Online graduate degree program offerings are increasing in popularity, and online graduate students need support to acclimate to their degree programs. Online orientations have been effective in undergraduate programs; however, there is limited research on the effectiveness of online orientations in online graduate degree programs. The problem…

This qualitative study explored secondary-level building administrators' preparedness to supervise and support special education programming. It investigated knowledge gaps, needs, and the role of induction programs. Interviews with twelve administrators were conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed through grounded theory methodology. Findings…

Beginning teachers are the group of teachers most at risk of leaving the profession, while research has shown that novice teachers who receive support, such as mentorship or cohort programs, are more likely to continue to teach than those who do not. This study explored supports that beginning teachers in an alternate route graduate program in…

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational culture at a small institution of higher education. Various forms of data were collected using semi-structured interviews, surveys, collaborative work sessions, written feedback, and document analysis. Collaborative…

The role of the principal has changed significantly over the last two decades. Effective principals must have the capacity and confidence to respond to today's unique challenges. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the role of district-level personnel in helping novice principals develop self-efficacy during their induction…

Onboarding in higher education is important because it acclimates new employees to their new work environment and integrates them into the institution's culture. Through employee surveys, focus groups, and open forums, Delaware Tech identified the need for a collegewide onboarding program to acclimate new employees to the culture. This study…

Being uncomfortable by choice as a means of personal growth has been touted for hundreds of years among scholars, philosophers, religious leaders, modern pop culture icons, and more. Yet, research pertaining to the benefits of being uncomfortable by choice is sparse. This qualitative, grounded theory study addressed the first step of…

The purpose of this Action Research study was to examine and improve the recruitment and onboarding of members of the Board of Trustees. To accomplish this, Cycle 1 of research included semi-structured interviews with 11 individuals who serve as current or former members of the Board of Trustees at Excaliber College as well as key members of the…

The purpose of this study is to investigate different aspects of teachers' orientations toward students' writing in high school mathematics. I used an embedded case study design (Yin, 2018) across the cases of three teachers whose instruction had previously been found to be dialogically focused -- i.e., made use of high-level tasks, presented…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore what college students' lived experiences were regarding the influence of outdoor orientation programs on their abilities to cope with transition-related stressors at one Arizona college. The study utilized two theoretical frameworks to understand the lived experience of…

Many colleges have initiated Student Success Coaching programs to support students from enrollment to completion. The purpose of this study was to design and implement an online training program to ensure that new Success Coaches at one community college receive adequate training before beginning to work with students. A review of the literature…

This study aimed to advance the use of restorative justice and restorative approaches in graduate academic environments and contributed to the research on implementing the whole-school approach in higher education. The focus of this study was on applying restorative approaches to build community and strengthen relationships among community members…

The purpose of this study was to test a model for conceptualizing the socialization experiences of new professionals in student affairs, particularly in light of the high attrition rates commonly documented in the literature. Whereas past research has examined individuals as the locus of socialization, this study analyzed organizations as the…

Starting a new job can be likened to be thrown into the deep end of a pool and being expected to swim with no prior lessons. Not only is this practice dangerous at actual swimming pools it is also detrimental in the workforce. Student Affairs is a high turnover field with over 50% of new employees leaving the field completely within the first 5…

This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to compare student experience and academic performance in an asynchronous online community college course delivered in three formats: accelerated (5-week) cohort, accelerated (5-week) non-cohort, and non-accelerated (16-week) non-cohort. Quantitative results showed no significant…