This qualitative research study explored how undergraduate students at a public four-year land grant university can co-create a sense of belonging through an appreciative inquiry (AI) process. The study employed a strengths-based and generative approach to investigate the experiences of students within the same student organization, focusing on…

This study explored the lived experiences of eleven transfer students as they described their experiences in Calculus 2 at very high research land grant institutions (R1). This qualitative investigation focused on the psychological phenomenon of transition as the transfer students perceived, reflected, made sense, and understood their transition…

This study explored the essential role of impactful advising experiences in fostering holistic success among Black college students at a southern public land-grant Historically Black College and University (HBCU). It focuses on the primary question of how Black college students experience academic advising at HBCUs, guided by two secondary…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine a group of adult students' learning world languages, literacies, and cultures and their experiences in the World Language and Culture Program (WLCP) at a large western land-grant university in the United States during the spring of 2019. I (the author and primary investigator) am the developer and…

Within institutions of higher education, shared governance is an essential component to a healthy functionality. Among the many stakeholders at these institutions, students are the largest in number and hold primacy. Participation in student governance establishes a sense of shared ownership over their communities while also providing a unique…

Internships are increasingly popular in higher education (Coco, 2000; Divine et al., 2007). One reason for the increase is the benefits, both perceived and documented, associated with them (Divine et al., 2007). In addition to offering internships as electives, some programs have even begun requiring them of all students (Klein & Weiss, 2011).…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to assess student perceptions of teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence, measured by the Community of Inquiry Scale (Arbaugh et al., 2008), through group collaboration via online and face-to-face instruction. Thirty-seven teacher education students participated in this…

Marginalized college students are retained at disproportional rates than their counterparts. A major factor of retention is student engagement in the classroom, which can be impacted by course design and instruction. Critical pedagogy aims to value all students' experiences through six elements of course design and instruction: decreasing teacher…