Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2021, Educational Leadership

The perspectives of engineering faculty have been explored in this study to answer research questions related to their perceptions of their role in the success and persistence of underrepresented minority students and self-efficacy related to the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices in engineering. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 faculty participants and interpreted through interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). This study resulted in key findings which provides the host institution with insights which can inform faculty development and student success and persistence strategies for engineering administrators. The key findings from this qualitative research indicate engineering faculty in this study had a keen awareness of the high demand for engineering talent in the US, and also an awareness that engineering students have varied lived experiences, strengths, and challenges which can influence their educational engagement. Faculty also demonstrated the perspective that they play an important role in building critical relationships with students, which can serve as a catalyst to student support, guidance, encouragement, and persistence. Additionally, faculty discussed the importance of students having a broader support system, of especially peers, as well as the importance of having an internal motivation to succeed and persist in engineering. Finally, many engineering faculty expressed not originally considering teaching as a career path. This along with their expressed limitations in time, and the lack of required training early in their faculty careers, has resulted in a lack of self-efficacy in implementing evidence-based teaching practices known to promote URM student success and persistence in engineering.

Committee: Mary Ziskin (Committee Chair); Margaret Pinnell (Committee Member); Matthew Witenstein (Committee Member); Novea McIntosh (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Agricultural and Extension Education

Lower retention and graduation rates continue to persist among urban and Appalachian student cohorts. However, these two groups have historically been viewed as different and needing different supports to persist in their educational pursuits. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of, and integrational supports utilized by college graduates from Ohio's urban and Appalachian regions. Specifically, this study explores the differences and similarities in institutional support services/resources and experiences urban and Appalachian graduates identify as having been instrumental in their collegiate success. Using a qualitative research multiple case study approach, the researcher examined the academic and social experiences of urban and Appalachian college graduates from Ohio's Urban Eight and Appalachian regions. The methodology for this study includes a qualitative approach where the researcher conducted in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 college graduates from a large, land-grant institution. Data gathered from this study yielded several similarities in experience and institutional integration across the urban and Appalachian groups. A strong reliance on support systems, such as campus organizations, peers, and faculty/staff, in addition to their yearning for identity-based support services was salient among both groups. Due to the relatively small sample size of this study, n=15, the findings cannot be generalized to the entire urban and Appalachian population. Overall, the findings of this study revealed substantial similarities and a few very critical differences in the academic and social experiences of urban and Appalachian graduates. These experiences support the critical role of student integration efforts and specialized support services for students from minority and underrepresented identities. The findings of this research may ultimately have the potential to reexamine and reframe how higher education institution (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mary Rodriguez PhD (Advisor); Emily Buck PhD (Committee Co-Chair); James Moore PhD (Committee Member); L. Brian Raison PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Education; Education; Educational Sociology; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Educational Studies

Despite more than four decades of extensive research on student engagement and campus climate, researchers still do not know how to create undergraduate learning environments that promote student persistence. Undergraduate student graduation rate in the US has consistently hovered at around the 50 percent mark. In fact, the field of student engagement research is yet to arrive at consensus on how to define and measure campus climate and student engagement. The combination of the lack of definitional clarity and extreme complexity of some of the current models have made it challenging to translate student engagement theory into practice. The present dissertation takes a pragmatic approach to student engagement. First, it re-conceptualizes student engagement as a moderator of the relationship between student characteristics that predict academic success and their educational outcomes. The new conceptual model positions campus climate as the only component of student engagement that is within academic institutions' control and thus should be leveraged by institutions to promote student engagement on their campuses. Campus climate encompasses many aspects of student lives, not only their academic experiences. Second, this dissertation contains a systematic literature review of how campus climate and its relationship to student engagement is defined, discussed, and measured in the literature. The literature review identifies a critical gap: campus climate is studied exclusively from students' perspective and institutional perspective is not included. Third, a pragmatic action research study was conducted at a particular university and showed that substantial progress on promoting a pro-student campus climate can be achieved through the dialogue of all campus stakeholders. The results of this localized study were shared with a group of outside college administrators with a long term view of creating a community of practice as well as further refining the localized init (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jacinda Dariotis Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Everrett Smith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lisa Vaughn Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: School Administration

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

Institutions have invested considerably in resources and staff to increase student success and persistence. However, retention rates have remained fairly steady over time. The purpose of this study was to synthesize undergraduate student persistence models into a singular parsimonious model using meta-analytic structural equation modeling to test the accuracy of the model across diverse studies. The analysis was successful in supporting many aspects of the major theoretical models proposed about college student persistence from a wide breadth of research on this subject. It was concluded that academic integration, social integration, institutional commitment, and organizational factors of the college/university all significantly contribute to student persistence. Student background characteristics and student external factors were not significantly related to college student persistence. The conclusions of this analysis suggest that all types of institutions invest in programs and services related to academic and social integration, institutional commitment, and organizational factors of the university environment. Recent statistical methods published by Cheung in 2015 made it possible to apply structural equation modeling techniques to meta-analytic research, which allowed for a more robust and complex analysis. Therefore, the contribution of this work is notable because it applies rigorous statistical methods and analysis to substantiate and/or question common theoretical constructs related to college student persistence over a period of 40 years.

Committee: Jian Li (Committee Chair); Jason Schenker (Committee Member); Susan Stocker (Committee Member); Cynthia Osborn (Other) Subjects: Education; Educational Evaluation; Higher Education; Statistics

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2018, Leadership and Change

The purpose of this study was to explore students' perceived value of their community college experience and its relationship to other factors often related to student persistence in college, namely satisfaction, academic quality, service quality, and engagement. The research was guided by three focused questions: How do students describe and define perceived value of community college; what components emerge from exploratory factor analysis of items designed to measure perceived value; and how, if at all, is a student's perception of the value of a community college experience different from related measures such as satisfaction, engagement, or quality? Data were collected from students enrolled at, primarily, three Massachusetts community colleges, employing a three-phased, mixed methods exploratory sequential approach. Phase 1 consisted of focus group interviews with students from one of the participating colleges to identify the themes and language for developing the perceived value construct. Phase 2 consisted of an online survey targeting currently enrolled community college students. Factor analysis identified key components of the perceived value scale and multiple regression analysis determined the relationship between perceived value and other control variables. Phase 3 consisted of a virtual post survey focus group with voluntary survey participants from Massachusetts community colleges to discuss and clarify the quantitative results and narrative survey responses. The dominant theme emerging from the findings was that students described perceived value as “I am valued” by the college. Results also indicated that the perceived value construct was different from other measures and suggested promising ways for further exploring and measuring student persistence. As a result of the study's findings, a conceptual framework in the form of a Perceived Value Wheel was proposed with recommendations to community college leaders and practical contribution to higher (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jon Wergin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Carol Baron Ph.D. (Committee Member); Ruth Slotnick Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Business Administration; Business Education; Community College Education; Community Colleges; Continuing Education; Education; Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Educational Evaluation; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Educational Sociology; Educational Tests and Measurements; Educational Theory; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Management; Marketing; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Higher Education Administration

The purpose of this case study was to understand the organizational, psychological, sociological, and financial experiences of high-achieving students who departed within their first year of study from Bowling Green State University. Although the literature suggests high-achieving students have special educational needs that must be recognized, supported, and nurtured in primary and secondary education, little is known about the experiences of high-achieving students in college. The goal of this qualitative research study was to gain a deeper understanding and explanation of student behavior within this student-institution context. Participants in this study were selected from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 cohorts, based upon the following criterion: the student intended to graduate from BGSU, departed with the dean's list designation, was enrolled in at least 12 credits, lived on campus at least one semester, and was 18 years or older. Ten participants were interviewed at their new college or university or via Skype, and represented a variety of experiences personally and academically. Four broad themes emerged from the data: (1) High-achieving students did not establish a sense of belonging psychosocially in the residence halls, which negatively affected social integration; (2) participants, almost unanimously, felt "underchallenged" or "bored" by the curriculum in the general education courses; (3) participants needed more guidance to navigate course of study and career ambiguity; (4) participants demonstrated a deeper desire for intellectually stimulating conversations and meaningful engagement in the classroom and in campus life experiences. A number of implications for student and academic affairs are presented as a result of the findings. First, campus administrators must work with student and academic affairs to create a campus culture that nurtures a sense of belonging for high-achieving students. Second, an emphasis on faculty developm (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maureen Wilson (Advisor); Earley Mark (Other); Coomes Michael (Committee Member); Lunceford Christina (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2021, Business Administration

The accounting profession is one of the most under-represented industries in hiring, retaining, and promoting minorities (Ross et al., 2014). The lack of representation of African Americans in the accounting profession has been reported for decades (Harris et al., 2020). Using a quantitative approach, this research study's data reflected how the African American population affiliated with and identified to the field of accounting. This research study investigated participant perspectives on influences that hinder African Americans from entering the accounting profession. This research analyzed African American student opinions and attitudes towards student success, retention, wrap-around services (i.e., mentoring, tutoring, counseling, transportation, and other non-instructional services), and degree completion at Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio. Existing literature indicated that accounting is not an active choice for many African Americans due to college readiness, peer expectations (Harris et al., 2020), family values/influences, and a general lack of understanding of the accounting field (Green et al., 2017). This research answered why African Americans are under-represented in the accounting profession by gaining insight from the perspective of current African American students pursuing an accounting associate degree and entering the accounting profession. Results indicated that a student's gender is associated with their persistence and progression towards a degree in accounting. Student interaction with faculty and with peers were also associated with a students' persistence and progression. Family influence and interactions, and student family backgrounds and upbringings proved to influence students striving to earn an associate degree in accounting. Lastly, African Americans' geographical background characteristics were associated with student success, sense of retention, and degree completion.

Committee: Sherry Abernathy Ph.D. (Committee Chair); John A. Nadalin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kenneth Knox Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Accounting; African Americans; Business Administration; Business Education; Finance; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2020, Leadership Studies

As higher education institutions continue to compete for a declining population of students (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2019), an increased focus on retaining existing students is required to maintain current levels of undergraduate enrollment (Elliott & Shin, 2002; Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012; Judson & Taylor, 2014; Schertzer & Schertzer, 2004, Vianden & Barlow, 2014). Predominant student retention models (Astin, 1965; Bean, 1985; Tinto, 1987, 1993) emphasize the interaction between students and institutional representatives as a primary factor influencing the student experience and student decisions to continue enrollment in future academic terms. Although academic advisors are the institutional representative most likely to interact with a student throughout the student's academic life, it is challenging to quantitatively examine the influence of academic advising on student persistence. Guided by the conceptual models for College Impact Theory (CIT), Social Exchange Theory (SET), Relationship Marketing Theory (RMT), and the Theory of Planned Behavior Theory (TPB), the current study examined the influence of perceptions of the academic advising experience on student-institution relationship quality, student loyalty to the institution, and student enrollment intentions. Based on theory and prior research, an a priori hypothesized structural equation model (SEM) was constructed. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesized structural model. Data were collected via a self-administered online survey completed by undergraduate, degree seeking students, over the age of 18, who were enrolled at the main campus of a large, Midwestern, 4-year, public institution of higher education (N = 10,809; n = 685). SEM analysis using maximum likelihood (ML) estimation was performed to a) assess the overall fit of the hypothesized structural model to the sample data; b) determine the amount of variance in all endogenous variables that could be exp (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carol Logan Patitu Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Yoko Miura Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Daniel Abrahamowicz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Bloom Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Master of Arts in Professional Communication, Youngstown State University, 2020, Department of Communicaton

This qualitative study explores the organizational communication strategies that target and engage nontraditional undergraduate students in higher education. Nontraditional students represent as much as 85 percent of the student population, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Still, there is a disproportionately low number of support services offered to this group within higher education. As a result, nontraditional students' persistence and graduation rates are lower than those of their traditional counterparts. Although communication barriers have been identified as impediments to academic success for this group, few previous studies have focused on communication strategies at effectively target and engage nontraditional students. Nontraditional undergraduate students were interviewed about their academic experiences related to university engagement through targeted communication. Additionally, case studies were conducted to explore two university programs that provided programs and services for specific student groups, analyzing how targeted communications were used to successfully engage these groups. Qualitative analysis revealed that although the participants' university did provide efficient and appropriate communication through email, some participants indicated distinct issues with the effectiveness/usefulness of communications related to financial aid and scholarship opportunities for nontraditional students, virtual learning environment challenges and frustrations, overcoming a feeling of disconnection from a social perspective, and giving nontraditional students a `voice' within their university. Participant responses and information learned from the case studies were used to create a framework guiding the creation of targeted strategic communications for nontraditional students by universities.

Committee: Shelley Blundell Ph.D. (Advisor); Thomas Flynn Ph.D. (Committee Member); Cary Wecht Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Continuing Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Higher Education; Organization Theory; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Higher Education Administration

The three-fold primary purpose of this study was to: (a) describe student veterans at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in terms of independent variables, representing students' input characteristics, environmental factors, and BGSU experiences; (b) identify differences between student veteran persisters and nonpersisters in terms of these variables, and (c) determine how well these variables predicted persistence outcomes. Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) framework (1993) and the work of Bean and Metzner (1985) on nontraditional student attrition were adapted to serve as the organizing framework for this study. The study sample (N = 537) comprised BGSU degree-seeking undergraduates who, based on their military service, received assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), during their first BGSU term, Fall 2009 – Fall 2015. Descriptive statistical analysis resulted in a detailed picture of the study sample, comparisons of persisters and nonpersisters, and profiles of associate and bachelor's degree completers. By the end of the study period (August 2017), 174 students (32.4%) had completed a BGSU degree and another 86 had reenrolled for at least one term, Spring 2017 or Summer 2017, constituting 260 persisters, 48.4% of the study sample. Chi-square tests of independence and independent samples t-tests were used to analyze differences between persisters and nonpersisters. Limited chi-square analyses of a small subset (n = 109) of the study sample failed to find statistically significant differences between persisters and nonpersisters on military experience variables (combat exposure, military rank, and reserve status). Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine which set of variables best predicted persistence status. Significant variables in the best-performing model (overall correct classification, 83.1%; -2LL = 416.633; Nagelkerke R2 = .609) were total transfer credits, VA benefit program, start term, re (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maureen Wilson Ph.D. (Advisor); Andrew Pelletier D.M.A. (Other); Kenneth Borland D.Ed. (Committee Member); Christina Lunceford Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jessica Turos Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2019, College of Education and Human Services

Persistence to graduation for adult undergraduate students has been challenging for decades. Many adult learners enroll into the university with numerous sociodemographic characteristics that can hinder their success. Adult students must manage multiple roles and balance their personal, professional and student roles in order to succeed. Twenty-eight percent of first year undergraduate students will not return to college in their second year (American College Testing, 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-efficacy, academic success and persistence for undergraduate students through the lens of Donaldson & Graham's (1999) model of college outcomes for adult learners. The sample for this study represented 310 undergraduate students from two large urban public universities in the United States. This study measured the students' level of self-efficacy and academic persistence in college. The following surveys were employed for this study: the New General Self-Efficacy Scale (Chen, Gully and Eden, 2001) and the Social Integration and Persistence Scale (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). Because this survey is nearly 40-years old, the researcher employed an exploratory factor analysis on the data which now suggest that there are six factors that measure academic persistence for adult learners in urban universities. These six factors include: (1) intellectual development, (2) peer group interaction, (3) non-classroom faculty interaction, (4) negative faculty interaction, (5) academic aspirations, and (6) university interconnectedness. This study suggests a significant positive correlation between five of the six factors, with exception to the factor: interconnectedness to the university. The findings suggest that there is a significant correlation between self-efficacy and undergraduate credit hours earned, but no significant correlation between self-efficacy and cumulative grade point average. The findings suggest that there is a posi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan Messemer Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Anne Galletta Ph.D. (Committee Member); Catherine Hansman Ed.D. (Committee Member); Mittie Davis Jones Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Master of Arts in Professional Communication, Youngstown State University, 2019, Department of Communicaton

This study explored what factors impact persistence levels among students at different types of higher learning institutions. A survey was distributed to students at public residential, public commuter, private, online-only, and community institutions to determine their self-efficacy levels and feelings about the following factors including: academic advising, social connectedness, involvement and engagement, faculty and staff approachability, business procedures, learning experiences, and student support services and their relation to persistence. Phone interviews were used to determine what matters most to students at their current university. Results found type of institution does not affect persistence. The most important things keeping students at any of their universities are learning experiences, faculty and staff approachability, and involvement and engagement. Institution type does not affect levels of self-efficacy, and there is a correlation between age and levels of self-efficacy. These findings indicate institutions should focus a lot on students' learning experiences, having faculty and staff who are friendly and welcoming, and ensuring there are involvement and engagement opportunities for all types of students.

Committee: Adam Earnheardt PhD (Advisor); Julia Gergits PhD (Committee Member); Jay Gordon PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1996, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Black Studies

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2016, College of Education and Human Services

This interpretive qualitative study explored African American urban public high school graduates' experiences concerning mathematics, how these experiences may play a role in the choice to further their mathematics education, and how the Model of Academic Choice (MAC) may facilitate in the understanding of the experiences. It examined the lived experiences of seven African American urban public high school graduates concerning their mathematics education. Through criterion-based sampling, the seven participants selected had graduated from a public high school located in Northeast Ohio school districts having similar characteristics. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews that explored participants' kindergarten through post-secondary mathematics experiences. Vignettes chronicled each of the participants' mathematics experiences and an analysis of emerging themes from within and across vignettes were presented. The emerging themes were tediousness in learning mathematics, student engagement in the classroom, educational trajectory, reality check regarding the effectiveness of one's kindergarten through grade twelve experiences in preparation for college, persistence, classroom environmental conditions, feelings about learning mathematics, behaviors resulting from feelings about learning mathematics, expectations of self and others, attributions of success and/or failure, one's sense of self as a student and one's self-concept of ability in mathematics. These themes parallel with the MAC constructs of cost, participant's task specific beliefs, participant's goals and general self-schemata, past events and related experiences, persistence, cultural milieu, affective reactions and memories, expectancies, participant's interpretation of past events, and self-concept of ability, respectively. The MAC proved to be a good theoretical framework for explaining the participants' experiences. The results of this study may be instrumental in having (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Joanne Goodell Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Anne Galletta Ph.D. (Committee Member); Brian Harper Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mittie Davis Jones Ph.D. (Committee Member); Roland G. Pourdavood Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Secondary Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education, Cleveland State University, 2016, College of Education and Human Services

The research addressed factors affecting degree completion for adult male students. This qualitative case study explored factors that contributed to the persistence of undergraduate adult male students and their perception of their role within the campus community. The research considered: 1) how adult male undergraduate students described their ability to persist until degree completion; 2) what factors contributed to persistence; 3) what types of social interactions enabled participants to persist; and 4) how adult male undergraduate students described their relationship to the campus community. Data were collected through interviews with nine nontraditional male graduates who earned a baccalaureate degree within the last five years. The findings of this study showed that adult male students persisted by demonstrating grit. The campus community was about what they could contribute and the support they needed to graduate. The significance of this study demonstrated the need to consider the role of institutional resources in supporting mutual engagement and degree completion for adult male students.

Committee: Catherine Monaghan Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Marius Boboc Ph.D. (Committee Member); Brian Harper Ph.D. (Committee Member); Johnathan Messemer Ph.D. (Committee Member); Peter Meiksins Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Higher Education

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study is to better understand what impacts a student continuing their degree at a four-year, private university beyond the second year. Furthermore, understanding if certain student characteristics are reliable in predicting which students are more likely to persist beyond the second year of education. For this study there were 878 students from Ohio public schools who as first-time freshmen enrolled at a four-year, private university in Ohio during the 2009-2011 academic years. The data were gathered from Midwest Private University's (a pseudonym) financial aid and institutional research offices and included 15 variables relating to the demographic, enrollment, and academic characteristics of the included students. Two research questions were utilized in this study. Binomial logistic regression was used to determine if the variables were more likely to predict student persistence. The results indicate that five variables have a positive correlation with those persisting beyond the sophomore year of college: higher high school and college GPA's, completing more college credits during the first two years of college, being a varsity athlete, and being a university “legacy”. The results also indicated that student loan debt, race, gender, geographic location of the high school, or the high school ranking did not impact the persistence of the student. Understanding how to better retain students is important for everyone involved in the education process. Helping student's complete their degrees is an educationally, professionally, and financially imperative topic for University's, communities, industry, government, and most of all-the student. The results of the study indicate that more research is needed nationally, but also at individual universities to better understand the specific variables that are unique to each institution.

Committee: Paul Johnson Dr. (Committee Chair); William Ingle Dr. (Committee Member); Lawrence Lesick Dr. (Committee Member); Richard Anderson Dr. (Other) Subjects: Education Finance; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Higher Education Administration

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

This study examined the relationship of campus climate, institutional satisfaction, and academic adjustment in contributing to the academic performance and intentions to persist in college for successful African American and Latino students at traditional four-year colleges. Despite the dramatic increased enrollment of students of color in higher education, colleges’ strategies have failed to effectively and meaningfully increase the graduation rates for African American and Latino students (NCES, 2011). A national sample of responses on the Your First College Year survey (N = 5,559) was analyzed to describe the experiences and variables that contributed to perceptions of college campuses and academic outcomes for African American and Latino students. Methods included Exploratory Factor Analysis, Linear Regression Analysis, and Logistic Regression Analysis. Results identified the significance of: (a) Felt Discrimination on Campus; (b) Academic Self-Efficacy; (c) Sense of Belonging; and (d) Institutional Satisfaction on the academic performance and intentions to persist for respondents. This research is extremely timely because the outcry for more U.S. citizens with college credentials must include educational attainment for greater numbers of African American and Latino college students. Conclusions of this study suggest that colleges must understand and accept: (a) the needs of its changing demographics; (b) that African American and Latino students have unique needs; and (c) addressing those needs and expectations will increase student satisfaction, academic performance, and retention. Furthermore, discrimination continues to be pervasive on college campuses. Genuinely combating micro-aggressions on campus is essential to fostering a sense of belonging for students of color.

Committee: Mark Kretovics (Committee Chair); Susan Iverson (Committee Member); Aryn Karpinski (Committee Member) Subjects: Academic Guidance Counseling; African American Studies; Black Studies; Continuing Education; Counseling Education; Demographics; Demography; Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Hispanic American Studies; Hispanic Americans; Multicultural Education; Social Research

PHD, Kent State University, 2013, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum Studies

Students who enter higher education requiring reading remediation have poor institutional persistence. This study examined the course success and first-year institutional persistence of six women enrolled in a developmental reading course at a regional campus of a state university. Data sets were comprised of classroom observation, review of academic records, and interviews with students and their instructor. Three of the women were successful in the course while three were not. The cross-participant analysis revealed five factors associated with student success and institutional persistence. Successful students had more frequent attendance and were more engaged with their professors outside of class than unsuccessful students. Those who were recent high school graduates were less likely to succeed than students who had a gap between high school and college. While adult responsibilities such as raising children impacted students’ progress, these factors did not affect success in developmental reading. Most notably, students who were successful in the course and persisted through the first year had support systems both off-campus and on-campus including a college employee.

Committee: Alexa Sandmann (Advisor); William Bintz (Committee Member); Tricia Niesz (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Literacy; Reading Instruction

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2011, Higher Education (Education)

Student achievement in postsecondary education is not only critical to the success of public higher education in America but remains a core component of a national strategy to remain competitive within a global economy. Yet public higher education in America is undergoing a transformation driven by economic stress from reduced public fiscal support, competition from for-profit institutions and the emergence of new technologies. Concurrently, the demographic composition of the undergraduate student population continues to evolve with more non-traditional students attending degree granting institutions, increasing numbers of military undergraduates and students enrolling in courses delivered through distance learning. Against this landscape of change, this study sought to explore the role of distance education to student attainment by examining a cohort of first-time beginning students. The literature is replete with studies of student persistence from a variety of theoretical constructs including sociological, organizational, psychological, and environmental with differing degrees of empirical support. While scholars agree on the benefits of increasing the body of research regarding student retention and attainment, there remains a deficiency in empirical research using a nationally representative dataset that seeks to examine the role of distance learning. Finally, the previous longitudinal study of beginning postsecondary students conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) studied student cohorts from 1996 to 2001. Research conducted using this data is becoming rapidly outdated. This study used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to explore persistence or attainment among a nationally representative sample of first-time beginning students who enrolled in 2003-2004 and participated in distance education. The findings indicated older adults, independent students, married students, single parents, and students with higher incomes were (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Valerie Conley PhD (Committee Chair); David Descutner PhD (Committee Member); Gordon Brooks PhD (Committee Member); Robert Young PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2009, Levin College of Urban Affairs

This dissertation seeks to increase our understanding of the factors that lead to student success at community colleges. Using data on a cohort of students enrolled at a two-year college, this dissertation presents the results of a longitudinal analysis. Citing the results of several persistence studies as well as the literature on sub-baccalaureate job markets, this dissertation constructs a hybrid model of student persistence. This model combines Tinto's theory of student dropout behavior with human capital theory to derive a benefit/cost model of student enrollment behavior. Several hypotheses are developed regarding the relationship between various benefits and costs and students' likelihood of achieving each of three different outcomes: dropping out, transferring to a four-year institution, or completing an associate's degree. An event history analysis was conducted to find out whether these relationships actually existed. Results of this analysis are used to derive implications for theory and practice.

Committee: Edward W. Hill PhD (Committee Chair); Larry Ledebur PhD (Committee Member); Joel Elvery PhD (Committee Member); Kevin Hollenbeck PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Community Colleges