This qualitative case study delved into professional development's influence on job satisfaction among classified staff in California's community colleges. The study examined a convenience sample of 20 full-time classified staff who had worked for at least 1 year at a community college in California and had participated in a professional…

The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 spurred a period of worldwide civil unrest. His death also catalyzed a phase of organizational reckoning and reflection on the pervasiveness of racism, which continues to exist in and influence societal systems. This study aimed to shed light on the budgeting ecosystem at a flagship, public, 4-year university…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how the staff of campus-based programs that support foster youth describe the program interventions as they influence student competency, autonomy, and relatedness at a community college. This study employed the self-determination theory (SDT) as a lens to better understand the needs…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine differences in five components of technostress across three employee groups (Faculty, Administrators, and Staff) in U.S. higher education. Jena and Mahanti's technostress-demographic model provided the theoretical framework for this study. The five components of technostress…

Throughout history, people have united to demand change and accountability in the face of injustice. Although freedom of speech and assembly rights have been essential in uplifting and empowering marginalized communities throughout history, it is important to name the existence of speech that seeks to expand rights and speech which aims to…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to understand the workplace experiences of African/African diaspora/African American/Black (A/Ad/AA/B) women employed with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) responsibilities in the California community college system during a time of new equity funding and contemporary social…

This study sought to understand Latinx student servingness through the lens of Latinx student affairs employees working at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Interviews were conducted with 20 student affairs employees, all except one worked at a Cal State campus. The interview protocol was developed using the Hispanic Serving Institution conceptual…

This qualitative study examined the experiences of Latinx first-generation professionals within Student Affairs at a University of California campus. It focused on institutional norms and their influences on the self-efficacy of Latinx first-generation professionals as they navigated their university work environments. This study utilized…

Hundreds of community colleges are attempting transformational pathway reform, also known as guided pathways, to improve student outcomes. This qualitative case study explored sensemaking and organizational learning, early processes of transformational change, among administrators, faculty, and staff implementing pathway reform in a California…

The COVID-19 global pandemic had far-ranging consequences for California State University higher education union staff members' mental health and well-being. Research had not yet examined the impact of the pandemic on the California State University system's union front line higher education staff members. The aim of this study was to identify the…

The study focused on institutional efforts to retain and support racially minoritized students in higher education. The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of faculty and staff implementing California Assembly Bill 705 (AB 705), a legislative mandate intended to increase student achievement and close equity gaps among Black and…

This paper provides a deep dive case study of the California Mini-Corps Program within the context of an Hispanic Serving Institution.

The University of California, Berkeley sends more undergraduate students to economics PhD programs than any other public university. While this fact is surely a function of its size, there may be lessons from the Berkeley experience that others could adopt. To investigate why Berkeley generates so many economics PhD students, the author convened…

Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the basic employability skills needed for job performance, the reception of these skills in college, and the need for additional training in these skills after graduation. Design/methodology/approach: The research was based on a triangular design approach, in which the attitudes of three distinct groups--recent…