Research on higher education community engagement (HECE) rarely places university or institutional voices in conversation with the community partners' voices. Boundary-spanning frameworks such as Weerts and Sandmann's (2010) for universities and Adams's (2014) for community partners help boundary spanners, but such models draw boundaries between…

State postsecondary education data systems are vital assets for policymakers, researchers, and the public. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association's (SHEEO) Communities of Practice project builds upon SHEEO's efforts to measure the capacity and effective use of state postsecondary data systems and provides states with…

We established a tallgrass prairie restoration experiment on a high school campus in Kansas. This easily accessible natural environment provides students and teachers many options including scientific research, artistic ventures, or simply relaxing in nature. Our restoration project has four main objectives: (1) practicing science; (2) increasing…

Collaboration among music educators is an essential practice in building professional relationships, furthering student achievement, and supporting professional learning (Anderson, 2013; Armstrong, 2010; Battersby, 2019; Harris, 2015; Kastner, 2014; Sinberg, 2016). Unfortunately, music educators are quite frequently left out of the collaborative…

Over the last twelve years, an innovative community engagement practice has immersed undergraduate students enrolled in a 300-level leadership course in adaptive leadership by giving them power to make progress on complex challenges at the local level. This unique partnership between a university, donors, and a local United Way, makes students…

In this interview study, I examine how student affairs administration (SAA) works at rural community colleges as well as how rural senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) function in their leadership roles. The study purports to understand student affairs in the context of "rurality," or what it means to be rural. Two primary research…

Multidisciplinary teams of school- and community-employed mental health, health, and educational staff work together in schools to offer a full continuum of mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment services and supports. Intentional teaming structures and practices are essential to ensure teams deliver effective,…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to examine the power differentials that manifest within Kansas public higher education due to policies surrounding territory assignments and degree offerings for Kansas two-year community and technical colleges. The study provides insight into the differential effects of these policies among different…

To address the daunting behavioral and mental health needs of Kansas' rural and underserved communities, Telehealth ROCKS (Rural Outreach for the Children of Kansas) Schools project partnered with school-based health centers, school districts, and special education cooperatives to provide a range of telebehavioral health intervention services and…

This study examined differences in reported campus criminality on selected community college campuses in the years between 2005 and 2016 representing the years preceding and succeeding the implementation of Mississippi's 2011 concealed carry legislation. Each campus included in this study is a public-funded community college in Mississippi. Using…

The purpose of this case study was to understand how collaboration, or lack of collaboration between community college-level silos, affected the process of accreditation as conducted by the Higher Learning Commission. The theory that guided this study is Smith's theory of seven silos of higher education, as it explains the relationships between…

A sense of belongingness in the underrepresented minorities (URM) collegiate experience requires that the student feel the university provides a safe and welcoming environment. The purpose of this study is to explore the sense of belongingness that contributes to URM's perceptions while participating in the summer programs at Kansas State…

In response to rising college tuition and student debt over the past three decades, some institutions, localities, and states have implemented a range of tuition-free promise programs to promote college access and success. Programs vary widely in their design features, including eligibility stipulations and award structure. I explore the growing…

Social capital includes access to resources based on social networks, similar to how economic capital is access to fiscal resources. We explore ethnic social capital as a variant of social capital that includes the social resources that are available to a person as a result of being a member of an ethnic and cultural network. This study identifies…

University-led service-learning projects are commonly perceived as being mutually beneficial for students, faculty, and communities. Most studies primarily focus on benefits to students. Our study explores the value of a university-led service-learning engagement project from a community's perspective. To assess perceptions of a student planning…