Amidst the turbulence of political shifts and the re-emergence of the Taliban, this phenomenological research shines a light on the lived experiences, aspirations, and challenges of female undergraduate students in an Afghan university. Through in-depth, qualitative interviews, this study unravels six pivotal themes shaping their collegiate journey: gender-centric oppression, systemic and structural barriers, academic hindrances, family support, and the motivation to endure and prevail amidst profound adversities, such as enforced gender apartheid and stringent clothing mandates. Within an intersectionality framework, this research not only bridges a critical gap in the literature but also serves as a crucial narrative for global academia and policy-making arenas, underlining the imperative for robust advocacy and policy reforms. The stark findings and nuanced insights gleaned from this study underscore the imperative to foster gender equality and educational access, whilst advocating fervently for the re-establishment of inclusive and supportive educational environments for all in Afghanistan.

Academic capital is composed of social processes that result in family knowledge of educational expectations, and strategies that result in a successful college experience. Often underrepresented and first-generation students lack a wealth of academic capital. This lack of knowledge may affect their college success. I used the Academic Capital Scale to research differences in academic capital in students attending a 2-year and a 4-year institution. To address differences in these two groups, I performed an independent samples t-test. The analysis was done with and without transformations (transformations were unsuccessful.) and both procedures yielded no statistical significance in mean academic capital scores. In addition, a Mann-Whitney U test was completed which also resulted in no statistically significant difference in mean rank of scores. I performed a logistic regression to determine whether academic capital could predict students' enrollment status (full time vs. part time). The model accounted for 2% of the variance in the enrollment status and the academic capital scores did not contribute significantly to the model, meaning they did not predict enrollment status. Finally, I ran a multiple regression to investigate if low socioeconomic status, gender identity, first-generation status, enrollment status, or race/ethnicity could predict students' academic capital score. The …

Graduate enrollment management (GEM) is an area of enrollment management that focuses on graduate and professional education. GEM's responsibilities can include various functions such as strategic planning, marketing, recruitment and admissions, academic advising, financial aid, student services, retention, and alumni relations. The comprehensive structure of GEM puts a significant amount of pressure on enrollment managers as its unique interdependence model creates an environment where professionals must be cross-trained in several areas, manage through grey areas, cultivate relationships with personnel across the campus, accomplish department goals, support their student population, and all while staying in alignment with the institutional mission. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore GEM from an enrollment managers perspective. The theoretical framework that guided this study was interdependence theory, and examined the following research questions: (1) How do graduate enrollment managers explain their roles in their respective departments and at their institution? (2) How do graduate enrollment managers explain the factors influencing their work? (3) What key stakeholders do graduate enrollment managers identify as influencing their roles and their work? (4) How do graduate enrollment managers balance demands from these stakeholders? Seventeen graduate enrollment managers working at a large research university were interviewed in-depth. The …

Seminaries in the United States have for more than two centuries sought to equip ministerial leaders for service within the community of faith. And yet these institutions have traditionally been the focus of very little quantitative research. This lack of data is particularly noteworthy given the existential crises many seminaries currently face, especially regarding their flagship Master of Divinity (MDiv) programs. Among seminary leadership, a common response to declining MDiv enrollment has been to decrease the length of the program, which historically required at least 90 credit hours. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore change at the Association of Theological Schools member institutions (AMIs) between 2000–2019 through the lens of these credit-hour reductions. Longitudinal data from 113 AMIs were analyzed to examine the relationship between a variety of financial, enrollment, and institutional characteristics and the likelihood that an AMI would reduce its required MDiv credit hours. Results from an event history analysis revealed that, all else being equal, experiencing an increase in total revenues reduced an AMI's likelihood of making a reduction, while being a middle-age institution (founded 1870–1959) and having a higher percentage of peer institutions that made a change increased the likelihood of making a …

This study was the first to examine the impact of immigrant-focused public policy on the educational outcomes of Latinx students in professional nursing. Between 2001-2020, 34 states adopted policies that either provided or prohibited in-state resident tuition (ISRT) and/or state financial aid (SFA) to undocumented students. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) passed in 2012 gave a new group of largely Latinx, college-age immigrants unprecedented access to public higher education and employment. A rapid increase in the proportion of nursing degrees earned by all Latinx students, not just those who were undocumented, occurred concurrently with these federal and state-level policy changes. This study utilized fixed-effects panel analysis to estimate the relationship between DACA, ISRT, and SFA policies for undocumented students on the percent of nursing degrees earned by Latinx students between 2005-2020. None of the policies analyzed in this study were significant predictors of Latinx nursing degree completions. Broad cohesion among all models instead pointed toward the importance of gains in overall degree production among all Latinx college students, underscoring the important role of higher education in the creation of environments that support the success of students from this target population.

This multi-case study sought to better understand how students with intellectual disability (ID) are forging pathways to higher education via the community college. Five individuals with ID who accessed higher education via the community college and their parents/guardians were interviewed. Each case provided insight into personal pathways with results given in case descriptions and individual case themes. Cross-case analysis revealed four themes positively impacting the college-going pathway for students with ID: value-driven grit, pathway knowledge, community support, and accessibility. Based on findings from this study, families appear to be the primary systems forging pathways to the community college for individuals with ID. Local education agencies and community colleges can assist these families by engaging in interagency collaboration, evaluating their systems, and aligning practices to the goal of students with ID accessing and engaging in higher education.

The single-mother college student population has quietly grown to over two million undergraduate students over the last two decades, but most of them will not attain a degree. What has been missing is a better understanding of the lived experiences of successfully persisting single-mother college students as told by the women themselves. This phenomenological case study interviewed 11 students from a regional university in the southwestern portion of the United States. Four themes emerged as expressed by the participants themselves: "Just because you have a baby doesn't mean your life is over" (Rebekah); "In the middle of a test, my kid throws up" (Sarah); "They're building me to be independent" (Anna Maria); and "I'm really doing this" (Juno). Their synthesized lived experiences were expressed through the simile of a seasoned gymnast. Overall, they shared adeptness at resource management and problem solving, strategically using support while building resiliency and self-efficacy. This study of successfully persisting single-mother college students can aid institutions in improving their support mechanisms for these students.

This study examined professional identity of biology faculty at four-year colleges and universities and the relationship between their perceived identity, as a scientist or a teacher, and their participation in activities related to evidence-based teaching practices. This study drew upon online survey results of 328 college and university biology faculty from across the country. Results from ordinary least squares regression indicated faculty who work at very high, high, and Master's institutions had higher perceptions of science identity. Nontenure track faculty showed higher perceptions of teaching identity. Additionally, the results of this study indicated a strong teaching identity and favorable views on evidence-based teaching related to greater participation in evidence-based teaching practices. Science identity, though positively relate to the outcome, was not a statistically significant predictor of participation in activities related to evidence-based teaching practices. An implication for practice is to recognize biology faculty members' use of newer teaching methods, such as demonstrations of student-centered teaching in lectures in promotion and tenure review. An important implication for future research would be to explore if recognition for outstanding teaching through promotion and tenure cause an increase in the number of faculty who gravitate toward more education-based scholarly activities and, in turn, develop …

Federal law requires institutions to designate campus-based administrators to oversee Title IX processes and investigations, but little is known about how these have been professionally prepared for their roles. The purpose of this study was to understand the professional preparation, educational experiences, and professional training of Title IX administrators and to understand their independence in decision-making in those roles. This study utilized qualitative content analysis and a social constructionist approach to analyze data generated from interviews and document analysis. Sixteen current and former Title IX administrators (investigators, deputy coordinators, coordinators) provided their perspectives on their professional training and development. Using frameworks of work/professional socialization and professions theory, findings illustrated complex systems for knowledge acquisition, professional preparation, and professional socialization based on factors including resources, institutional context, and role prioritization. Participants' formal education, formative experiences, position-specific training, and professional organizations training all served as preparation for their roles. Discussion focused on implications for graduate programs, training and trainers, institutions and supervisors, the field of higher education, and current Title IX practitioners regarding professional preparation for these roles.

This study aimed to take asset-based approach and identify Latino male students who were persisting in college, and to identify what strategies made them successful. This qualitative study consulted Tinto's revised student departure model, Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, as well as Yosso's theory of community cultural wealth. A phenomenological design was utilized to identify the shared experience of first-generation Latino male college students who had persisted in college and maintained a 3.0 grade point average. Findings revealed that Latino students entered college with goals to provide better opportunities for the next generation. They encountered unfamiliarity, culture shock, and marginalization, all obstacles centered not on academic preparedness, but on unfamiliarity with the environment. They used their linguistic, navigational, and aspirational capital to navigate their two worlds. Their cultural upbringing stressed a strong commitment to family and community, i.e. familismo. They found community among in-group peers and college staff. This support network provided what Laura Rendon refers to as validating experiences. Once familismo was obtained they gained a sense of belonging and grew their cultural capital to become familiar with the college going culture. The learned the rules of the game which enabled students to focus on their goal of earning …

Early career attrition in student affairs is a topic of interest for hiring and supervising managers, graduate preparation programs, as well as new professionals. Contributions to the growing body of research on the topic potentially informs bets practices in curriculum development, hiring, onboarding, and professional development for new student affairs employees. This study involved 352 new student affairs professionals in the field's largest professional association. With Rhodes and Doering's integrated model of career change as a framework, the research study was designed to identify individual and environmental factors influencing new student affairs professionals' person-environment fit and, subsequently, career commitment. The result was an eight-factor structural equation model that included graduate curriculum, pay satisfaction, mentoring, student interaction, connection to institutional mission/vision, collegiality, and person-environment fit as independent variables, and career commitment as the dependent variable. The study suggests that these eight variables, to varying degrees, indirectly and directly influence career commitment in new student affairs professionals.

Employability skill development is being increasingly investigated among higher education scholars, corporate hiring managers, and governments around the world. Understanding employability skill development is important because it has implications on educational policy, teaching techniques, curriculum designs, and recruitment practices. This study was conducted at a public research university in a southwestern state of the United States. It was designed to understand the difference in employability skill development among students who participated in a leadership development program compared to those who did not. Additionally, the study investigated what skills were seeing the most change among student participated in the leadership development program, and if a student's major of study played any role in their overall employability development over the course of a year. Eight employability skills were tested in a pre- and post-test model. Results indicated that students in leadership development programs are more likely to see an increase in employability skill development. From the skills tested among participates, those in the leadership program found the most change over time in the area of problem solving skills. Finally, the results also indicate that a student's major does have an impact on their overall employability skill development. Students who major in business …

Hyatt, Jennifer Leigh. Women Chief Housing Officers at State Universities in the Northwest United States. Doctor of Education (Higher Education), December 2016, 89 pp., 1 table, 3 figures, 48 references, titles. This qualitative study explored the experiences of women chief housing officers (CHOs) at state universities within the northwest region of the United States. The study used narrative inquiry methodology with a thematic analysis approach to investigate how seven female CHOs experience and make meaning of their professional career progression and journey toward becoming and remaining a CHO. Five core themes emerged from the study: (a) understanding housing operations, (b) self-efficacy, (c) gender inequities, (d) relationships with staff, and (e) mentorship. The theme of gender identity suggests that gender does influence how these female CHOs make meaning of their professional experience. The overall results suggest that although the perception of many is that the field of student affairs is wide open to women, in some senior-level positions, such as CHO, gender inequity is prevalent. A factor that may contribute to this inequity is the privatization of housing which calls for a greater understanding of business and housing operations, areas dominated by males. An implication from this study is that an …

This research attempted to ascertain whether the ratings of applicants in the admissions-evaluation process of Dallas Theological Seminary (Admission Committee Rating, or ACR) were related to persistence in seminary study sufficiently to allow reasonable prediction of completion based on the strength of the ratings. Five ACRs were examined - the total ACR and its four components, strength of previous academics, personal references, potential and promise for ministry, and previous ministry experience. Other non-admissions factors were also examined to see what relationship they had to persistence. Those factors were years of matriculation, age at matriculation, gender, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, types of previous higher education, whether or not financial aid was received (if known), and the total amount of financial aid received (if known). Persistence in the study was defined as graduation from the seminary's major four-year master's degree program (Th.M.) within the time limits published for the degree. Analysis results indicated that only two of the five ACRs were statistically significant, ministry potential and ministry experience, but the relationship with completion was weak. The conclusion reached was that the relationship between the strength of the admission evaluation and persistence was practically insignificant and contributed little to the ability to predict …

This investigation compared the perceptions of responsibility, authority, and delegation held by department chairpersons and those held by faculty members in Saudi Arabian universities. The three purposes of the study were to determine differences in perceptions between department chairpersons and their faculty members, to determine any significant interaction between the independent variable (position) and each of the eleven clarification variables with respect to respondents' perceptions, and to determine any significant difference in perceptions between respondents in different categories of each of the clarification variables. The findings were as follows. There was a significant difference in perceptions of responsibility between department chairpersons and their faculty members, but no such difference was found for authority or delegation. Significant interactions were found between position and three of the clarification variables with regard to perceptions of responsibility, between position and none of the clarification variables with regard to perceptions of authority, and between position and four of the clarification variables with regard to perceptions of delegation. In addition, significant differences in perceptions were found among categories of six clarification variables with regard to responsibility, of four clarification variables with regard to authority, and of seven clarification variables with regard to delegation.

Traditionally, nurse anesthesia educators have utilized prior academic achievement to predict student success. However, research has indicated that prior academic achievement offers an inadequate assessment of student success in graduate healthcare programs with extensive clinical residencies. The educational literature has identified many non-cognitive factors, such as self-efficacy and locus of control, that may provide a more holistic prediction model of student success. An experimental study with pretest-posttest design and stratified random assignment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to promote self-management, professional socialization, and academic achievement among first semester graduate nurse anesthesia students. Participants (N = 66) were demographically similar to the national graduate nurse anesthesia student body, though Hispanics and younger students were a little over-represented in the sample (56% female, 75.8% White, 15.2% Hispanic, 6% Other, 59% ≤ 30-years-old, 67% ≤ 3 years of ICU). The results showed that most graduate anesthesia students had strong self-management and professional socialization characteristics on admission. The results did not support the effectiveness of this educational intervention. Thus, ceiling effect may have accounted in part for statistically non-significant results regarding self-efficacy (p = .190, ω2 = .03), locus of control (p = .137, ω2 = .04), professional socialization …

Embarking on a study abroad experience is thought to be a transformational experience for students, and previous researchers have tended to find that the potential benefits of study abroad experiences, including greater conceptual and behavioral intercultural competence, are greater with longer periods abroad. The purpose of this study was to create an intentional learning experience for students who embarked on a short-term study abroad in rural areas of China and to apply faculty intervention of a student development approach to student learning to create a high-impact learning environment for students centered on a service-learning project. This qualitative study gathered primary data from students and instructors during the course through a collection of observation and field notes, student journals, pre- and post-construct tests, and final presentation. Follow-up interviews were conducted 10 months after course completion. Six students participated in this course and study who were from a variety of disciplines and classifications. Five students were female; one was male. Four students were undergraduates; two were graduate students. Student ethnicities included three Caucasians and African American, along with two international students from Mexico and Iran. Key outcomes of this study were that when short-term study abroad faculty members applied creative interventions, students …

This historical study chronicled events of the development and implementation of the Paris Small Business Development Center at Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas from 1986-2006. Data was collected from primary and secondary sources and oral histories through personal interviews. The analysis included a brief history of higher education and the service mission and situated the study in the broader context as an extension program in higher education. This study provided a brief history of the U.S. Small Business Administration and America’s Small Business Development Center Network as a background for the study. This study is significant to scholars in the field of higher education for a number of reasons. It provides a historical analysis of a service program that extends the college to the community and demonstrates higher education and its role in economic development. It adds to the current body of research by advancing an understanding of a past to contemporary knowledge. Finally, by integrating historical perspectives from multiple disciplines in higher education, what happened and the context in which it happened can be more fully appreciated. This study also contributes to practical knowledge as it deepens the understanding of significant events and processes that contributed to the …

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the current state of community college faculty development program evaluation and identify possible influences on evaluation practices. Data from 184 survey responses and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) were analyzed to answer three research questions. Multiple regression was used to determine if a relationship existed between the dependent/outcome variable (evaluation utilization score) and the independent/predictor variable (accrediting agency affiliation: MSCHE, NEASC, NCA, NWCCU, SACS, and WASC) and/or control variables (institution locale, student FTE, expenses per student FTE, percent spent on instruction, and percent of full-time faculty). Results were not statistically significant, F (12, 163) = 1.176, p = .305. The mean evaluation scores were similar for all six accrediting agencies ranging from 60-69. The rural variable was statistically significant with p = .003 and alpha = .05, but it only accounted for 3.6% of the variance explained. Logistic regression was used to determine if a relationship existed between the dependent/outcome variable (use of evaluation) and the above-specified independent/predictor variable and/or control variables for six faculty development program activities. Results revealed that significant predictor variables for the use of evaluation vary based on the faculty development program activity. Statistically significant …

In higher education, the field of student affairs, as demonstrated in previous research, suffers from high turnover, and often, the choice to leave the student affairs field seems to coincide with starting a family and simultaneously taking care of elder family members. Previous research has demonstrated that care-giving commitments hinder women in the advancement of their career and given the changing culture of shared care-giving responsibilities, the previous findings may now be true for men as well. This study focused on Caucasian male middle managers’ perceptions of the student affairs work environment in relation to their families and workplace supportiveness and advancement. I interviewed eight Caucasian, male student affairs middle managers about their perceptions about workplace supportiveness of family obligations in the student affairs field. The participants placed high importance on family and were no longer willing to risk family life for career success. All eight men talked fondly of their family obligations and were willing to change career paths to demonstrate how much they valued their families. In addition, these men frequently commented on the desire to represent cultural change. Therefore, student affairs divisions should implement supportive informal benefits across the board to all professional full time employees for …

As community colleges have gained more recognition as a viable pathway for students to enter higher education, they have faced greater accountability that has prompted both practitioners and policy makers to attempt to find solutions and tools, such as National Survey of Student Engagement, Community College Survey of Student Engagement, and Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE), to aid in improving student success outcomes. This study addressed the validity and reliability of the SENSE instrument using a three-pronged approach via student data collected over 3 years of SENSE administrations at a large urban community college (n = 4,958). The instrument was first factor analyzed against the SENSE benchmarks for effective educational practice through generalized least squares and principal component exploratory factor analysis. Although the instrument did not deliver a chi-square factored fit for the six benchmark categories, consistent loadings were observed. Second, construct reliability was tested for each benchmark category, and the survey as a whole using Cronbach’s alpha. All categories did not yield sufficient coefficient scores for establishing construct reliability. However, the overall survey produced a Cronbach’s alpha of .85, clearly indicating construct reliability for all items combined. Third, correlations between SENSE perception scores and community college students’ grade …

This study addresses an individual's performance, relating it to eyesight changes due to the aging of the individual and to color computer screens used for computer-based-instruction not designed specifically for older students. This study determines how existing research in gerontology, human-computer interface, and color use in visual graphics can be applied to the design of computer screen displays containing color text and backgrounds and how various color combinations will affect performance by adult learners forty years of age and older. The results of this research provide software developers and instructional designers guidelines to use when designing computer screen displays for use in instructional computing settings involving older adults.

The problem with which this study is concerned is an investigation of the feasibility of using a questionnaire for determining perceived needs of students to improve the planning and programming process in student development in higher education. The study was designed to accomplish two purposes: to examine the feasibility of such an approach and to present an example of how such a study can be accomplished. The study concludes: a perceived needs survey can be accomplished with minimal difficulty and is effective in improving planning; documented student need should provide the bias for determining service philosophy and for planning student development programs for all students and for student subgroups; documented student need and preference should provide the basis for determining times of service offerings and staff utilization and deciding on methods of publicizing programs; the use of the perceived needs survey should reduce planning time.

The primary problem with which this investigation is concerned was the assessment of the perceptions of lower-level administrators as to leadership styles they see to be in effect in their respective colleges and universities in Texas. The purposes of this investigation were to 1) identify the administrative leadership styles in effect, 2) determine the prevailing leadership styles among presidents and lower-level officers, 3) test the assumption that lower-level officers select leadership styles similar to those styles perceived to be descriptive of chief officers and other administrators, 4) determine if the type of institution (public/ private) is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 5) determine if institutional size is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 6) ascertain if age is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 7) determine if educational level is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 8) determine if institutional level is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 9) ascertain if tenure in an administrative position is a factor in the choice of leadership styles, 10) determine if administrative position is a factor in the choice of leadership styles. Analysis of the findings revealed the most popular styles of …