As the enrollment cliff of 2025 looms closer, colleges and universities are compelled to explore alternative student populations to counteract the substantial decline in traditional-age college students. Transfer students emerge as a promising demographic to help sustain enrollment numbers and financial stability for colleges and universities.…

This case study focuses on out-of-state undergraduate student recruitment at a small, private liberal arts institution in the southeastern United States. Wolpert's place utility theory, from the field of urban planning, was used as a framework for the study to help explain some of the reasons why a student may choose to attend a private university…

College student employment has become an important aspect of life for many students pursuing higher education. Student employment programs provide students with the opportunity to earn income while learning skills that contribute to their personal and professional development. The impact of student employment on student development and the overall…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to learn how digital-native college students perceive of cheating and plagiarism. Today's students grew up with high-speed internet, smartphones, and instant access to information. Their learning environment was greatly altered during the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting many from in-person to online learning.…

Many people struggle to consistently access enough food for an active and healthy life (United States Department of Agriculture, 2020). Research has shown that college students experience food insecurity at rates higher than the general population while also facing negative academic, mental, physical, and social consequences (Baker-Smith et al.,…

This study examined the perceptions and lived experiences of student conduct hearing officers relative to the frequency and challenge of student concerns they observe in their roles on small, private college campuses. Using a framework of systems theory and perception theories to inform the work, as well as decades of existing literature, the…

Colleges and universities play an important role in training a skilled workforce and generating knowledge for society, but we know little about exactly how universities choose the skills and knowledge they provide to students. In my dissertation, I introduce novel data that allow me to document new facts about the supply of courses at a large…

The Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education outlines criteria for occupational therapy graduate programs by degree type but does not require pedagogic knowledge for either degree type. The problem addressed through this study was that the predictive relationship between occupational therapy faculty mentorship in the first 3 years…

Current, traditional-aged prospective college students are undergoing their college-going decision process in a "constantly connected" world. The purpose of this research was to explore and better understand how peer influence through social media may be influencing the decisions that current traditional-aged prospective college students…

This exploratory study attempted to determine if there were specific precollege or college experiences that female engineering students have had that impacted their perceived social self-confidence. Particularly, the study focused on female engineering students enrolled at private institutions of higher education. The study focused on private…

In this dissertation, I examined the how honors programs and colleges serve as a tool for public universities to compete with private universities in the rankings game, as well as examining how that contributes to stratification processes. By building on the existing literatures within the organization of higher education, student experiences in…

This study explored how a private, southeastern college of education (COE) supported students in passing the Praxis II examinations. Using Knowles' (1988) adult learning theory and Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory, the researchers examined students' experiences with various COE-provided resources and their impact on Praxis II scores. A…

This study explored how a private, southeastern college of education (COE) supported students in passing the Praxis II examinations. Using Knowles' (1988) adult learning theory and Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory, the researchers examined students' experiences with various COE-provided resources and their impact on Praxis II scores. A…

Small private colleges and universities have seen a decline in their enrollment for the past thirty years. Many have closed their doors, and others are merging or taking financial risks that could prove detrimental to their survival. However, there are a few who have been able to increase their enrollment despite the demographic and economic…

The college student experience was severely altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the spring semester of 2020. At that time, college administrators had no idea what was in store for their students in the coming weeks, months, and ultimately years. Because the pandemic is still a new phenomenon, little research exists on the effect of…