Browsing by Subject "University"

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Academic motivation of degree-seeking undergraduate students at a for-profit university in the United States
(2016-05) Carroll, John Walter; Saenz, Victor B.; Sharpe, Edwin Reese; Reddick, Richard J; Ovando, Martha; Spelman, Bill
Students attending for-profit colleges and universities represent approximately 11% of the undergraduate population yet little is known about their academic motivation while attending. The Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) (Vallerand, Pelletier, Briere, Senecal, & Vallieres, 1992), grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985b), has been used successfully for numerous studies. The AMS has not been tested with a for-profit student population. The AMS and personal data questionnaire were administered via an Internet survey hosted by Survey Gizmo to for-profit students attending face-to-face classes in the United States. The study uses an exploratory design where subjects were selected using a convenience sample (N = 44). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to measure the internal consistency and reliability of the AMS with for-profit students. Cronbach’s alpha was greater than 0.70 for all the AMS’s seven subscales and two aggregate scales implying the AMS is appropriate for use with for-profit student populations. The study evaluated possible correlations between academic motivation and age. Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient calculations revealed no statistically significant relationship between academic motivation and age. Academic motivation was also tested a predictor of self-reported GPA via ordinary least squares regression. A natural log transformation was conducted to restate the data into a more normal distribution. After transformation, GPA was not a statistically significant predictor of GPA. The aggregate measure of extrinsic motivation was statistically significantly higher than the aggregate measure of intrinsic motivation. No statistically significant difference was found among the three extrinsic motivation subscales. Intrinsic motivation to experience was statistically significantly different than intrinsic motivation to know and intrinsic motivation to accomplish. Cronbach’s alpha was “good” or better for all measure of academic motivation. No statistically significant relationship was found among academic motivation and age. Academic motivation was not revealed to be a useful predictor of GPA.
Beyond sports : a guidebook for potential collegiate female student-athletes
(2013-05) Bauerkemper, Paige Elizabeth; Tharinger, Deborah J.
Female student-athletes are a growing population on most college campuses. While incorporated into a historically male model, their experiences and outcomes are unique. This report guides potential female student-athletes in the process of deciding to participate by providing information about the female student-athlete experience. Issues to be explored include decision-making, academics, health, and stress. Sports can be a rewarding experience despite the challenge of balancing academics with athletic commitments.
Erased, hidden or missing: understanding Black women's experiences in the fight against college campus sexual violence
(2022-05) McCarty-Harris, Yulanda L.; Reddick, Richard, 1972-; Ovando, Martha N.; Smith, LaToya C.; Graces, Liliana M.; Burnette , Colette P
Sexual violence continues to be a pervasive problem on college campuses and for Black college women research shows a history of racialized trauma – one that dates back to slavery that continues to bear witness to psychological harms of fear, self-blame, and guilt - that forces them to remain silent. Yet college administrators continue to respond to sexual violence from an identity-neutral and dominant narrative that leaves women of color erased, hidden, or missing in the fight against campus sexual violence. Several studies have focused on sexual violence against women in college; however, there is a lack of diversity in the samples. To fill this gap, this qualitative case study sought to illuminate Black women’s voices as they described their sexual violence experiences and reflected on the ways, if any, their intersecting identities (i.e., race and gender) impacted their sexual violence experiences while attending a historically White institution. Findings indicate that Black women described their sexual violence as psychologically impacting, socially isolating, overwhelming to report or seek help, faith evoking, compounded by social media and COVID-19, and leading to manifesting resilience. Findings, also, suggest that Black women’s intersecting identities related to gender and race affected their experience and led them to adhere to a culture of silence, evoke racial consciousness, and be viewed as hyper-sexualized. Based on the study findings, recommendations are offered for college administrators who address, respond to, and direct initiatives to prevent sexual violence. Student services personnel are also strongly encouraged to employ an intersectional lens that includes disaggregation of pertinent data by identity factors. Given the focus and nature of the current study, areas for further inquiry are also highlighted to continue to enhance our understanding of sexual violence on campuses as well as discover effective strategies to support Black women.
Faculty contributions to undergraduate STEMM student mental health : a qualitative case study approach
(2022-12-01) Ortega, Andrea, Ed. D.; González, Juan Carlos, 1952-; Somers, Patricia (Patricia A.); Bukoski, Beth; Woodruff, Thea
Mental health concerns on U.S. college campuses have garnered much attention in recent years (Lipson et al., 2019; Oswalt et al., 2018; Watkins et al., 2012). The prevalence of mental illness among college student populations contrasts with research reporting that many students do not seek treatment (Ebert et al., 2019; Nestor et al., 2016). The problem for this study is that current college mental health treatment leaves a large number of the population undertreated or not treated. In particular, there is limited research on faculty involvement in the mental health of the undergraduate STEMM (science, technology, engineering mathematics, and medicine) population. The purpose of this study was to explore how faculty view their role concerning undergraduate STEMM student mental health. In addition, it intended to understand how faculty members make sense of their roles as they pertain to student mental health. These methods included a document review, a demographic questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and field notes. Using Ray’s (2019) theory of racialized organizations and Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory, the study examined faculty contributions to the mental health of undergraduate STEMM students.
Food access for UT Austin students : a case study of West Campus student shopping behaviors and the food environment
(2019-05-08) Thomas, Rachel Victoria; Lieberknecht, Katherine E.
West Campus, the neighborhood located just west of The University of Texas at Austin, is predominantly made up of students. West Campus is known for its fast food, restaurants, shops, bars, liquor stores and towering apartment complexes that charge a steep rent. West Campus also has a grocery store. However, the local grocery store does not have affordable or quality groceries that an individual would expect from a grocery store. Using a survey distributed to students in West Campus, this professional report addresses: whether students are grocery shopping in West Campus, where students living in West Campus do their grocery shopping and if this impacts their ability to eat healthy. In general, it was found that most students living in West Campus are not satisfied with their grocery store options in West Campus and, when possible, will travel further to another grocery store to do their grocery shopping.
"Hips don't lie" : Mexican American female students' identity construction at The University of Texas at Austin
(2012-08) Portillo, Juan Ramon; Straubhaar, Joseph D.; Hogan, Kristen
While a university education is sold to students as something anyone can achieve, their particular social location influences who enters this space. Mexican American women, by virtue of their intersecting identities as racialized women in the US, have to adopt a particular identity if they are to succeed through the educational pipeline and into college. In this thesis, I explore the mechanics behind the construction of this identity at The University of Texas at Austin. To understand how this happens, I read the experiences of six Mexican American, female students through a Chicana feminist lens, particularly Anzaldúa’s mestiza consciousness. I discovered that if Mexicana/Chicana students are to “make it,” they have to adopt a “good student, nice Mexican woman” identity. In other words, to be considered good students, Mexican American women must also adopt a code of conduct that is acceptable to the white-centric and middle-class norms that dominate education, both at a K-12 level and at the university level. This behavior is uniquely tied to the social construction of Mexican American women as a threat to the United States because of their alleged hypersexuality and hyperfertility. Their ability to reproduce, biologically and culturally, means that young Mexican women must be able to show to white epistemic authorities that they have their sexuality and gender performance “under control.” However, even if they adopt this identity, their presence at the university is policed and regulated. As brown women, they are trespassers of a space that has historically been constructed as white and male. This results in students and faculty engaging in microaggressions that serve to Other the Mexican American women and erect new symbolic boundaries that maintain a racial and gender hierarchy in the university. While the students do not just accept these rules, adopting the identity of “good student, nice Mexican woman” limits how the students can defend themselves from microaggressions or challenge the racial and gender structure. Nevertheless, throughout this thesis I demonstrate that even within the constraints of the limited identity available to the students, they still resist dominant discourses and exercise agency to change their social situation.
The impact of suicide prevention gatekeeper training on college students
(2011-08) Swanbrow Becker, Martin Alan; Drum, David J.; McCarthy, Christopher
Despite its potential to enhance the mental health of college student populations, the efficacy of gatekeeper programs in connecting suicidal students with professional help is unclear. Potential negative side effects of peer helping programs, such as gatekeeper training, are rarely examined and there is not a sufficient body of evidence documenting the efficacy or safety of peer helping programs, despite their widespread use. The challenge of implementing a safe and effective peer based gatekeeper campus suicide prevention effort lies in balancing the benefits of connecting suicidal students to professional help more often and sooner, with the potential adverse mental health impacts of participation on gatekeepers. This study examines how a gatekeeper training program might increase suicidal student help seeking and measures the mental health impact of participation on Resident Assistants (RAs) trained in suicide prevention. This study will explore whether a more intensive helping role by the RA amplifies the effect of referring and securing professional help for suicidal students. This study also measures how differing the intensity of help provided by RAs impacts the gatekeepers’ own stress and suicidality levels. RAs will be trained under high versus low intensity helping conditions. RAs in the low intensity helping condition will be trained to identify potentially suicidal students and refer them for professional help. RAs in the high intensity helping condition will be trained to identify potentially suicidal students, engage them in a quasi-professional helping role, and refer them to professional help. This study will also explore whether promotion of telephone counseling as a helping resource will impact referrals to and utilization of professional help, either in-person or through telephone counseling.
Planet Texas 2050 Shares Support for Austin Climate Equity Plan
(UT Bridging Barriers, 2020-10-27) Theme Organizing Committee, Planet Texas 2050
Safety In Numbers: Improving the University of Texas’ Security Climate Through the Control and Transmission of Information
(2018-05) Black III, Michael
Campus safety and security is a concern that challenges colleges across the country. This is true also for The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). With two recent homicides, a growing awareness of rampant sexual assault, and the political polarization of the student body, the dialogue surrounding UT Austin and its safety environment has become especially urgent and energetic. Interview with campus administrators suggested that one of the most effective ways to create a secure student body is to educate its constituents so that they can make informed decisions about their safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate ways that UT Austin can enhance its ability to create that informed community. The topic was divided into three categories, information, communication, and transparency that were analyzed individually. The first section investigates what information UT Austin is disseminating, how the data are formatted, how the information is contextualized, and what data are often inaccessible to the public. Delaying or withholding information degrades administrative transparency, which can erode student feelings of safety. The final section investigates ways that the University improve that relationship through performance analysis and feedback solicitation. To conduct this analysis, research on campus safety and security from 2000 to 2017 and interviews with campus administrators were synthesized along with a dataset comparing twenty peer institutions across a series of performance metrics. The results indicate that UT Austin currently has substantial growth potential in regards to its safety environment, and the study concludes by suggesting recommendations for the University that include publishing crime data in more open formats, increasing student involvement in campus security, streamlining and formatting online resources, and ensuring the recency of security information.
University Commencement Address by Gen. S. B. Maxey
(University of Texas at Austin, 1889-06-19) Maxey, Gen. S. B.
Voices of students in crisis : a two-part exploratory study of college students hospitalized for psychiatric distress
(2023-06-01) Morpeth-Provost, Julia Erin; Brownson, Christopher Granger, 1971-; Rochlen, Aaron B.; Parent, Michael; McCarthy, Christopher; Falbo, Toni
College students with psychiatric disabilities, particularly those with severe distress, have an increased risk of attrition from higher education. Highly distressed students may be hospitalized for psychiatric crises if there is potential risk to their safety. Although the severity of pathology in incoming college students has increased over the last decade, hospitalized students remain an under-researched group at risk for attrition, trauma, suicide, and disconnection with their universities. The present study sought to explore the characteristics and experiences of hospitalization college students at the University of Texas at Austin through a lens of student retention theory, Self-Determination Theory, emerging adulthood, and institutional betrayal. The study purpose was addressed in three ways: (1) Fisher’s test comparisons of demographic and variables in the hospitalization sample compared to a 5-year average of the entire student body; (2) cross-tabulations and chi-square tests of independence of demographic, academic, and clinical variables and hospital admission status (voluntary or involuntary); and (3) qualitative interviews about students’ experiences with psychological services prior to hospitalization, the hospitalization process, the hospitalization itself, and post discharge. The quantitative portion included a total of 880 students hospitalized between Spring 2016 and Spring 2021. The qualitative portion included semi-structured interviews with 10 current or former students who had been hospitalized between Fall 2017 and Spring 2021. Data was analyzed using a content analysis approach. Results showed several groups of students who may be at risk for psychiatric hospitalization, including African American/Black, Asian/Asian-American, and multiracial students; female, transgender, and LGBQ+ students; undergraduates as a whole and sophomores; and Liberal Arts, Fine Arts, and Undergraduate Studies majors. Interview participants had complex and nuanced experiences with hospitalization. Themes included neutral experiences with psychological services pre-hospitalization, trust/distrust, powerlessness, interpersonal connections, uncertainty, negative perceptions of the university, academic supports, and shifts in perspective. Future clinical and research implications are discussed.