Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-91). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Dissertation (Ph. D.)--University of Akron, Dept. of Public Administration and Urban Studies, 2008. / "December, 2008." Title from electronic dissertation title page (viewed 12/29/2008) Advisor, Sonia Alemagno; Co-Advisor, Margaret Stephens; Committee members, Peter Leahy, Huey-Li Li, William Bowen; Department Chair, Annabelle Foos; Dean of the College, Ronald F. Levant; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Given the significance of completing college, the low college graduation rate for students with disabilities, and the effect of support services on students in the general population's ability to complete college, it is essential to understand the link between accessing support and attaining positive postsecondary education outcomes for the wide-ranging population of college students with disabilities. Students with disabilities attend postsecondary education more significantly than ever before, and the literature shows they do not perform as well academically as their peers. Higher education institutes expect students with disabilities to perform academically at the same levels as their non-disabled peers. Therefore, institutions must identify and support them. With graduation completion rates deteriorating throughout higher education, administrators, faculty, and staff are more pressured than ever to meet all students' needs. In response, higher education institutions are developing and restructuring their support services to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Through this study the researcher sought to compare the perceptions of students with disabilities who chose to register with the university’s disability resource center and utilize the accommodations and services they provide and the students who disabilities who chose not to register for these services. A quantitative study was performed using the National Survey of Student Engagement 2021-2022 to identify first year and senior students with disabilities. Multiple choice questions from the survey were analyzed to address each research question. The study compared the students identifying as having a disability and their registration status with the university’s disability resource office. The data from this study provided insight into the perceptions of students with disabilities, and how they feel about MSU’s DRC and utilizing its services and accommodations. Data also provided a comparison of students with disabilities who chose to register with DRC and those who did not in active learning, collaboration with peers, collaborative strategies with faculty, and the facilitation of the students social and emotional well-being and a supportive academic environment on campus by faculty.

Positive postsecondary outcomes have become a social issue as the gap between typical peers and students with disabilities grows for employment or postsecondary education. Using evidenced-based instruction strategies to create effective transition instruction has become a required and successful means of improving postsecondary outcomes for individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. The career and technical programs have been identified as an environment that currently implements evidence-based practices that have shown promise of improving instruction. However, participation is limited among individuals with moderate to severe disabilities in the career and technical programs. Through this study the researcher sought to understand how career and technical educators perceive their programs as appropriate learning environments for students with moderate to severe disabilities. A mixed-methods design was used to gather perspectives of career and technical education teachers. A survey was given to ask career and technical education teachers about their personal perspectives, current dispositions, and the perceived barriers for including students with moderate to severe disabilities in their career and technical classroom. Open-ended questions were included at the end of the survey to better understand or identify new perceptions, dispositions, or barriers of career and technical education teachers toward teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities. An analysis of the responses determined that although there are concerns and lack of resources, the overall perspective of career and technical education teachers is positive. According to the results of this study, career and technical education teachers in Mississippi see their classrooms as beneficial and as an appropriate learning environment for students with moderate to severe disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the nontraditional credit programs offered by the member institutions of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. As a secondary purpose, there was a desire to provide the Commission on Colleges with data to assist the members and staff in assessing the need for possible revision of Standard Nine. The study was accomplished through addressing sixteen specific objectives. Among these objectives was the identification of all institutions with the membership of the Commission on Colleges of. SACS which; offered a nontraditional degree program.Additionally, the identification of those institutions among the membership which planned implementation of a nontraditional effort by 1977-78 was also sought. / Ed. D.

No description available.

The focus of this research is the re-conceptualisation of learning in higher education. By theorising the university as a group of interconnected discourses I have been able to develop an understanding of student learning identity which goes beyond the formal academic settings of the university and which explores the influence of both the social and academic spheres of the university in terms of student transition and engagement in learning. Data were gathered in three phases: through in-depth interviews with sixty nine students entering their first year at three British universities, the collection of three day diaries from forty four of these students and follow up interviews with thirty students from the original sample. By negotiating positions on continua of continuity and discontinuity of experience with interlocutors in identified discourse settings, students were found to experience learning as an integral and transformative aspect of their identities.

This report explores the extent, trends, and consequences of academic undermatch, defined as students enrolling at an institution of relatively less selectivity than what their academic qualifications grant them access to, including non-enrollment. Using a sample of two cohorts of Central Texas high school graduates, this report finds that undermatch occurs among all students, but that it was more extensive for low-income students and among students with average qualification levels. Low-income students were found to undermatch at 65.1 percent and non low-income students at 53.9 percent of those who enroll. Between 2008 and 2009, undermatch increased among all students; among the highest qualified low-income students it increased by 10 percentage points. The majority of undermatched students were found to be enrolled at two-year over four-year institutions. A negative relationship between qualification level and annual earnings was found in the earnings of students who did not enroll. This report provides a set of recommendations to address undermatch and college access among low-income students in Central Texas. / text

Following Barr and Tagg's formalization of the concept of learner-centered educational practice at the postsecondary level as described in their seminal article in Change in 1995, survey instruments have been developed to assess teachers' beliefs about their own learner-centeredness.. The research reported in this dissertation examined the connection between college students' perceptions of teacher effectiveness on each of four dimensions appearing as questions on the IDEA Survey of student reaction to instruction and courses (developed at the IDEA Center, Kansas State University, in the early 1970s) and the Assessment of Learner-Centered Practices (ALCP): Beliefs Portion of the Postsecondary Level Instructor Survey, College Level (developed in early 1999 by B. L. McCombs, University of Denver Research Institute; alpha reliabilities reported). Using scoring rubrics accompanying the ALCP instrument, instructors were identified as learner-centered or non-learner-centered based on their responses. Independent t-tests were performed to determine whether learner-centered instructors were perceived differently by students in terms of teaching effectiveness than non-learner-centered instructors on each of four dimensions: overall excellence of course, overall excellence of instructor, effectiveness of instructor in helping students achieve relevant objectives in the course, and effectiveness of course and instructor in improving students' attitude toward the field of study. Students rated learner-centered instructors higher in all dimensions, but results were not statistically significant. Instructors were also identified as possessing learner- or non-learner-centered beliefs to a greater degree than that necessary for an overall designation. Independent t-tests were performed to determine any differences in student perceptions of effectiveness between these two groups. Again, students rated learner-centered instructors higher in all dimensions, but results were not statistically significant. Recommendations for further research with the ALCP instrument are made, including research to determine whether specific factors and/or questions prove to be statistically significant in predicting student evaluations of effectiveness. Also recommended are replications of the study to investigate moderating variables influencing accurate faculty self-identification of beliefs about teaching and learning.

Research interrogating the development, implementation and enforcement of reactionary and conservative social and educational movements and policies has enabled us to show the con- tradictions and unequal effects and the disproportionate and disparate impacts on the lives of mi- nority students (Apple, 2009). This research study examined how the Board of Regents, Geor- gia’s higher education governing body, interprets and enforces the “lawful presence” require- ment set forth in USG Policy 4.1.6. The study gave primary consideration to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, who the data show have been systematically excluded from access to certain state colleges and universities without legal cause or justification. The study also examined the perceived impacts of Policy 4.1.6 on DACA students seek- ing admission to the state’s most selective colleges and universities. Data collected from partici- pant interviews of DACA students, along with data gathered through participant observation and documents analysis, were used to create a greater understanding of the impacts of Policy 4.1.6 on both DACA and undocumented students. The study is significant because it traverses matters of current legal import, while also contributing to the growing body of literature concerning access to postsecondary education for undocumented students. Using the methodological approach of critical theory, the study incorporated elements of critical race theory (CRT), critical Latino/a studies (LatCrit), and critical policy analysis in the exploration of the various narratives and counternarratives created by the enforcement of Policy 4.1.6. Using Interpretive Phenomenologi- cal Analysis (IPA) of the interview data, a critical assessment of the perceived impacts of Geor- gia immigration and education policy development and implementation is also provided. Finally, this study revealed the ways in which ‘race-neutral’ educational policies result in discriminatory practices against minorities, specifically undocumented students, the majority of who are Lati- no/a. The knowledge gained from this research gives policymakers on either side of this issue with analysis that can more effectively guide them in the interpretation of federal mandates and conflicting state laws that result in the subordination of significant segments of student popula- tions.