This study investigated agricultural leadership development programs within the U.S. land-grant university system, initially launched by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1965 and currently offered by 38 universities nationwide. Despite their widespread adoption, these programs often lack explicit integration of leadership scholarship and may…

The principal purpose of this doctoral study was to investigate how intersectionality is understood and utilized by practitioners within the field of student affairs in North American higher education. Additionally, the study explored how intersectionality is applied to student affairs practitioners' student development and identity development…

Student conduct is a critical element of student development. The problem investigated by this study was that monetary fines as a punitive sanction tend to be overly represented in the student attrition group at the study site. The purpose of this study was to investigate how students and student conduct administrators (SCAs) at the study site…

Design schools represent a unique context for the study of creativity. Design school students are expected to master creativity by developing individualized processes. Student development in the design classroom has traditionally focused on cultivating professional skills and aptitudes. However, design school students may have long-held beliefs…

The needs of contemporary doctoral scholar-practitionership are placing demands on institutions of higher education to assess the methods by which curriculum and faculty resources are invested in student development. As students continue, often, to remain in practice during doctoral studies, the need to develop and assume an identity as a…

The purpose of this study is to understand the professional skill development of student employees in a leadership position through a theoretical lens and applied lens. Research suggests that a deficit of professional skills exist in today's college graduates. In higher education, many colleges and universities use a student employment model to…

Campus traditions are powerful vehicles that can shape college life (Cowley & Waller, 1979). Students foster smaller identities through their involvement in traditions on campus, and these traditions often ritualize coming-of-age or the start of American adulthood (Bronner, 2012). However, the climate of higher education today may be putting…

For centuries, Black people have fought and wrestled against forces of human domination that have hindered their progression to obtain and maintain basic needs, particularly in higher education. More specifically, white supremacist structures have sought to prevent Black people from being educated and taught about their history with emphasis on…

College access among underserved youth in the United States has expanded dramatically in recent decades, due in part to "achievement ideology," or institutional and cultural messages that equate hard work plus educational attainment with upward mobility. But, college completion rates for this group have remained low, and student loan…

This study investigated and analyzed how lateral transfer students who commute to college made sense of their transition and belonging between four-year institutions. Based on student mobility patterns, the lateral transfer population exceeds the number of community college transfers within the landscape of higher education. Colleges need to…

Self-determination theory (SDT) posits a framework for human motivation, highlighting an individual's interactions and perceptions of his or her environment. Research incorporating a SDT framework has identified antecedents of psychological need satisfaction (PNS) in human motivation. Individual motivation broadens levels of social interactions as…

A college education offers people social and economic benefits, yet youth from foster care backgrounds are less likely than their peers to attain a college education, which places this already vulnerable population at higher risk for a lifetime of living on the margins of society. Foster alumni face multiple obstacles to accessing and persisting…

There is increasing pressure on institutions of higher education to accurately measure student success. What was once thought of as a way to develop students holistically via a liberal arts degree, higher education is now often regarded as a means to an end: a well-paying job. Lost in the drive for quantifiable data is the holistic development of…

Little research has been done regarding the role of spirituality from the perceptive of self-identifying African-American emerging adult learners and how it contributes to their academic persistence, even though isolation, lack of peer support, and identity issues can decrease motivation of self-identifying African-American students. This study…

The impact of peer-leadership programs on undergraduate students has been studied since the inception of higher education. Programs such as peer-mentoring, peer-counseling, and peer-advising are regularly used within the college environment as there are proven benefits to both student leaders and mentees. However, there is limited content on…