Given that the majority of college courses are staffed with instructors who have little, if any, teaching experience (Boysen, 2011), research has called for more innovative approaches to providing teaching development opportunities for graduate student instructors (GSIs) (e.g., BrckaLorenz et al., 2020; Chew et al., 2018). The purpose of this…

The following exploratory case study is a program evaluation of a certification program for online instructors at a high-enrollment, 4-year research-intensive university in the southeast. Since 2014 the Online Instructor Certification (OIC) has operated as the predominant platform for preparing faculty to teach online at the site of study. The OIC…

The 21st-century global economy has significantly changed the landscape of the American workplace. Apprenticeship training programs are gaining momentum as a postsecondary training approach to fill growing worker shortages for industry-specific needs and prepare workers for new or expanding industries (Fitzpayne & Pollack, 2018; Freyer et al.,…

The purpose of this study was to assess and describe the status of program evaluation within the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) sites. The National Science Foundation's REU program supports thousands of undergraduates annually in hands-on, immersive research experiences under the mentorship of…

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the general studies program at Dallas Baptist University (DBU) for its effectiveness in developing undergraduate students for life and leadership in the 21st century. Researchers and practitioners in the higher education sector have pointed to massive disruptions in life and work caused by…

A well-designed compliance program is necessary for higher education institutions (HEIs) of all sizes to mitigate the risks of severe penalties and reputational damage resulting from regulatory noncompliance. The U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines provide a broad framework comprised of the Seven Elements contributing to an effective compliance…

Roughly 80% of community college students indicate that they intend to transfer to a four-year institution, 30% of those students eventually transfer, and 13% of those students persist to graduate with a baccalaureate degree. There has been previous research on transfer students and on first generation students, but the intersection of…

Quality online course design requires course designers to make carefully informed decisions based on current resources and considerations for the learner. Some faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) design online learning without the assistance of instructional designers, training, or a technological infrastructure that…

Developmental Education reform has been a vital topic in the field of higher education for decades. There have been several initiatives to further engage under-prepared college students and move them through gateway courses like freshman-level English and Math. One of the more emergent instructional models is referred to as co-requisite…

Many departments seek to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion using data-informed methods; however, not much is known about how closely department leadership aligns their review practices with appropriate theory. This dissertation seeks to explore four areas: 1) how are equity, diversity, and inclusion are being conceptualized (implied…

Blended learning has been growing and evolving in higher education since the early 2000s. Despite extensive quantitative research examining blended course use and exploration of how students experience blended-courses, more situated, local research about faculty members' experiences was needed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop…

This dissertation aims to center the experiences of first-year writing educators in one program with a shared curriculum. Guided by social theories of learning and scholarship and practices in writing studies and writing program administration, I conducted qualitative surveys and interviews with teaching-focused faculty and graduate teaching…

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Summer Bridge Programs (SBP)across the California State University (CSU) system vary in design and delivery. This mixed-methods study investigated six CSU SBP designs, delivery, and 4-year graduation rates of SBP participants during the 2015 through 2019 years. The qualitative portion of this study consisted…

California community college data shows that most community college students will never earn a degree (The Community College Research Center, 2018) or take a long time to do so (Horn & Skomsvold, 2002; Jenkins et al., 2017). Low success holds significant impact for students of color since California community colleges serve 72% of all Latine…

The shortage of qualified special educators within the workforce historically has been limited since the need arose over 50 years ago. Adding additional factors such as an increase in the population being identified with a disability as well as fewer individuals pursuing a degree within special education, has significantly increased the shortage…