This study examined the significance of induction and mentorship programs in retaining early-career teachers in South Carolina. Induction and mentorship programs have been recognized as a viable solution since high turnover rates among new teachers may harm student learning and school culture. The study examined the variables of clear program…

High employee turnover in higher education has been an issue for decades, and successfully integrating newly hired staff (NHS) into their new job and the organization can be challenging for human resources and leadership. New employee orientation and onboarding programs can assist NHS. The author of this paper conducted a Utilization-Focused…

Adjuncts continue to be an integral part of higher education; however, they are rarely onboarded at higher education institutions. Onboarding involves systematically introducing a new employee to an organization's values, processes, and procedures. For adjuncts, they also need formalized training in pedagogy. Without onboarding adjuncts, higher…

This dissertation explores the evolving landscape of graduate business education, highlighting the growing significance of specialized master's programs alongside traditional MBAs at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. It recognizes the changing demographics and needs of students, emphasizing the critical importance of fostering a…

The pipeline of college students seeking teaching positions is shrinking. The teacher shortage makes finding and retaining new teachers even more challenging. The cost of replacing existing teachers who leave is tremendous, and new teachers leave the profession at an alarming rate. This dissertation explored the lived experiences of new teachers…

Student veterans may encounter educational barriers that can impact transitions to college. This research focused on veteran transitions to college during onboarding. Onboarding is beneficial in a higher education setting and, when properly deployed, can help ease transitions. This study involved the development, implementation, and assessment of…

The estimated prevalence of neurodivergent (ND) conditions is approximately 15-20% of the population in the United States (Doyle, 2020; Maenner et al., 2023). ND students are increasingly enrolling in mainstream colleges and universities (Bakker et al., 2019) but report that they are not receiving adequate support on campus (Dexter et al., 2024;…

Current methods to address the shortage of certified orientation and mobility specialists have either not been successful or have not kept up with the needs of students with visual impairments. This study explored the potential of an alternative method of addressing the shortage and gaps in education that it causes: training paraprofessionals to…

Caregivers' involvement in therapy is integral to the child's engagement in therapy and their occupational performance outcomes (D'Arrigo et al., 2020b). Access to cost-effective, culturally relevant educational programs for caregivers of children with disability, who are oftentimes burdened with anxiety and stress due to society's stigma, are…

Effective preceptor-guided clinical orientation programs (PGCOP) help new graduate nurses (NGNs) across the theory-practice gap to provide safe, effective, and efficient patient care. This constructivist-designed qualitative program evaluation study explored NGNs' and preceptors' perceptions of a local hospital's PGCOP as an effective transition…

This program evaluation of the University of Pittsburgh EdD program was conducted to determine potential changes and modifications to create a more successful EdD program. The study had three purposes. The first was to determine how the Foundations and Practitioner Inquiry courses were structured to accommodate areas of concentration (ARCOs) and…

Shawnee State University (SSU) founded Project BEAR: Building Emerging and Achieving Readers, an AmeriCorps program, to support literacy development and improve school readiness in the Appalachian region. After the first 2 years of program implementation, areas for growth including enhanced service member recruitment, member onboarding, and…

In his letter introducing the 2011 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, former President Barack Obama stated "we know that from the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents--it is the teacher standing at the front of the…

College academic success programs (ASP) frequently include both quantitative and qualitative key performance indicators (KPI). While the quantitative KPIs are typically programmed for evaluation within an ASP's implementation, evaluating qualitative KPIs is resource intensive and therefore, sometimes overlooked. The problem addressed by this study…

Study abroad, for any length of time and in any location, is widely recognized in higher education as a positive educational activity. While individual benefits of study abroad have been explored for decades, recent research has pushed the field to consider benefits for the local and global community. This program evaluation contributes to this…