<p> Prior studies have demonstrated that most college dropouts happen at the transition to the third semester of college. Using a state dataset that includes student data for the 2013-2014 time span in the state of Oklahoma, the researcher examined the validity of students&rsquo; background characteristics, high school performance, and financial aid status in predicting first-year college performance and persistence beyond the second semester of college. </p><p> Data from 116,991 degree-seeking first-year students enrolled at research universities in Oklahoma from fall 2013 to fall 2014 were entered in the SPSS software for data analyses, which include both multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression. </p><p> The researcher finds that students&rsquo; enrollment status and federal Perkins loans do not yield strong predictions of how students will perform academically or whether they will return to the second year of college. For tuition waivers, the associations with college performance and persistence are stronger, but still not significant. In contrast, spring GPA, Oklahoma&rsquo;s Promise, high school grade point average, American College Testing scores, and gender are useful for predicting persistence to the third semester, and have a strong association with their college performance. </p><p> These findings might reflect current efforts by the Federal Government, State agencies, institutions and schools to promote student success, help them pay college tuition, and increase students&rsquo; pre-college performance. </p>

<p> Since the first intercollegiate athletic event in 1852, a patriarchal hegemony has controlled the governance, policy making, and leadership of intercollegiate athletics. Not until 1972 did women enter the national narrative on college sports participation and administration, albeit through federal mandate and in marginal fashion. More than forty years after the passage of Title IX, intercollegiate athletics still lacks a strong female presence in executive administrative positions. The National Association of Collegiate Women Administrators (NACWAA) is the only professional organization devoted solely to developing and advancing the success of women in the profession of intercollegiate athletics. </p><p> This study examined the lived experiences of seven women athletics administrators who participated in a leadership development program, the Institute for Administrative Advancement (IAA), offered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and NACWAA. This dissertation used hermeneutical phenomenology to qualitatively describe how IAA participants make sense of this leadership development experience. By thoroughly characterizing the meaning ascribed to the IAA experience as well as the actualization of the IAA curriculum, the results of this study characterize how participants of the NCAA/NACWAA IAA perceive a) career development and leadership and b) leadership self-efficacy. </p><p> Seven themes emerged through data analysis: 1) Discrimination is evident. Many forms of discrimination were perceived, 2) Individual perceptions of leadership were varied and dynamic, 3) Self-assessment of leadership skills evolved over the duration of the IAA, 4) Expectations of the IAA experience were modest yet hopeful, 5) Participants experienced contrasting emotional states throughout the IAA, 6) Actualization of the learned skill set resulted in a variety of outcomes, and 7) The IAA was an empowering and transformative experience.</p><p> Based on the emergent themes, implications and recommendations are offered to counterbalance the underrepresentation of women in athletic administration. The findings from this study also serve a broader application to higher education. The narratives shared by the participants can provide a pathway to empower other women and members of historically underrepresented and socially excluded groups within higher education administration toward professional advancement. </p>

<p> Minimal research has explored the realities of new presidential leadership of small private colleges and universities. These institutions that comprise the majority of the one-third of higher education institutions already confronting financial and environmental challenges, also face other challenges of paramount concern (Lyken-Segosebe &amp; Shephard, 2013; Selingo, 2013a). Among these challenges is that of providing presidential leadership from a diminishing pool of experienced candidates qualified or willing to lead them (Cook, 2012; Song &amp; Hartley, 2012). </p><p> Using the presidential office as the pivotal point of inquiry, this qualitative phenomenological study sought to answer the following: What is the unique lived experience of new presidents at a small private institution while meeting the leadership challenges of the office within the current landscape of private higher education? </p><p> This phenomenological study was conducted with <i>N</i> = 7 presidents (new to office within a bounded timeframe), <i>N</i> = 1 elite interview, supplemental document analyses, interview observations, and guided observation of campus visits. Moustakas&rsquo; (1994) thematic analytical strategy was applied to all data sources. </p><p> Five themes emerged from this study: presidents of small private colleges and universities are dedicated to the substance of their work and do not merely seek the prestige of the office of president (Theme #1), that they are not the &lsquo;saviors&rsquo; of their institutions (Theme #2), they bear significant burdens in carrying out their roles&mdash;both institutionally and personally (Theme #3), they are steering a course towards sustainability amidst turbulent times (Theme #4), and they are well aware that they, alone, cannot render their institutions successful (Theme #5). </p><p> The findings highlight the characteristics and strategies of novice presidents at small private institutions and which may advance an understanding of the complexities and uniqueness of the presidential role in this market share. This study may also provide a foundation for understanding the profiles of small private college presidents in the contemporary higher education landscape, and of the formative and influential experiences upon them.</p>

<p> Organization Development (OD) has been used in a variety of ways to improve organizations both large and small. Interestingly, the institutions that teach and conduct research on organizations have been slow to adopt or utilize OD approaches and practices in their own institutions. This dissertation will use a thematic meta-synthesis approach to examine the case studies that have been conducted in which OD initiatives have been used in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) between 2000 and 2015. It will look to synthesize the main themes of these case studies in an effort to create a new grounded theory of OD practice for HEIs. The study looked at 34 case studies (12 articles and 22 dissertations) that took place at a mixture of public and private universities and colleges in the United States from 2000 to 2015. Using a qualitative thematic meta-synthesis approach allowed the research to uncover the prevailing themes and discuss in a macro sense how OD has been applied to HEIs.</p>

<p> Excessive college student drinking is a complex problem associated with a range of consequences including deaths, injuries, damage, health risks, legal difficulties, and academic problems. State governing boards, trustees and executives have enacted policies aimed at reducing the negative effects of excessive drinking. This study examined influences on university staff members responsible for implementation of alcohol-control policies. Deeper understanding of factors influencing alcohol-control policy implementation may help leaders improve policy making, implementation and attainment of policy objectives. </p><p> This mixed methods study utilized a sequential transformative mixed methods strategy with a quantitative survey, sequenced first, informing the prioritized qualitative multiple case study. Research was conducted at two public universities selected from a single state. In the quantitative phase students (n=1,252) completed a survey measuring student support for 33 alcohol-control measures. Staff (n=27) responsible for policy implementation completed a survey estimating student support for alcohol-control measures. Survey data informed development of the case study interview protocol. In the qualitative phase ten interviews were conducted at each case study site. </p><p> The study&rsquo;s theoretical and conceptual model was based upon Pressman and Wildavsky&rsquo;s (1973) implementation framework and Kotter&rsquo;s (1996) eight-stage process for leading change. Findings from the quantitative phase of the study revealed strong levels of support for alcohol-control policies at both campuses while staff members generally underestimated student support for alcohol-control policies. The key findings that emerged after coding case study data included the influences of: (a) executive leadership; (b) leadership transitions and policy saliency; (c) cognition and sensemaking; and, (d) anchoring changes in culture. Student support for alcohol-control policies was found to have no direct influence on staff members responsible for implementation of alcohol control policies.</p>

<p> The value proposition of the public liberal arts colleges is that they provide the quality of education typically associated with esteemed private liberal arts colleges at a comparably lower cost. These institutions emphasize access and affordability, and a rich and rigorous undergraduate education in "small" residential settings, making this type of education available to students who otherwise could not afford it. Given the decline nationally in state funding of public higher education, demographic shifts affecting who goes to college and how, the &ldquo;disruption&rdquo; of technology, and the public questioning of the value of a liberal arts degree, this dissertation looks at how three public liberal arts colleges are responding to these changes and how both the changes and institutional responses to them are shaping or reshaping their mission.</p>

<p> The primary purpose of this study was the exploration of social media utility as a crisis communication practice on three selected university campuses. The overarching research question for this study was &ldquo;How and what social media technologies are selected, planned for, implemented, and monitored in crisis management in selected universities?&rdquo;. This study examines how these institutions used social media during crisis, pinpoints the emergent themes, analyzes the engagement between the selected universities and their social media audience, and analyzes the effectiveness of social media during campus crisis situations.</p><p> The findings of this study include the documentation of institutional practices that contribute to successful social media crisis communication integration. These elements ultimately coalesce into the identification of a series of best practices that can help inform the field and contribute to the establishment of best practices for social media use during campus crisis situations. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)</p>

<p> This study provides a qualitative exploration of the ways in which the various degrees of entrepreneurialism and commercialization shape female graduate student training and socialization across science technology and engineering fields. This study explores institutional conditions at three selective and private U.S. research universities that cultivate innovation and entrepreneurship in graduate students to introduce patents, start companies, and/or work in leadership roles in start-ups and corporations. A focus of the study is on institutional factors important to women with doctorate degrees in the STEM fields &ndash; science, engineering, technology and mathematics. Critical factors in each institution&rsquo;s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem are explored, including the institution&rsquo;s role in building innovation and entrepreneurial pathways, their commitment and resources for innovation and entrepreneurship, their culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, and their commitment to diversity and inclusion for increasing participation of women in innovation.</p>

<p> Public universities face significant funding challenges as states continue to look for efficiencies or outright cuts. In addition, the call for accountability in higher education continues to grow as state lawmakers, policy analysts, and researchers voice concern that degree attainment has stagnated, is too low to support economic growth, and takes too long. Business and political leaders are also increasingly interested in developing higher education accountability in response to concerns by students and families over the rising cost of a degree. Together, these themes of accountability and cost control have resulted in dramatically different policy innovations in the form of performance-based funding in a growing number of states. However, these policies have thus far produced scant evidence of success. Furthermore, the potential unintended consequences of these policies seem large, including the risk of increased selectivity resulting in increased class-based inequality and the risk of decreased educational quality. Thus, the shift from basing state support on inputs to outputs could be much more than a simple accounting change. By stressing different priorities, the shift may ultimately alter the historic access mission of public higher education. Ohio created a new policy in 2012 that funds 100 percent of undergraduate higher education state appropriations to public universities on the basis of outcomes, the most aggressive policy of its kind in the nation. This study investigated the perceptions of 24 Ohio higher education leaders regarding this policy innovation and combined those responses with related performance metrics in order to synthesize a more comprehensive understanding of early impacts and implications, particularly as it pertains to outcomes, access, and education quality. The results of the investigation suggest that that retention has improved, access has decreased, and quality has been unaffected. University leaders were largely in favor of the policy and supported increased selectivity even in the face of declining enrollments. Although concerns remain regarding at-risk student support, the study suggests that a 100 percent performance-based policy may have positive benefits and achieve the intended objectives. It may also alter our conception of the broad access mission of higher education as access is traded for student success. </p>

<p> A fast-growing number of international students is entering the U.S. higher education system, making our college campuses more multicultural and multinational in recent years. This phenomenon represents a new mission for American colleges and universities&mdash;to promote global citizenship and a new 21^st-century worldview. </p><p> The increase of Chinese international students not only brings in revenue for the American higher education system but also enhances the diversity of the student body. Many institutions assert that, by having more international students on campus, they can bring awareness of global competitiveness and promote a 21^st-century worldview to their students. </p><p> To achieve the educational goal of bringing multicultural diversity and global awareness to U.S. campuses, interaction among domestic and international students is a fundamental factor in making this globalization phenomenon beneficial for all students. However, it is commonly observed that Chinese international students and U.S. domestic students often encounter difficulty in cross-group interaction. </p><p> This study investigates the interaction patterns among U.S. domestic students and Chinese international students at two four-year universities with large numbers of Chinese international students. These two institutions, one public and one private, each hosts more than 4,500 international students, with more than 10% of their total student population from overseas and more than 40% of them from China. The objective of this research is to highlight the importance of cross-cultural and cross-national friendship by understanding students&rsquo; interaction patterns and identifying both friendship initiators as well as barriers. </p><p> The research uncovers the social distance and stereotypes between the two groups as the common barriers to friendship. Conversely, the initiators of friendship are the shared experience and equal status between the Chinese international students and domestic students. Institutions should prepare the way for global interconnectedness by promoting inclusive, world-ready classrooms; implementing a campus climate that explicitly welcomes international participants; and advocating the concept of cross-national <i>global friendship</i> as a part of 21st-century education.</p>