Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) lag behind predominantly White institutions in their production of online courses and degree programs because of nonexistent or inadequate technology training for faculty members and limited financial resources. The purpose of this qualitative comparative case study was to obtain insight into how decisions are made on technology deployment and integration of online programs at HBCUs. Guided by Donaldson's contingency theory, this case study addressed how decisions are determined at HBCUs to integrate online learning programs into the curriculum and how the individuals who make these decisions perceive online learning programs. Survey responses were collected from 16 administrators, chief information officers, and faculty department heads at 3 HBCUs. Frequency data from the surveys led to themes were confirmed by the analysis of interviews and campus documents. Emergent themes included the integration of online programs, interest in online learning, incentives/compensation and release time, mission and goal statements, strategic plans, and professional development. All 3 HBCUs have a process in place for measuring progress and updating strategic plans. Only 1 HBCU had incentives to encourage faculty or administrators to participate in technology deployment, although all 3 HBCUs offered professional development courses and seminars. Online learning was not included in any of the 3 HBCUs' mission and goal statements. Faculty interest in teaching online courses was high at 2 of the HBCUs. Among the implications of these findings for research and practice was the possibility of promoting positive social change through developing and applying improved strategies for technology deployment at HBCUs that might provide better services to students.

This senior thesis is an examination of the major complexities and considerations encountered in developing an e-learning program. In light of the changing landscape of higher education resulting from technological advancement, combined with changing pedagogies and financial pressures, traditional institutions are under heightened scrutiny and most in need of innovation. Online learning as been proposed as a solution to many of these issues, but creating a successful program is no small feat. Furthermore, experimental research on specific course designs and delivery often fails upon real-world implementation. Looking through the lens of Design-Base-Implementation Research (DBIR), an emerging research model that seeks to rectify this inefficiency, this thesis will first affirm the crucial need for active leadership throughout the development and implementation process. Analysis will then turn to the most pertinent elements administrators must address, including the motivations and catalysts for innovation, funding, faculty engagement, IT support, course design and project evaluation; in keeping with DBIR methodology, each of these considerations will take different forms and require alternative courses of action based on the unique institutional attributes and circumstances. Finally, the exploration will culminate in reasserting the urgency for innovation in higher education, and concluding that a uniform “solution” will not only be pragmatically impossible but also detrimental to both institutional legacy and student education: a quality and sustainable program necessitates due diligence in acknowledging and working with the distinct characteristics of each institution.

Change is critical in most organizations. International schools attempting to redefine 21st century education for their students are innovating pedagogies and schools’ structures. However, the leader of an organization or school may be the most influential advocate for or barrier to change. International schools’ leaders continue to play a role in the diffusion of distance education. This study identified the knowledge and experience of international school leaders and identified themes that are related to the likelihood distance education would or would not be adopted by the schools they lead. This applied dissertation describes international school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory in adopting distance education into kindergarten-Grade 12 East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS). International schools are a unique niche in the global educational environment. Triangulating data from EARCOS school leaders collected through individual innovativeness surveys and coding open-ended interview transcripts provided insight to school leaders’ knowledge and use of innovation diffusion theory when applied to adopting or rejecting the use of distance education within their schools. Data collected in this study indicated that EARCOS school leaders’ use of formalized planning when diffusing innovations, including distance education, within their schools varied depending on the scale of the innovation and the stakeholders involved. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves higher on average in individual innovativeness when compared to other innovativeness survey normative groups. Several other key themes emerged from the data including the following: Opinion leadership and change agents play a vital role in diffusing innovations in EARCOS schools. School leaders need to be adaptable and recognize opinion leadership within their schools to diffuse innovations efficiently. EARCOS school leaders rated themselves as highly innovative but were reluctant to explore innovative ways of delivering instruction, including distance education. Distance education was not seen as relevant in EARCOS schools, even though school leaders recognized their students would be exposed to online learning upon matriculation. Barriers to the diffusion of distance education exist in EARCOS schools including cost to develop distance education programs and courses, existing school structures, and the perceived absence of need.

This quantitative study analyzed the influence of individual factors and institutional context on faculty participation in online teaching at public higher education institutions in the United States. Through an ex post facto design, cause and effect relationships were explored using statistical analysis of a large national data set. Variables in the data set directly related to the areas of interest in this study included interest in teaching, student-centered pedagogy, autonomy and control, instructional support, and institutional climate. Factors related to interest in teaching and institutional reward were statistically significant (p

This phenomenological, qualitative study addressed student perceptions of their meaning-making process towards self-authorship in a self-designed gap year experience and was conducted in a public higher educational institution in the Southeast. Data was gathered through interviews from a purposeful sample of gap year program participants and program administrators. Emerging themes and categories were identified by coding and analyzing the interview data, such as continual reflection reinforces the value of individual meaning-making, self-expectations versus self-worth, the influence of societal expectations are minimized, and self-designed learning helps to solidify changes in self-authorship. The data showed a strong connection between multiple meaning-making contexts for students and an enhancement in their authorship, as well as multiple-identities. The findings may be useful in gap year program reflection and redesign, and provide implications for self-design in experiential learning opportunities and gap year outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to discover what defines a writing center by interviewing directors of writing centers in the Southern Appalachian area. This qualitative study was based on a single round of recorded telephone interviews with 13 writing center directors who meet the criteria for inclusion in the study. Many researchers have written about writing centers, their efficacy, and what defines them; yet, no clear consensus exists. Without a clear definition there is no means of determining the efficacy of writing centers. As a result of the interviews with the writing center directors three critical components of writing centers emerged. They were tutors, space, and leadership; these are the three major elements that define and shape a writing center. A writing center must have well-trained and knowledgeable tutors; a space, either physical, virtual or both, as a base of operation; and a director that provides leadership.

Enrollment in online courses is increasing at a much higher rate than enrollment in on campus courses. Initially, online systems were developed by moving course content from in-class courses as is to an online platform. Later, Web 2.0 technology was implemented in order to improve students’ online engagement. These systems considered all students as one homogeneous group and ignored the fact that different students learn in different ways and at different speeds. Later, adaptive online learning systems were developed based on the assumption that if the instructional approach matches the student learning style, student performance and experience will improve. The use of these systems yielded mixed results because there is no agreement on what, how, and when to adapt instructions. The problem is that there is still a lack of empirical evidence about which online learning system’ design is the most effective, efficient, and engaging. There were two goals for this study. The first was to develop a new instructional theory and design model suitable for personalizing and adapting online learning. The first goal was achieved by developing student personalized, adaptive, and comprehensive e-learning spaces instructional theory and design model. This theory is based on finding the best fit among student characteristics, knowledge domain objectives, and technology used in delivering the online course. The second goal was to implement the newly developed theory and design model in an e-learning system prototype. This goal was achieved by developing and internally validating the e-learning system prototype by utilizing a panel of five instructional design experts. The Delphi method was used to solicit input from the expert panel in three rounds of validation. The validation process resulted in the experts’ consensus that the prototype incorporated the instructional theory and design model well and that this instructional theory holds the promise of increasing online learning courses’ effectiveness, efficiency, and student engagement.

This applied dissertation was designed to understand and explore the experiences of graduate students at a public four-year higher education institution in the southeastern region of the United States. This study utilized an interview based phenomenological qualitative study design approach for data collection and analysis. Committees in the field of higher education reviewed and approved the interview protocol. The research study and data analysis were conducted in the Spring Semester of 2017. The researcher employed semi-structured interviews that were guided by ten protocol questions. Transcription accuracy, credibility, and trustworthiness were established through diligent adherence to university protocols. The collected data revealed themes that supported the researchers’ understanding of graduate students’ perception of engagement and experiences in face-to-face, online, and blended classroom settings. The qualitative research study provides in-depth insight for future enrollees and program development. The selected institution’s IRB and Nova Southeastern University’s IRB granted permission to conduct the study. A phenomenological approach was used to maximize exploration of graduate students’ perception of engagement and experiences in face-to-face, online, and blended graduate level classroom settings. Ten protocol questions guided the semi-structured interviews. Subsequent to the scheduled 60-minute interviews, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to describe the meaning of several individuals’ perceptions. The most prevalent theme that emerged was a lack of meaningful social interaction, or student engagement, in online formats. Once the data had been analyzed, recommendations for future research were provided to support the needs of a graduate student population on university campuses.

This applied dissertation is an instrumental case study based on diffusion of innovations theory designed to gather student opinions regarding videoconference (VC) technology use in facilitating courses to undergraduate degree-seeking nursing students. The author of diffusion of innovations theory, Rogers (2003), recommended that more qualitative studies be conducted in education. Rogers and Jain (1968) recommended these studies should be conducted from the aspect of “receivers of innovation diffusion” (p.1) to provide feedback instrumental to implementation of technological innovations in academe. Further, Rogers stated that multiple data points should be used during the process of trialing an innovation. Therefore, a current VC course was selected from the nursing curriculum of a public state college hosting one of the largest nursing programs in the southeastern United States in which to conduct the study. A total of 32 students participated divided equally between two sites: Main campus and Regional campus. Further divided, 22 personal interviews were conducted and two focus groups; one for each campus consisting 5 students each. Additionally, included in the data corpus were 40 hours of classroom observation plus, college provided end of course (EOC) summary statements. These data were triangulated to determine whether students would accept VC technology unchanged, accept with modifications, or reject VC technology based on first time exposure to the innovation during the 16-week semester. Student innovation decisions were: 6 students accepted unchanged, 14 students accepted with modifications, and 12 students rejected the innovation. Students who rejected the innovation were exclusively from the regional campus, which was the receiving site the majority of the semester. First and second-cycle analyses yielded 67 codes resulting in 5 categories, which further developed into 3 emerging themes: (a) Interaction with instructors, materials, and distant students are key elements affecting adoption decisions of students regarding VC technology; (b) Student adoption decisions are influenced by faculty members in their use of VC technology; and (c) Student opinions indicate that reinvention is necessary for VC technology to be fully adopted into the present nursing program. The five categories: Interaction, equipment, teaching methodology, instructor technology training, and student orientation provided ample detail from which to inform practice regarding recommendations for reinvention (modification) of VC technology during the implementation stage of Rogers’ five stages of the innovation-decision model. These modifications could assist the college in gaining parity between the two nursing sites, which reported an 18.53 percentage point difference in first time pass rates on the NCLEX-RN exam reported by the Florida Department of Health (Florida Health, 2015).

This applied dissertation was designed to analyze the effects of social networking for educational purposes on the academic achievement of regular and special education students in the secondary school setting. The effect of social networking on student learning has not been determined. There is a limited amount of research on how and to what extent teachers use social networking within the parameters of instruction. There is even less research distinguishing the effects of social networking on the academic achievement on regular and special education students. The student participants engaged in discussion forums as their primary social networking experience. Of the 155 participants, 94 were enrolled in a class that required participation in asynchronous discussion forum, and 61 were enrolled in a class with more traditional instruction devoid of social networking. The treatment consisted of 12 discussion prompts created by the teacher in the Blackboard course management system. The analysis of student test data showed no significant difference in mean scores attributable to social networking when educational status was ignored. When educational status was not ignored, however, the significant difference of mean scores between all regular education and all special education students was found to be highly unlikely to have been due to chance. This study also found that there was an interaction between educational status and social networking. The infusion of educational social networking helped narrow the achievement gap between regular and special education students.