This qualitative study explored the influence of racialized lived experiences (RLEs) on equitable decision-making among philanthropic leaders, employing a narrative inquiry approach. It examined how diversity within philanthropy, beyond tokenistic representation, can introduce a wide range of perspectives that enhance equitable decision-making…

Biodiversity loss and rising global challenges are directly linked to the current climate crisis. Peoples' behaviors and lives are being negatively impacted daily, ushering in a new wave of physiological and emotional distress referred to as eco-anxiety, which is being experienced by young people. Urgent concerns for the need for environmental…

Demographics on university campuses have become increasingly diverse with a significant increase in the number of students ages 50 and older. Many arrive on campus with two or more years of college experience over several terms but with no degree. Higher education leaders' understanding of why these older adults enroll in postsecondary courses and…

The heterogeneity of the timing and order of achieving the "big five" markers of the transition to adulthood is often treated as a taken-for-granted feature of emerging adulthood, reflecting a tendency of "leisure to explore" between adolescence and adulthood. With the central assumption of emphasizing how individuals take…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the perceptions, behaviors and decision making of deans and directors of university support services on the use of social media. University support services play a major role in meeting the personal and academic needs of students. How they serve students has changed in recent years due…

Institutions of higher education are in the business of educating students, and many institutions require students to demonstrate that they have acquired a certain level of digital literacy knowledge and skills by passing an introductory computer class. Recently, discussions concerning whether the current "digital natives" already…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of "Career Cruising"© on self-efficacy of deciding majors in a university setting. The use of the self-assessment instrument, "Career Cruising"©, was used with measuring the career-decision making self-efficacy in a pre and post-test with deciding majors. The independent…

This research study investigated the technological perceptions and expectations of community college students, faculty, administrators, and Information Technology (IT) staff. The theoretical framework is based upon two assumptions on the process of technological innovation: it can be explained by diffusion of adoption theory, and by studying the…

The purpose of this dissertation research was to analyze a nationally representative dataset of first-year beginning students to examine the factors that affect Mexican-origin Latinos undergraduate students' persistence and degree attainment outcomes. Several theoretical perspectives are used in this research in order to address the complex…