This phenomenological research study explores the lived experiences of full-time faculty experiencing both organizational and instructional changes within their institution. Higher education organizations are facing increased challenges to sustainability, forcing them to make structural changes within the organization. When organizations adopt new…

Advising students on college admissions and financial aid is an important pillar of most high school counseling programs. This work has become more challenging for many school counselors since the pandemic, so it is imperative to find new ways to explore how counselors approach college advising today. This novel research utilized Hansen's (1995)…

Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a leading role in supporting educational equity, enrolling two-thirds of all U.S. Latino students despite representing less than a fifth of all American higher education institutions. These colleges and universities manage to provide substantial support and prioritize student-centered organizational…

This qualitative study investigated the success strategies of Lebanese women leaders in higher education, a sector where they have historically faced underrepresentation. It examined the evolution of women's roles in this field, highlighting the progress and ongoing challenges related to gender biases and societal constraints in Lebanon. The…

Navigating departmental and organizational conflict is an essential function and responsibility of an academic unit leader (dean, associate dean, director, or chair) in higher education institutions (HEIs). During periods of organizational change, conflict tends to increase in complexity and difficulty--in part due to resistance to change--making…

This dissertation explored the experiences of fat undergraduate students within higher education institutions, focusing on how these students navigate, negotiate, and contest the structures, norms, and practices of their academic environments with a specific focus on their experiences in the classroom. The study was grounded in the understanding…

Caste-based discrimination persists as a formidable barrier within Indian higher education, compelling Dalit students to employ university spaces not only for learning but as arenas for activism and social change. This dissertation explores the agency of Dalit students as they confront and dismantle systemic inequalities through strategic…

This study contributes to existing research on transfer students through an examination of transfer students' perceptions of their new campus environment and any resulting impact of the environment on their transition. Transfer students are an increasingly significant percentage of all degree-seeking students nationally, and substantial research…

College preparation resources to support academic and college success have the potential to decrease challenges students often face when preparing for college. TRIO programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, were introduced in the 1960s as part of the fight on the war on poverty to make the college experience more accessible to low…

Past research has shown that using an online student orientation can decrease anxiety for students taking online classes for the first time. This study focuses on the experience of first-time online students from a community college in South Texas using a multiple regression analysis to determine first-time online student readiness in the areas of…

My research examines the influence of community cultural wealth and tauhi va on the navigation of Pacific Islanders (PIs) in STEM. The disaggregation of data on Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) attaining STEM bachelor's degrees revealed that PIs (16%) are represented half as much as Asian Americans (35%) (NCES, 2020). Under the AAPI…

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have the lowest rates of post-high school education and employment of all disability groups (Migliore, et al., 2009). Inequity in educational and employment outcomes is arguably a result of the scarce opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to attend college…

The purpose of this single phenomenological case study was to examine the importance of an FYE or College 101 seminar and why this topic matters to Latinx students' success. The research took place in a two-year Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) located in the Southwest part of the United States. The overarching question was: "How can…

Latinos are the largest minority in the U.S., yet they hold the least number of conferred college degrees compared to their total population. Despite these low numbers, Latinos have grown exponentially in colleges and universities. Presently, the University of California has six out of its nine undergraduate campuses designated Hispanic Serving…

Reading activities in the classroom and workplace occur predominantly on paper. Since existing electronic devices do not support these reading activities as well as paper, users have difficulty taking full advantage of the affordances of electronic documents. This dissertation makes three main contributions toward supporting active reading…