Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item First-year seminar instructor experiences: embracing an identity, an autoethnographic case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2024) Blanchard, Deborah Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Tricia SeifertScholarship about first-year seminar programs tend to focus on success outcomes related to transition to college, retention, and persistence initiatives from the student perspective rather than the faculty experience. This autoethnographic case study explored two areas of the first-year seminar instructor experience: how facilitating academic-themed, interdisciplinary first-year seminar courses impact faculty perceptions of personal and professional identity and what first-year seminar components help or hinder the FYS instructor experience. This study found that the development of the first-year seminar instructor identity begins during the application process and continues to develop and evolve as an instructor becomes more experienced. Components that help or hinder the first-year seminar instructor experience include the ability to navigate challenging topics in the curriculum well, managing classroom interactions in a positive manner, and the way that the institution supports or does not support first-year seminar instructors. Instructors found increased confidence and self-efficacy when students engaged in classroom discussion positively and when they were able to connect and support students. This study offers suggestions for programs and institutions for supporting instructors teaching first-year seminars including: clarifying the purpose, intention, and goals of the first-year seminar so instructors can clearly articulate that for students, support faculty-student connection by elevating the role of first-year seminar instructors institutionally, creating opportunities for instructors to engage with one another in faculty learning communities and in relation to the campus more broadly, and providing adequate training and support so first-year seminar instructors can successfully support student transition to college.Item Examining equity in university student conduct adjudication: a phenomenological investigation of administrative resolution(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2023) Schuff, Emily Anne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bryce HughesUniversity Conduct Administrators independently manage university discipline programs with minimal guidance and oversight from the U.S. Department of Education to ensure compliance with civil rights laws. Informal resolution through administrative agreement typically involves a one-on-one discussion between a conduct administrator and student in which the alleged policy violations are discussed and resolved through mutual agreement. This commonly applied traditional adjudication pathway positions the student as particularly vulnerable to the knowledge, skills, and disposition of the administrator managing their case. The Office of Civil Rights under the U.S. Department of Education has never conducted a postsecondary cross-institutional assessment for disparate discipline practices, despite having published a comparable analysis of disturbing disparities among Black and Hispanic males and students with disabilities within public K-12 institutions. This interpretive phenomenological study examines the experiences of 11 university conduct administrators who resolve university misconduct administratively to better understand the intersection of professional discretion and case context as they relate to decision making and case outcomes. Aligned with the method chosen for this study, the researcher, an in-group member of the study population, offers her pre-understanding and location to the problem of practice as reflective tools used in research design and interpretation of findings. Findings include three hermeneutic statements which are supported by themes extracted through the pursuit of the hermeneutic circle. The findings emerging from this study are bound to the experiences of study participants; it is through the interpretation and curiosity of those reading this paper that value is generated.Item A study of organizational culture in a business college using the competing values framework(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2022) Sybesma, Tessa Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Durward K. Sobek IIOrganizational effectiveness within academia is an important area of study given the unique benefit institutions of higher education provide. Though many factors contribute to effectiveness, prior research has empirically tied organizational culture to effectiveness within academia. This study explores the current state and preferred future state cultures of an academic college within a research university, using the Competing Values Framework. Organizational culture and subcultures were measured using the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument, the results of which were explored in more depth using interviews to provide context. The findings revealed that the college has a non-congruent balanced clan and hierarchy type culture and that participants, on average, prefer to transition to a congruent balanced clan type culture by increasing the prevalence of clan and adhocracy characteristics and decreasing the prevalence of hierarchy characteristics. The college can make this shift by building on an existing friendly and caring attitude; bridging group separations by increasing trust, openness, and collaboration; moving away from a work-to-rule culture by creating more mutual support and focusing on student support; and by removing barriers to innovation and increasing the organization's ability to evolve. Though there was general agreement on desired cultural direction, the study also identified several subgroup differences among genders, roles, options, and seniority levels. From these insights, contextually-relevant intervention ideas were generated to support cultural shifts toward clan and adhocracy characteristics -- the two cultural types most associated with effectiveness within academia. The study demonstrates how a mixed methods approach to the Competing Values Framework can be usefully employed to understand cultural complexities within an academic context and support the effective management of the organization.Item Doctoral students' different types of help-seeking behavior within the academic mentoring experience(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) do Amaral, Barbara Maria; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bryce HughesDoctoral student attrition is a concerning issue for institutions of higher education and equally impactful on students who want to succeed but are not able to persist. Researchers and educators alike have worked to identify factors that impact student attrition and persistence. This study's framework included the principles of self-determination theory and self-regulation to highlight students' help-seeking behaviors and students' perceptions of the support they received from their chair or mentor. Self-regulation and its many attributes, such as help-seeking, are part of the academic experience that may influence the outcome (help-seeking). The purpose of this correlational study was to explore relationships between academic mentoring, age, and help-seeking behavior among doctoral students who were enrolled in a doctoral program. Participants were 103 doctoral students (53.5% females, 46.5% males) enrolled in PhD, EdD, and DNP programs in a Northwestern, medium-sized, land-grant university. The age of the students varied from 24 to 63 years old. Data were examined by means of correlations and hierarchical regression analyses. The correlational design for this study was inspired by two primary questions: 'Does academic mentoring influence help-seeking behavior in doctoral students?' and 'Does student's age influence help-seeking behavior?' These two questions helped guide the researcher on which statistical techniques to use; in this case bivariate correlations and hierarchical regressions. The results of this correlational study show consistency with previous literature that indicates that chair/mentor relations can produce effects on students' behaviors. The findings suggest that mentors who students perceive to provide technical help and skills needed for research completion, i.e., support in the form of structure, and satisfy the student's need for competence was positively associated with adaptive help-seeking.Item Making sense of cultures of assessment and their impact on student learning: a qualitative meta-synthesis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2022) Wright, Mandy Lynn; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ann EwbankAlthough cultures of assessment are frequently referenced in institutional effectiveness literature, higher education institutions in the United States continue to experience challenges with demonstrating student learning improvement. This study sought to identify evidence suggesting the broad impact of cultures of assessment on improved student learning outcomes and evidence suggesting the specific effect of faculty professional development in pedagogy and assessment on improved student learning outcomes. Using qualitative meta-synthesis methodology, the findings of fourteen empirical studies were analyzed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. This analysis led to the emergence of three key themes: changes to learning conditions, changes through reciprocal capacity-building, and changes in faculty and student mindsets. While the findings did not offer conclusive evidence in response to the study's research questions, they did lead to recommendations for improved practice in higher education, particularly the need to adopt a learning orientation toward student learning assessment.Item Socialization experiences of STEM international graduate students at American public research universities: a multivariate analysis(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Johnson, Catherine Mary; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Carrie B. MyersSTEM international graduate students encounter unique challenges at American public research universities. One of these challenges relates to the cultural isolation international graduate students face as they traverse American higher education (Lee & Rice, 2007). Factors found influential to international students' persistence include the faculty advisor and advisee relationship (Rice et al., 2009), peer interactions (Rose- Redwood & Rose-Redwood, 2013), and identity formation (Gomes & Tran, 2017; Phelps, 2016). As a multiple regression study, the research questions were designed to determine the extent international graduate students' faculty mentor and peer relationships, cultural congruity, and identity prominence influence intercultural relevancy as parts of the socialization process (Kuh & Love, 2001; Museus & Quaye, 2009). Over a thousand international graduate students from 12 research universities participated in the Graduate Student Experiences survey; an NSF funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate project. The final analytical sample (n = 953) was analyzed using ordinary least squares regression. The first set of results indicated that mentor's cultural support, peer interactions, social and professional identity prominence had significant positive effects on international graduate students' cultural integrity in STEM. The second set of models indicated that mentors' cultural support, peer interactions, cultural congruity, social and professional identity prominence were positively associated with levels of international graduate students' connections with cultural representatives. These findings suggest faculty mentor's cultural support, peer interactions, social and professional identity are important for developing intercultural relevancy within international graduate students at American public research universities. More importantly, students' perceptions of intercultural relevancy differ across groups. This study contributes to the research on graduate education in several ways. First this study provides a quantitative look at international graduates' experiences in the U.S. The contribution of this study is the use of data from a nationally administered graduate student experiences survey at 12 institutions that included newly developed measures of intercultural relevancy in STEM, identity prominence, and mentor interaction. Measures of intercultural effort provide another way to interpret graduate student socialization. The empirical findings add to the growing body of literature on graduate education, international students.Item The internal vertical transfer phenomenon: an exploration of the lived experiences and perceptions of internal transfer students from an embedded two-year institution(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Morley, Michelle Ann; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bryce HughesExisting literature focuses on external transfer students, transitioning from community colleges to a new and separate four-year college and understanding the transfer process and transfer student success. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological inquiry was the examination of the intricacies of the transfer process between a two-year embedded institution to the parent four-year institution and how internal transfer students navigate the transfer process towards successful baccalaureate degree completion. Three research questions guided this study -- (1) How do internal transfer students who started at a two-year college within a regional public institution describe their transfer experiences to their four-year programs? (2) How do transfer experiences differ between students who selected to start at the two-year institution and those who intended to start at the four-year level but were placed into the two-year program? (3) What do internal transfer students believe the institution should do to support their retention? Utilizing an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 internal transfer students enrolled in four-year programs. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. Phase one involved transcribing the interviews. Phase two consisted of a two-part coding process. Open coding identified areas of comparisons and led to the development of a broad set of codes. In the second phase, the theoretical frameworks of Schlossberg's Transition Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory were applied during the axial coding process. Six themes emerged: Sense of Agency; Sense of Identity; Paying for College; Institutional Supports; Institutional Procedures; and Building Transfer Capital. Results indicate internal transfer students often face challenges similar to external transfer students. Of particular interest were the differences in experiences between the participants who were placed at the two-year college and those who chose to begin at the two-year college. The participants who chose to begin at the two-year college described greater difficulty identifying as students of the parent campus whereas the participants who were placed at the two-year college identified as students of the parent campus from the time they began at the two-year college. Institutional recommendations focused on faculty engagement and advising experiences are provided.Item The 2011 Dear Colleague letter: a quantitative analysis of Title IX's impact on sexual violence management(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Aderholdt, William David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sweeney WindchiefThis is a nationwide policy analysis of the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter - a policy which changed how institutions of education responded to reports of sexual violence. Due to the substantial requirements placed on institutions of higher education as a result of this guidance, there is a need to determine how the policy has impacted the management of sexual violence. To accomplish this, Clery Act data from 2001-2017 were collected from 3,634 institutions of higher education from throughout the United States. Uniform Crime Data, a national crime database, was used as a comparison to determine if any changes to reporting rates were also present in the general population of the United States. The Integrated Postsecondary Data System, a database comparing institutions of higher education, was used to determine if institution characteristics (degree program, sector, residential classification, and size) changed how the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter impacted the management of sexual violence. The datasets were analyzed using single- and multiple-group interrupted time-series analysis. The results of this examination found the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter increased reports of sexual violence through the Clery Act by 350%. Three primary conclusions of this study include: 1) The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter caused a significant increase in the management of sexual violence by institutions of higher education; 2) This increase was not due to an increase in reporting by the general population; and 3) Institutions of higher education implemented the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter guidance despite unique characteristics; however, there existed significant differences between these groups.Item Analysis and implementation: converging intent based production and high speed research networks(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2019) Hess, Gregory Martin; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Mike WittieThis thesis analyzes the performance impact of converging an intent-based production network with a high-performance research network. The previous solution for high performance research networks was to segregate these networks [1]. This solution created a physically separate network dedicated to the researcher and used for high speed data transmissions. This model has been successfully utilized for years however current refresh cycles are force academic institutions to confront the ongoing maintenance of these boutique networks. Some institutions have noted their investment in their production networks have created performance to rival that of the dedicated network. For these institutions convergence to one network proves to be a viable strategic option. Additionally, vendors are going to market with intent based or software defined networking which answers many of the challenges that required the physical separation of networks. The advantages of both converged networks as well as software defined networks are well documented. Both campus Information Technology departments and the researches with this high-performance needs are in need of a quantitative analysis to understand the performance or security trade-offs associated with moving research onto a production, intent-based network. This thesis addresses this question by measuring and comparing key performance metrics of a traditional high-performance research network, a traditional production network, and a converged Intent-Based network in the same three labs at the same institution (Montana State University). The results prove that a converged, intent based network delivers the same (or superior) performance as the previous model with the same or superior level of segregation (security). These results give institutions the ability to shed the traditional, utilitarian use of institutional networks in favor of a dynamic network model based on the identity and use of the network rather than the physical location.Item Energy modeling development and calibration for a mini district energy loop assessment comprised of a set of campus buildings(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2019) Hays, Joshua Koplyay; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Kevin AmendeDistrict energy loops are comprised of a network of buildings connected in a water-source loop with utilization of heat pumps to allow for buildings to share thermal energy. To assess the feasibility of creating a district energy loop, the heat sharing capabilities of the proposed interconnected buildings needs to be analyzed. This paper develops a method to assess a mini-district energy loop from historical utility data. Energy modeling was used to create a simple building model from building construction specifications and given inputs from the University Services Engineers on Montana State University's campus. With the energy model developed, the historical utility data was compared to the hourly heat demand and electricity consumption for the building on an outdoor temperature basis. Calibration techniques for heat demand were comprised of increasing or decreasing the outdoor air ventilation requirement and the base heat demand. Electricity consumption was calibrated by altering the equipment plug load in the spaces. The simulated data was validated with metered hourly heat demand data for a high-energy use laboratory building on MSU's campus. This simple energy model was reconfigured to represent another building at MSU by altering building envelope dimensions, and then re-applying calibration techniques to generate hourly heating and cooling data. Converting the model to be heat-pump compatible allowed for internal thermal energy sharing within the building to occur. Hourly heat demand and hourly heat availability were determined for external thermal energy sharing for a high-energy use laboratory building. After which, heat sources, heat sinks, and thermal energy storage tanks were assessed to determine the feasibility of a district energy loop.