Objective: To investigate the effectiveness, from a system's perspective, of offering group counseling options in college counseling centers. Methods: We achieve this through a data-driven simulation-based approach with the aim of providing administrators with a quantitative tool that informs their decision-making process. Results: Our simulation…

The efficacy of the CTE curriculum and program delivery can be affected by both internal and external factors. In an effort for community colleges to improve graduation and retention rates, institutions are developing enrollment and retention strategies that involve scheduling options. The purpose of this causal-comparative quantitative study was…

The impact of remote and hybrid work on American life has led to a growing interest in applying similar flexibility to education. This case study explores the concept of flex-based learning. It is a model that blends in-person and at-home instruction to provide a customizable and personalized education experience for students. Flex-based learning…

Purpose/Objectives: Special diets are increasingly common in child nutrition programs. However, recent data on the types and frequency of accommodations and policies that districts use to make them are limited. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the type and number of special diets and current policies and practices for accommodating…

This article describes how Nancy Jo Lambert, a school librarian, implemented a flexible library schedule at elementary schools in which she worked collaboratively with classroom teachers. After observing students removing bookmarks from the middle of their books in order to turn the books in by the due date or because their fixed library schedule…

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many changes in the lives of our students and families. In this article, the responses of students in criminal justice classes at a Hispanic serving institution in south Texas were collected and synthesized. The 252 responses were divided into seven frequently observed and repeated themes: jobs and job related,…

Last spring, the Covid-19 pandemic upended routines for over 56 million students and challenged more than 3.7 million teachers in over 130,000 schools nationwide to continue educating kids in an online format. This transition to "virtual learning" was understandably trying for all educators, schools, and districts, but some managed to do…

Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion among adolescent Hispanic females in Texas in 2014 (~39%) lag behind the Healthy People 2020 goal (80%). This qualitative study identifies Hispanic mothers' salient behavioral, normative and control beliefs regarding having their adolescent daughters complete the vaccine series.…

Universities and colleges have developed an over-reliance on adjunct faculty, and as a result, researchers have begun to study adjunct faculty satisfaction as it relates to their working conditions. Current research indicates that professional development is a source that can contribute to satisfaction at work (Hoyt, 2012). However, the research…

As with other student populations community colleges serve, part-time students often face multiple challenges that present additional barriers to completion, including unfamiliarity with the college experience, parenthood, and food and housing insecurity. Community colleges have historically opened their doors to all those interested in pursuing…

In this paper, we analyze how students select particular sections of required undergraduate courses at a regional public university in Texas. Specifically, we study how perceived instructor quality and other course section attributes, such as meeting time, impact enrollment. We find strong evidence that publicly available information about…

We report on the nature and timing of services provided to children with an intellectual disability (ID) identified by a new comprehensive assessment and care planning tool used to evaluate children's needs for Medicaid Personal Care Services (PCS) in Texas. The new assessment procedure resulted from a legal settlement with the advocacy community.…

This paper is the first to investigate the costs of institution-wide reforms at community colleges. Drawing on data from 12 community colleges implementing comprehensive guided pathways reforms, I use the ingredients method to analyze the resources required to implement such reforms and examine their feasibility and affordability, as well as their…

The goal of the dissertation study was to evaluate the existing DG scheduling algorithm. The evaluation was developed through previously explored simulated analyses of DGs performed by researchers in the field of DG scheduling optimization and to improve the current RT framework of the DG at TTU. The author analyzed the RT of an actual DG, thereby…

As educational needs of students change in response to changing demographics, economic factors, workforce needs, and school accountability requirements, school leaders must continually monitor and adjust curricula and associated methods of instructional delivery to increase student learning. The analysis of student performance data is a critical…