Many things can influence a student's success in a course. Previous research has shown that students are more successful when they complete the course reading, but students may not always comply with reading requirements for multiple reasons, such as other time pressures or financial costs. Issues with reading requirements may be compounded if an…

Discrimination has become a significant presenting concern among college students that is strongly correlated with distress, social isolation, and suicidal ideation, even after counseling treatment (Center for Collegiate Mental Health, 2023). Over the past several years, the surge in reported incidents of antisemitism on college campuses has…

The dissertation investigated the interplay between an elevated sense of purpose moderated by heightened altruistic motivation and sustained attention in a college undergraduate population. Drawing on existing literature highlighting the positive effects of purpose on well-being and cognitive abilities, the study introduced an experimental design…

Adults represent a vital and growing undergraduate demographic, bringing diverse experiences and expectations to the educational environment, yet their unique needs are often underserved. Adult learners face challenges beyond attending classes or completing homework (Bellare et al., 2023). This study examines the interplay between satisfaction,…

Academic persistence of third- and fourth-year students in higher education is a critical concern for institutions for understanding degree completion. Previous studies have recognized that student persistence is influenced by institutional factors. However, few studies have examined the relationship between teacher leadership styles and student…

The problem that was addressed through this study is the declining student degree completion rate for a public state baccalaureate institution in a northwestern state over the six-year period of 2014 to 2020. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if completion of an undergraduate degree within six years could be predicted by the…

This study set out to corroborate or disprove an unambiguous phenomenon found in scholarly literature, which is synthesized as follows: "Contemporary undergraduate STEM curriculum content is inadequate to fully prepare graduates for STEM industry's real-world technical performance expectations." However, this stylized fact appears…

Despite the growing population of Latina/o students in the United States, those who are entering college are not graduating at the same rate as their white counterparts. The six-year Hispanic student graduation rate was 8% lower than that of white students (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). The Latina/o educational attainment gap still exists and…

There has been a notable increase in the number of first-generation students pursuing a college degree. However, there is a mismatch between the number of first-generation students entering college and the number of them continuing their mission through college. Given the college completion disparity for first-generation students, it is essential…

Volunteer rates of Millennial postsecondary degree recipients continue to decline in the United States; consequently, the loss of volunteers onboarding with skill sets non-profit organization's need persistently places these organizations at a disadvantage. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore Millennial…

This dissertation investigated the expectations both professional academic advisors and undergraduate students, respectively, possessed of academic advising and of the advisor role. As students come to their postsecondary endeavors with increased needs, expectations, and consumer-mentalities, it is important to understand their expectations -- and…

This dissertation documented how undergraduate students made sense of data in news media. The participants were 30 undergraduate students enrolled in a course called "Numbers and Social Justice." The study used argument analysis (Toulmin, 2003) and ethnographic methodology to examine students' written work in a naturalistic setting.…

Electronic communication, most notably email, is ubiquitous in higher education and remains the dominant, most commonly used communication method in the workplace. Unfortunately, student emails are often abrupt, lack salutations and signatures, and can even be riddled with errors that make it difficult to understand their intended message. This…

The North Carolina Promise (NC Promise) is an education subsidy program that sets in-state tuition at $500 per semester and out-of-state tuition at $2500 per semester for all undergraduates at four campuses of the University of North Carolina (UNC) System campuses applies to all undergraduate students beginning with the Fall 2018 semester. A goal…

Introduction: Empathy is an essential trait for nursing. Empathy as a construct consists of a cognitive and affective domain. The construct is associated with decreased clinician burnout, reduced stress, and improved patient-centered care. Nursing education has recognized the clinical benefits of empathy and has implemented various educational…