<p> As technology-mediated learning continues to expand, gain critical favor, and show promise for solving a number of critical issues inherent in educating future generations, leaders of online learning (OL) units within higher education face complex challenges. It is critical that leaders of these units (1) have the right leadership skill sets to be successful and (2) are able to effectively navigate the trade-off between exploratory and exploitative innovation.</p><p> This qualitative interview study developed a holistic account of ambidexterity in OL units by reporting a variety of perspectives from different leaders. It chronicled how 10 successful OL leaders approached the task of leadership in their units and documented their approaches to the development of new products and services, as well as improvement of existing offerings and methods. The study illustrates the OL leader&rsquo;s struggle to maintain strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders across the university and shows how by their understanding of the next generation of teaching and learning, these leaders have an important voice in the future of education and of the university. </p><p> The study revealed that (1) OL leaders need to focus more on the strategic aspects of education and less on technology and (2) ambidextrous leadership shows promise as an excellent model for online learning. A plethora of leadership behaviors are in use in OL units that help cultivate ambidexterity; however, the use of these behaviors is more intuitive than premeditated. Successful OL leaders like the ones interviewed understand the importance of both exploring new ways to achieve outcomes while at the same time improving upon existing methods. What is missing from the equation, however, is the intentional planning of time or work (temporal flexibility) to switch between them.</p>

<p> Within the field of undergraduate program assessment, anecdotal evidence abounds about negative faculty attitudes. Regardless of the common wisdom, there is little research that corroborates these reports. If reports are correct that faculty resistance is wide spread, it is still not clear if that resistance is toward accreditation, professional development, institutional requirements, other calls for accountability, or assessment. In fact, faculty members can be seen as spending much of their careers assessing: Faculty members routinely assess their students, a textbook they are using, whether the curriculum has adequately prepared students for the next class or their careers, and more. Faculty attitudes toward program assessment remain unclear and largely uninvestigated.</p><p> The focus of this study is based on 18 interviews of faculty members in three programs of study at a large, research-intensive, land grant institution. The approach is socially constructivist in nature; the theoretical lens is that faculty members have constructed concepts of assessment and that their constructions inform their participation. The study provides information about faculty attitudes toward assessment with a nuanced understanding toward the factors that influence their attitudes. The study reveals that faculty members view student learning outcome assessment as a call for accountability, a reaction that supports their fear that the information they provide will be used to cut positions and programs of study. When assessment is initiated within the program, however, faculty willingly participate to gain the information that assessment provides to improve their curriculum and their teaching. Additionally, how faculty construct their understanding of assessment is related to the epistemological foundations of their disciplines.</p><p> The study adds to the body of literature on faculty attitudes toward assessment. Next steps include incorporating faculty perspective and participation into the assessment process. Additional research will reveal the support needed for faculty to engage in assessment and for institutions to support that engagement. </p>

<p> In an international university in Thailand, with students coming from 92 different countries, faculty members reported a need for professional development (PD). The purpose of this study was to understand faculty members&rsquo; needs and preferences in the undergraduate department to help the administration offer appropriate PD programs. In accordance with the situated cognition theory, professional learning was approached as a social process embedded in workplace interactions. Research questions pertained to teachers&rsquo; perceptions about their learning needs, program preferences, and the relationship between PD and student learning outcomes. In this descriptive case study, data were collected from fulltime faculty members via a focus group of 5 participants and 8 individual face-to-face and email interviews. In accordance with a maximum variation sampling strategy, the sample included faculty members from varied academic and cultural backgrounds and diverse lengths of experience in the university. Thematic coding analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) a desire to learn specific content such as classroom management techniques, pedagogy for university-level students, assessment design, and instructional technology; (b) a desire to observe and apply new techniques to better engage diverse students in large classes; (c) a desire to learn collegially to share context-relevant information; and (d) expectations from the university administration. As a result of this study, tailored recommendations for this university were derived to contribute to social change. Appropriate PD programs can enable faculty members to hone their pedagogical skills and improve student learning experience in this multicultural setting.</p>

<p> Senior Academic Leaders&rsquo; Involvement in and Interpretation of the Presidential Transition Process at Private, Selective, Nonprofit Colleges and Universities: Analyzed Through an Organizational Decision-Making Framework This study described, interpreted, and analyzed the way in which senior academic leaders were involved in the presidential transition process at private, selective, nonprofit colleges and universities. This topic was important to study because senior academic leaders&rsquo; interpretations of organizational decision-making provides insight into the way colleges and universities deal with tension between academic values and economic forces. </p><p> The study addressed one research question: What is the role of senior academic leaders (i.e., provost or vice president for academic affairs) in the various phases of the presidential transition process at private, selective, nonprofit colleges and universities? There was one analytical question: How did the senior academic leaders describe the decision-making process during the various phases of the presidential transition process? </p><p> There is a lack of empirical research about presidential transition processes in higher education. This study, therefore, relied heavily on research from other discourses and narratives of practitioners. It connected literature about leadership transitions and the academic presidency in order to examine how the transition process can support a newly appointed president. This study was conducted using a basic interpretive design consistent with a constructivist research paradigm. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 19 senior academic leaders from 19 different institutions. </p><p> The data were coded and analyzed to identify 10 themes consistent with the literature reviewed. The 19 participants described their experiences in three phases (reflection, selection, and onboarding) of the presidential transition process. Participants reported being involved in the reflection phase of the process by leading and participating in planning processes. They reported serving as advocates for the academic program during the selection phase. The study also found that the role of senior academic leaders during the onboarding phase was to facilitate the development of relationships. The analysis was interpreted through the analytic framework of organizational decision-making. The study produced four findings, which indicated why decision-making processes were and were not present, identified tension between academic and market values during the transition, and showed how the transition process may affect a presidency. Recommendations were provided for practice and further research.</p>

<p> Study abroad has been a part of the curricular and co-curricular programming of higher education since 1875. Yet, despite the long history, a literature search revealed that study abroad is the least examined of the high impact practices (HIPs) related to engagement theory. Further, despite its promise as a retention strategy, study abroad has never been fully explored as a solution to the retention ills of higher education. Therefore, using data from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study analyzed the engagement and retention value of higher education, principally through the use of MANOVAs and Mann-Whitney U tests. To learn more about the engagement practices of students who study abroad and elucidate learning style characteristics of study abroad participants, an analysis using Chi-square testing was conducted about students&rsquo; participation in study abroad, other voluntary high impact practices, and co-curricular activities. The results of the analysis illuminated that study abroad participants have a significant, impactful tendency to hyper-participate during and after their study abroad experience, suggesting an overall positive effect on the outcome variables. Students who studied abroad made significant gains in relation to Tinto&rsquo;s construct of social integration; this was consistent across race/ethnicity, academic major, and gender factors. The students made different gains in retention, albeit to varying degrees, as measured by level of academic integration and positive feelings about institutional actions. Finally, students demonstrated engagement gains that were mostly significant; these differed by race/ethnicity, academic major, and gender. As a result of these findings, leaders in higher education should consider study abroad as a tool to help students socially integrate, increase their engagement, and, among certain student populations, increase retention. If study abroad were integrated as a part of the core curriculum, study abroad would stifle the high dropout rates currently plaguing American higher education.</p>

<p> This phenomenological feminist study aimed to describe the lived experiences of Black female faculty in leadership positions in higher education. Black female academic leaders find it challenging to celebrate their individual leader development, work effort and success independent of historical marginalization, Affirmative Action, stereotypes, and tokenism among other stigmas. The group of faculty that was interviewed consisted of two deans and one associate dean, two department chairs who were also full professors, four full professors, five associate professors, two assistant professors, two faculty specialists, and two long serving adjunct professors. The group responses were used as the data that was then coded and emerging patterns were categorized into themes. In response to the research questions and from the findings, using the recurrent themes of challenges, gender and racism, success, mentoring and coping strategies, three conclusions were drawn: exclusion and discounting cause stress levels to rise and also contribute to lowered self-confidence and increased self-doubt; in the long term, the definition of success evolves and becomes less about academic expectations and more about authenticity and personal values; and having a mentor in higher education contributes to better chances of being appointed to leadership positions. Recommendations to specific departments include rewarding and recognizing as part of faculty evaluation the extra service Black female faculty add to their heavy workloads as they serve and mentor Black and minority students.</p>

<p>Administrators, students and faculty employed at or attending academic institutions in Florida have experienced numerous disasters in the last decade. Political pressures, financial restraints, and recent legislation has led to administrators&rsquo; at academic institutions to rely upon online education as a viable means for delivering education to students anytime and anywhere. Administrators at academic institutions have utilized online education as a way to ensure that academic continuity takes place while campuses are physically closed or are recovering from damages during and after disaster. There is a gap in the research as to how to best prepare faculty for academic continuity after disasters occur. The lack of available research regarding how faculty members at academic institutions prepared themselves prior to a disaster served as a major rationale for this study. The problem that was addressed in this phenomenological study was to identify the support needed by faculty to provide academic continuity during and after times of disaster in Florida. The purpose of the phenomenological study was to provide further knowledge and understanding of the support needed by faculty to provide academic continuity after a disaster. Data collection from this study will help human resource professionals as well as administrators of academic institutions to better prepare faculty to provide academic continuity in the future. Participants were recruited on LinkedIn and were qualified as having been faculty who taught traditional courses during disasters that occurred between 2004 and 2014 in Florida at accredited academic institutions. Faculty members were asked a series of open-ended questions to gain understanding of their experiences of how they prepared themselves for academic continuity prior to disasters. The findings from this study showed that faculty members identified assistance needed including professional development in the form of training and support, communication, and technological resources in order to provide academic continuity. The first conclusion from this study was that academic institutions need to support their students, staff and faculty with disaster training and the resources needed to provide academic continuity during and after disasters. The second conclusion from this study is that while disasters and other academic institution incidents are occurring more frequently, limited funding and the push for online education has created limited resources for academic institutions. The need to create partnerships and consortiums with other academic institutions and communities is crucial for the success and sustainability of academic institutions. Through these partnerships and consortiums academic institutions can share resources, knowledge, and training (Morris, 2013). </p>

<p> This phenomenological qualitative study explored the lived experiences of American women university and college presidents to understand the maternal influence on their leadership development. This study was conducted by interviewing 20 women presidents from traditional four-year public and private universities in the United States. The interviews probed the complexities and processes involved in examining the maternal relationship, while seeking to understand the maternal influence on the leadership development of women university and college presidents. Each story presented maternal influences which emerged into six main themes including: mothers as center of family, mothers instill a personal value system, mothers as a role model, mothers encourage achievement, mothers offer support, and other women who influence. Mothers had a direct influence on leadership development and when mothers were absent, other women substituted the maternal influence to fill the maternal void offering acceptance and support. The findings from this study contribute new knowledge to the field of leadership development and may help women prepare for leadership positions, increasing their potential for success.</p>

<p> The field of student conduct administration (SCA) in higher education has grown more complex. Researchers and practitioners have noted the tension for conduct officers between managing legal and policy compliance focused on the adjudication of cases and serving as restorative justice minded educators oriented towards student growth and learning. As a result, the knowledge required and the skills practiced by conduct officers are broad and varied. An overlooked dimension of SCA is how conduct officer development, especially as it relates to meaning-making, influences their experiences, knowledge, and skills. This study, utilizing a developmental theory known as &ldquo;action logics,&rdquo; explores how conduct officer meaning-making informs their thoughts, actions, and ultimately, how they take on their responsibilities for their institutions and for their students. </p><p> A three-stage analysis of data from two qualitative interviews and a photography exercise was designed to explore the relationship between meaning-making and action logic expression for nine SCAs. In stage one, an analysis of narrative was constructed, coded for meaning-making characteristics, and an action logic hypothesis was formed. In stage two, three methods of triangulation generated additional insights. These included member checking, participant results from the Global Leadership Profile instrument, and an external audit. Finally, a cross-case analysis explored how the action logic expressed was related to meaning-making and specific themes identified from the interviews and literature. </p><p> The findings from these participants suggest the presence of a developmental range rather than a fixed action logic expression influencing the exercise of their responsibilities. Additionally, data analysis suggests that the developmental range is partly a function of organizational role. This first finding is inconsistent with previous research, providing a direction for future research. The study proposes a developmental leadership taxonomy that may be present and accounts for the range of actions logics available that could potentially be integrated into their conduct officer roles. This study has implications for training and practice of conduct officers and other student affairs professionals. The study also offers methodological considerations for research at the intersection of leadership, action logics, meaning-making, and human development.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of students of color at an urban commuter university as they relate to the constructs utilized within the engagement literature and to the noncognitive student characteristics literature. Data were collected using the following instruments: William Sedlacek's Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ), items from the Beginning College Student Survey of Engagement (BCSSE), items from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), and individual and small group interviews. The key findings of this study revealed that noncognitive characteristics assisted students in (a) internalizing messages, (b) understanding systemic processes, and (c) identifying motivating factors. These findings underscore the importance of moving away from a monolithic understanding of engagement to a more complex consideration of the ways in which students interact with the campus environment. Furthermore, this study showed the importance of providing incoming students with the opportunity to build on noncognitive personal skills, experiences, and characteristics&mdash;assets that are not measured by traditional college entrance requirements such as high school grades or standardized test scores and that often have not been seen as being directly related to academic success. This can be accomplished through the development of curricular and co-curricular experiences that include comprehensive programs and activities as they pertain to internalizing key messages, determining motivators, and understanding systemic processes.</p>