The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the lived experiences of community college dance students. Previous research was examined to provide a more holistic picture of dancers during their college years and while in the workforce. The literature reviewed indicated that the emergence of dance as a field of study was controversial. Its beginnings were marked by debates concerning (a) the very definition of dance as a body of motion and a body of knowledge that includes a history and a philosophy as asserted by Dimondstein (1985), (b) its legitimate place within the academy (the perception that university dance programs were vocational in nature with little academic value) as noted by Stinson (1990); and, more recently (c) the possibility of some resolution to make dance not only a performing art but an academic discipline in its own right (Savrami, 2012). The theoretical framework of social cognitive career theory was used but was modified to include only the tenets most frequently cited in the literature that directly influenced the career identity of dancers particularly in relation to their motivation to academically persist and graduate. The phenomenological analysis, in the tradition of Moustakas (1994) and Wertz (2005), produced an early thematic matrix of 18 codes that were reduced to six major themes: aspirations, academic commitment, emotional identification, anticipated outcome or career expectation, vicarious learning, and challenges. One of the major recommendations included conducting a longitudinal study focusing on how students navigate an unpredictable job market, including the discussion of issues of workforce preparation in the academic curriculum and major.

Research points to Latino/a parents as an important source of motivation and support for high achieving Latino/a students who are the first in their families to go to college (Arellano & Padilla, 2006; Gandara, 1982; 1994; Hurtado & Sinha, 2006; Zalaquett, 2005); however, very little is known about their experience as they parent children whose educational paths are so different from their own. Cultural values such as collectivism and familism play a unique role in the level of connection between these parents and their children (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 1995), creating dynamics that merit exploration. This dissertation qualitatively examines how seven Latino/a parents of first-generation college students pursuing a PhD expressed the parenting characteristics outlined in Parent Development Theory (Mowder, 2005). Furthermore, this study explores how these parents experienced their daughters' higher education journey. Moustakas' (1994) transcendental phenomenology was utilized in analyzing parents' voices. The textural and structural descriptions of major and minor themes provided the essence of the parents' experience. Example of themes are: "Pero la Apoyo - Uncertainty and Support for the PhD", "Siempre Juntos - High Levels of Interaction", and "Amor Compasivo - Distance, Pain and Sacrifice". Recommendations include support for pre-doctoral preparation initiatives, co-curricular innovations, and the exploration of the impact of modern technologies on the communication between parents and their children while in college.

This study investigated how work impacts academic performance for community college students, from a multiple role balance perspective. Perna (2010) called for a re-examination of the role of work in college students' lives, especially regarding the exploration of benefits, rather than just the detriments of working while studying. According to Karp and Bork (2014), more research was also needed on community college students and how they balance multiple roles. Exploring the relationship between balancing multiple roles and academic performance may provide new insight into how community college students contend with demanding roles, while striving to achieve academic success. This study was framed by the theoretical understanding of Marks and MacDermid's (1996) role balance theory and the instrument used was the Role Balance scale. Four hundred and ten participants responded to the online survey containing role balance and demographic questions. Data from 403 respondents were used in the regression analysis to determine how work impacted role balance. Among the community college student respondents, hours worked for pay was a significant factor in predicting role balance when controlling for demographic and lifestyle variables. For every extra hour worked per week, the role balance score would decrease by 0.02. Demographic and lifestyle variables were not significant in predicting role balance. Data from the survey responses of all 410 respondents were used for the correlation analysis. There was no significant relationship found between role balance and academic performance.

Much of the literature regarding Black students at predominantly White institutions (PWI) focuses on these students' academic difficulty, while there is far less attention paid to the performance of higher achieving Black students (Fries-Britt, 1998; Fries-Britt & Griffin, 2007). Therefore, this study explored the lived experiences of high-achieving Black female students, focusing particularly on the experiences which contribute to their success at a PWI. The qualitative phenomenological research design was used to highlight emergent themes revealed during the study. Eight purposely selected students participated in one-on-one semi structured interviews and a Sister Circle group process. The participants' stories were highlighted both independently and collectively, reflecting a wide range of sentiments. During the data analysis process, there were six themes that emerged from the data which highlighted the experiences which contributed to the students' success at a PWI. Those themes included: 1) Support, 2) Processing Situations, 3) Defining Success, 4) Involvement, 5) Motivation, and 6) Background. The emergent themes provided strategies and recommendations for Black female students, higher education practitioners, and institutions. These recommendations included areas regarding programming, retention and recruitment strategies, resource creation, and relationship building. Additionally, implications were made for future research initiatives. The data, coupled with the researcher's reflections served as the basis for the implications and recommendations for this study.

This Dissertation in Practice employed a mixed-methods design to identify preferred instructional methods in a college level science course as well as the self-reported challenges to learning science in college by students with a learning disability. In addition, the relationships between preferred instructional strategies and learner characteristics such as declared major, and learning disability were examined. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected from a sample of 48 participants using an electronic survey. Additionally, eight participants participated in focus groups to collect in-depth qualitative data. All participants are current students enrolled full-time at Beacon College. Each participant completed a science college course and has a diagnosed learning disability. Analysis of the data demonstrated hands-on instruction guided by the instructor is the preferred method of learning and the use of traditional lecture and cooperative learning are self-reported as being least helpful to this student population to learn science. Findings from this study were provided to Beacon College to shape instruction in science courses as well as to shape recommendations for future research activities. Intentional design of instruction following the recommendations found in this study should assist in increasing student performance in college science courses as well as increase engagement to science as a process and field of study.

At the beginning of the new millennium, concerns were raised that a leadership crisis was soon to develop due to a high percentage of community college presidents and chief academic officers (CAOs) approaching retirement within the decade. With concerns that there would not be a sufficient number of leaders ready to assume these roles, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) developed a list of six competencies essential to community college leadership (AACC, 2005). The purpose of this study was to examine the pathways, competencies, and preparation of community college presidents and CAOs. Leaders in those positions at two-year colleges in eight southeastern states were surveyed in August-September 2017. Demographic data was collected to determine common career pathways and it was found that an overwhelming majority of current respondents earned doctorate degrees and that many of them had focused their advanced degrees in the areas of education and/or leadership. Approximately 84% of the leaders who responded expected to retire within 10 years of the study. Also, at least 50% of the presidents who responded followed an academic pathway to the presidency. Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they agreed that the AACC competencies were essential to their leadership roles and the extent to which they agreed that they had been prepared for each competency prior to assuming their current roles. The results indicated high levels of agreement that all six competencies were essential; however, tests did reveal statistically significant differences between the levels of agreement, namely that one competency -- community college advocacy – had a lower level of agreement than the other five competencies. Respondents also indicated that they had been adequately prepared for each competency prior to assuming their current roles, with on-the-job experiences being the most common method of preparation for the competencies. A correlation analysis revealed that there was a positive relationship between the extent to which leaders agreed that the competencies were essential and the extent to which they agreed that they were prepared for the competencies. There were also no statistical differences between presidents and CAOs on the preparation ratings for each competency and there was only a difference in the essential ratings for the competency of collaboration. Recommendations for future practice based on the leadership frameworks of Bolman and Deal (2013) and Nevarez, Wood, and Penrose (2013) are provided, along with recommendations for higher educational leadership doctoral programs and future research regarding pathways, competencies, and preparation.

The purpose of this study was to understand how first-year undergraduate college students use smartphones to receive parental support. A conceptual framework was implemented to frame the research and focused on first-year college student transitions and development within the context of parental support. A Phenomenological methodology with semi-structured interviews was implemented which explored the phenomenon from both immersive and holistic perspectives. Seven themes emerged from the analysis: decision-making, academic pathways, autonomy, emotional support, access, safety, and preparation. This study provided two recommendations for practice, including to educate students and parents about parental support and to educate parents about specific student success resources. Parental support is unlikely to stop once college begins, which requires students and parents to devise a strategy to maximize the effectiveness of parental support while also remaining mindful of the potential challenges.

According to Zawacki-Richter, Backer, and Vogt (2009), literature focusing on student services falls into three general categories: learning theories and attrition research, student needs and satisfaction, and models for best practices. Research addressing the specific training needs of student affairs practitioners responsible for implementing and managing student support services for online students is not a major area of focus (Moore & Kearsley, 2012). Therefore, unlike the faculty and technology subsystems, the student affairs subsystem has not become securely anchored in delivering services to fully online students (Crawley & Howe, 2016; Moore, 2013; Moore & Kearsley, 2012). The lack of research focusing on the challenges and professional development needs of student affairs professionals responsible for delivering services to online students demands attention, as these critical stakeholders are responsible for transforming student services operations to meet the needs of the growing fully online student population. This phenomenological study examined mid-level enrollment management practitioners' experience with implementing student services designed to support the operational objectives of online education innovations at traditional universities, and the subsequent influence on their preparedness to develop and sustain services for fully online students. The Quality Implementation Framework (QIF), a meta-framework comprising of 14 steps for high quality implementation, and The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS), which has general standards for advancing quality student affairs programs and services, guided the study design and data collection processes.

Throughout its storied history, higher education in the United States has dealt with the challenges of free speech. From Harvard's 1766 'bad butter riot' to hateful speech directed towards students by non-university community members, balancing the need for free speech with maintaining a welcoming and inclusive campus environment stands as an immense test for higher education (Papandrea, 2017). Idealism and ethicality aside, lost in the academic debate over liberty and protections are the views of those who should best help shine a light on such a divisive issue: students. This dissertation creates a quantitative path to understanding those very viewpoints. Using the theoretical framework of Social Judgment Theory (Sherif & Hovland, 1961), the study discerns student attitudes towards free speech by measuring student ego involvement and latitudes of acceptance, non-commitment, and rejection. This study examines one main question: are student attitudes towards the general concept of free speech congruent with their attitudes towards the perceived acceptability of specific types of speech? Results from more than 2,300 participants revealed that while college students generally regard free speech as an extremely important right in higher education, there are still instances of protected free speech that are considered unacceptable. On the topic of partisan politics, respondents identifying as Republican and Democrat were not statistically different in any measure of ego involvement or range of latitudes. Females reported higher ego involvement scores and a much higher propensity to finding certain examples of speech unacceptable, indicating a reduced belief in the importance of free speech.

This study sought to identify what expectations international students' had with regards to academic advising and how satisfied they were with their advising experience at a large community college in a southeastern state in the United States. Previous research on academic advising services (e.g. Belcheir, 1999; Hale, Graham, & Johnson, 2009; Mottarella, Fritzsche, & Cerabino, 2004; Propp & Rhodes, 2006; Lynch, 2004; Smith & Allen, 2006) had not distinguished between domestic and international students' expectations of and satisfaction with advising especially at the 2-year and community college levels and in organizational structures where the foreign student advisors serve as both the students' academic and immigration advisors. Such research is timely in the face of the highly competitive international education market and the increasing demands for U.S. institutional of higher education to meet students' consumer expectations with regards to educational services. Grounded in Expectation Disconfirmation Theory and employing a quantitative research design, this study investigated how factors such as age, gender, country of citizenship, class standing, and degree program impacted international students' expectations of and satisfaction with academic advising. Descriptive statistics, analyses of variances, and a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) were used to answer the research questions. While the advising literature strongly advocates developmental advising, students in this study expressed a strong desire for elements of prescriptive advising.