This performance improvement-based dissertation in practice analyzed and addressed a retention performance problem embedded in a higher education setting. A problem of practice is defined as an ongoing performance problem that exists in the context of a scholar-practitioner's workplace (Burrington & Throne, 2021) which, if addressed, can lead…

The number of Nontraditional-age students has been on the rise in higher education over time, and although this population has been increasing nationwide, there has been a continued decline in nontraditional-age students at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). This quantitative study focused on the background characteristics, academic…

Online course quality is a prominent issue due to the increasing number of online programs and courses offered by institutions of higher education. To ensure the best student outcomes, it is necessary to implement effective systemic support for quality assurance in online learning. Providing faculty with the environmental supports required to…

Back in 2015, the Board of Governors for the state of Florida implemented new funding policy within its public state university system, as a mechanism to hold institutions accountable to their performance. According to the performance-funding policy, lower performing institutions were at risk of losing state funding if university metrics were not…

The structure of higher education has changed with more remote part-time faculty superseding their full-time coworkers. Academic leaders are challenged to provide the support needed to ensure inclusion and engagement for online adjunct faculty. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to investigate the phenomenon of inclusion…

The increasing shift for higher education institutions to recognize career readiness as an institutional priority (Cruzvergara et al., 2018) is leading the need to identify ways to scale student engagement in at least one high-impact practice (HIP), such as experiential learning opportunities, prior to graduation (Huang et al., 2018).…

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…

As colleges and universities are internationalizing their curriculum, there is a growing need for student affairs professionals to also become aware of and be familiar with internationalization and to become players in the global society. The present study focused on 12 participants who are currently student affairs professionals. The research…

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…

This applied dissertation was designed to understand and explore the experiences of veteran military students at a public four-year higher education institution in the South Florida region. This study utilized a focus group case study design for data collection and analysis. A committee of experts in the field of higher education reviewed the…

Incoming first year students have varying expectations for their college experience. As Florida public education budgets are more closely aligned with student persistence and graduation rates, it is vital institutions retain more first time in college students. The purpose of this study was to better understand how first year student college…

This quantitative, causal-comparative and correlational study analyzed students' academic performance in college based on whether the student was classified as an International Baccalaureate student, an Advanced Placement student, or a non-accelerated student (those who did not participate in IB or AP) and how that choice of academic program…

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 exploratory study of department chairs, deans, and faculty at extensive research public universities in Florida resulted in the identification of 85 future competencies of department chairs using a human resources perspective. Results include a discussion of the top 20 most important competencies and the top 20 competencies anticipated to be…

State support for colleges and universities has been in decline since the 1970s. Institutions of higher learning have been forced to rely increasingly on private gifts to balance their budgets. The private gifts are managed by each school's foundation, a separate non-profit entity that exists to raise money for its respective institution. The…