Trust is an essential pillar of higher education that facilitates positive student experiences and well-being and has been linked to enrollment, retention, and continued involvement after graduation (Ghosh et al., 2001; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 1998). Understanding student trust in higher education institutions (HEI) is an important task, and…

This dissertation research is a case study centered on graduate student responses to eight (8) risk and crisis emails sent from two (2) University of Minnesota leaders delivered between February 2020 and August 2021. The study joins conversations about technical communication, risk, and crisis communication, as well as advancing work on digital…

Often, immigrants in the United States have suffered traumatic experiences in their home country, on their journey to the U.S., and/or in their process of acculturation. In English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, symptoms of trauma can interfere with learning and acculturation. Trauma-Informed teaching can meet the needs of…

The stigma and daily distress routinely experienced by transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals negatively disturb their safety, mental stability, physical health, school success, employment opportunities, and societal inclusion, resulting in systematic marginalization and isolation in a variety of settings, including families, schools, and…

We are living through unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although the consequences and impacts of structural violence upon historically marginalized and excluded communities remain the same- inhumane and inequitable. Intersectional factors related to identity perpetuate this disparity; overwhelmingly, these divisions are at racial…

This study explored the experiences of peer advocates, college students who take on peer victim advocate roles to provide outreach and support services around campus sexual assault. the purpose of this study is to explore the meaning peer advocates make from their roles. Studies have documented the risks that victim advocates face, including…

Although the enrollment rates of Latino college students has increased over the last decade, the graduation rate of Latino students has not kept pace. The Latino population is the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States, but the college graduation rate of Latino students is among the lowest of all minorities. Despite the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how first-generation Latino and African American Pell grant recipients, who attended a large urban community college located in New York City, described their understanding of and experiences with satisfactory academic progress (SAP) policy and its influence on academic persistence…

Bullying encompasses aggressive behaviors in a situation where an individual experiences negative actions from one or more individuals repeatedly and over time in the forms of emotional, verbal, physical, race-based, and cyber aggressiveness. Anti-bullying research and interventions ensure healthy school climate for students as well as promote…

Hackathons, the time-bound collaborative project-based competitions increasingly popular with undergraduate CS students, are both transformative and problematic. On one hand, they are unique opportunities to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world, interest driven projects that celebrate risk taking, collaboration, and playfulness. On…

Black females must navigate higher education as a gendered racial minority in solidarity or at the very least, one of a few Black females within their environment. This experience can create a lot of stress, isolation, or lack of support and direction. Within the Black community, Black women are obtaining PhDs at record numbers; however, compared…

Higher education is a place where students are known to navigate various stages of psychosocial development, and experiment with psychoactive substances. Extant research detailing the relationship between drugs and student development typically frame the impact of substance use as exclusively negative or harmful to student health and the outcomes…

There have been many studies that focus on understanding various aspects of human sexuality and how it relates to college students. However, the current research focuses on heterosexual students, leaving a void in the research that focuses on gay male college students. Even more crucially, there is a void in research that focuses on the sexual…

Background: The GI Bill has given United States military veterans the opportunity to afford and enroll in colleges and universities for nearly seventy years. In the Fall of 2009, the Post-9/11 GI Bill started helping a new generation of student veterans pay for their post-secondary education and earn degrees and certificates. The Post-9/11 GI Bill…