Thinking about college provokes a mix of excitement and angst for high school students. For many, applying to and attending college are a normal rite of passage. But for many students in the U.S., particularly from low-income backgrounds, the idea of getting into college feels daunting and foreign. In 1997, Dave Borgal founded Bottom Line to help…

The Accountability Plan is an annual report that is closely aligned with the Board of Governors' 2025 System Strategic Plan. This report enhances the System's commitment to accountability and strategic planning by fostering greater coordination between institutional administrators, University Boards of Trustees and the Board of Governors regarding…

The Accountability Plan is an annual report that is closely aligned with the Board of Governors' 2025 System Strategic Plan. This report enhances the System's commitment to accountability and strategic planning by fostering greater coordination between institutional administrators, University Boards of Trustees and the Board of Governors regarding…

This chapter describes the my experience as the instructor for a course rooted in community based learning theory that was forced to move online in spring, 2020, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The course, titled 'CASA Without Borders', allows Arabic language students in the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) program at The American…

In Virginia, all high school students can earn either a Standard diploma or an Advanced Studies diploma, the latter being a college preparatory diploma. Starting in 2017, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) began requiring students graduating with the Standard diploma to earn a career and technical education (CTE) credential to encourage…

Educators have applied the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) standards to classrooms of children and youth for over 30 years. However, few studies have focused on applying the strategies in higher education. Therefore, this multiple-case study investigated one of those standards, Instructional Conversations, with…

The world of online learning has exploded over the past 15 years, causing professors to quickly determine the best methods for teaching in an online format. At this point there is much knowledge and experience to be explored to help inform both faculty and academic institutions. The purpose of this empirical research study was to seek additional…

Transition beyond high school for students with disabilities was introduced in education over 50 years ago. Today, it has evolved to include data collection of ongoing mandated activities and post-school outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine student transition planning components and how these related to the post-school outcome data…

Within neoliberal models of U.S. higher education, diversity is a prominent selling point in education discourse, but diversity practices often fail to meet the needs or expectations of the structurally marginalized students they purportedly benefit. Research in education and critical university studies has interrogated the concept of diversity…

The current study utilized a qualitative phenomenological design to explore Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)' experiences related to being victimized in the workplace. Through individual interviews, rich information was collected related to types of workplace bullying behaviors GTAs experienced, factors that encourage and discourage reporting…

In this dissertation, I examine the role elite high schools play in the perpetuation of privilege in America and how, if at all, that role has changed over time. I explore the characteristics of students who attend elite high schools and the relationships between attending those schools and entering elite colleges, earning a top 10% income,…

Student perceptions of community and connectedness have long been a focal point for retention researchers and have been proven to be a determining factor in students' dropout decisions. While these feelings of community exist in the traditional campus structure, it remains to be seen if an online learning environment can elicit those same feelings…

The adult learning theories of andragogy, experiential learning, and self-directed learning were utilized as the framework for this study as these theories guide educators in their work with students to seek experiences that may enhance their opportunities beyond college in adulthood. By understanding adult learning theories, administrators in…

This article presents two similar design cases and a discussion of how like values resulted in dissimilar design moves. Both cases were gamified learning activities for graduate students in instructional design. Both interventions employed rapid prototyping and were delivered synchronously in an at-a-distance setting. This article compares the two…

W.E.B. Du Bois asserted that black students are better served by attending predominantly black schools than hostile integrated schools in a context of racial discrimination. The conventional assumption is that black students benefit educationally by attending schools with more white peers, which have access to greater resources. However, the…