiation. Therefore, a conceptual framework to evaluate the management of VLEs/E-Learning has been derived. Action Research has been used by exposing every stage of the development of the conceptual framework to critique by stakeholders. The drivers for the uptake of VLEs/E-Learning have been identified and classified according to two schema, one schema is into people, processes and technology and the other into strategic/tactical or operational types. Existing evaluative frameworks have, on review, been classified according to a schema incorporating a purpose, theory, context, evaluative criteria, evaluative processes and management activities. VLEs/E-Learning can be considered to be a specialized computer system and therefore the fields of Knowledge management (KM), Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) and Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) have been investigated, salient concepts extracted. From KM, knowledge appositions (know why; know-what; know who; know-when; know-where and know-how) are mapped onto tacit and explicit knowledge; people, processes and technology. From SSM, CATWOE (customer, actor, transformation, weltanschauung, owner, environment); and from CSH the concept of ‘is’ and ‘ought’ has also been mapped across the knowledge appositions. The resultant framework can be used by HE organisations as a tool for self development and also by external auditing agencies which wish to evaluate the management of VLEs/E-Learning.