Date Approved

4-11-2022

Embargo Period

4-13-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Monica Reid Kerrigan, Ed.D.

Committee Member 1

Lawrence Nespoli, D.Ed.

Committee Member 2

Steven Rose, Ed.D.

Keywords

Community College, COVID-19, Online Support Services, Student Affairs, Student Services, Virtual Campus

Subject(s)

Community college students--Services for

Disciplines

Community College Leadership | Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative constructivist grounded theory research study was to understand and develop a theory about the experiences of community college students accessing online student support services, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when colleges were forced to close their in-person services. Interviews with seventeen students and a review of 57 email communications from the College yielded the data to construct a theory that extends the theories of sense of belonging and ethic of care to virtual student services – the Virtual Caring Campus Theory.

In the absence of a physical campus, colleges can create a virtual caring campus by incorporating three components of this theory: communication as a conduit of systemic organizational care; virtual student engagement and institutional agents as facilitators of belonging and care; and organizational caring through holistic student supports resulting in student empathy and altruism. The elements of this theory can provide a framework for providing virtual student services during future crises that force campus closures, to fully online learners who do not have access to a physical campus, or to campus students who prefer virtual services.

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