In the United States, postsecondary educational attainment positively correlates to the probability of a person being employed and the amount of money they earn (U.S. Department of Labor, 2018). Financial aid programs attempt to help students afford, remain in, and finish their postsecondary pursuits, but Levin (1989) asserted some forms of…

The purpose of this dissertation in practice was to explore the experiences of Gulf Coast State College faculty in the wake of Hurricane Michael, in an effort to better understand how both the storm and the institution's response shaped instruction and student success. The intent of this study was to determine if the policies and practices…

This dissertation examines the role of reflective practice in the development of teacher candidates during their final internship in a teacher preparation program at a state college in Southwest Florida. Grounded in Dewey's and Schon's theories on reflective practice as well as Vygotsky's social learning theories, this mixed methods explanatory…

With the developmental education (DE) reform movement at postsecondary still apace, this qualitative study seeks to understand the policy impacts of Florida Senate Bill 1720, major legislation mandating developmental education reform in the state of Florida. The body of literature thus far has focused on quantitative analyses of secondary data…

Wing (2010) says computational thinking (CT) is the "new literacy of the 21st century" (p. 3), but yet computational thinking does not have a widely accepted definition making it difficult to know what are its associated skills. Understanding what these skills are is important to be able to teach this new literacy. Various populations…

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between Navigate, a technology-aided advisement platform to support student success, and the retention of full-time, First Time in College-Direct Entry students in the fall 2018 and 2019 cohorts, as measured by the number of credits attempted during their first year at public college in the…

The Florida Legislature passed a bill that changed the placement methods for some incoming students to the Florida State College System in 2013. This analysis of state policy looks at Senate Bill 1720 as the treatment in an interrupted time-series trend study at one state college in Florida. This research attempts to answer three questions: (1)…

This research study investigated the perceptions of academic advisors in the Florida College System (FCS) concerning globalization, internationalization, and their role in the process of internationalizing their colleges. Participants in the study included 54 academic advisors from 15 of the 28 colleges in the FCS. The sample was comprised…

State colleges in Florida are subjected to performance-based funding and must meet state-mandated performance measures to receive core funds each year. Efforts to improve student retention and completion rates are made not only by the leadership of the state colleges, but by the faculty members. The purpose of this single, holistic, qualitative…

In 2013, the state of Florida passed Senate Bill 1720, which reformed developmental education and gateway courses across the state of Florida. There was a gap in the research regarding how the institutions planned and implemented the changes necessary to comply with the bill. This basic qualitative study examined the strategies used by leaders to…

Facing the increased demand for accountability, colleges and universities nationwide embarked on various initiatives to increase college attainment. One such effort is the Florida state statute, commonly referred to as excess hour surcharge policy, which was implemented at 12 state universities effective July 2009. The Florida legislature intends…

In this study the core job characteristics that contribute to the internal motivational factors and job satisfaction of information technology faculty members working at a community or state college in Florida were investigated. Fifty-four information technology faculty members working at a community or state college in Florida completed the Job…

The study was a qualitative investigation into the sensemaking experience of leaders during transformative organizational identity change. How people arrive at meaning (sensemaking) and the implications of that meaning for organizational performance are essential to effective leadership during change. Organizational theory holds that…

A case-study was designed to assess the extent of change at a selected Florida community college that transformed into a state college. The purpose of the investigation was to explore how the transformation influenced institutional culture, mission, and identity based on the perceptions of faculty members and administrators. Data collection…

While open access is still possible at community colleges and state colleges in Florida through the Florida College System, and the numbers of those enrolling are increasing, retention of first generation students is still an issue. Florida has increased the opportunity to attend college by limiting the barrier that inadequate financial support…