This qualitative case study was completed at a rural medium-sized Texas community college and sought to understand how advisors and program coordinators made sense of the 60X30TX policy as it was implemented at their institution. The theoretical framework included community college, the Completion Agenda, structure-agency, and sensemaking. Each community college has its own culture shaped from its history, open access, policies, employees, and students. But the community college is influenced by the state with its mandates and policies, which results in a structure-agency relationship in which the state defines and sets higher education goals, while the community college strives to meet those goals in the way it determines best. The Completion Agenda has influenced state policies shifting the focus of higher education from access to access and completion. The state policy is a catalyst for change at the institution, but change cannot exist without sensemaking. As change occurs, people begin to interpret it based on the environment and their individual and group experiences. Sensemaking becomes central to the theoretical framework with the community college, the structure-agency relationship, and the Completion Agenda. Interviews with 12 people identified four themes: culture of completion, rebuilding advising, dual credit, and Pathways program impact. Participants …

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore the experiences of Black graduates of historically Black colleges and universities who attend graduate school at predominately White institutions as they adjust academically and socially at these institutions. In-depth interviews provide knowledge as to what this special population of students' experience. Recommendations for faculty and administrators to assist with the recruitment and retention of these graduate students is also provided.

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to highlight the lived experiences of Christian African American college males attending a Christian predominately White institution (PWI) in the South. Through in-depth personal interviews, I offer insights into this specific student population's experience. Furthermore, I provide recommendations for key stakeholders at Christian PWIs in the South as they strive to create an inclusive campus environment. The ultimate goal of the research is to aid in the recruitment and retention of this particular student population.

In 2009 the Texas legislature created the National Research University Fund (NRUF), intended to encourage a select group of public doctoral universities in the state, known as emerging research universities (ERUs), to increase their institutional status related to academic research by awarding supplemental financial support for meeting specific policy metrics. Efforts to increase the research status of these universities occurred at a time when public financial support remained stagnate and overall institutional costs increased within the higher education sector. This study utilizes a theoretical approach grounded in strategic action fields and employs panel data and a difference in differences statistical technique to analyze the impact that NRUF policy has in assisting ERUs in achieving R1 status, and how this organizational change impacted access to, and the quality of, undergraduate education. Results indicate that the NRUF policy intervention was not statistically significant for any part of the study. These findings suggest that policy interventions do not matter as much as specific institutional characteristics and the overall policy environment. Enrollment and tuition revenue predicted institutional performance related to academic research and graduate education, while also assisting these institutions in maintaining undergraduate academic quality and access. These cultural and material resources at the …

Institutions of higher education are a key pathway for supplying the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Military service members have been identified as STEM-ready and a potential pool for STEM as they transition into civilian careers. Furthermore, women are the fastest growing subpopulation of veterans and may decrease the gender gap within STEM. Higher education researchers are interested in understanding the characteristics and experiences of students who select STEM majors and then persist to graduation. Literature related to women veterans is limited and a qualitative case study approach was utilized to achieve an in-depth understanding of their college experiences. This study examined four women who were successfully navigating STEM majors at one institution and revealed their varying motivations for enrollment and persistence. Three themes generated from this study included: self-awareness, success is personal, and military experience matters. Subsidiary themes included starting over; strategy; salience of age; stage of life; self-advocacy; standards; personal attributes; past experiences; personal responsibility for learning; procuring resources; career path (STEM) reinforced or introduced; creditable and credible; and cultivated soft skills. Veteran critical theory, multiple dimensions of identity and intersectionality were useful frameworks to reference as participants expressed the influence of their identities on their …

Academic dishonesty is prevalent in institutions of higher education. Faculty are at the forefront of this issue as they are in the classroom with the students. However, faculty may be hesitant to address academic dishonesty for a myriad of reasons. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how faculty members viewed their roles in addressing academic dishonesty. Study participants were 11 full-time faculty from a Southern University who had taught for at least two years and had experienced academic dishonesty in the classroom. Artifacts were also gathered from three documentary sources. Four major themes emerged from the data: (a) faculty investment in academic integrity, (b) faculty-student relationship impact on interaction, (c) personal values guiding faculty response, and (d) deterrents preventing faculty action. Several implications included the need for: (i) ongoing professional development opportunities for faculty, (ii) the creation of shared ownership and governance of academic integrity between faculty and university leadership; (iii) consistent prevention and enforcement of academic dishonesty according to university guidelines, and (iv) the creation of a partnership between the conduct office and the various faculty departments.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 (CAA) was an omnibus spending bill that changed Pell grant funding in response to a budgetary shortfall after a four-year investment in student financial aid. The CAA occurred at a time of state disinvestment coupled with increasing tuition and fees. Through the lens of resource dependence and academic capitalism as a conceptual framework, I used panel data in an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to explore the impact of the CAA on Pell grant revenues. I included an interaction term to specifically address the impact of the CAA on public regional universities (PRUs) versus other institutions. Results indicated that the interaction effect between CAA and PRU was jointly significant. The average Pell award per student at PRUs was $13 less than other institutions before the implementation of the CAA. The average Pell award per student at PRUs increased after the implementation of the CAA; however, the average Pell award per student at PRUs was still $20 less than other institutions. Results indicated that the percentage of students receiving Pell awards was a significant and positive predictor of an average Pell award. Interestingly, institutions designated as minority-serving institutions (MSIs) were also significant and positive predictors …