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Fraternity and sorority membership has been among the highest contributing factors linked to increased exposure to alcohol consumption among college students. Many have argued that this association persists as a result of the drinking sub-culture among Greek organizations, and report that finding effective methods to minimize alcohol consumption among college students is critical. Using self-reported data from fraternity and sorority members at East Tennessee State University (n=107) the link between observed alcohol consumption and demographic characteristics of the individual Greek member and the Greek organization was examined through a quantitative lens. It was hypothesized that the demographic characteristics of the individual Greek member and the characteristics of the Greek organization would affect observed alcohol consumption. The results reveal no statistical significance for many of the hypotheses, however the data revealed significant findings when the living status of a Greek organization member and the link to observed alcohol consumption.

Despite being safe and effective, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates are lower than other recommended adolescent vaccines. CDC recommends catch-up vaccination for all persons through age 26 years if not adequately vaccinated when younger making college campuses an important site for catch-up vaccination programs. The project is a quality improvement project being implemented on a public southeastern college campus. The campus health services clinic is the setting for the practice change. Aims: The overall purpose of the QI project is to enhance usage of current CDC HPV recommendations and increase campus population awareness of HPV. Processes: The project received a “Determination of Not Human Subjects Research” from the ETSU Human Research Protection Program. Staff in-service detailing the practice change for routine HPV vaccine status assessment and promotion of HPV vaccination, based on CDC HPV recommendations. Digital-based HPV education materials are being shared with both health services and the student wellness ambassador group. The ambassador group will share items with the campus community via social media and flyers. An optional, anonymous survey will be available when accessing the digital HPV content. De-identified chart audit data will be monitored to assess adoption of the practice change. Nonidentifiable digital access data will be used to assess usage of the educational materials. Results: The final results of the QI project will not be available. Preliminary descriptive statistics will be presented. Limitations: The vaccine isn’t available on campus and the electronic health record lacks directed HPV vaccine assessment on most visit forms. Conclusions: The preliminary conclusions and impact will be presented.

Adherence to masking recommendations and requirements continues to have a wide variety of impacts in terms of viral spread during the ongoing pandemic. As governments, schools, and private sector businesses formulate decisions around mask requirements, it is important to observe real-life adherence to policies and discern subsequent implications. The CDC MASCUP! observational study tracked mask-wearing habits of students on higher-education campuses across the country to collect stratified data about mask typologies, correct mask usage, and differences in behaviors at locations on a college campus and in the surrounding community. Our findings from a single institution include a significant adherence difference between on-campus (86%) and off-campus sites (72%) across the course of this study as well as a notable change in adherence at the on-campus sites with the expiration of a county-wide governmental mandate, despite continuance of a university-wide mandate. This study, completed on and around the campus of East Tennessee State University in Washington County TN, was able to pivotally extract information regarding increased adherence on campus versus the surrounding community. Changes were also seen when mask mandates were implemented and when they expired.

On April 16, 2007, 32 students and faculty were killed on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus, making this incident the deadliest mass school shooting in United States history. Other school shootings, such as the infamous Columbine High School shootings and the more recent Northern Illinois State shootings, have become popular topics in today's social media (Kaminski et al, 2010; Reese 2009). Due to these events, schools and universities have become interested in the safety of their students as well as the students overall feelings towards crime while on their campus. New research studies have taken an interest in students' overall fear of crime and how this fear is impacted by variables including sex of the student and the time of day (Kaminski et al. 2010; Murray 2001). Though these studies have found who is more fearful of crime and which types of crime are feared most among their samples, these studies and others do not take into account whether the student is aware of shooting incidents that have occurred on college campuses around the country. The current study addresses this gap. The purpose of this study is to measure whether a University of Central Florida student's knowledge of mass school shootings influences their own levels of fear regarding crime and criminal victimization. Using an anonymous online survey, data from students at the University of Central Florida was collected and analyzed. The survey used quiz style questioning to gauge a students' overall knowledge on mass school shootings. Other questions such as demographics fear of various types of crime, and fear of different locations on campus were also asked.; This research addresses which areas of the University of Central Florida that students fear most (such as the Parking Garages), whether a student who lives in off campus housing is more fearful then a student who lives on campus, and whether having more knowledge of mass school shootings cause more fear of crime in students then those with less knowledge, and do students with more knowledge feel that they will be victimized more. This research hopes to help the University of Central Florida's Counseling center and well as the UCF Police Department to help understand students fears and needs to help create a safer learning environment and help those students in need in addition to adding to the overall literature on fear of crime.

This two part study investigated whether perceptions of student organizations are related to participants' ethnicity as well as the ethnicity of the ethnic student organization. Study 1 (N = 460) assessed overall attitudes toward ethnic student organizations dependent upon ethnicity of the participants. Study 2 (N = 631) assessed how attitudes toward ethnic student organizations were affected not only by race of the participant but also by ethnicity of the student organization. Results of Study 1 indicate that overall White students found the ethnic student organizations least beneficial/necessary, most racist, and had the least interest in joining as compared to African American and Hispanic participants. Results of Study 2 indicate that, in addition, perceptions of student organizations are related to the ethnicity of the organization. Overall, White ethnic student organizations are seen to be least beneficial/necessary, least ethical/acceptable/fair, and the most racist as compared to African American and Hispanic organizations. In addition, a significant interaction effect was found between participant ethnicity and ethnicity of the organization. In addition ethnocentrism, ethnic identity, perceptions of cultural climate, and social responsibility were correlated with perceptions and it was found that these variables correlate differently with perceptions depending on the ethnicity of the participant. Implications of the results are discussed.

Previous research regarding the victimization of college students is primarily geared toward physical or sexual encounters. There is a limited scope of research regarding the online victimization of college students, specifically those involved in Greek life organizations. Furthermore, there is a misinterpretation of the definition of cyberstalking among college students, as many students are unaware that they have been personally victimized (Cass, 2011). This study seeks to examine college students’ perceptions of online victimization and how they may vary. The different student impressions and the prevalence of online victimization were examined using self-reported data from students enrolled in a university located in Eastern Tennessee (n=181). Statistical analyses were conducted and showed that increased activity on social media escalated the potential for victimization, which improved the understanding of cyberstalking among college students.

Hundreds of thousands of students earn credit toward both high school and college each year through dual credit programs. This research project used qualitative methods to elicit the story, the shared reality, of faculty who spend their time with these students. It is an important story to tell as legislators, community college and public school administrators, parents, and students are motivated to see these programs not only continue, but grow. System influence diagrams (SIDs) depicting the dual credit teaching experience on high school and college campuses were developed for two separate groups of community college faculty. The models were used for comparing the high school and college dual credit teaching environments. The results of this study support other research, suggesting there are important differences between the high school and college environments when teaching dual credit students. From an overall perspective, faculty found the community college campus environment superior to teaching on the high school campus for reasons related to facilities and technology, a sense of belonging in the larger organization, and the integration of dual credit students into a more traditional college environment. / text

Although significant progress has been made to increase the throughput rate of students with disabilities in tertiary education, there is still much to be done as many disabled students face discrimination and difficulty in acquiring and receiving support. Moreover, disability policy often does not lead to practice at tertiary level. Many students with disabilities still need an ally for basic accommodations. The focus of this research study was on the perceptions and experiences of the students with disabilities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus regarding the University’s Disability Unit. This is in terms of the facilities and services offered by the Disability Unit as well as how effective it is in its functioning and meeting its students’ needs. This study was designed to explore the Disability Unit from the perspectives of students’, their experiences and responses to it. This research study was conducted with students with disabilities from the University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus. The sample population included six participants from the major categories of disability at the University: visual and physical impairments. Of the six participants selected, two were without sight, two were partially sighted, and two were physically disabled. Furthermore, participants comprised both males and females and were studying at different levels at the University (i.e. first year, second year, fourth year and fifth year students). This research study aimed to explore the effectiveness of the Disability Unit at the University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus in meeting the academic needs of its students with disabilities, from the perspective of the students with disabilities. Results from the current research study revealed that inadequate staff, resources and funding, poor coordination and communication between significant role players, substandard relationships, and insufficient awareness (around disabled students’ academic and social needs) among the entire University population represent major barriers to success for students with disabilities. Moreover, although student support services play a crucial role in supporting students with disabilities, the entire institution and university population, staff and students alike, is responsible for creating an inclusive environment where students with disabilities can experience a sense of community and attitudes of embracing diversity and accommodating differences. Responsibility, thus, lies with all relevant role players of the University of KwaZulu-Natal: Howard College Campus who must work together to overcome institutional as well as social barriers; accommodate for the students with disabilities, endeavour to meet their academic, emotional and social needs, and help them develop academically. In the future, progress can be made through the increased coordination of disability support services and programmes to educate faculties and peers about support, accommodations and rights of individuals with disabilities. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This study explores the use of electronic information services (EIS) by students at the Howard College (HC) campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in the faculties of Engineering and the Humanities, Development and Social Sciences (HDSS). The objectives were to establish usage among students; identify determinants of usage and to make recommendations. To achieve these objectives, the study concentrated on answering these research questions: • Do UKZN students use library e-resources? • Which e-resources are UKZN students using? • Where do UKZN students access library e-resources? • Why do UKZN students use library e-resources? • What characterises non-users of library e-resources? • What barriers exist to the use of electronic information services (EIS)? A review of the literature identified a mix of quantitative, qualitative and combined methods used to investigate EIS usage. In various research studies, the variables considered to be determinants of use included age, status, discipline of study, subject content, computer proficiency, ease of use, availability and print formats in academic environments. The barriers experienced when using EIS formats, the adoption of technology and the usability characteristics of EIS were also important aspects evident in the literature. The methodology adopted was based on a pragmatic philosophical approach and sought to establish baseline data. A quantitative research design was used which set out to achieve the research objectives through data collection on two fronts. Firstly, the overall usage environment at UKZN was established by reviewing vendor usage statistics. The COUNTER compliant statistics for selected databases and e-journals were collected and analysed. As COUNTER statistics were not available for e-books, the statistics available from the vendors were used. Secondly, a stratified, random sample of students on the HC campus was surveyed by means of an online questionnaire. A response rate of 22.5% was achieved. Data collected established the characteristics of users; whether they made use of e-books, e-journals and databases; where they used them and how often; why they made use of them; and what barriers and problems they experienced when using them. Data from non-users was also solicited. Data is presented in graphs and frequency tables. The Chi-square test was applied to establish significant associations between variables and these results are produced in contingency tables. The findings established that EIS are used by students and usage fluctuates during the course of the academic year with peaks occurring in each semester and low points during the vacation periods. e-Journals and databases are used more than ebooks, while postgraduate students use EIS most. Non-users made up almost a third iv of the sample; while habitual, frequent and infrequent users were reflected in almost equal numbers among those who use EIS. Age, gender or discipline of study were not in evidence as determinants of use. Students undertake searches mainly from computers in the LANs but off-campus computers are also used, which highlights the importance of remote access. The library website is most often the starting point for navigation, although search engines are also popular as a virtual starting point. Locating information was the prime motivation to use EIS, and students largely rated the EIS they used as good or excellent. Barriers were experienced by as many as 37% of users who reported that the non-availability of EIS was the main problem, although they experienced other difficulties. In concluding, issues of library service delivery and recommendations regarding usage are made. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.