Wright, Dianne A.

This quantitative longitudinal study sought to highlight the difference between the proportion of men and women who planned to pursue a STEM major in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences, engineering, and computer and information sciences as freshmen, as well as to determine the proportion of men and women who changed their major choice by their senior year. In addition, the researcher sought to identify women students’ unique background characteristics and college experiences that have taken place over the course of their undergraduate college career that may have predicted their declared major choice (STEM versus non-STEM) as seniors. A review of the literature, along with Astin’s Involvement Theory, encouraged the hypothesis that college experiences influence women’s college major choice: STEM versus non-STEM. Secondary data obtained from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the higher Education Research Institute was used. The sample was delimitated to include only full-time undergraduate students who were graduating in 2012 or 2013. Five research questions were addressed in this study. Astin’s (1993) Input-Environment-Outcome Model was used as a conceptual framework. Descriptive (frequencies and percentages) and inferential (chi-square test and discriminant analysis) statistics were used to analyze the data. The results found a statistically significant difference between the proportion of men and women who planned to pursue a STEM major as freshmen as well as the proportion of men and women who changed their major choice from STEM to non-STEM. Discriminant analysis was used to predict group membership of STEM versus non-STEM major choice among women. It was found that many variables had an impact on predicting STEM group membership among women: satisfaction with college math and science courses, high school GPA, SAT score, high self-ratings of problem-solving skills and mathematical ability, and participating in undergraduate research. There were also variables that had a greater ability of predicting non-STEM group membership. The findings from this study will hopefully inform policy and practice. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are included.

With the ever-evolving advancements in technology, public not-for profit higher educational institutions have experienced a significant increase in the demand for distance learning. As a result, with the changing needs of students and institutions’ ambition to remain competitive and relevant in the industry of higher education, public not-for profit higher education institutions are continuously thriving to ensure that they are offering the best quality of education that can be provided for purposes of distance learning. When considering faculty, faculty play a significant role in making certain that the quality of education is maintained and reflected throughout curriculums and programs despite the instructional method selected. Therefore, understanding their thoughts and perceptions of distance learning is paramount to uncover areas for improvement since they are the ones that experience the impact of distance learning first hand. Therefore, the results of this qualitative case study of a college within a major four-year public not-for profit higher education institution were used to determine the attitudes, perceptions, and concerns of faculty members who teach in a distance learning environment. Uncovering and bringing clarification to underlying perspectives that faculty grapple with is imperative for institutions to improve organizationally. As a result, removing obstacles that can hinder change can assist institutions’ administration to discover innovative approaches that foster an atmosphere where distance learning can thrive and increase a greater embrace by faculty.

Public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are facing many challenges
including state funding, competition, and maintaining the best possible
graduation rate. This study: (1) examined the strategic plans and strategic
planning processes to explore how, and to what extent, these tool are being used
to address these challenges; and (2) explored the extent to which continuous
process improvement is included in strategic planning efforts.
A qualitative research design employing a grounded theory approach was
used in this study. The researcher reviewed the perceptions of the participants
at each of four selected public institutions regarding strategic planning
processes, including their beliefs with regard to process improvement as a
component of the strategic planning process. Perceived facilitators and detractors of strategic planning and its implementation were also examined.
Finally, the researcher sought to design an improved model for strategic planning
in higher education that takes continuous process improvement into
consideration as a basic component of the approach to planning.
The dominant theme that emerged from the data analysis concerned state
funding, as performance-based funding offers an opportunity to acquire
additional funds. Graduation rate was identified as a core component of student
success. Competition from emerging sectors was not a specific topic of
discussion during the strategic planning processes.
Forty-one percent of participants indicated that some form of process
improvement structure exists at their institution, often related to accreditation
reviews and was outside of the strategic planning process. 53% of the
responses to the question, “What do you believe would be the impact of having
process improvement as an integral component in the strategic planning
process?” replied that it would be good or beneficial if it were carried out in a
meaningful manner. Twenty-nine percent of the 53% stated that process
improvement efforts are often performed for it’s own sake, and that including
process improvement in the strategic planning process should be done in a
manner that adds value to the strategic planning process and the institution.
Through the analysis of the approaches to strategic planning examined in
this study, the researcher offers a new strategic planning model for HEIs
grounded in the findings.

Higher education is an idyllically positioned organization from which meaningful
dissemination of knowledge and interdisciplinary research is capable of actuating
practices that resource consumption. Paradoxically, the construction, maintenance, and
operations of the built environment, including the built campus environment, have
contributed to the decline of raw resources and degradation of environmental processes.
An opportunity exists to bridge the knowledge gap between the design and construction
phase and the operations and maintenance phase of the green certified building life cycle,
while examining the parts that contributed to the green-certification of the whole
building. The purpose of this research was to 1.) identify green-building features and
determine their frequency of implementation in new capital (NC) LEED-certified,
campus buildings to effectuate operations and maintenance cost savings, indoor
wellbeing, and environmental stewardship, and 2.) determine the relationships of greenbuilding
feature usage across building, institutional, and LEED characteristics. The study used archival data to document the green efforts of each building with the study’s sample
of 195 buildings on the campus of 107 universities and colleges, in the United States,
between 2007 and 2017.
The study’s findings indicated that the public institutions earned the LEED
certification more often than private institutions and the sample was void of two-year
community colleges. The sample was restricted for green-building features that (a)
reduce economic cost, (b) improve indoor wellbeing, and (c) increase environmental
stewardship. The results and implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was first to determine factors associated with intellectual
reputation. Second, the study aimed to examine intellectual reputation in relationship to doctoral
graduates’ productivity in the biomedical sciences and in relationship to organizational
biomedical advancement and productivity. Third, the study aimed to visualize a spatial
relationship between intellectual reputation and local organizational biomedical advancement
and productivity. Finally, a simulated research-based model was proposed for understanding
hospital productivity.
The study used quantitative analysis and The Geographic Information System GIS. The findings
from this study suggest that university’s research intensity, having a Nobel Laureate on staff,
Hirsch Index of the most prominent researcher on staff, scientific patent, scientific publications,
and affiliation with multiple countries are good predictors of intellectual reputation. Correlation
analysis suggests that university intellectual reputation is associated with doctoral graduates’
productivity. When examining the relationship between the university and hospitals, university
intellectual reputation was positively correlated with hospital biomedical advancement. Hospital
productivity was significantly correlated with university intellectual reputation. University
intellectual reputation was significantly correlated with hospital capacity to absorb knowledge
and knowledge spillover. Regression analysis also reveals that hospital capacity to absorb
knowledge and knowledge spillover are good predictors of hospital biomedical advancement, F
2, 176 62.637, p 0.001.Visual examination of the hospitals suggests that when universities
publish at a large quantity, this influences hospitals within the area to publish as well.
Additionally, hospitals that are more productive tend to cluster around universities with higher
intellectual reputation.

While there exists extensive research on the historical development of Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, there is limited research
focused on the current development of HBCUs in terms of institutional effectiveness and
strategic planning. This gap in the research is particularly relevant in the midst of shifts
in state funding that have occurred over the past decade. This research study is designed
to move further towards filling this research gap by determinations through the
examination of: (1) the interplay of fiscal issues and institutional effectiveness in relation
to the historic mission, strategic efforts, and state mandates within the context of HBCUs;
(2) the perceived institutional effectiveness of HBCUs by key internal and external
stakeholders; and (3) the alignment of HBCU mission statements with mandated metrics
of institutional effectiveness. Using a qualitative research design, an exploratory multisite
case study was employed across two institutions. Nine key HBCU stakeholders such as the Presidents and the Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Financial
Affairs, and Alumni Affairs were interviewed to gain their perspectives on institutional
effectiveness in relationship to shifting funding, heightened accountability, planned
strategies to address these issues, and how these issues directly impact institutional
effectiveness at HBCUs. Interviewee perspectives of shifts in funding were examined
using a researcher-developed conceptual framework. In addition to conducting
interviews, the researcher engaged in document review of relevant university documents,
as well as a review of funding patterns of state allocations retrieved from the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Data from the three sources were
triangulated and a two-layered coding strategy was used for further analysis. Findings
from this data analysis were then used to address the five research questions presented in
this study. The findings revealed that fluctuating shifts in state allocated funding has
created a complex environment for HBCUs. Key HBCU administrators held similar
perspectives, that in the midst of such a complex environment, emergent institutional
response strategies have been put into place to maintain HBCU institutional effectiveness
within the context of the historic HBCU mission.

The purpose of this study was to examine African-American male awareness of and application to honors programs at two selected state colleges in the southeastern region of the United States. The researcher also attempted to fill a current void in the literature and to present an emergent theory for attracting African-American males to honors programs in State College settings. A disproportionate amount of research focuses on remediation and underachievement among African-American males. The lack of information on the experiences of high ability African-American males leaves many unanswered questions about how to best recruit and serve the needs of this population of students. This study focused on high achievers rather than languish over the problem of underachievers. It examined the level of awareness of gifted African-American male students regarding honors programs at the collegiate level. It also analyzed how institutional atmosphere/reputation, facilities , personal influences, and incentives affect the decision of African-American males to apply to honors. The format for this study was a mixed method design. It included quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. To satisfy the quantitative nature of this study, IBM SPSS 21.0 was used for the purpose of data analysis via binomial tests. Furthermore, the researcher conducted four semi-structured focus groups. Qualitative data analysis procedures were used to understand and interpret the undergirding knowledge that may have played a role in the decisions made by African-American males in terms of whether or not to apply to honors programs. The study findings revealed that African-American male participants valued the atmosphere and reputation of an honors program more than facilities, personal influences, and incentives. However, awareness of this and others factors among African-American male honors applicants and honors non-applicants was often based on the personal influences in their lives. The results of this study and its emergent theory suggest that, rather than simply showcase gifted abilities, state colleges strategically place honors in a leadership role to increase the presence of persons of influence that motivate high achieving African-American males to enroll in its honors programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the voices of Latino/a Senior Student
Affairs Officers (SSAOs) in terms of described challenges in becoming a SSAO and how
the intersection of race influences their lived experiences as SSAOs at selected public
and private two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. Latino/a SSAOs are
dramatically underrepresented in American colleges and universities. The lived
experiences of this unique group have been ignored in existing empirical literature.
A particular focus of this research was to gain a better understanding of how
Latino/a SSAOs experience and respond to what they perceive as racism, if any, and/or
other forms of discrimination during this experience. The theoretical lens used in this
research study was Critical Race Theory (CRT).

Succession planning is a relatively new construct within higher education institutions (HEIs). The researcher explored the extent to which selected HEIs employ succession planning strategies in reference to the Higher Education Community Engagement Practitioner (HECEP) role and in support of HEIs earning the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification (CCEC). Four HEIs served as study sites for this
research, along with a nationally recognized professional development program. Study results revealed that HEIs are not currently using succession planning strategies for the HECEP role. Further, although the study revealed that professional development opportunities for HECEPs exist, only 50% of institutional study participants were aware of, and participated. Finally, based on the credentials of individuals currently in HECEP roles and data obtained from this study (including data from an expert judge linked to the professional development program analyzed as part of this study), the researcher provides a job specification template for determining if institutions have a pipeline of individuals who could be prepared to assume the HECEP role in the future. This study, although limited in scope as it relates to succession planning, provides insight into the attitudes and perceptions of specific higher education professionals toward the professional development of employees, and more specifically, the HECEP role.

The purpose of this study was first to determine factors associated with
intellectual reputation, specifically among selected biomedical departments worldwide
within the university setting. Second, the study aimed to examine intellectual reputation
in relationship to doctoral graduates’ productivity in the biomedical sciences and in
relationship to organizational biomedical advancement and productivity. Third, the study
aimed to visualize a spatial relationship between intellectual reputation and local
organizational biomedical advancement and productivity in the United States and the
United Kingdom. Finally, a simulated research-based model was proposed for
understanding hospital productivity. The study used quantitative analysis in order to achieve these goals. The Geographic Information System (GIS) and Geocommons were used to visualize possible relationship between universities and hospitals in different regions. The findings from
this study suggest that the university’s research intensity, having a Nobel Laureate on
staff, Hirsch Index of the most prominent researcher on staff, scientific patent, scientific
publications, and affiliation with multiple countries are good predictors of intellectual
reputation. Correlation analysis suggests that university intellectual reputation is
associated with doctoral graduates’ productivity. When examining the relationship
between the university and hospitals, university intellectual reputation was positively
correlated with hospital biomedical advancement, r= .445, p =0.001. Hospital
productivity was significantly correlated with university intellectual reputation, r= .322,
p =0.001. University intellectual reputation was significantly correlated with hospital
capacity to absorb knowledge (r= 0.211, p =0.005) and knowledge spillover (r=.242,
p =0.001). Regression analysis reveals that hospital capacity to absorb knowledge and
knowledge spillover are good predictors of hospital biomedical advancement, F (2, 176)
= 52.637, p = 0.001. Hospital capacity to absorb knowledge, affiliation with a university,
intellectual reputation of the affiliated university, and distance between the hospital and
the affiliated university were shown to be good predictors to hospital productivity, F (4,
106) = 11.115, p = 0.001. Visual examination of the hospitals suggests that when the universities publish at a large quantity, this tends to influence the hospitals within the area to publish a large
quantity as well. Additionally, hospitals that are more productive tend to cluster around
universities with higher intellectual reputation.