Browsing by Author "Dr. Duane Akroyd, Committee Chair"

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An Examination of Factors that Affect Community College Faculty's Use of Technology for Teaching: A Comparison of Full-Time and Part-Time Faculty
(2005-04-21) Jackowski, Melissa Bristle; Dr. Amy L. Caison, Committee Member; Dr. Carol Figuers, Committee Member; Dr. J. Conrad Glass, Committee Member; Dr. Duane Akroyd, Committee Chair; Dr. Don Reichard, Committee Member
While the literature indicates that community colleges continue to increase their use of part-time faculty and that they are taking a leading role in utilizing technology for instructional purposes, it has also been reported that part-time faculty are less likely than their full-time counterparts to use course-specific web sites and e-mail for instructional purposes, and that they are less likely to teach non-face-to-face classes (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). For the community college to be successful in its expanding role in the use of technology, it must do everything it can to promote technology use by faculty, both full-time and part-time. This study was designed to examine the ability of selected intrinsic motivating factors, extrinsic motivating factors, personal and professional characteristics and institutional characteristics to predict faculty use of technology and distance education teaching. This research used a cross-sectional correlational design utilizing secondary analysis of the 1999 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:99) dataset. Logistic Regression was employed in the analysis and it was determined that student-faculty ratio, satisfaction with compensation, use of institutional funds for instructional training and teaching an occupational course positively affect the odds of a community college faculty member teaching a distance education course. The results also showed that satisfaction with autonomy and being male positively affect the odds of a faculty member using the web for instructional purposes while satisfaction with compensation and being a part-time faculty member negatively affected the odds. When examining full-time community college faculty individually, the use of institutional funds for training and not being a member of a union negatively affected the odds of using the web and satisfaction with autonomy positively affected it. For part-time community college faculty the only factor found to affect the use of the web for instructional purposes was an increase in satisfaction with autonomy. Chi-Square analysis determined that the full-time faculty group was significantly more likely to have access to the internet.
Predictors of Early Academic Success and Program Completion Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students
(2008-12-01) Alden, Kathryn Rhodes; Dr. Duane Akroyd, Committee Chair
ABSTRACT ALDEN, KATHRYN RHODES. Predictors of Early Academic Success and Program Completion Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students. (Under the direction of Duane Akroyd.) The Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success (NURS) Model (Jeffreys, 2004) was the theoretical framework for a study that examined the predictive value of selected cognitive (cumulative GPA, science GPA, science credits, previous degree, reading comprehension, math skill), noncognitive (stress), and demographic (age, ethnicity) student profile characteristics on the early academic success and on-time program completion of baccalaureate nursing students. The sample consisted of 370 BSN students at a public university in the Southeast. Data were collected from an existing student database. The dependent variable, early academic success, was based on grades in nursing courses during the first two semesters. The dependent variable, program completion, was measured as on-time graduation at the end of six semesters or graduation being delayed or denied. Three of the independent variables (reading comprehension, math skill, and stress) were measures from the Nurse Entrance Test. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that for the model predicting early academic success (Ï‡2 = 57.76, p < .0001), the significant variables were science GPA (OR = 2.93, p = .003), reading comprehension (OR = 2.52, p = .03), and math skill (OR = 3.03, p = .002). For the model predicting program completion (Ï‡2 = 55.1, p < .0001), the significant variables were reading comprehension (OR = 6.03, p < .0001), math skill (OR = 2.38, p = .04), and previous degree (OR = .36, p = .01). The noncognitive variable of stress and the demographic variables of age and ethnicity were not significant in either model. The findings provide evidence to inform admission policies and to assist faculty in identifying and assisting students who may be at risk for academic difficulty, delayed graduation, or attrition. The study supports the use of a nursing aptitude examination as an admission screening tool and as a means to identify at-risk students. While the results are most pertinent for the institution that was the setting for study, there are implications for other BSN programs.