Keywords

partnerships, student learning, institutional success, academic and student affairs, collaboration, college students

Abstract

This study investigated the relationships, if any, between the number, nature, and organization of partnerships between academic and student affairs and measures of institutional success and student learning. Specifically, this research sought to: (a) investigate the relationships between the number, nature, and organization of partnerships with institutional retention rates, graduation rates, and students' engagement in educationally purposeful activities, (b) test the feasibility of a classification system for the organization of partnerships developed by O'Halloran (2005), and (c) explore the alignment between reported goals for engaging in collaboration and the actual nature of existing partnerships. The population for the study consisted of 93 Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) at doctoral-granting institutions who participated in the spring, 2005 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The survey instrument was adapted from O'Halloran (2005) and was administered in spring 2006. Of the 93 surveys administered, 52 were completed for a response rate of 55%. The findings indicated that the nature of the partnerships has significant effects on measures of institutional success and student learning. Furthermore, 75% of the respondents reported that their institutions had developed partnerships for the purpose of enhancing academic performance or increasing student retention and/or persistence. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the iterative relationships between the number/nature of partnerships, goals of partnerships, and outcomes of partnerships mediated by organizational structures and institutional characteristics.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2006

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Tubbs, LeVester

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Research, Technology, and Leadership

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001396

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001396

Language

English

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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