<p> Despite the fact that women have reached parity in entering and graduating from medical schools (AAMC, 2014), the percentage of women who advance to leadership positions is small. The purpose of this study was to explore the connection between self-efficacy and leadership development over a multi-year period among women in academic medicine following their participation in a specialized leadership development program. The purpose was addressed by analyzing secondary interview data from alumnae of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine&reg; (ELAM) Program for Women, using a content analysis research design based on a constructivist paradigm of inquiry. The research problem addressed in this project was that the existing literature is deficient in studies that focus on the exploration of self-efficacy and how it influences the leadership development over time of women in academic medicine. Using Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy theory, this qualitative study was based on the thesis that Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy (performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasions, and physiological states) are determinants of success over time for ELAM alumnae who achieve leadership positions in academic medicine. </p><p> This study had five major findings. First, this study supports each of Bandura's (1997) four sources of self-efficacy. Second, the most robust evidence of self-efficacy was found in the performance accomplishments self-efficacy source. Third, there was development of self-efficacy over time with the greatest growth within the self-efficacy source of performance accomplishments in the area of skill development relating to negotiation, delegation, budgeting and finance, communication, political savvy, and leadership enhancement, followed by vicarious experiences, and verbal persuasion. Physiological states had the least growth. Fourth, the research and subsequent analysis of findings extend Bandura's (1997) previous research domains to include the demographic of women in academic medicine which could have transferability to highly educated and successful women professionals working in leadership roles in male-dominated fields. Fifth, Bandura's (1997) self-efficacy sources may need to be expanded. This study fills a gap in the research and adds to the body of knowledge related to self-efficacy and leadership development. </p>

<p> Since the inception of Student Affairs, males have dominated senior level positions. While females are earning every degree type at a higher rate than their male counterparts, there are more women in entry and mid-level positions that often feel relegated to these roles as they seek advancement to a Senior Student Affairs Officer (SSAO) position. Whereas the gender gap has dramatically decreased over time at four-year private institutions, the largest gender gap within SSAO positions continues to exist at four-year public institutions. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explores the career trajectories of 15 current female SSAOs at four-year public institutions. The study examines factors that led to their success, challenges related to their gender, and advice given to females who aspire to obtain an SSAO position at a four-year public institution. Critical feminist theory was the theoretical framework used to undergird the study and to help examine gender inequalities. All women currently hold a Dean of Students, Assistant/Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, or Vice President of Student Affairs position at four-year public institutions within three states. Five themes arose from the data, culled from two series of semi-structured interviews and resume analysis: (a) educational and career trajectory patterns, (b) mentorship matters, (c) pathways to advancement, (d) roadblocks to the SSAO position, and (e) advice given. Findings related to why the largest gender gap persists at four-year public institutions were also discussed. Interpretations of the findings, limitations, and recommendations for future research and practice were shared.</p>

<p> With institutional importance placed on diversity in higher education, considerable research has been conducted regarding the experiences of African Americans at predominantly White institutions. However, the focus has been limited regarding African American administrators in higher education (Jackson, 2004; Allen, 2000; Weems, 2003). The purpose of this study is to understand and further explore how African American Male Student Affairs Administrators (AAMSAAs) perceive their day-to-day experiences and relationships at predominantly White institutions (PWI). Using basic qualitative research methods and an interview protocol developed from the conceptual frameworks of Herzberg (1964), Cose (1993) and Kanter (1977), 22 African American male student affairs administrators were asked to describe their professional experiences at PWIs including their attitudes on professional development, the motivating and de-motivating factors in the work place, conditions for success, and the realities of being underrepresented and often tokenized professionals at PWIs. The words shared by participants attributed to their own experiences and provided insight into this phenomenon. Participants reported overall being satisfied in their career choice despite expressing several challenges in their work environment including professional stereotypes that limited individuality, high performance pressure relative to their White peers, isolation as numerical minorities, and the existence of few African American male role models. Despite these challenges, participants found motivation through student engagement, increasing responsibility or advancement, strength through faith and spirituality, and leveraging the limited opportunities with supervisors and mentors of color. Implications for this research are to help student affairs administrators and other leaders at PWIs better understand the issues that may impede the success of African American male student affairs professionals and help campuses consider methods for recruitment and support of African American males.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines the academic life of part-time professors at the five biggest universities in Chile. By examining part-timers' academic life, including both who the part-time professors are and what their academic work is, this study sheds light on the complexity and diversity of the part-time world. </p><p> Based on a qualitative methodology, this study looks at part-time professors' individual characteristics, job experiences, and aspirations for academic careers. It also looks at how part-time professors interact with structures in relation to the tasks and activities they perform in higher education. Data come from 70 interviews: 44 with part-time professors and 26 with university administrators including department chairs, ex-deans, provosts, and human resource directors. </p><p> This dissertation challenges the widespread view that part-time professors basically comprise one overarching entity. To be sure, the study also discovers significant commonalities, some encompassing all part-timers, others an extensive share but with exceptions. Chilean part-time professors share a teaching vocation and teaching is nearly the totality of what they do. Most of this teaching is classroom teaching. Only a few part-timers aspire to full-time academic careers. </p><p> Mostly, however, the study finds a part-time world that is diverse and complex. As it maps out dimensions of this diversity and complexity, the study discovers significant patterns within the wide-ranging terrain. Moreover, the study probes the logic of much of the variation. It develops a typology of part-time professors and their academic work. The typology first identifies the two major kinds of part-time professors: Higher Education Teachers (HET) and Outsider Professionals (OP). HET have their main work experience in higher education, OP chiefly outside higher education. Beyond that, the typology maps out multiple sub-types within each of these two major types. Exploration of the types and sub-types unearths much information about matters such as heterogeneous reasons to teach part-time and contrasting employment profiles. Even within teaching, always part-timers' main endeavor, the study finds variation on multiple activities such as evaluation of students and development of curriculum.</p>

<p> Housing professionals are increasingly compelled to consider hiring resident assistants (RAs) from a pool of applicants that includes students with less college experience than has traditionally been expected. The purpose of the study is to determine if the success of first-time sophomore RAs differs from that of first-time upper-class RAs according to performance evaluations by their supervisors. Performance evaluations of first-time resident assistants were compared to determine if any performance evaluation criteria predicted the sophomore or non-sophomore class standing of RAs post hoc. Performance evaluation data for first-time RAs were gathered from universities in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. The reported performance criteria were relationships with residents, relationships with staff, residential community development, programming, and administration. The data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Performance criteria did not predict an RA&rsquo;s class standing. Supervisors of first-time resident assistants evaluated the performance of sophomore resident assistants substantially the same as their upper-class counterparts. This result will give housing professionals more confidence in selecting students to serve as resident assistants regardless of their class standing.</p>

<p> Higher education institution performance has been brought to the forefront of the public policy arena by the spread of performance funding, the articulation of the Completion Agenda, and Congressional hearings on higher education. Debate over which entities should be responsible for monitoring the performance of higher education institutions as well as which measures are to be used has intensified. Currently, this oversight falls to institutional accrediting agencies that require institutions to meet established criteria, including the development of a culture of evidence and the pursuit of institutional effectiveness. To achieve and maintain accreditation, institutions must provide evidence demonstrating their adoption of a continuous improvement process. </p><p> Higher education institutions have a variety of continuous improvement frameworks from which to choose to improve quality and effectiveness in their processes and ultimately, their outcomes. There is; however, little research to identify how a framework might relate to organizational effectiveness performance. Accreditation provides a unique framework to higher education. The Higher Learning Commission-North Central Association (HLC), a regional accrediting agency, has created the Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP), an integrated approach to developing a culture of continuous improvement and supplying institutional accountability information. </p><p> This study investigated the relationship between higher education institutions&rsquo; continuous improvement planning processes and institutional performance measures of graduation, transfer out and first year retention rates for AQIP participating institutions, using a correlational explanatory research design and publicly available secondary data sets. The target population for this study consisted of US higher education institutions utilizing continuous improvement frameworks or similar professional standards. The sample selected was a purposeful convenience sample consisting of all 186 institutions currently participating in the AQIP accreditation process in the Higher Learning Commission region. The AQIP Systems Appraisal Reports were analyzed and the continuous improvement planning evaluations aggregated to develop independent variables. </p><p> The dependent variables of graduation, transfer out and first year retention were selected to represent organizational effectiveness measures. Graduation, transfer out and retention rate data are collected annually as part of the IPEDS survey. Findings showed that institutional characteristics such as sector, size and location had a greater impact on organizational effectiveness measures than continuous improvement practices. In addition, this study explored a unique approach to inter-rater reliability with respect to team generated documents.</p>

<p> A single case study design was used to explore the affiliation need of career college adjuncts and their lived experiences and the influence that their working conditions have on their professional growth, motivation, commitment, sense of loyalty, and connectivity to the institutions they serve involving student achievement and retention. Constructivist theory was the theoretical framework selected for the study based on the concept that individuals construct knowledge and understand more effectively based on reflections of their personal experiences. The aim of the study was to develop a thorough knowledge of the psychological influence of the working conditions of adjuncts regarding their affiliation and connection with the institutions for which they teach. Additionally, the study included an exploration of the types of professional support programs or activities perceived by adjuncts to be beneficial for their needs for affiliation and teaching performance within their institutions. A qualitative method was used, with nine participants in a single case study, and one focus group. The findings showed that regardless of the lack of fellowship, interaction, and participation in professional development activities, adjuncts are still loyal to their students and motivated to teach and change lives. The participants acknowledged their need to be affiliated with their institutions, and strategies to increase their senses of loyalty, commitments, and motivations. </p>

<p> The California State University (CSU) system is the largest public university system in United Sates. In 2014, female student population was 56% and 42% were male. Overall, there are higher percentage of female students than male students in the CSU system, yet there are only 10 female Provosts in the CSU system. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and describe the career journeys of women Provosts in the CSU system in order to learn more about: (a) what factors have motivated these women to executive leadership roles in the CSU system, (b) their career pathways, (c) any obstacles they may have encountered and addressed on their career pathways, and, (d) any mentoring support they may have received on their career pathways. This study described the career journeys of seven female CSU Provosts. </p><p> This study was a qualitative portraiture design. Interviews consisting of 16 questions were conducted in person or over the phone. Nine themes emerged from the analysis of the interview. The themes were prior leadership experience, the mission of the CSU system, traditional and non-traditional career pathways, being female, balancing family and career, gender-based obstacles, formal and informal mentoring, and lastly female mentoring. </p><p> This study had four conclusions. First, CSU women Provosts concluded that the CSU mission and vision motivated women to their current role and the connection to the system. Second, the CSU system supports both traditional and non-traditional pathways to the Provost position. Third, like other women leaders, CSU Provost continue to face challenges in their executive career pathways. The main conclusion for the challenges was balancing family and career, in addition to gender-based obstacles. Finally, the study concluded that women CSU Provosts had role models and different styles of mentorship throughout their education and career pathway towards leadership roles.</p>

<p>Mid-level leadership is key to a functioning university and it is important that mid-level leaders feel they have the tools and resources they need in order to succeed. To be successful in a new mid-level leadership position, entering supervisors must clearly communicate a strong sense of vision, values, and principles to their staff and establish positive relationships to encourage inclusivity, support, and effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to determine what higher education institutions can do to prepare staff for a successful transition into mid-level management and leadership roles successfully. This purpose was achieved by identifying successes and challenges that current mid-level leaders at higher education institutions have experienced while transitioning into their current or past roles, and examining how they were able to successfully employ their leadership and navigate pitfalls in their new mid-level leadership positions. </p><p> Data were collected from 15 mid-level leaders in higher education in the form of a 13-question, semi-structured interview format, which focused on their past recollections of transitioning into a mid-level leadership role. The key findings of the study yielded 54 themes that answered 4 research questions. In particular, being a supervisor and a colleague was the primary challenge associated with mid-level leadership. Additionally, study participants indicated that having a comprehensive training/onboarding program, specifically for mid-level leaders, would allow for a better chance of a successful mid-level transition into a new campus environment or department. As a result of the study findings, a framework of advice emerged for aspiring and current mid-level leaders transitioning into a new mid-level role and suggestions for effective initiatives that higher education institutions could employ was provided to assist in helping a new mid-level leader successfully transition into one&rsquo;s role. </p><p> <b>Keywords</b>: mid-level leadership; onboarding; transition; higher education </p>

<p> There is limited literature regarding how higher education leaders influence and shape curriculum do for graduate students. The question is how the curriculum is influenced by higher education leaders. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover how those in leadership positions in higher education influence and shape curriculum for business school graduate students. Examining the influence higher education leaders have on curriculum design will provide information to universities to evaluate their current processes and may help universities continue to improve program quality. An exploratory qualitative descriptive approach was taken for this study. Qualitative data was collected via eight interviews with those involved in curriculum design. Specifically, participants for this study were those in leadership positions (administrators, deans, associate deans, and senior faculty) in the masters of business administration (MBA) program at a selected university in the Northeast region of the United States. The data from the interview transcripts were analyzed to discover how those in leadership positions in higher education influence and shape curriculum for business school graduate students. The four major themes identified in this study were flexibility, streamlining, continuous improvement, and innovation. The study revealed that factors such as flexibility, communication (internal and external), adaptability, and technology all contribute to robustness of the graduate business curriculum and are a reflection of how those in leadership positions influence the curriculum. The findings from the study revealed similar views regarding participants&rsquo; experiences about their role in influencing and shaping the curriculum, challenges faced, and common experiences among several participants. The study revealed that the participants reported positive feedback on their level of participation with the curriculum design process. The practical implications that may result from the proposed research may explain the current leadership structures, both formal and informal, within department of business. Results of the study may also have the potential to inform the development of future curriculum design efforts to enable current and future department faculty and chairs to influence curriculum design as effectively as possible.</p>