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This companion dissertation reports the findings of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. In addition, prior ample evidence confirms that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit. Emerging positive organizational theory and research show promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. Therefore, this collaborative case study research was designed to explore positive influences on the success of the four community college units. This companion dissertation contains three manuscripts. Chapter 2, a technical report, contains the collaboratively-written synthesis of findings from the four individual case studies. Key findings across the units suggest the influence on performance of: (a) a people-first culture, (b) authentic, trusting, inclusive leadership, and (c) resource richness beyond constrained tangible resources. This collective analysis reveals that leveraging resources for capacity building can help make the difference between an organization that performs adequately and one that performs beyond expectations. In Chapter Three this researcher examines an individual case study of a community college student support services unit. I found that this unit’s culture influences high performance by putting people first, leveraging intangible resources, and providing leaders and all unit members with autonomy and support. I also discovered that relationships, tacit knowledge, diversity, leadership qualities, and traits of unit members when leveraged in combination improved functioning and performance the most. In Chapter Four, I suggest that the recommendations for high performance made in Chapter Three can be applied to a newly developed virtual coaching network, whose members provide student services in a virtual environment. The actions recommended to help the network meet what appear to be conflicting administrative goals are: (a) identify unit strengths, (b) connect strengths to the unit mission, (c) develop constructive relationships, and (d) identify and leverage resources. KEYWORDS: community colleges, organizational functioning, student services, virtual teams, positive organizational scholarship

The problem with which this study is concerned is assessing the relationship between the expressed needs of adult community college students and their needs as perceived by selected faculty members and student services staff members at a metropolitan community college. The population of the study was 201 adult students and 77 faculty and student services staff members who took the Adult Learner Needs Assessment Survey, a publication of the American College Testing Program. The data results were analyzed statistically using one-way analysis of variance and the Scheffé multiple comparison procedure. Data were considered statistically significant at the .01 level on all eight hypotheses. Based on the data findings, the following conclusions appear to be warranted. 1. The Adult Learner Needs Assessment Survey seems to provide useful needs assessment information in a convenient format for large scale research. 2. The instrument seems to provide a useful tool for gathering data on the perceptions of the needs of adult learners from community college employees. 3. Both faculty and student services staff groups seem to perceive adult students as needing more assistance with educational and personal needs than is reported by adult students. 4. Both faculty and student services staff groups perceptions of the needs of adult learners, when compared to the needs reported by adult students, appear to be less accurate for those needs for which a lesser degree of assistance is needed and more accurate for those needs for which a greater degree of assistance is needed. 5. The perceptions of the needs of adult learners by both faculty and student services staff groups appear notably similar. 6. This research, using a more rigorous level of significance, validates the general findings of similar research. 7. The research methodology and the use of analysis of variance and Scheffé test as statistical procedures proved to be useful in comparing perceptions of adult learner needs by faculty and student services staff groups to the stated needs of adult students.

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As online education grows, institutions must develop and evaluate student services to meet the needs of adult online students. The university at which the study was conducted had growing online enrollment, but no systematic examination of services from the students' perspective to drive service development and improvement. This represented a gap in self-evaluation, and the research confirmed gaps in student service offerings at the university compared to field standards. The purpose of this project study was to drive improvement of online student services based on analysis of student-driven data. The research questions asked how important academic and support services were to the university's online students and how satisfied the students were with the services. This quantitative study used the Priorities Survey for Online Students based on the expectation disconfirmation theory to collect data. The survey was sent to all of the university's 477 online undergraduate and graduate students. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the university's student responses to national data, report areas of service challenge, and assess variation in satisfaction according to previous online education experience. Key findings included lower than national mean satisfaction with career and tutoring services, challenge areas related to Blackboard preparedness, clarity of program requirements and communication channels, and lower levels of satisfaction with the most experienced online students. A presentation and white paper project were created for the university leadership with recommendations for using study results to improve and develop online student services. Social change is expected through improved and expanded online student services as a result of the project study.

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of foster alumni in community and technical colleges, with a focus on Washington State, using a qualitative research approach. Foster alumni may be considered a sub-set of first generation students, yet they have needs that extend beyond those of other first-generation students (e.g., housing). Examination of this issue is timely. Funding designated for foster alumni in higher education has increased in recent years, leading to a variety of support structures and levels of service at the colleges. Yet in the current budget climate, with state support diminishing, the two-year colleges face increasing challenges in providing support not only for foster alumni but for all students. Foster alumni moving into adulthood and through the state colleges represent the quintessential case of in loco parentis, yet their emerging status as adults needs to be supported with appropriate services, not forced dependency. This dissertation consists of three major manuscripts: a summary of the literature and two research reports, one focused on overall findings and the second focused on moving from the findings to considerations for practice. All three manuscripts utilized the critical social science or social justice perspective. The research manuscripts report the findings of a qualitative study using a collective case study design. Two colleges that serve foster alumni were identified and both staff and foster alumni students at the sites were interviewed, for a total of 10 students and 4 staff members. Participant selection utilized both purposive and convenience sampling methods. The study focused on three themes relevant to college participation which were identified based upon the review of the literature: Academic preparedness, psycho-social factors, and meeting basic needs. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim; staff interviews served as both triangulation of the student data as well as a source of additional information on college services to foster alumni. Responses were analyzed for direct responses to interview questions as well as for emerging themes. In addition, case records (e.g., transcripts) were reviewed as an additional method of data triangulation. Findings of the study were reported through individual case summaries in manuscript two as well as cross-case analysis in both manuscripts. While the participants in this study had high rates of high school completion and many had shown signs of "early promise" for academic achievement, all needed pre-college level course remediation in at least one area. A majority of participants indicated having felt depressed, yet only one participant had a diagnosis of depression; most seemed to consider some level of depression to be a natural outcome in their situation. Indications of resilience and internal locus of control were evident. Many continued to struggle to meet basic needs while in college, and eight of the ten student participants reported having experienced periods of homelessness since leaving foster care. Based upon the findings of this study, foster alumni share certain characteristics with other first-generation students, yet their needs in particular areas necessitate additional on-campus services and/or stronger connections with community partners. Considerations for enhancing support services in the community and technical colleges in seven different areas are given, including designating staff contacts, building community partnerships to support housing, arranging for priority registration and financial aid processing to avoid enrollment gaps, and providing optional (not mandatory) mentoring relationships. / Graduation date: 2012 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from Dec. 7, 2011 - Dec. 7, 2012

dreimal im Jahr erscheinende Zeitschrift über aktuelle Themen der TU Chemnitz

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Secondary Education / Janice R. Wissman / This study was an investigation of mission, vision, funding strategies, and student services for distance learning as expressed by university administrators in land grant universities and state universities, and those institutions that are designated as both land grant and state universities by the state legislature. Three research questions guided the study The study employed a survey distributed through e-mail. The questionnaire was sent to 261 senior administrators; the chief academic officers, chief business officers, and chief information officers in 37 land grant and state universities and 13 institutions that are both land grant and state universities. The return rate was 30%. The institutional mission and administrator’s vision for offering distance learning survey responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study also used correlation, confirmed by factor analysis, to determine if there was a relationship among the administrators’ responses regarding mission, vision, and funding. The data were analyzed with ANOVA and fishers least means difference test. These tests determined if there were differences in the administrators’ responses between the type or sizes of higher education institutions on mission, vision of administrators. The data analysis indicated that the type of institution did not yield significant differences. The difference of means test indicated there were differences in the student population size of the institutions. The responses indicated the mission or purpose for offering distance learning was to save money for the institution, and support degree completion for former students. The responses related to administrative vision show initiating a distance learning program and a being leader among higher education institutions were the reasons for a distance learning program. The content analysis method was employed to determine the roles of the administrators in the survey. The administrators’ responses related to distance learning were consistent with their roles in the institution. The study also produced results related to student services institutions provide for distance learning students, how the student services were provided, on or off campus or both locations and the funding sources for the student services.

dreimal im Jahr erscheinende Zeitschrift über aktuelle Themen der TU Chemnitz

Less than 5% of former foster youth in America graduate with a bachelor's degree. The goal of this phenomenological research was to use student voices to identify or better understand promising practices that support the success of former foster youth. Two California State University (CSU) campuses were chosen as research sites because the California Education Code has language indicating CSUs responsibility to recruit, serve, and graduate former foster youth. Through purposeful sampling, eight students who were successfully approaching graduation were selected. The data collected through two interviews, a biographical questionnaire, and a photo review were subject to thematic identification and analysis of the use or lack of use of the types of capital outlined in the community cultural wealth theory. Five themes and the abundant and lacking types of capital were identified. Identified themes were student services and programs, mentorship, financial challenges, family dynamics, and self-determination. The participants were found to have abundant aspirational, navigational, resistance, and certain aspects of familial capital. They were found to be largely lacking in cultural, social, spiritual, linguistic, and other aspects of familial capital. Through the identification of the themes and the evaluation of capital, promising practices and next steps were identified and additional research needs brought to light.