The purpose of this professional practice dissertation (PPD) is to examine and provide Fluvanna County Public Schools practical and real-world solutions with regards to continuous improvement within its performance evaluation platform. This process was examined and analyzed through a qualitative action research approach and design and presents a…

Objective: To evaluate dietary and physical activity behavior in relation to loneliness among college students. Participants: Three-hundred forty-six incoming first-year students in Fall 2019 at a large state University in the US. Methods: Students completed online surveys in Fall 2019. Multivariable regression analyses were used to model…

The Virginia Tech Summer Academy (VTSA) Program, developed by through a collaborative partnership between faculty, administrators and staff concerned by attrition among first year students, was introduced in summer 2012 as a campus initiative to assist first-year college students transition and acclimate to the academic and social systems of the…

The purpose of this study was to gather validity evidence for the University Mattering Scale. Theoretically based factor structures were tested, resulting in the four-factor conceptualization of mattering being championed. As predicted, university mattering related positively to academic motivational and relatedness constructs and negatively to…

Given the focus on increasing student persistence at many community colleges through programs such as "Achieving the Dream", it seems more than appropriate that faculty and institutions integrate more affective measures into their assessments of student readiness. These types of assessment will not determine the grades that teachers give…

As part of a needs assessment conducted for the Virginia public schools during the year 1969-70, the Virginia Affective Assessment Questionnaire (VAAQ) was developed. The VAAQ assesses affective traits, such as motivation and self concept, that are related to academic success--as measured by standardized achievement tests and performance in the…