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In the current education environment, students with disabilities may lack adequate transition planning in high school that may explain why these students often experience poor outcomes in higher education. The College Bound Summer Program was developed in 1999 as a supplement program within the state of Virginia to address transition issues and college success strategies for students with disabilities planning to attend college. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and assess the strengths and needs of College Bound. The intent of the evaluation is to provide data to guide the continuing development and improvement of the program. An adaptation of Schalock's (2001) outcome based evaluation model is utilized to provide a practical, problem-solving approach to gauge the quality and effectiveness of the program and to establish whether the program has produced its desired outcomes for participants. Sources of data included (a) interviews with 26 participants who attended the program in 1999, 2000, and 2001; and (b) extant documentation regarding program implementation. Data were analyzed qualitatively using constant comparative methods to derive findings that addressed eight categories related to College Bound's strengths and needs: (a) Learning Outcomes, (b) Experiencing On-Campus Living, (c) Attending Workshops, (d) Facilitating Personal Networks, (e) Marketing the Program, (f) Assessing Satisfaction, (g) Gathering Transition Information, and (h) Offering Suggestions. Findings from this evaluation suggest that the draw of College Bound for participants is concern regarding disability challenges in higher education. The data suggest that both parents and students are anxious about attending college and meeting the challenges of the collegiate environment. College Bound appears to be meeting the needs of the participants with programmatic strength in the following areas: (a) developing self-advocacy; (b) accessing college support services, and (c) networking with other participants, and (d) interacting with successful college students with disabilities. / Ed. D.

This study investigated performance based accountability in Florida's system of workforce education in Florida's state colleges and school districts. In Florida, workforce education is governed by Florida State Statute (K-20 Education Code Chapter 1004). The purpose of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of Florida's performance accountability policy as applied to workforce education. Additionally, it analyzed the impact of performance accountability on performance by the providers of workforce education - state colleges and school districts, and the value for investment achieved by the policy over the time period. The study was guided by three questions: (a) What is the relationship between effectiveness and year? (b) Is the relationship between effectiveness and year moderated by each of the contextual variables? (c) To what extent does each of the contextual variables predict performance and effectiveness? This study utilized a non-experimental quantitative research design and a costeffectiveness analysis framework. The unit of analysis was the providers of workforce education in the State of Florida. This study was framed by the outputs and outcomes the workforce education service providers achieve and the alterable and unalterable variables which might influence the provision of workforce education. Performance was measured through two measures: quantity of outputs, and quality of outcomes. The alterable and unalterable variables included: the type of institution delivering the service, either state college or school district; the delivery model used in each delivery area, either single or dual-delivery; and population characteristics, the percentage of students economically disadvantaged, the percentage of minorities, and the percentage of males. The study used correlation and regression techniques to analyze the longitudinal impact of the performance accountability system. / by Richard G. Cunningham. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Since the inception of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act of 1998 by the United States Congress, there has been limited research conducted on parental notification policies on campuses of Higher Education concerning alcohol and drug offenses committed by students. This study surveyed parents of incoming freshmen at the University of North Texas regarding their perceptions of Parental Notification policies and their perceptions of underage alcohol offenses by gender, age, ethnicity, and parental status. The relationship between parental notification and underage alcohol offenses was also examined. This study, conducted in the summer of 2002, at the University of North Texas had 539 respondents. An instrument developed to determine parental perceptions of underage alcohol use and parental notification consisted of 20 dichotomous questions. Chi-square tests of independence were used to analyze the data because it could calculate the relationships between two sets of nominal data. Data show that most parents want to be notified in all situations involving underage alcohol offenses and their offspring. Generally, parents do not believe their offspring will use alcohol underage as they enter college and that they are not binge drinkers. Females want to be notified about their student's underage alcohol offenses at a higher rate than males. Males want to be notified at a higher rate than females if using alcohol jeopardizes housing or enrollment in school for their student. Native Americans have great concern for their students in all areas of alcohol use and binge drinking. Parents should stay actively involved in the lives of their offspring as they attend institutions of higher education as well as stay involved with the University community in which their student attends.

Perceptions of college Disability Support Services (DSS) and school system personnel regarding emerging best practices, adequacy of preparation of students with disabilities to access accommodations in college, and communication across systems were examined in this study. Once in college, students with disabilities have a lower rate of completion/success than their peers. Accommodations promote success in college, yet students with disabilities are not accessing them, thereby reducing their success. Adequacy of student preparation to access accommodations and communication across systems affects the access of accommodations by college students with disabilities. This study is qualitative, with 43 participants. It includes DSS personnel from five, four-year and five, two-year colleges/universities and transition personnel from five public school divisions in Virginia. Snowball sampling and a guided interview format were used. Rigor was addressed through triangulation, including document and web review. Results indicate that differences between the ADA and IDEA require students, teachers, and parents of students with disabilities to have knowledge of students’ rights and responsibilities under the ADA to prepare them for accessing accommodations in college. Students were more likely to be prepared when they had knowledgeable and supportive parents, transition teams, and teachers/case managers. Characteristics of individual students also help determine the effectiveness of student preparation. School system participants feel they have lack of access to students with disabilities transitioning to college to effectively prepare them for accessing accommodations in college. They also lack feedback about preparation effectiveness. Participants believe additional communication is needed. Existing communication is directional with school system staff making requests of DSS staff. There is also need for additional college outreach to school systems and a structure for ongoing communication is desired. It is recommended that best practices in preparation and communication be identified, knowledge of transition teams/parents be improved, and usefulness of the Summary of Performance be determined. Development of a system for students with less severe disabilities for transition preparation and a system for increased feedback and communication between systems personnel is needed. The VDOE and SCHEV should work to improve avenues for joint preparation and develop goals and an action plan for implementation.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Jeff Zacharakis / Serving in the military today is a very specialized and intense experience, with the use of technology requiring dedicated training and education. The military provides much of this specialized training, but also recognizes the value of higher education for its personnel. Our military personnel are supporting our country daily and their increased time away from their home station diminishes time for their personal pursuits which, for many of them, is off-duty education. This exploratory study sought to understand the perceived barriers and goals influencing participation in postsecondary education by active duty Air Force personnel, in particular those that have served in austere, remote locations. This study used a modified version of Finks’ survey design to develop a questionnaire. The survey was administered to airmen, non-commissioned officers, and officers who were stationed at McConnell Air Force Base. Data examining motivational factors and barriers to participation in postsecondary education were analyzed using descriptive and nonparametric statistical tests. Comparative analyses were conducted based on data from the demographic portion of the survey. Goals for postsecondary participation included preparing for when they leave the military, securing professional advancement, giving them higher status in their jobs, and increasing competence in their jobs. Time was identified as a barrier, including not having time to study, taking time away from family or giving up leisure time. Some respondents indicated that the available courses did not seem interesting or that they did not enjoy studying. Other commonly reported barriers included not being able to attend class regularly or because the course was offered at an inconvenient time or location. A number of respondents also indicated that courses not being offered at remote locations was a barrier to their participation in postsecondary education. Although this was an exploratory study, the results can inform future empirical research as well as contribute to the literature focusing on personnel management. The findings from this study can be used as a first step that will allow the Air Force, postsecondary institutions and other stakeholders to enhance educational opportunities for this group and inform organizational effectiveness.

This dissertation presents the findings of an on-line survey completed by 222 FYC (First Year Composition) instructors at universities and community colleges across the United States along with supplemental information derived from multiple open-ended interviews with seven FYC instructors in Arizona. Both survey and interview questions were designed to accomplish three primary goals: to determine which conventions of academic English FYC instructors identify as most important; to understand the common problems encountered by instructors in teaching those conventions, and; to solicit instructors' perceptions about ways in which learning outcomes might be improved. Results indicate general consensus among FYC instructors on which skills are both the most critical to academic English proficiency and the most difficult for their students to learn. At the same time, the survey and interview responses reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the ways in which academic English sequences are currently structured, apparently related to the instructors' common perception that the sequences are only "somewhat" successful in terms of preparing students for successful academic writing. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of FYC instructors suggest changes for increasing the effectiveness of their programs; however, there is surprisingly little agreement among them on what those changes should be. The concluding section of this study presents pragmatic suggestions - congruent with a number of the instructors' observations - for reconfiguring FYC sequences. Additionally, it is argued that, aside from the targeted skills addressed by the instructors, the survey and interview responses indicate that academic English has been implicitly invested with culture-specific values which should be made explicit in instruction and which, given the gatekeeping status of FYC courses, the increasing diversity of student populations and the growing divide between the academic and wider cultures, require critical examination.

This study expands on the current literature base that investigates the use of voice recognition software (VRS) as a compensatory strategy for written language difficulties often experienced by postsecondary education students receiving services under the category of learning disabled. The current literature base is limited to one study (Higgins & Raskind, 1995) which found that subjects' writing samples, completed with VRS, had higher holistic scores than the samples completed with a transcriber, and without assistance. While these findings are positive many questions remain unanswered. The research conducted in this dissertation investigated three such questions. The questions and corresponding findings follow. 1. After being trained on VRS will persons, in postsecondary education, receiving services under the category of learning disabled, continue to use it to complete their academic course work? Will they further use the software for purposes other than academic study? Two individuals continued to use the software. One of these two used the software for multiple purposes. 2. Does the ongoing use of VRS, by postsecondary education students receiving services under the category of learning disabled, improve their written performance when assessed with Fry's Readability Graph? Two subjects each submitted three writing samples: one completed without the use of VRS and two completed using VRS. One subject's grade level equivalency went from 4.5 (sample completed without using VRS) to 6.5 (samples completed using VRS). There was no change in the grade level equivalency of the writing samples for the second subject. 3. What are the contributing variables that influence the continued use, or non-use, of VRS by postsecondary education students receiving services under the category of learning disabled? Numerous variables emerged from the data including: time, access to a personal computer, ease of use, personal issues, use of standard English, the specific limitations associated with a persons disability, whether or not the subjects had other compensatory strategies in place, and the acquisition of the skills necessary to use the software. The findings contribute to the field by providing a framework from which to assess who mayor may not benefit from the use of VRS.