We study flexible Bayesian methods that are amenable to a wide range of learning problems involving complex high dimensional data structures, with minimal tuning. We consider parametric and semiparametric Bayesian models, that are applicable to both static and dynamic data, arising from a multitude of areas such as economics, finance and…

Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is a training algorithm for Single-Layer Feed-forward Neural Network (SLFN). The difference in theory of ELM from other training algorithms is in the existence of explicitly-given solution due to the immutability of initialed weights. In practice, ELMs achieve performance similar to that of other state-of-the-art…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of proactive student-success coaching, informed by predictive analytics, on student academic performance and persistence. Specifically, semester GPA and semester-to-semester student persistence were the investigated outcomes. Uniquely, the community college focused the intervention on only…

The climate in college admissions is more competitive than ever, making understanding the college choice factors that contribute to a student's enrollment decision increasingly important. Using admitted student data from a liberal arts institution in the northeast for fall 2008 to fall 2011, and after controlling for student preparedness,…

Two binary logistic regression analyses were conducted across survey data from 254 master's-level graduates to answer research questions about predicting Willingness to Give to their graduate alma mater and predicting Actual Alumni Giving behavior to their graduate alma mater. The predictor variables are dimensions from the community of inquiry…

Adult community college students, age 25 and older, have been understudied in the extensive college transfer literature, which otherwise focuses on traditional-age college students age 18 through 24, or on students of unspecified age. According to the theoretical framework of academic momentum articulated by Clifford Adelman (2006), enrollment…

Community colleges provide access, preparation and pathways to the four year institution. Transfer students from community colleges are deeply embedded in the higher education system though many have to face the issues of being academically unprepared, varying expectations of the transfer institution, and the stigma of being a transfer student.…

Leveraging a sample of more than 198,000 adult entrepreneurs, both currently involved in the startup of a business or formerly involved in business creation, this study investigates the perceptual, societal impression, economic, and demographic variables that are predictive with an individual's decision to engage in entrepreneurial activity.…

The Baccalaureate Nursing program in San Antonio, Texas experienced a decrease in National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) on the first attempt for students graduating between 2009 and 2014 without a clear explanation for the decline. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental correlational study was to…

This dissertation is comprised of three essays, all of which focus on various impacts of economic recession. The first two essays utilize county-level data to examine differences between rural and urban response to economic downturn, while the final essay makes use of individual-level data to examine the impact of recession on enrollment in higher…

College decisions are often the result of a variety of influences related to student background characteristics, academic characteristics, college preferences and college aspirations. College counselors recommend that students choose a variety of schools, especially schools where the general student body matches the academic achievement of…

The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and intent to turnover among software engineers in the information technology (IT) industry. The population that was analyzed in this study was software engineers in the IT industry to determine whether there is a relationship between job satisfaction and intent to…

Samejima hypothesized that non-monotonically increasing item response functions (IRFs) of ability might occur for multiple-choice items (referred to here as "Samejima items") if low ability test takers with some, though incomplete, knowledge or skill are drawn to a particularly attractive distractor, while very low ability test takers…

Service-learning has roots deep in higher education. Community colleges and service-learning have an organic relationship as they both strive to represent and support their local communities. This study implemented propensity score matching to study the impact of service-learning on student outcomes for community college students. Much of the…

This dissertation is a compilation of several studies that are united by their relevance to probabilistic judgment aggregation. In the face of complex and uncertain events, panels of judges are frequently consulted to provide probabilistic forecasts, and aggregation of such estimates in groups often yield better results than could have been made…