In the landscape of modern education, the role of a superintendent has become increasingly complex, marked by demands for higher student achievement and round-the-clock communication. This complexity, underscored by technological advancements and evolving accountability measures, underscores the criticality of strategic planning for school…

There was a recognized high rate of students enrolled in technology programs who did not graduate college. Scholars who had studied predictors of college completion surmised there were several behavioral traits associated with a student achieving their college objectives through graduation; one of those factors was persistence. Persistence, the…

Mentoring is widely recognized as an effective approach to addressing educational needs in U.S. schools, emphasizing the importance of strong, long-term mentor-mentee relationships (Karaferye, 2018; Wood & Mayo-Wilson, 2012). These relationships can provide crucial support for youth facing social, emotional, and financial challenges (Kuperminc…

The low graduation rate of African American students is currently a problem. African American students are being enrolled in predominantly white institutions (PWIs) of higher education but are not graduating at the same pace as their counterparts. It is important for higher education institutions to learn more about their student population and…

Students with disabilities have lower rates of graduation from institutions of postsecondary education as compared to their nondisabled peers (National Council on Disability, 2020). Supports for disabled students in higher education have relied primarily on a deficit-based, regulatory model of access, ignoring a more wholistic approach to access…

Nationally collected data reveals that transfer students encounter added difficulty graduating on time from four-year institutions than non-transfer students. Since transfer students traditionally graduate at a lower rate, targeting and improving transfer students' graduation percentages is one way to augment an institution's overall graduation…

School officials, policymakers, administrators, and colleges and universities express concerns express concern regarding issues that affect the persistence of community college students. Graduation rates from community colleges continue to decline at colleges across the United States. The problem investigated in this study was how the negative…

Even though teen pregnancy rates are declining, teen pregnancy remains a complex and problematic phenomenon in our culture. The problem addressed by this study was that although the number of births to teen mothers is decreasing, less than 50% of teen mothers are completing high school. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was…

The purpose of this study was to assess whether student satisfaction with faculty and academic advisors varied based on the sex of the student and the students' academic college at a large public university in the Southeast. With the university aiming to improve its graduation rates, particularly male graduation rates, the Theory of Student…

A collection of data points can show an abundance of information about a college student, telling a data-driven story about a student's past, current, and sometimes predicting future challenges at the university but some challenges may not be able to be indicated by data points alone. Challenges such as mental health, financial challenges,…

"Reimagining Pastoral Education and Training" is a professional doctoral project born out of a burden of pastor-parish challenges that lead to pastoral dropout. A basic prelude question assesses the perceived problem: "Is there really a declining corps of young pastors leaving the ministry, disrupting their families, and…

Purpose and Method of Study: This study focused on the relationship between the cost of undergraduate education (COUE) and graduation rates in four-year institutions in Oklahoma. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the cost of undergraduate education (COUE) and graduation rates at four-year higher education…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum provides students with ample academically demanding learning experiences at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. A full continuum of IB offerings from 3-years-old to 12th grade at a southern school has not increased the percentage of graduates with IB diplomas as expected. This mixed…

K-12 schools in Ohio are partially evaluated on their ability to successfully graduate students with their four-year cohort. Educators have been tasked with improving graduation rates. This study examined one urban high school to understand and provide insights to increase its graduation rate. This school recently received a poor score from the…

This dissertation is composed of three studies linking general education astronomy to student performance, course-taking, graduation, and identity. The first study examined demographic and academic predictors of astronomy performance among a cohort of N=1,909 community college students enrolled in astronomy courses in a large suburban community…