National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women student-athletes are high-level athletes who experience the traditional demands of job-hunting, interviewing, and the range of emotions experienced by college students transitioning from postsecondary education into the workforce. In addition, they have unique experiences related to their collegiate playing careers ending and being women in the workplace. Guided by Nancy Schlossberg's (1981) Model for Analyzing Human Adaptation to Transition, this qualitative study explored eight former NCAA Division I women soccer players' perceptions about the transition to the workforce. The focus was on the student-athletes' psychosocial and institutional influences related to the career transition process. Five themes emerged from the interviews: 1) institutional career support, 2) transferable skills, 3) career connections, 4) moving on, and 5) advice from former student-athletes. All the participants had a positive experience being a collegiate student-athlete, but still, they felt a lack of support and resources provided to them to aid with the career transition from their coaches, athletic department, and university. The participants acknowledged that internship experiences contributed to a positive transition into the workforce but expressed challenges completing an internship opportunity due to the time demands associated with being a student-athlete. The respondents also expressed other challenges with transitioning from being a student-athlete to a young professional, but all collectively used their families, friends, and teammates for support during the transition. The former student-athletes also unanimously believed they acquired several skills such as time management, conflict management, and discipline from being student-athletes that helped them have a more successful transition. Each participant provided advice to current student-athletes and recommendations to athletic programs, coaches, and administrators about the career transition process for student-athletes. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

This qualitative research study explores the challenges encountered by five African American women who serve as high-ranking higher education administrators at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in Pennsylvania as well as how they contend with these challenges. This study also uses an Intersectionality lens to explore the intersectionality of race and gender and how participants feel this intersectionality, as well as gender and racial stereotypes, has impacted their professional lives and how they are perceived/received by colleagues. As we strive to ascend to a level of increased diversity in higher education professionals that is reflective of our increasingly diverse society and student population, it is essential that we explore what is often uncomfortable territory to create more enlightened, supportive, and inclusive work environments. Purposive sampling and phenomenological research methods including semi-structured interviews using open-ended questions were utilized to delve into the experiences of the participants. Participants were asked about professional challenges, work-life balance, and how they experience working at PWIs among other topics. The emerging themes were professional challenges, coping mechanisms/support, mentorship, navigating higher education as Black women, and respect or lack thereof from colleagues and subordinates. The ladies were also asked about their views on the future of Black women in higher education and for any advice for Black women currently working as administrators and those who aspire to do so. Though they encounter many challenges, some unique to them as Black women, all the participants recognize the value of their work and plan to continue that work for their students as well as future Black female administrators following in their footsteps. / Educational Administration

The experiences of undocumented students have gained much attention over the last decade and researchers have shed light on the barriers these students face in regard to postsecondary educational access and success. However, the conversations about undocumented students in higher education are often focused on Latinx experiences thereby excluding non-Latinx undocumented students, such as Black undocumented (undocuBlack) students. Although undocuBlack students face similar challenges to other undocumented students, their experiences are different as a result of intersecting domains of oppression and deserve a place in the ongoing discourse. Therefore, this qualitative research study focuses on undocuBlack students and their experiences in higher education, exploring the issue through the intersectionality lens. I employed qualitative strategies to study this topic and utilized an interpretative phenomenology approach to gain perspective, insights, and make meaning of the experiences of undocuBlack students on college campuses. The results of my analysis suggests that the collegiate experiences of undocuBlack students are unique because of the intersection of their race and immigration status. Participants experienced invisibility within the undocumented and Black communities. They also faced challenges experiencing a sense of belonging because some participants did not feel comfortable in Black spaces, while others completely disengaged out of fear of not belonging. Furthermore, participants with DACAmented status had more resources available to them allowing them to more fully engage on campus. Ultimately, each participant's own lived and personal experiences related to their race and undocumented status demonstrate the diverse, conflicting, and invisible nature of the undocuBlack experiences. My findings contribute to the literature on undocuBlack on the diversity of the undocumented student experience and offers invaluable information to higher education professionals, the undocumented community, and activists on how to properly support undocuBlack students. Keywords: Undocumented, UndocuBlack, DACA, Intersectionality / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

Placement into preparatory courses presents a significant challenge related to access and equity in higher education; it connects to conversations around college readiness, particularly in geographical areas that have been underserved, or which have larger minority populations and underprepared students. At the same time, the research points to relationships between enrollment in preparatory coursework in higher education and lower rates of retention and college persistence; students who take these courses are more likely to drop out from the institution. These courses often carry no academic or transferable credit to be applied towards a college degree, yet the student has still accrued the same amount of debt as any other student who has taken credit-bearing courses. Therefore, these issues peripherally relate to matters surrounding college affordability and student debt. As a secondary analysis of Mid-Atlantic University data, this project investigated how preparatory coursework impacts college persistence and retention. It used the existing literature on placement into preparatory courses and any relationship to retention, with a focus on any noted disparities or inequities by student characteristics. Specifically, this study explored whether taking preparatory courses impacts some student groups differently than others in relation to retention and persistence. The data set was analyzed using quantitative, statistical methods. Findings include that students who take preparatory courses are more likely to be from minority backgrounds, are first-generation, are from homes where English is not the native language spoken and are from lower socio-economic status. There are also differential outcomes amongst those who take preparatory courses dependent upon student characteristics. Finally, preparatory students’ responses on a New Student Questionnaire trend towards lower levels of academic and social integration. The implications of the results were focused on offering practitioners a unique look at the student data about the impact of pre-college course placement, which can be used to better support students placed into preparatory courses to increase the retention rates and improve academic outcomes of this vulnerable population. / Policy, Organizational and Leadership Studies

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This qualitative, narrative inquiry investigated the lived experiences of adult learners as transfer students. Participants in this study matriculated from community colleges to universities within the State of Florida. The study consisted of 10 participants aged 29 – 59. This research examined adult learners who have transferred and transitioned from community college to make meaning of their individual experiences as transfer students. The research questions that guided this study are: (1) What are the experiences of adult learners who have transferred and transitioned from a community/state college to a four-year university? (2) How do adult learners describe the experiences that motivated their academic persistence? Participants were interviewed in a virtual setting. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a narrative analysis method. Each narration was re-storied and structured by story code to include: an abstract, orientation, climax, resolution, evaluation, and narrative summary. Three core narratives were co-constructed from the data analysis: (1) Learning Curves; (2) Demotivating Experiences; (3) Influential Factors. Higher education is an ever-changing environment that continues to expand in its adult learning student populations. This study benefits the practitioners and policymakers of higher education seeking to understand and improve policies for retention efforts of adult learners and transfer student populations.

The principal purpose of this program evaluation was to determine how the 2010–2019 alumni of the William & Mary (W&M) D.C. Summer Institutes (DCSI) perceived their participation helped them achieve career readiness. Existing literature on experiential learning methods and practices has suggested great value in such opportunities, but less information existed about the outcomes of internship programs in higher education. As leaders consider what their institutional operations look like following the COVID-19 global pandemic and demand for quality internships rises, research on what works in high-impact programs, such as DCSI, offer valuable data for faculty, administrators, and students. A total of 449 DCSI alumni spanning the first 10 years of the program were invited to participate in an electronic survey, followed by the option to interview to discuss the topic and their experiences in more detail. I analyzed the resulting quantitative and qualitative data to determine if DCSI outcomes aligned with program intentions. The findings suggested overall, DCSI alumni perceived an increase in their career readiness as a result of their participation, with the biggest increase in their professionalism. Women and students of color perceived higher levels of readiness overall and in multiple career competencies than their male and White counterparts. This evaluation highlighted the need for universities to increase access to internship programs for all students, especially women and students of color. First-generation and low-income students in particular would benefit by participating in internship opportunities, which may be especially effective for increasing career readiness.

During a global pandemic, another pandemic of loneliness impacted undergraduate college students and influenced the way members of the 18-25-year-old population lived and learned throughout a time of intentional distancing. Additionally, the insurgence of loneliness impacts members of the 18-25 age group in startling rates. This qualitative case study explored how undergraduate women who participate in comedy troupes fostered community while living and learning during a global pandemic known as COVID-19 between the spring of 2020 and the fall of 2021. The research added to the body of knowledge on how comedy and levity can enhance wellness and how humor can be brought into various aspects of life from work to play. This study explored how undergraduate students living in a time of heightened loneliness infused humor in their relationships with one another. The study explored the relationship dynamics built by women-identified comedians and focused on how the participants developed community by using humor, comedy, and levity as the pillars of their interactions. Lastly, this study is rooted in better understanding how higher education student affairs practitioners can better support collegiate comedians invested in their relationships with one another.

Institutions of higher education are no strangers to crisis situations. From world wars to campus violence, colleges and universities across the United States have been both directly and indirectly affected by these crisis situations. However, in the early part of 2020, higher education was faced with a situation that transcended anything colleges and universities had seen before—COVID-19. What made COVID-19 so unique was how the disease quickly permeated throughout the United States. Thus, a stage was set for institutions of higher education to defend their campuses and communities from a most historical pandemic. This study, understanding the historical significance of the COVID-19 pandemic, researched how two public universities in Virginia, William & Mary and the University of the Virginia, used email communication to inform the students, faculty, and staff of their respective institutions during the pandemic. A discourse analysis was conducted and found that both institutions framed their discourse using a science and data-driven approach coupled with a unity-based structural frame that advanced the rhetoric and narrative of their COVID-19 response.