Although the recent annual growth rate in the US paramedic field has been 4%, Latino and African American men have been significantly underrepresented in the field compared to their proportion in the US population at large. This problem threatens both the quality and quantity of available emergency health care. The purpose of this study was to describe how men of color (MOC) in community college paramedical programs experienced their awareness, interest, and proactive choice of paramedicine as a course of study. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach and social cognitive career theory as a theoretical framework, I interviewed 23 MOC enrolled during one semester across three community college paramedical programs in the southwestern US: 9 Latino and 14 African American, aged 18-29 with mean age 22 years. The focus of the interviews was the participants' lived experiences at various career points, as well as the enablers and disablers they had encountered. I identified three primary themes for possible use in enhancing recruitment of MOC to the paramedic field: strategic use of new digital media, promotion of the vocation's quasi-familial characteristics, and augmentation of neighborhood-based outreach. Identified areas for further research included recruitment dynamics of female paramedics, MOC persistence issues, and MOC …

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 …

Trends in tuition and financial aid policy have increased the number of students who borrow for higher education and the aggregate debt students acquire. Most research on student borrowing over the years has analyzed the effects of borrowing and the prospects of indebtedness on individual students' choices and persistence. However, dynamics at the institutional level such as the need to ensure a stable flow of resources may accelerate or slow down student borrowing. Drawing on resource dependence theory, this study examined changes in student borrowing at private not for profit four year institutions in the US to identify trends and implications. A fixed effects regression analysis was applied to panel data from the Delta Cost project and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Analytical focus was on the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit four-year institutions, the relationship between these characteristics and student borrowing, and whether these relationships are stable or change over time. Findings revealed that the financial and enrollment characteristics of private not for profit institutions during the study period were characterized by gradual variation. The results also revealed that most of the financial characteristics were predictive of student borrowing and that …