How do people navigate institutional life together amid deep differences? Existing work highlights the mechanisms that drive and challenge exclusion and polarization, but these theories do not account for the moral frameworks, both implicit and explicit, that guide action. My dissertation brings tools from cultural and interactionist sociology to…

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…

Public research universities in the United States face myriad problems, many of which result in inequitable outcomes and experiences for people from marginalized populations. How stakeholders understand, value, and pursue solutions within the complex organizational context of public higher education further complicates problems of inequity and…

This qualitative study explored the pivotal role tutoring center professionals play in supporting historically marginalized students in California public universities. There was a focus on the intersection that social capital and equity have on the experiences of the professionals. This study sought to highlight the perspectives, challenges, and…

The purpose of this study was to serve to understand the conflict academic advisors who identify as mothers face while they provide advising services to their institution and student population while simultaneously also meeting their family demands. The conceptual framework of the study was developed using Biddle's (1970) role theory, specifically…

The transformation of educational resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was presented as a crucial part of vision 2030 by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2016 as an important part of an overall strategy to diversify the KSA from its overdependence on oil revenues. Vision 2030 imagined the transformational development of knowledge…

This research paper explores the relationship between dynamic capabilities and innovation performance in research universities in the United States, with a focus on technology transfer as a means of promoting economic and societal development. The study draws on the dynamic capability's theory developed by Teece et al. (2007), which offers a…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to determine if and to what extent a difference exists between graduate students enrolled in a distance education master's degree within an Arizona university's nursing and healthcare department who have more career experience in this field versus those with no or less career experience…

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent that contingent faculty from Michigan's 15 public universities engage with on and off-campus professional development (PD) to improve their teaching practice. Addressing a spectrum of research questions, this study utilized an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative…

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered unprecedented disruptions in higher education, forcing swift changes to core operations, particularly within divisions of student affairs. A review of the literature reveals COVID-19 presented many unique challenges for students and student affairs professionals, including disruptions in traditional…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between institutional control and NCLEX first-time pass rates during 2017-2021 for BSN, ADN, and LVN programs in the United States while controlling for school and program level characteristics. The study included five years of data gathered from nursing regulatory agencies and the Integrated…

As the public increasingly seeks evidence of the impact of the higher education experience on graduating students, high-impact practices (HIPs) provide colleges and universities with focused programs to direct appropriate use of resources and contribute to student persistence; however, many of these experiences remain inaccessible to various…

Performance funding has become a popular policy structure for public higher education institutions across the United States. The implications on budget and student success are considerable. This study examines performance funding through the perspective of chief executive officers (CEOs) at public community colleges in a southern state. Utilizing…

This study assesses the impact of cognitive and noncognitive pre-characteristics on college graduation in Tennessee. The State of Tennessee has applied multiple campus-based interventions at the Tennessee Board of Regents and the University System of Tennessee to increase graduation rates. This study is driven by three concepts and investigated by…

Institutions of higher education are environments of civic engagement, with a special responsibility of fostering participation among members and involvement in the community. Yet, a common issue is a definitional one. Scholars and practitioners have debated what counts as college student civic engagement, with as many definitions as participants…