Community colleges offer access to higher education for many who otherwise would not be able to attend college, including academically underprepared students, students from low-income backgrounds, and place-bound adults. Recently, some community colleges have diverged from this historical mission and embraced "mission expansion."…

A principal's journey to leading an effective school is paved with many winding roads with different choices of which path to take. The number of challenges a principal can experience daily is astronomical and overwhelming, especially for a novice principal learning the trade. With all the different voices and influences coming at the leadership…

There is significant research on the president's role, but there is a lack of research on presidential transitions and direct experiences during those transitions. With the growing number of presidential transitions happening as the tenure of presidential tenure decreases, the importance of well-run presidential transitions becomes even more…

The purpose of this quantitative, predictive correlational study was to examine if a predictive relationship existed between teachers' sense of efficacy and the dimensions of instructional leadership considered both collectively and individually, among K-12 teachers in North Carolina. The Instructional Leadership Model and Tschannen-Moran and…

This study addressed a critical gap in the literature by investigating the relationship between organizational culture and mission drift within Christian higher education. While mission drift has been widely discussed in popular press, limited academic research has explored the factors influencing it, particularly organizational culture. Utilizing…

This qualitative phenomenological study explored the individual crisis-related experiences of administrative leaders in intercollegiate athletics. A crisis is defined as an unpredictable and unexpected event that interferes with normal operations of the organization, threatens the well-being of stakeholders, and can significantly negatively impact…

Acting within a complex authority structure marked by shared governance, the governing boards of higher education institutions serve as the legal body holding ultimate responsibility for the institution's identity, mission, and institutional health. The past and current experience of Protestant theological schools has revealed institutional…

College student employees are not only serving the overall mission of their institutions, but also developing career readiness skills through daily interactions while at work. In this study, I explore the perceptions of the supervisors of student employees as both managers and student affairs professionals. Through one-on-one interviews with…

Colleges and universities are struggling financially as revenue streams decrease and institutional needs increase. To manage resource allocation, they use the budget as a strategic tool for planning purposes that can represent institutional goals, opportunities, and limitations. Increased competition for funds and cost concerns have placed…

The goal is to shine light theologically on the role of transformational leadership in the missional church. What concepts about pneumatological discipleship, influence, power, authority, and transformational leadership suit a radically missional church? Radical missional challenges demand new notions about servant and transformational leadership.…

Community colleges are important settings for the development of social capital as well as institutions of higher learning. The democratic mission, geographic dispersion, and close relationship with multiple stakeholders throughout their service regions allow community colleges to be well-suited to act as liaisons and social architects…

This work explores how mission and identity are practiced and understood in a branch campus setting of a private institution. By employing multiple organization identity, exploring branch campus management models and purposes and interviews with representatives of a branch campus, this work demonstrates how mission and identity are created in a…

This dissertation intends to inform self-assessment and data collection practices within Rutgers University and act upon the encouragement of university leadership to advance the potential of the public service mission. These goals are accomplished by exploring relevant questions to inform the practices of institutional research (IR) and…

Both undergraduate academic advising and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a key role in Latinx student success. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore servingness within the context of undergraduate academic advising at Border University (BU) -- an HSI on the U.S.-Mexico border. The overarching research questions were: 1)…

In 1955 a private, Christian higher education institution began with a unique and distinct Pentecostal foundation. Part of the mission was to perpetuate the faith and belief systems of the Assemblies of God denomination. The institution was simultaneously attempting to sustain the denomination's growth through the training of young people while…