Daily Archives: October 24, 2016

Dorothy Moss Hale Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Dorothy Moss Hale

for the degree of Doctor of Education

November 4, 2016 at 10:00 am in 405 Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Deborah Lowther, PhD

AN EXAMINATION OF ACADEMIC ADVISING EXPERIENCES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN FACE-TO-FACE VERSUS ONLINE ONLY COURSES WHEN CONSIDERING GENDER, ETHNICITY, FIRST GENERATION STATUS AND PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY STATUS

ABSTRACT: Higher attrition rates among Online compared to Face-to-Face students are a concern in higher education. Institutions are rethinking academic advising to support student retention and graduation. Responses of 522 undergraduate NSSE Academic Advising Module Face-to-Face and Online participants were analyzed by gender, ethnicity, first-generation and Pell Grant eligibility to determine whether differences existed in their academic advising experiences. The findings revealed that Online…White, First Generation, and non-Pell Grant eligible students sought primary advice from their assigned advisors significantly more than their Face-to-Face counterparts. The findings have policy and practice implications for academic advising. Recommendations for future research also included.

James Barham Dissertation Final Defense

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

James Barham

for the degree of Doctor of Education

October 27, 2016 at 1:00 pm

 

Major Advisor: Deborah Lowther, PhD

EXAMINING COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH AND ATTITUDES TOWARD COLLABORATION IN ONLINE COURSES

ABSTRACT: This research examined experiences/attitudes of community college students toward collaboration in online courses. Participants were 73 students in an online course the previous semester. Findings revealed collaboration primarily involved discussion boards and emails. Most agreed collaboration helped increase achievement and social skills for successful careers. Participants reported “best things” about online collaboration were better understanding of course content and feeling a sense of community; “worst things” were low participation, insufficient communication, and poorly organized activities. The findings have implications with regard to designing and implementing effective collaborative strategies that achieve learning, improve retention, and better prepare students for the future.