The research problem addressed in this study is that racial bias programmed into predictive algorithm recommendations negatively impacts students in historically underrepresented groups. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perception of algorithm accuracy among data professionals in higher education and explore the…

This dissertation is aimed at assisting higher education leaders, IT professionals, and administrators in understanding data security risks that institutions face and how employee understanding and behavior can increase or reduce data security risk. The study aims to measure the relationship between financial aid administrator data security…

This thesis collects three essays on applied microeconomics. The first essay proposes an econometric framework to study the role played by course-assignment mechanisms in shaping the learning outcomes observed in higher-education institutions. Particular emphasis is placed on the existence of student-professor match effects in the production of…

Higher education provides an opportunity for career development, enhanced societal contributions, and individual awareness of self and others. Individuals with criminal records represent a significant demographic struggling to access higher education due to barriers often created to address safety concerns (Bressler & Von Bergen, 2018).…

The purpose of this dissertation is to describe a doctoral research study that comprehensively investigated school psychologists' record review practices. Record reviews are part of the psychoeducational evaluation process, and there is relatively little previous research literature on this topic. The current study aimed to investigate the…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to (a) learn more about first-year parents' expectations of communication with the university, (b) learn more about communication practices of university faculty and staff regarding communication with parents, (c) examine the reasons behind the expectations and practices of both parent groups and…

The research inquiry asked the question, what methods do athletic coaches employ to improve academic performance and skills of their high school student athletes? The research method chosen for this investigation, influenced by the teachings of Dewey and Freire, is constructivist grounded theory. This research method used intensive interviews with…

This qualitative case study was conducted to understand the experiences of Ten faculty participants at a private, not for profit, 4-year degree granting, high research institution located in the Northeast, who needed to change from in person instruction to remote teaching due to COVID-19 during Spring 2020, as they prepared to protect student…

Many students use financial aid to pay for their collegiate education, specifically gift aid and student loans. While gift aid is free, it has not kept up with increasing college costs, which has led to borrowing student loans. Students believe borrowing loans are an investment in their employment goals (Baker et al., 2017; Dwyer et al., 2012;…

The problem addressed by this study is the strategies analysts need in higher education institutions to improve the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive data. The qualitative exploratory design was used to examine the strategies used by nine analysts. The combined experience of the nine analysts in data analytics, cyber security,…

This dissertation contains three chapters, each investigating a question in American economic history. The first chapter is co-authored with Ran Abramitzky, Santiago Perez, and Joseph Price. In this work, we conduct a large-scale digitization of historical college registers, encompassing 2.7 million students at 65 elite US universities. We use…

Beginning in the early 1990s, many school districts began to implement zero-tolerance discipline policies that relied heavily on the use of suspensions. As a result, the number of students removed from the classroom and the school environment has dramatically increased over the past 30 years. To increase school safety and combat the rise of school…

The importance of retention rate for higher education institutions has encouraged data analysts to present various methods to predict at-risk students. Their objective is to provide timely information that may enable educators to channel the most effective remedial treatments towards precisely targeted students in an efficient manner. The present…

Universities involve parents of college students in the undergraduate experience, but there is limited research on the specific pathways for parent engagement. This study examined how universities involve parents of undergraduate students at large public universities with graduation rates higher than the national average. Through the lenses of…

Over the past two decades, U.S. states have widely adopted early literacy policies. These policies have shown short-term success in enhancing K-3 literacy skills. However, the reasons behind their widespread adoption and the factors driving their success are poorly understood. This three-paper dissertation focuses on Michigan's Read by Grade Three…