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Background: English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students, enrolled in health care tertiary education, have lower graduation rates compared with English native speakers. The demographic profile of most western countries is continuously changing and therefore this issue has became a concern especially for those countries which are confronted with an acute health care workforce shortage. One of the most important predictors in student retention is their perception of academic success. The purpose of this study was to explore ESOL health undergraduate students’ perceptions of campus climate, faculty and peer social support, and sought to determine whether or not there is a relationship between these factors and ESOL students’ perception academic success. Methods: The study was carried out at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). The inclusion criteria for this study were: undergraduate students enrolled with the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, having other than English as their first language, and studying predominantely on one of AUT University’s campuses, namely Akoranga campus. The study implemented had a cross-sectional design using a novel purpose built electronic survey. ESOL health undergraduate students’ insights were explored using a 22-item web-based survey consisting of three scales: peer and faculty support, campus climate, and academic success. The content validity and realiability of each scale were tested. The study questionnaire was made available online to all ESOL health undergraduate students willing to participate in the research. Generalized estimating equations were used to test the study hypothesis. Six related binary outcome variables, measuring perceptions of academic success, were included in the analyses. Results: Twenty-seven ESOL health undergraduate students from a variety of health undergraduate programs agreed to participate in the research. The majority of participants were of Asian ethnicity with ages between 21 and 30 years and had completed their secondary education overseas. The GEE analyses showed that campus climate was significantly associated with academic success, p-value=0.01, but peer and faculty support was not, p-value=0.07. The estimated odds ratio (OR) for the campus climate relationship implies that for every unit increase in the first principal component factor for campus climate, the odds that a participant agreed with the academic success scale decreased by 0.43 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.84). The only open-ended question of the survey revealed that 39% of the participants did not intend to leave the faculty before graduation, while 17% saw the “lack of support” as a possible reason for abandoning the university without a degree. Conclusion: ESOL undergraduate students’ perception of campus climate may have an influence on their perception of academic success. Students’ perception of peer and faculty support was not significantly associated with academic success, but 17% of respondents to the open-ended question saw “lack of support” as a possible reason to leave the course before graduation. The findings were hampered by the small sample of ESOL students recruited.

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Dramatic shift s in U.S. culture surrounding the acceptance of sexual minorities have occurred within the last five years. Yet, sexual minorities experience minority stress associated with a host of negative life outcomes. We focus on two studies (one conducted in 2011/12 and one in 2015) on university campus climate as a source of minority stress. Gauging social climate like a temperature thermometer (0=cool/rejecting-100=warm/accepting), and by attitudes of straight individuals, results of Study 1 showed a moderate campus climate for LGB identity (M = 65) with no variation by self-identification among 1101 straight and 133 sexual minority participants. Attitudes of straight participants predicted minority stress (concealment, anticipated discrimination, perceived public stigma) of sexual minorities. Study 2 was entitled “Campus PRIDE” (Perceptions Related to Identity and Diversity in the Environment). Results from 697 straight and 206 sexual minorities, showed climate varied depending on identity of focus and by self-identification as sexual minority (all t tests p<.05). Findings are discussed in light of methodological differences, backlash to advances in rights, intersections of sexual identity, gender, and race, and the process of getting “buy-in” from university administrators to conduct a university-wide climate survey.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the current campus climate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons at Texas A&M University as perceived by the faculty, professional staff, and administration at the institution. Specifically, the study looked at differences in perceptions and behaviors based on university position, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, age, and interaction with members of the sexual orientation minority. The population for the survey consisted of 5,863 individuals at Texas A&M University, including 513 administrators, 1,992 faculty members, and 3,358 professional staff members. Based on the work of Krejcie and Morgan, a random sample of each of the three employment categories was taken, which resulted in a sample of 1,020 individuals. The survey instrument used was the Assessment of Campus Climate for Underrepresented Groups, developed by Susan R. Rankin, Ph.D. A selected group of questions from the survey were analyzed in order to conduct this research. The usable response rate was 47.9%. Overall, the data supported the finding that the University does not provide a campus environment that is welcoming to all members of the community, especially those individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Several statistically significant differences were found to exist among the positions of the participants, as well as race/ethnicity, age, gender and sexual identity. The research also confirmed that an individual's attitudes and behaviors toward gay men, lesbians, bisexual men and women or transgender persons were influenced in a positive manner in relation to the frequency of contact that the person had previously had with members of this population. When compared to the norms established by a similar study across the United States, Texas A&M University was found to have a more negative campus climate. Implications for practice suggest ways in which the university can work toward improving the campus climate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Among the suggestions are the development of new policies that create a more supportive environment and new programs to serve the needs of the sexual orientation minority and to educate the campus community. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.

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This study measures the campus climate for Asian Americans on a college campus before and after tragic events, and places it in the context of what is known about the social location of Asian American students nationally. Using a multi-method approach, including in-depth interviews supplemented by data from content analyses and surveys, it addresses perceptions of Asian American students about themselves and the campus climate. In doing so it addresses the more general question of minority stereotyping and strategies taken by minority groups to compensate for such stereotypes. Findings from this study suggest that the campus climate for Asian American undergraduates appears to be welcoming, and respondents do not report stress emanating from their 'model minority' status. Instead, they embrace and offer full-support for the 'model minority' stereotype. / Ph. D.

Master of Science / Department of Counseling & Student Development / Kenneth Hughey / The challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students on college and university campuses are many. For example, LGBT students face harassment and discrimination at significantly higher levels than their heterosexual peers, and are twice as likely to receive derogatory remarks (Rankin, Weber, Blumenfeld, & Frazer, 2010). As the visibility of LGBT college students and the adversity they face has increased, there is ever more pressure on college and universities to evaluate whether LGBT students’ needs are being met. A dependable method of determining this is to conduct an assessment of the campus climate for LGBT students. Campus climate can be consists of the mutually reinforcing relationship between the perceptions, attitudes, and expectations of both individuals and groups, as well as the actual patterns of interaction and behavior between individuals and groups (Cress, 2008). Thus, in order to assess a campus climate, one must determine the current perceptions, attitudes, and expectations that define the institution and its members. Campus climate has a significant impact upon students’ academic progress and achievement and their level of satisfaction with their university. Whether or not a student feels as though they matter on their campus is largely a result of the climate. Evaluations of campus climate for LGBT students allow administrations to uncover what inequalities may exist on their campus, which is the first step toward being able to correct them. There have been many methods of improving campus climate that have been effective at a variety of colleges and universities. Administrations that wish to provide LGBT students on their campus with a better experience should invest in as many of these practices as possible. The most important action in improving campus climate is to institute an LGBT resource center or office with a full-time staff member and significant office space. Other impactful strategies include establishing a Safe Zone or Allies program, encouraging LGBT students to form organizations for themselves and their allies, increasing the amount of interaction between LGBT students and faculty—especially LGBT faculty, and establishing a Queer Studies academic program.

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