Institutions of higher education have increased their efforts to improve retention and graduation rates by developing support services and programs targeted at specific student populations. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to describe and further understand the perspectives of students and academic coaches/administrators associated with the Academic Coaching and Career Enhancement for Student Success (ACCESS) Program at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, Florida. The program targets students who earned below a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) and were placed on academic probation. Data was collected through one-on-one interviews with previous ACCESS Program students and current ACCESS academic coaches/administrators. A document analysis was also conducted. The guiding research question for this study was: How useful, if at all, did participating students perceive the interventions of the ACCESS Program (e.g., meetings with an academic coach, tutoring, life skills workshops, meeting with a career advisor) in improving their academic performance (e.g., GPA) and why? The study also compared the perceptions of students to those of the ACCESS academic coaches/administrators about the interventions of the program and their usefulness. This study found that students and ACCESS academic coaches/administrators were most likely to find the academic coaching sessions to be the most useful intervention in helping students improve their academic performance and the academic workshops were found to be the least useful. Additionally, while there are elements of the program that can be improved, findings also suggest that those who had a positive overall experience in the program were more likely to perceive the program as useful because of the partnerships formed with their assigned academic coach/administrator/tutor/career counselor; the self-management skills they developed, such as accountability; and the academic and non-academic skills developed, such as improved writing and time management skills. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

No description available.

Problem: The problem was to determine whether experimental, supervised program of instruction was successful in changing a probationary student’s academic standing, as measured by grade point average and scores from the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. Method: The following hypotheses, as stated in null form, were tested. There will be no significant difference between the Identity Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant differences between the Self-Satisfaction Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and the post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference between the Physical Self Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference between the Family Self Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference between the Social Self Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference between the Total Positive Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference between the Self-Criticism Scores of the experimental group and those of the control group on the pre-test and post-test of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale. There will be no significant difference in the academic grade point averages of the experimental group and those of the control group. Findings and Conclusions: In summary, the following findings and conclusions were drawn: Identity Score Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to have a higher perception of their own identity after the program had ended. Conclusion: This change resulted from the fact that at the time of the pre-test all the students were on probation, but at the time of the post-test a considerable number had achieved “good standing” status (GPA above 2.00). This change in academic status, therefore, brought about a change in the way each subject perceived himself. Self-Satisfaction Score Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to feel more positively about the self they perceived after the program had ended. Conclusion: This change resulted from the fact that during the experimental, supervised program of instruction, the instructor frequently indicated to the subjects that they were persons of worth. This technique was based upon the premise that when persons are totally accepted by others, they come to the realization that they are persons of value. Physical Self Score Finding: The members of the experimental group did not tend to reflect any real change in the way they viewed their body, state of health, physical appearance, sexuality, or appearance after the program had ended. This same finding was reported by Karen Moses in her study with probationary students at Brigham Young University. Conclusion: No change resulted from the fact that this experimental, supervised program of instruction was unable to produce a change in a value as permanent as the physical self. The physical self was so strong that it could not be substantively modified in nine weeks. Family Self Score Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to reflect a higher sense of worth and value as family members after the program had ended. A different finding was reported by Clements, who discovered no significant differences in family self as a result of his program with the under-achievers. Conclusion: This change resulted from the fact that students were psychologically supported by their families during the time of the program, thereby increasing their family self-concept. Parents were aware of the program because copies of the letters asking students to participate were mailed directly to the homes of each student before the program began. Social Self Score Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to reflect a higher sense of adequacy and worth in their social interaction with other people after the program had ended. Jensen and Amberg found that social self scores in their experimental subjects increased slightly over their control subjects but they judged their results to be inconclusive. Conclusion: This change resulted from the social nature of the program. Although the sessions were conducted in a structured atmosphere, the participants were encouraged to discuss their feelings freely. Most subjects exhibited considerable acceptance of one another, thereby reinforcing one another’s social self. Total Positive Score Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to have an overall higher level of self-esteem after the program had ended. This same finding was obtained by Caplan in his study with junior high school boys. Conclusion: This score resulted from the higher sub-scale scores, which when combined, form the Total Positive Score. The data showed the Identity, Family Self, Self-Satisfaction, and Social Self definitely changed; therefore, it was expected that the Total Positive Score would likely change. Self-Criticism Score Finding: The members of the experimental group did not tend to be any more honest in their self description and capacity for self-criticism after the program had ended. Conclusion: No change resulted from the fact that even before the program had begun, the individuals of the experimental group were shown to be very honest in their self-description and capacity for self-criticism. Therefore, before the program they were found to have a normal healthy openness. Academic Grade Point Average Finding: The members of the experimental group tended to achieve high grades after the program had ended. These same results were obtained by Sheldon and Landsman, who found a significant improvement in academic grades among their experimental group after a program with students in academic difficulty. Conclusion: This change appears to have resulted because the subjects learned to study and read more efficiently and thereby grasp material more thoroughly; however, the students who continued to participate in the study may have been more highly motivated to study than those who dropped out.

This dissertation brings new causal evidence on three topics in education and health. In the first chapter, I study how in-utero exposure to floods affects the education and health outcomes of individuals. I focus on the 1982-1983 El Niño event in Peru to exploit a natural experiment. I assess the impacts of plausible and exogenous in-utero exposure to excess rainfall on education achievement at adulthood. I find that individuals exposed in-utero to the 1982-1983 El Niño floods, have less chances to have completed primary education at adulthood with different effects by place of residence and gender. In the second chapter, I study how a low-cost face-to-face intervention, that exposed senior-year high school students to female role models affects career preferences and reduces the gender preference gap for STEM programs in Peru in a randomized controlled trial. I find that exposure to role models increased preference for engineering majors only for those girls in the top math ability quartile; and that the effect was stronger for those who reside geographically close to the role models' university. Finally, in the third chapter, I investigate how to optimally allocate students to academic programs. I evaluate external signals of ability transmitted to students by academic probation rules in Peru using a regression discontinuity design. The analysis suggests that academic probation is associated with higher drop-out rates from programs and a deterioration in subsequent academic performance. I conclude that in a society with predominant gender norms, signals of ability could aid to the retention of only qualified students in selected programs with further implications on aggregate productivity and the allocation of talent. / Doctor of Philosophy / This study sought to understand how exposure to different adverse events in life affects individuals' decision choices. I focus on a developing country, Peru, where returns to education are high and investment in human capital can improve individuals' lives. In the first chapter, I study how prenatal exposure to extreme weather conditions (i.e. the 1982-1983 El Niño floods in Peru) affected the education achievement of those individuals when they were older. This adverse and unpredictable event, affecting the evolution of babies while in-utero, during the nine months of gestation, reduced the probability that the exposed individual had completed primary education. In the second chapter, I implement an experiment in the field to understand the effect of the exposure to role models on the reduction of the gender gap in careers that are male dominated such as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The gender gap in STEM fields is a major cause of concern for policymakers around the world since it not only contributes to talent misallocation but also critically deepens gender-based socioeconomic inequalities. I find that a brief exposure to role models of about 20 minutes increases preferences for engineering majors of high talented female high school students, and I attribute this to inspiration rather than information mechanisms. The evidence suggests that, inspired by role models, high math ability girls had increased self-confidence for succeeding in engineering majors. Finally, in the third chapter I investigate the misallocation of students to academic programs and more specifically the effect of one university policy related to academic probation on attrition rates and subsequent academic performance. Academic probation is a warning received by students failing to make substantial academic progress required for graduation. By receiving academic probation, students get additional information of their capabilities to successfully complete a degree. The analysis suggests that academic probation is associated with higher drop-out rates from programs and a deterioration in subsequent academic performance aiding to the retention of only qualified students in selected fields of study.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Brandonn S. Harris / Student affairs personnel in higher education have an extraordinary ability to affect positively the academic, personal, social, emotional, and vocational development of students, as well as to provide an understanding of the challenges that students experience. In addition, an increase in investigating student success, as well as how to quantify success has occurred. The purpose of this report is to reflect the areas of student development upon which student affairs personnel can have a profound impact—that being the psychosocial variables to student success. In combination with exploring how Academic Assistance Centers (AAC’s) focus on psychosocial factors that influence student success, this report looks at the similarities between theory and the pragmatic programming that one particular Midwestern university employs to help facilitate student awareness and practice of psychosocial factors. The overarching belief of the author is that students can and will find success through challenge and support. This report will demonstrate, through a brief history of the challenges that higher education has faced, how student affairs personnel are often times the first and last line of defense in student support. Moreover, student affairs personnel have been charged with the task of providing support to an ever growing diverse student body in addition to providing the proper support needed to enhance the academic and personal success of such a diverse student body. Through a review of the literature investigating student attrition as well as retention, two subgroups of undergraduates were specifically identified as to how academic assistance centers can facilitate their success and, ultimately, their retention. The two subgroups are students who identify as multicultural and students who are on academic probation. Lastly, the author offers suggestions on what student affairs personnel, as well as higher education, can do to facilitate holistic student development and promote the awareness of psychosocial variables that will aid students in their academic development and success.

No description available.

This study was conducted to examine the experiences of first-year, traditional aged Honors College students who were placed on academic probation at the conclusion of the first semester and how they perceive their current circumstances, reasons for their inability to meet the honors requirements, and future academic pursuits. A comprehensive literature review was performed, specifically in the areas of first-year college students, retention, Honors Colleges and Honors Programs, high achievers, honors students in trouble, help-seeking behaviors, and academic probation at the collegiate level. A phenomenological research design was employed where participants met with the investigator one-on-one for a semi-structured interview. Ten students participated in the study; six were first-year students on honors probation, and four were in academic good standing following the end of the first semester. Participants described several common experiences, including: difficulty with the high school to college transition, planning and organizational challenges, overconfidence in academic abilities, and poor attendance and class participation. Based on these findings, several recommendations are made.

<p>Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) calls for motivation researchers to treat learning and motivation as inseparable from context. Previous research has examined students’ expectancies and values in specific disciplines, showing dynamic changes over time. Limited research has examined students’ processes of change, considered the influence of students’ disciplinary identities, or solicited characteristics of the disciplinary environment that influence change. Additionally, current frontiers of the field aim to race-reimage motivational constructs. By situating motivation research in the race and gender experiences of historically marginalized students (i.e., Black, Latinx, Hispanic, Indigenous, women), the field can expand motivation theories to support a diversifying population, instead of relying on theories primarily based on the experiences of White individuals. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the processes of motivational and identity change and situate students' identity and motivation negotiations in their disciplines, race, and gender. Using a qualitative, single case study design, eight undergraduate students of color majoring in science or engineering and who were on academic probation were interviewed. Results identified three processes of negotiating their identity and motivation that students employed in response to being on probation. Students reported challenges to their identity and motivation negotiations situated in their race and gender experiences. However, they also shared cultural assets that supported their continued identification with, expectancies for success in, and valuing of their science and engineering disciplines. Findings propose theoretical and methodological implications considering communal values in the SEVT model. Practical implications are discussed for instructors and student success personnel to integrate students’ social identities and communal motivations into their</p> <p>disciplinary engagement.</p>

This item contains the agenda, minutes, and attachments for the Faculty Senate meeting on this date. There may be additional materials from the meeting available at the Faculty Center.