The transition from high school to college is difficult for students and they need to learn to navigate the transition in order to be successful and stay in school. This process is especially challenging for many students with disabilities who may face additional difficulties due to their disability. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how having a faculty mentorship influences the collegiate experience of students with disabilities. This study was grounded in qualitative, hermeneutic phenomenology methodology. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with students with disabilities who had a faculty mentor during their first semester of college. Data analysis was conducted based on thematic analysis (Van Manen, 1990), and predominant themes were discovered. The researcher concluded faculty mentorship does affect the collegiate experience of students with disabilities in considerable ways. Students met significant challenges adjusting to the collegiate life. Faculty mentorship assisted some of these students during their transition from high school to college. Based on these themes, specific conclusions were drawn regarding students with disabilities transition and the postsecondary accommodation process. Suggestions were presented for university administrators, faculty, and staff, all of which work with students with disabilities. / Department of Educational Leadership

Though much research is available on student persistence and attrition, few studies asked students to describe their experiences and motivational factors that influenced them to stay enrolled. This study at Ball State University helped researchers to understand these factors so that they could better work with matriculating freshmen and reduce freshmen drop-out. Qualitative research methodology resulted in data being gathered via personal interviews with students who were identified as matriculating freshmen living in the university residence halls during fall and spring of the 2004-2005 academic year. A semi-structured interview guide was created and modified. Data were collected in March, April, and May of 2005. The researcher analyzed the data by identifying thematic connections among the data according to guidelines presented by Seidman (1998).The researcher concluded that the goal of a powerful job and the recognition by parents and families motivated students to attend college and graduate. Students believed their motivations were internal, but based on their responses, the motivations were external to them. A better career and parental recognition were forms of external motivations. The factors at Ball State University that encouraged students to stay enrolled varied from individual involvement to characteristics of the institution. Programs like Orientation and Freshman Connections did not seem to have much of an impact on students' adjustment. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this investigation was to provide information about those variables which are predictive of academic success during the freshmen year of college in order to aid high school counselors and college admissions personnel with students pursuing postsecondary education. Subjects were 87 randomly sampled mid-western freshmen students who were administered the Interpersonal Problem Solving Assessment Technique (IPSAT) by Nowinski and Getter (1977) and surveyed to determine their birth order positions. High school grade point average (HSGPA), collegiate entrance examination scores on either the SAT or ACT, and college grade point average (CGPA) were gathered from students' collegiate records. Pearson correlations were computed for all predictors and the criterion. Collegiate entrance examination math and verbal scores were significantly correlated with students age and HSGPA. Gender was significantly correlated with IPSAT effectiveness scores and collegiate entrance examination math scores. HSGPA was significantly correlated with CGPA. Multiple regression analyses were employed to determine which variables had predictive utility. Both simple and stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that HSGPA was the only variable which significantly predicted CGPA. Post hoc analysis revealed that collegiate entrance examination math, verbal subtest scores, and true ordinal position did not add to the prediction of CGPA. These findings support previous investigations which promoted the use of HSGPA and questioned the validity of collegiate entrance examinations such as the SAT or ACT for predicting college success. / Department of Educational Psychology

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1972. / Bibliography: leaves 54-59.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Indiana University of Pennsylvania. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Brad J. Glass, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)-- Springfield College, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-152). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-52).

Thesis--Auburn University, 2008. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-197).