The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented disruptions in higher education, forcing swift changes to core operations, particularly within divisions of student affairs. A review of the literature reveals COVID-19 presented many unique challenges for students and student affairs professionals, including disruptions in traditional…

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to understand the experiences of non-traditional undergraduate students taking online courses at a public or a private university in Virginia. The self-determination theory, which guided this study, explained the motivated behaviors of intrinsic and extrinsic needs that affect the…

Today's higher education landscape is in a state of flux as institutions adjust their processes and internal culture to effectively adapt to influential, shifting forces. The complex nature of higher education institutions consists of loosely and tightly coupled components designed to educate students and produce scholarly research while governed…

Student loan debt has had a tremendous impact on higher education over the past 45 years. Over that timeframe, federal student loan dollars have increased by more than 800%. This dissertation examines the perception of value that has been added to the lives of graduates by using student loans to finance their degree or graduate certificate.…

The unanimous passing of the Virginia Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 highlights the need to create a cost-effective pathway to baccalaureate degree growth. Using an exploratory case study design, this study compared the cost-effectiveness of two baccalaureate degree programs offered by institutions in the State University System of…

This study investigated how university officials at five public universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia responded in the aftermath of a law concerning credit policies for International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. Mandated by the Code of Virginia § 23-9.2:3.8, this policy is unique in the area of AP and IB…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the similarity between the human resource strategies (benefits, due process, employee participation, employee skill level, general training, job enrichment, social interactions, wages) currently utilized at a private, nonprofit university in Virginia, and those reported in the research…

The purpose of this study was to explore how women attending graduate degree programs in public universities in Virginia were affected by such issues as stress and lack of marital/social support. Utilizing a mixed method approach for data collection, 23 participants completed demographic data, an essay response, and the PSS-10 Stress Scale; 8 were…