Overview & Events

Spring Research Colloquium | The Child Trafficking Crisis

Dr. Jarrod Sadulski & Ali Hopper

Data will be presented from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement and recent Senate testimony I provided on July 9th, 2024, that details the scope of this crisis. We will explore how cartels target children and the lack of oversight in what is called the Unaccompanied Children (UC) program that is leading to documented trafficking cases involving migrant children.

Spring Research Colloquium | Harmonious Integration of Reason, Faith, and Technology In Catholic Higher Education Leadership

Dr. Maddy Takyala

Catholic higher education leaders are called to be Servant Alpha Dog leaders so they can recognize their role and the transformative potential of technology in enhancing leadership, teaching, learning, and retention. Educators can engage students in new and exciting ways by incorporating innovative digital tools and platforms, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. This dissertation used a qualitative method to investigate the Leaders’ role in supporting and implementing technology. Data collection methods included interviews of Catholic Leaders in higher education institutions. Analysis of data showed that most leaders needed to learn how they were attached to technology roles and stewardship, and many seemed to be worried that implementing technology-based instructional strategies does not align with the institution’s mission and values. Others were not actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with technology companies, educational institutions, and industry leaders to stay abreast of emerging trends and best practices. By forging these partnerships, institutions can benefit from shared knowledge, resources, and expertise, ultimately enhancing the quality of education provided to students. As technology revolutionizes education, Catholic higher education leaders must embrace these advancements to provide their students with a holistic and transformative learning experience. By effectively supporting technology integration, these leaders can uphold the mission and values of Catholic education while equipping students with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital age. Embracing technology is not about abandoning tradition but rather about enhancing the educational journey and preparing students for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Spring Research Colloquium | The Importance of University Administration, Faculty, and Student Usage of AI

Dr. Donald Dunn

The responsible usage of AI in higher education has become a mandate instead of a nice to have responsibility for the key players at a university. This presentation will discuss the advantages to university administration, faculty, and students to use AI to meet the needs and requirements of each group.

Spring Research Colloquium | Reimagining Doctoral Residency: Insights on Virtual Residency Through the Community of Inquiry (COI) Framework

Dr. Eva Ballard & Dr. Daniel Zimmerman

This article presents a comprehensive solution to the challenges associated with traditional face-to-face doctoral residencies through the integration of virtual methods. It posits that virtual residencies can significantly enhance accessibility, reduce financial burdens, and offer flexible scheduling, thereby addressing the inherent logistical, financial, and accessibility issues of traditional formats. By thoroughly exploring the benefits, potential drawbacks, and implementation strategies, this paper aims to contribute to the discourse on modernizing doctoral education to better serve a diverse student population.

Doctoral residencies provide critical opportunities for academic and professional development, fostering deep scholarly engagement, networking, mentorship, and practical research experience. The historical context of virtual learning in higher education is reviewed, with particular emphasis on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework and recent advances in virtual learning technologies. The discussion highlights the benefits of virtual residencies, including the mitigation of financial and logistical constraints and the improvement of accessibility for students with disabilities and those in remote locations. The article offers a framework for designing virtual residencies, addressing curriculum integration, technology infrastructure, and participant support. 

The study context details an institution offering two online doctoral programs, wherein students complete coursework in 8-week, asynchronous courses, attend two online residencies, and engage in 16-week dissertation courses supported by a dissertation committee. As part of the research, a weeklong free virtual residency was conducted, incorporating both synchronous and asynchronous activities aimed at fostering academic and social integration. Participant feedback was collected and analyzed to examine their perceptions of the student experience. The results indicated positive impacts on the sense of community, academic success, and overall satisfaction with the virtual residency format. This context provides practical insights into the effective implementation and continuous refinement of virtual residency programs.

Spring Research Colloquium | Empowering Learning: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Student Academic Success

Dr. Michelle Whitman & Dr. Angela Holzer

This presentation explores the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in academia, demonstrating how students can leverage AI tools to enhance their assignments, streamline research, and optimize various academic tasks. Presented by Dr. Michelle Whitman and Dr. Angie Holzer, the session will highlight practical applications, ethical considerations, and future trends in integrating AI into educational practices. Key focus areas include AI-driven research assistance, personalized learning strategies, and efficient management of academic workflows. Attendees will gain actionable insights on maximizing AI’s potential while fostering critical thinking and academic integrity.

Spring Research Colloquium | Generalized Anxiety Disorders Screening Tool

Dr. Patricia R. Janson

Anxiety disorders are a significant health concern because they impact many individuals and impair their quality of life. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is the most common of all anxiety disorders that may affect an individual’s physical and mental health. The project site lacked a tool to screen to identify individuals with generalized anxiety disorders. A quality improvement project was implemented in a suburban mental health setting using the GAD to screen for generalized anxiety disorders and to understand if it increased the number of patients screened for anxiety compared to current practice.

Spring Research Colloquium | The Social Facilitation Effect to Improve Teamwork and Performance Through Embedded Organizational Values

Dr. Patricia A. Barnett

This research is motivated by the need for and importance of finding long-term solutions to the problem of employee negativity within a team that causes ripple effects to team morale and performance. Underpinned by the social facilitation theoretical framework, the study examines how team performance might be improved through embedded organizational values and the effect of social facilitation. Utilizing qualitative phenomenological research, data was collected through structured and semi-structured interviews from 10 leaders and nine non-leaders across 10 local government offices in Southeast Florida and analyzed using the Braun and Clarke thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the values of an organization are recognized as the lynchpin for positive behavior modeling and that leading by example, consistent modeling of value-aligning behaviors, and leadership influence contribute significantly to how employees conduct themselves. The findings further uncovered that employees are on their best behavior when working within groups, bolstering the key argument that people will behave differently when others are present. This suggests that when organizational values are embedded into everyday business practice and demonstrated consistently by leaders, employees will likely emulate positive behaviors leading to improved team performance. Further longitudinal study on the social facilitation phenomenon in group settings is recommended to support sustained team cohesiveness and optimal performance.

Spring Research Colloquium | "Can We Talk (Better Online)?” A Survey Study of Online Faculty Perceptions of Student Engagement in Asynchronous Discussion Forums

Dr. Mary Dereshiwsky & Dr. Danielle Babb

Asynchronous discussion forums are a familiar fixture of online courses. But are they effective in building a genuine peer-to-peer student learning community?

An initial qualitative interview study conducted with online faculty at a Pacific Northwest school (presented in 2023 to the Aspen University Research Colloquium) revealed some areas of concern regarding maximally effective student participation and engagement. Faculty members also suggested some ways that discussion forums can be improved and supplemented with additional communication strategies in the online classroom.

The present study is a mixed-methods survey conducted with a wider subsample of online faculty throughout the United States who teach in a variety of disciplines. They were asked a number of questions relating to the following areas:

• Frequency of student engagement posts in asynchronous discussion forums,
• Substantiveness of student engagement posts to the members of the online learning community (the instructor and their peers),
• Challenges of encouraging meaningful student discourse via asynchronous discussion posts,
• Ways that such asynchronous discussion forums can be improved to constitute even more effective means of peer-to-peer communication,
• Additional ways that online faculty facilitate peer learning in their classrooms.

The emergent themes from this study will provide online faculty with helpful information regarding how students perceive asynchronous discussion forums, as well as ideas for how to maximize their effectiveness in student communication and mastery of online course concepts.

Spring Research Colloquium | The Educator and the Undiagnosed Adult Learner: A Phenomenological Study

Dr. Jane Ali

The research in this study is foundational for educators to recognize learning challenges with their adult learners and to collect basic strategies and supports that will assist an educator who does not have a background in special education especially when there are more adult learners returning to education with undiagnosed learning challenges. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological, study is to understand the gap in higher education when educators do not have access to tools to recognize and support learning challenges with adult learners. The overarching research question is: How do educators, in private higher education, assess and recognize learning challenges in adult learners? There are five research questions under the overarching question. In order to address the gap in accessing and recognizing learning challenges, the study analyzed descriptive data through lived experiences to understand what is current practice. The study focused on the general population of private higher education educators; however, the target population was from a few private higher education institutions in British Columbia, Canada. There were 6 participants. All of the findings for each research question were saturated enough to see commonalities and differences. The overall understanding from the findings spoke to the background of the study to understand educator training, public and private higher education accessibility processes, and defining learning challenges. The most significant collaboration on support for educators and to explain the gap in higher education was the discussion of educators not having access to tools to recognize and support learning challenges with adult learners.

Spring Research Colloquium | The Implementation of Simulation-Based Programs in Anesthesia

Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Oluwatoyin Adeyokunnu

Patient safety in anesthesia practice is crucial for ensuring the well-being of patients during surgical procedures (Prakash et al., 2018). Implementing information technology in simulation-based programs is vital to equipping healthcare providers with the necessary knowledge and skills to prevent medication errors (Mackay et al., 2019). Anesthesia practice involves administering high-risk medications in time-critical situations, where distractions and lack of assistance or clinical decision tools can increase the likelihood of errors (Mackay et al., 2019). To mitigate these risks, anesthetists must maintain situational awareness and attentiveness to minimize medication errors (Burden, 2020). Healthcare administrators play a role in educating anesthesia providers on error reduction and injury prevention (Burden, 2020). Effective medication management is crucial for anesthesiologists to ensure safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals (Prager et al., 2014). Patient safety, encompassing various aspects of care, is critical to avoid adverse events and harm (Hessels et al., 2019). Anesthesiologists ensure patient safety during surgical procedures, but anesthesia administration carries inherent risks (Ring et al., 2021). Information technology in simulation-based programs enhances the training and education of anesthesia providers, enabling safe practice in a controlled environment (Shah et al., 2019). Integrating information technology into simulation-based programs offers promising avenues for enhancing patient safety (Shah et al., 2019). Improving patient safety in anesthesia requires a comprehensive approach, including education, training, and ongoing quality improvement (Shah et al., 2019). Information technology tools provide critical patient information, facilitate informed decision-making, and help reduce medication errors and allergic reactions (Bloomfield & Feinglass, 2008). Data tracking and analysis further support quality improvement efforts (Shah et al., 2019). The proposed project aims to implement information technology in simulation-based programs to improve patient safety in anesthesia. It will explore the benefits and challenges of this approach, investigate implementation factors, and offer insights for leveraging information technology effectively to enhance patient safety and outcomes.

Spring Research Colloquium | Implementing a Modified Quick Reference Barcode Scanning Guide to Improve Compliance by Reducing Medication Errors and Workarounds

Dr. Oneikah Richards

Although many advancements in medication safety have been made over the last decade, errors continue to bombard the healthcare system. Consequently, organizations have relied on barcode technology, which is regarded a gold standard in medication administration safety. Nevertheless, the technology does not always improve workflow, which have led to workarounds to bypass the system and a resulting increase in patient harm events. To improve barcode scanning compliance while reducing rates of medication errors and workarounds. The conceptual basis for the project was achieved using the combination of the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle of improvement. Data was collected pre- and post-intervention from inpatient metrics and BCMA data logs. Patients admitted to the acute care unit or ER during the implementation period and received medication administration using the BCMA technology. Post-implementation combined compliance rates increased to 99%, 4% above benchmark. Medication scanning increased by 7% and patient scanning by 1%. Notably, there was a significant decrease in medication errors (to < than 1%) and 3% reduction in workarounds. Findings support the need for clinical support and training in use of the BCMA technology as well as standardized and enforced guidelines to increase patient safety and decrease medication errors. Future work should incorporate patient partnerships in the design and implementation of BCMA interventions and strategies to minimize resistance and enhance usability.

Spring Research Colloquium | Toward a Theory of Cross-Gender Mentorship

Dr. Jessica Swanson

It is widely known that gender bias persists in male-dominated fields. Gender bias is often defined as acts that position one prototypical social group over another (Begeny et al., 2020; Gloor et al., 2020; Roberts & Brown, 2019; Scheifele et al., 2021). It is unknown how male superintendents mentor women while established in their superintendency at public school districts in the United States. The specific problem is that gender bias is a cultural construct expressed by both men and women, and research to date does not explore men’s role in positively solving gender bias challenges alongside women inside and outside the education field. The purpose of this qualitative, inductive grounded theory study is to uncover the processes by which male superintendents mentor women while established in their superintendency at public school districts in the United States since 2015. Twenty-seven superintendents were interviewed between October and November 2023 concerning their cross-gender mentorship experiences as mentors. Findings for this study included (a) male superintendents demonstrated varied awareness regarding how females experience gender bias in the leadership domain and (b) participants lacked formal mentorship training. Future research is recommended around what ways to male superintendent mentors and their female mentees perceive overt and covert biases perpetuated upon female mentees differently. Those who hire superintendents should be daring enough to make loud and intentional identity choices in their educational CEOs that represent their student populations while maintaining the highest of leadership standards.

Faculty Speaker Series | Current Trends in Human Trafficking

Ali Hopper

Human Trafficking Legislation and How to Bridge the Gaps to Ensure Traffickers are Held Accountable

Scholarly Writing Series | Grammar is Not Just for Gramma!

Capitalization/Proper vs. Common Nouns, Italicization, Punctuation, Spacing, Abbreviations, Hyphenation, Redundancy, Agreement, Congruent Parallelism, Plural Words, Conjunctions, Commas, Run-on Sentences/Comma Splicing, Apostrophes, Semicolon, Colon, Quotations, Commonly-Confused Words, Adverbs, Unclear Antecedents, Dangling Participles, Pronouns

Doctoral Webinar Series | Student Panel: Advice from Aspen Doctoral Students

Student Presenters by Program:
DNP – Jennifer Farrell, Leslie Catron, Willa Smiley, Patricia Janson
EdD – Meshawn DeCoteau, Sakeenah Sweeney

Aspen students provide some wisdom about being successful in their programs. They will address some of the following areas.
What is your advice for the brand-new student?
How did you tackle the required readings and the written assignments?
How did you manage your time? How did you manage the course demands?
What is your advice for the student who is in the dissertation or project stage?
What are your next plans now that you have your doctorate?

Faculty Speaker Series | Current Trends in Human Trafficking

Ali Hopper

Sextortion, which according to the FBI is the largest online threat to teenagers. We will explore how parents can protect their children from this devastating crime.