Active teaching methods are believed to facilitate higher-order thinking skills and prepare allied health students for independent clinical decision-making. This quantitative, correlational study aimed to explain the relationships between student preferences for active over traditional methods and their beliefs, the frequency and positiveness of…

This dissertation was conducted to explore the influence of architectural design on educators' and students' behavior and perception about their learning. The study began with four principal questions, concerning a new academic building at the University of Kansas. However, the inquiry process took me to different directions. The questions focused…

This study examines the tuition elasticity of student enrollment for a public regional comprehensive master's university, Pittsburg State University in Kansas. Tuition elasticity is a measure of the responsiveness of student enrollment decisions due to changes in tuition over time. This measure is useful as it indicates how changes in tuition…

Personalized learning is designed to address the disengagement of today's students and to be proactive in closing the growing achievement gaps occurring in far too many schools. The goal of personalized learning is to engage students in the process, building on their interests, aptitudes, and strengths, thus creating intrinsic motivation for…

This regression event history study identified factors that are related to the attrition of remedial math students at a rural Kansas community college. It was guided by Bean and Metzner's Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model (1985). This study extended the applicability of the Bean and Metzner's (1985) Conceptual Model to remedial…

This study examines the relationship between academic undermatch theory and the college-going decisions, experiences, and aspirations of first-generation, rural Hispanic community college students in the new destination meatpacking town of Winstead, Kansas. Ethnographic data from rural high school guidance counselors, community college faculty,…

This study looked to situated learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in order to explore students' participation in the social practices of first-year learning communities. Wenger's (1998) elaboration on "communities of practice" provides insight into how such participation transforms learners. These perspectives frame learning as a…

Understanding why military students pursue a master's degree has become more important as the number of military students taking advantage of education benefits through the Post-911 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 has increased. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how U.S. Army officers attending the Command and…

This essay will discuss the creation of adult-learner degree programs at Wichita State University's satellite campuses with a particular focus on how such programs complement the mission of a traditional urban-serving research institution. It will assess the decision-making process that led to the transformation of satellite campuses into…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate what motivates associate degree (AND) and diploma prepared registered nurses (RN) to pursue a baccalaureate degree (BSN) through an RN-to-BSN program. Studies have shown that the educational level of nurses has direct impact on the safety and quality of care provided to patients.…