Student affairs services--United States--Decision making--Case studies.

The purpose of this collective case study was to discover the decision-making
processes used by senior student affairs officers when making wicked decisions related to
the retention of specialized, at-risk student populations. Wicked decisions are complex,
resistant to resolutions, lead to other problems, and are essentially unique. In this study,
decisions related to retention of Black males; students with mental health issues; and
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer student retention fall within the wicked
problem category and were the focus of this study. These decisions are usually the
responsibility of divisions of student affairs in higher education settings and the senior
student affairs officer. Hence, the senior student affairs officer is tasked with making
responsible and effective decisions that foster the success of all students. This
dissertation focused on the decision-making processes, practices, and procedures student affairs officers use to support the retention of select special populations served in higher
education.