A mental health crisis is happening on post-secondary campuses in Ontario today. Post-secondary institutions provide mental health services to students in an effort to respond to this crisis and manage students in distress. The management of students and the implementation of these mental health services is the main concern of this thesis, more specifically, the ways in which these services expose conscious and/or unconscious beliefs about student mental health. By extension, these beliefs constitute the ways in which we can think about, talk about, and know about patient safety. The object of study is the intersection of the neo-liberal university with the ‘good’ student and the resulting effects of this relationship on the development and implementation of mental health services. These intersections themselves create possibilities for acting on students in distress, but that also create unintended contradictions in the services themselves. An examination of this intersection can address a gap in the literature on post-secondary student mental health. The conceptual framework used in this study is primarily built from Michel Foucault’s concepts of subjectivity, and governmentality. The object of consideration is limited in this study to senior employees directly involved in student mental health at a university in Ontario. Documents are analysed to show how student mental health problems have been problematized nationally, provincially and locally and, thus, a behaviour to be regulated with governing practices. Data from interviews with senior University employees and observations of wellness events are analysed to examine the imbrication of advanced liberal rationalities and techniques in the implementation of mental health services on campus. The thesis argues that the development of these services is not an unproblematic process, whereby services and activities act simply as neutral tools to improve the mental health and well-being of students. Rather, these services aim to produce successful, enterprising students. Discourses of mental health and student success produce certain truths about practices and student subjectivities, obscuring and narrowing the definition of health and well-being and creating contradictions for students experiencing mental distress. In particular, this thesis shows how the University’s objectives for providing mental health services have implications for the development of mental health services and the governing of post-secondary in advanced liberal ways.

abstract: ABSTRACT To remain competitive on local, state, and national levels and to achieve future economic and social goals, Imperial and Yuma County need an educated workforce. The primary industries supporting the desert region are technical, science, technology, enginnering and mathematics (STEM)-based, and require a highly skilled and educated workforce. There continue to be vast disparities in terms of numbers of students declared and enrolled in STEM transfer degree programs and the number of students completing STEM bachelor’s degrees. Perceptions regarding post-secondary education start to develop at a young age and can prevent or enable a student’s development of post-secondary aspirations. Understanding a student’s perceptions of barriers are important because they can prevent students from completing a four-year degree. The pilot research provided in the study are the first steps in helping educators and community leaders understand what drives and form student perceived educational barriers and student perceptions of self, and then provide a better understanding of first-generation Hispanic students’ value of higher education. As part of the study, I designed the science, technology, engineering, agriculture and mathematics (“STEAM”) College Success Program to help college students overcome the perceived barriers intervening with the completion of a bachelor’s degree. The program involved community, industry, and college students in a unique experience of incorporating a one-week camp, academic year of mentorship, STEM education, and college support. Pilot results of the “STEAM” College Success Program indicate the innovation was effective in reducing perceived barriers relating to college success and bachelor’s degree completion.and was most effective in the area of self-efficacy and personal achievement. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2019

This study was designed to compare the college choice decisions of first-year students in the fall of 1993 attending selected private Christian institutions of higher learning with a national sample of colleges. The data for the study were collected using the Entering Student Survey (ESS), published by the American College Testing program (ACT).

Cognitive scientists and psychology researchers have given growing attention to evidence of the testing effect, that is, the improvement of students' recall through memory-retrieval practice in the form of quizzes and exams. While laboratory experiments consistently show dramatic positive effects on learning through the testing effect, discipline-specific education researchers have sought to generalize these findings in real, instead of simulated classrooms. The objective of this dissertation was threefold: (1) To survey the current literature on the testing-effect as it applies to learning biology at the post-secondary level. In this review, I consider how further research on the testing effect may be useful for instructors' decisions regarding its use. (2) To describe findings from a qua¬si-experimental design in a post-secondary biology class with low and high point incentives and measured student learning. Although exposure to exams predicted better learning, incentive level did not moderate this effect, an outcome that contradicted recent laboratory findings that higher incentives decreased student recall. (3) To describe findings from a study that compared student learning in conditions where cued exams were in place versus conditions in which they were absent. Student learning improved in the former condition relative to the latter. I discuss the implications of the results in all of these studies for further research and application.

This work examines the characteristics of Indigenous leaders and the situational contexts in which they work that enable them to effect institutional change in the Canadian public post-secondary education environment. Drawing on my own work and interviews with Indigenous leaders in mainstream insitutions, this research examines topics of culture, identity, teachings, maintaining balance, racism, challenges and opportunities, and success. Knowledge gathered through the interviews revealed themes, highlights and caveats that offer important considerations for Indigenous people who are contemplating taking on leadership positions in post-secondary institutions. Wise practices and ways forward are posited in two areas: 1) self-care and self-preservation – being well so that we can do well; and 2) considerations for non-Indigenous students, staff and faculty in supporting their Indigenous counterparts and in engaging in the important work of decolonizing and Indigenizing post-secondary institutions. / Graduate

Foster care alumni are a unique subset of college students who enter post-secondary education having faced significant socio-economic challenges and emotional trauma. These students often understand how attending post-secondary education can help create a more stable life. However, the graduation of this population is extremely low. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand formerly fostered youths' perspectives of the needs and stressors students face while attending post-secondary education. Specifically, the researcher wanted to understand what characteristics influence former foster care youth to enroll in college and what characteristics help former foster care youth persist in higher education until graduation. The study utilized both student departure theory and resilience theory to frame each research question conceptually. The results illuminated the resilience of former fostered youth attending post-secondary education and their characteristics for continued enrollment.

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Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The issue of whether or not English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses should carry undergraduate degree credit has been long-debated. The current work attempts to demonstrate that these courses should contribute toward degree requirements in the same way that other foreign language courses do, on the basis of curricular consistency in liberal arts, language, and academic mission, as well as in keeping with goals toward multiculturalism and internationalization. Utilizing a review of existing EAP or English as a Second Language (ESL) course credit structures at 41 U.S. universities, and a survey of ESL/EAP program administrators, recommendations are made for proposing degree credit for EAP courses. Finally, a proposal is included for changing the EAP course credit structure at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.

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As enrollment rates for students with learning disabilities steadily increase, post-secondary institutions must become more inclusive. Current literature reveals a gap in studies between post-secondary education and student views on access programs. Our endeavor focused on this community. The survey was distributed using SONA and by the Student Accessibility Services Office via Qualtrics. Our study looked at 312 participants, aged from 18 - over 30 years old and who varied in sex. More satisfaction with accommodations equated to more academic competence towards goals. However, the results showed less satisfaction with personal lives and self-acceptance. This is possibly due to participants having greater help with learning disabilities and less help with adjustments in their personal lives. Hopefully, this research will open new conversations between students with learning disabilities and universities, in order to better understand this special needs population.