Student activities are an important part of the student life experience on college campuses (Barham & Winston, 2006). Student activities professionals are key to helping students become, and stay, engaged during their educational experience (Komives, 2019). While student activities staff provide care and support, the staff themselves are not…

An analysis of surveys (N = 143) and interviews (n = 34) with human resources and talent development professionals suggest respondents desired corporate trainers who were competent communicators--who could deliver content effectively in an engaging manner. Nonacademic trainers and subject-matter experts (SMEs) were often perceived as less adept at…

This study was an exploration of the connections between knowledge-sharing, organizational culture, and meeting organizational objectives with the purpose of exploring potential barriers that impede a knowledge-sharing culture and hinder the accomplishment of the mission, vision, and goals. The problem addressed was the lack of a knowledge-sharing…

Despite the widespread promotion of inclusive environments within higher education, social barriers and a lack of understanding among university staff continue to hinder students with disabilities in their goals of graduating and finding employment. Using ableism as a theoretical framework, this study aimed to explore attitudes among higher…

One of the most challenging times for campus communities is when a crisis occurs. It often causes higher education to question their policies, missions, and values. Additionally, the crisis managers and those affected by it may experience trauma as they navigate the crisis (Bataille & Cordova, 2014; Lynch 2023). Despite the research on crisis…

Fostering staff well-being can no longer be the responsibility of individual staff but needs to be built into structures, practices, and social norms in residence life departments. We drew on elements of participatory action research to provide guidance for departments striving to intentionally prioritize staff wellness. First, based on literature…

Many postsecondary students in the United States exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, and legal status. Amidst a tumultuous sociopolitical context, a number of higher education institutions in the United States established Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs),…

The American Institutes for Research® and rpk GROUP jointly conducted this study to improve understanding of students' experiences and time investment with the college transfer process, and the role of institutional policies, processes, and technologies. Expanding the understanding of the institutional barriers that exist during the transfer…

Organizational commitment, as defined by Allen and Meyer, is a three-facet (affective, normative, and continuance) construct related to important employee attitude and behavioral outcomes. Student engagement, while a popular topic among educators, is not as well-defined nor supported by a large body of research linking the construct to meaningful…

The aim of this study is to explore the extent of, and reasons for, the adoption of an educational innovation among post-secondary education practitioners at an open access institution in the Southeastern United States. Informed by Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations and Kezar and Eckel's (2002) mobile model for transformational change in…

This dissertation explores the link between doctorate holders' job mobility, which is defined as a change of employers, and their knowledge production. For this, three research questions have been addressed: (1) Does job mobility affect doctorate holders' research productivity? (2) Does the effect of job mobility on research productivity differ by…

This study sought to understand education support professionals' (ESPs) experiences early in the COVID-19 pandemic, including how they were feeling about their roles in education, strategies they were using to cope with unprecedented times, barriers they encountered toward maintaining SE health at work, and opportunities they identified as…

Higher ed continues to face a retention crisis. Turnover in any role can impact an institution, but turnover in a supervisor role has more far-reaching implications. This report explores higher ed supervisors' likelihood of looking for new employment, their current challenges and working environments, and which job aspects specific to supervisors…

This dissertation was designed to provide current information on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of those identifying as women of color working in offices of academic testing. Faced with systemic oppression due to race and gender, women of color have opted in to a profession that is viewed by some as a threat and barrier to the…

Faculty and staff working from home during the COVID pandemic were presented with new challenges in adapting to emergency remote teaching, as well as new and expanded cyber security threats. Changes to course delivery, remote access from public locations, and the potential of faculty and staff storing confidential educational records on…