Using the Theory of Social Support and the Community of Inquiry as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study explored international students' experiences, challenges, and perceptions of online learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. By conducting three virtual focus group interviews with 18 international…

This paper looks at a mid-size state university's speaking center. At this speaking center, managing peers oversee consultants for hour-long shifts, and those who work together during these hour-long shifts are referred to as shift families. These families remain the same for the entire semester, and so effective personal communication between…

This review examined the literature addressing humor as a potential trait that may enhance leadership styles in higher educational administration. It provides an overview of current humor research from several disciplines of major contemporary leadership theories and styles in higher educational administration and develop and propose a theoretical…

The quest to investigate the role of support services (SS) in trainee teacher performance for education programmes (EP) provided via distance education (DE) prior to this paper remained inconclusive. This paper demystifies the challenge by examining the impact of SS quality for both trainee teachers and tutors on learning outcomes, addressing two…

Care teams, an important structure at most institutions of higher education, coordinate the work of various units to intervene with students who are at risk of attrition, academic failure, and/or are experiencing socio-emotional struggles. The authors provide various examples of how case management and Care Teamwork is structured in the small…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a method for providing academic support to students and for identifying specific learning disabilities (SLDs). Using interrupted time series and hazard models, we examined if statewide RTI adoption in the U.S. state of Tennessee was associated with changes in rates of SLD and first-time SLD identification in…

As reflective practitioners working in disability inclusion, we constantly work with shifting realities concerning our students, who are not a homogenous group. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) was a reality least expected in 2020, yet we used our flexible approach to make the transition as smooth as we possibly could. The Disability Unit (DU)…

Disability support (DS) offices provide accommodations for and serve qualified students with disabilities. The overall number of students with disabilities in higher education is increasing, creating a need for high-impact, effective support. Proactive advising is a method of support that provides college students tools for success before crises…

Student retention is a key outcome measure for post-secondary education, but data show relatively stagnant retention rates over the past decade. Longstanding interventions such as counseling, academic advising, and mentoring provide crucial student services, but little change in retention rates suggest there is still need for additional student…

This study sought to empirically evaluate the extent to which visiting the communication center before delivering the first major speech in an introductory communication course improved students' academic performance and engagement. A total of 262 students were included in this study, half of whom visited the communication center prior to their…

Nearly 1 in 3 college students (30%) are first-generation students of color (FGSOC), possessing the intersectional identity of being both a first-generation college student and a racial minority. FGSOC face increased psychological and social difficulties in college when compared to students in other groups, resulting from cultural differences,…

As Black Lives Matter unfolded in 2020, many universities were the sites of organized protests, and in response, many institutions of higher education began (or continued with) the critical work of building diversity and social justice on campus. For many students, this issue was in the forefront as they prepared for fall semester and began to…

Although the effectiveness and experiences of computer-based examinations is a widely investigated area of research, the question of whether and how computer-based assessment limits or heightens the experience of negative test emotions remains largely unexamined. Drawing from the control-value theory of achievement emotions, we investigated…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic-induced emergency pivot to online teaching and assessment, an Academic Safety Net was implemented at a regional Australian university to provide academic student support. Bayesian hierarchical models were used to compare student performance between 2019 and 2020. More students withdrew from subjects in 2020,…

Background: Returning to learn following a concussion is the process of managing a student's recovery during the school day by implementation of academic supports with varying intensity. Due to a lack of consensus or even guidance on Return to Learn, this paper set out to establish cross discipline consensus on some essential elements of Return to…