Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Willis Furtwengler
Committee Member
Deeb Paul Kitchen
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
academic advising, academic counseling, adult learners, adult learning, advising, college community relationship, college registration, community learning centers, constant comparative method, counseling, descriptive statistics, financial aid, historically Black institution, individual interviews, logic modeling, Mississippi, mixed methods research, off-site community learning centers, product evaluation, program evaluation, quantitative research, qualitative research, questionnaire, registration, service providers, student financial aid, student support services, structured interviews, Stufflebeam, support systems (services), undergraduate students, university administrators, university decision-making, user satisfaction, vocational education programs, workforce education programs
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to provide administrators and service providers at the subject historically Black institution with information about the extent to which student support services (SSS) meet students’ needs and achieve the goals of the administrators and service providers. SSS included registration, advising, counseling, and financial aid services at selected off-site community learning centers.
Participants for the study included a population of undergraduate adult learners 25 years of age or older attending off-site community learning centers in Mississippi. The adult students were enrolled in programs related to education.
Components of Stufflebeam’s context, input, process, and product program evaluation model were used to guide this study. Logic modeling was used to identify the program components, process, and product, which were included in the assessment. The mixed methods design included quantitative and qualitative measures. The quantitative research method included the administration of a questionnaire to collect data about the effectiveness of the registration, advising, counseling, and financial aid services from a large sample of adult learners at off-site community learning centers. Qualitative research methods included structured individual interviews with 12 selected students about their perceptions of the delivery of the registration, advising, counseling, and financial aid services at off-site community learning centers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data about the effectiveness of these services, and the qualitative data were used to analyzed the data using a constant comparative method to identify adult learners’ views of the delivery of these services.
Approximately half the students who participated in the study reported being satisfied with the delivery of services, and viewed the delivery of the services related to course registration, academic advising, academic counseling, and financial aid as effective. At least a third of the students were dissatisfied or somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of the services related to course registration services, academic advising, and financial aid, and reported that they needed improvement. Another major finding related to the college’s goals revealed that the majority of the students who were interviewed felt that the goal of trying to meet the needs of students at off-site community learning facilities was being met. The second major finding, related to the college’s second goal, revealed that administrators were recognizing the needs of adult learners and were developing and implementing programs to accommodate their needs by improving or supporting the expansion of SSS at off-site community learning facilities.
As a result of this study, university officials will be able to make informed decisions to improve or support the expansion of SSS at off-site community learning centers.