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Factors impacting four-year postsecondary matriculation at a college-preparatory, Catholic high school: an innovation study

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Factors impacting four-year postsecondary matriculation at a college-preparatory, Catholic high school: an innovation study

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Content Running head: FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 1

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR POSTSECONDARY MATRICULATION AT A
COLLEGE-PREPARATORY, CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL: AN INNOVATION STUDY

By

Alberto Pimentel Jr

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2018

Copyright 2018 Alberto Pimentel Jr
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 2
DEDICATION

To the love of my life, my son, Gavin Lucas Pimentel.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank my parents for providing me with an amazing childhood and educational
opportunities. You laid the foundation for this doctorate, and I am truly grateful for all of your
support and love throughout all of my academic endeavors. I want to thank my son, Gavin Lucas
for always making me smile and giving the best hugs! I want to thank my girlfriend, Christina
for supporting me throughout this entire process. I know I drove you crazy at times, thank you
for believing in me. I also want to thank my dissertation committee: Dr. Maddox, Dr. Ronney,
and Dr. Pearson.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
LIST OF TABLES 7
LIST OF FIGURES 8
ABSTRACT 9
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 11
Introduction of the Problem of Practice 11
Organizational Context and Mission 12
Organizational Performance 13
Related Literature 14
Importance of the Organizational Innovation 15
Organizational Performance Goal 19
Description of Stakeholder Groups 20
Stakeholder’s Performance Goals 22
Stakeholder Group for the Study 22
Purpose of the Project and Questions 23
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 25
Organization of the Study 25
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 26
Factors Impacting High School Student College Readiness 26
Socio-Demographic: Low-Income 27
Socio-Demographic: Ethnicity 29
Socio-Demographic: First-Generation 30
Current Responses to Increase Four-Year Matriculation to Postsecondary Institutions
Dual Enrollment 32
Advancement Via Individual Determination 33
Clark and Estes (2008) Organizational Problem-Solving Framework 35
Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation and Organizational Influences 36
Knowledge and Skills Influences 36
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 5
Motivational Influences 41
Organizational Influences 46
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholder’s Knowledge and
Motivation and the Organizational Context 50
Summary 52
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 53
Research Questions 53
Participating Stakeholders 53
Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale 54
Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale 54
Observation Sampling Strategy and Rationale 55
Data Collection and Instrumentation 55
Interviews 56
Observations 57
Documents and Artifacts 58
Data Analysis 59
Credibility and Trustworthiness 60
Validity and Reliability 61
Ethics 64
Limitations and Delimitations 67
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS 68
Participating Stakeholders 68
Overview of Findings 69
Factors Currently Impacting Innovation High Academic Counselor’s
Delivery of College Readiness Counseling 70
Academic Counselor’s Complex Professional Identities 70
Innovation High’s Limited Professional Development Opportunities 73
Innovation High’s Inadequate Organizational Resources and Support 75
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs 79
Knowledge Needs 80
Motivation Needs 84
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 6
Organizational Needs 89
Summary 95
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS, SOLUTIONS, AND IMPLEMENTATION 97
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences 97
Knowledge Recommendations 97
Motivation Recommendations 99
Organizational Recommendations 101
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan 106
Implementation and Evaluation Framework 106
Organizational Purpose, Needs and Expectations 108
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators 109
Level 3: Behavior 110
Level 2: Learning 113
Level 1: Reaction 117
Evaluation Tools 118
Data Analysis and Reporting 120
Summary 122
References 124
APPENDIX A Assumed Knowledge Influences 138
APPENDIX B Assumed Motivation Influences 139
APPENDIX C Assumed Organizational Influences 140
APPENDIX D Conceptual Framework 141
APPENDIX E Interview Questions 142
APPENDIX F Observation Reflection 145
APPENDIX G Documents and Artifacts 146
APPENDIX H During and Immediately Following Evaluation Questions 147
APPENDIX I Delayed Evaluation Questions 149
APPENDIX J USC Information Sheet 150

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Innovation High Mission and Goal 22
Table 2. Assumed Knowledge Influences 41
Table 3. Assumed Motivation Influences 46
Table 4. Assumed Organizational Influences 49
Table 5. Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations 98
Table 6. Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations 100
Table 7. Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations 102
Table 8. Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes 109
Table 9. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing 111
Table 10. Required Drivers to Support Innovation High Academic Counselor’s
Critical Behaviors 112
Table 11. Components of Learning for the Program 116
Table 12. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program 118

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Conceptual Framework 51
Figure 2. Delivery of College Readiness Counseling and Creation of
Personal Education Plans 122

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 9
ABSTRACT
Throughout the years, the college admission process has proven to be a daunting
experience for students attempting to matriculate to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Specifically, students from ethnic minority, low-income, and first-generation backgrounds
struggle with the college admission process because these communities often attend secondary
institutions that do not have sufficient resources and adequate assistance to navigate and prepare
for postsecondary matriculation. College readiness counseling is an essential component of a
student’s high school experience that will address the needs of students from underserved
communities and increase the rate of student matriculation to four-year postsecondary
institutions. College readiness counseling offers students the knowledge and guidance to
successfully adopt a college-preparatory curriculum, identify postsecondary institutions and
programs of study, and strengthen matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Innovation High, a pseudonym, is a Catholic high school that is attempting to improve its
delivery of college readiness counseling as a means to increase student matriculation rates to
four-year postsecondary institutions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis
(Clark & Estes, 2008) of the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
impact the academic counselor’s ability to deliver effective college readiness counseling and
ultimately, identify the influences that impact Innovation High’s ability to achieve a 100%
student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Existing literature initially
supported the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences and about
Innovation High, a qualitative study was used to validate the assumed knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences. Triangulation of the documents, interviews, and observations
validated findings the study's findings. The adoption of The New World Kirkpatrick Model to
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 10
introduce recommendations and solutions addressed the validated knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs. In addition, the adoption and successful implementation of the
recommended college readiness counseling training program will strengthen Innovation High
academic counselor’s ability to deliver effective college readiness counseling and improve the
student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 11
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Introduction of the Problem of Practice
Across the United States, an estimated 2.9 million students graduate from high school
every year (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). According to the National Center for
Education Statistics (2016), 68% of high school graduates matriculate to a postsecondary
institution. The matriculation of high school graduates to two-year and four-year colleges and
universities is defined as the immediate college enrollment rate (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2016). Although the immediate college enrollment rate represents roughly 2 million
students, only 44% of high school graduates immediately transition into four-year postsecondary
institutions (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). The remaining students transition
into two-year community colleges. Community colleges are intended to serve as a pathway to a
four-year postsecondary institution, but according to Jenkins and Fink (2016), only about 33% of
community college student’s transition to a four-year postsecondary institution and 14% earn an
undergraduate degree within a six-year period. The percentage of students completing their
undergraduate degree within a six-year period significantly improved to a 60% completion rate
when students immediately matriculate to a four-year postsecondary institution (National Center
for Education Statistics, 2016). Despite the drastic differences in undergraduate degree
completion rates between students who matriculate to two-year and four-year postsecondary
institutions, most high school graduates continue to enroll at two-year community colleges
(American Association of Community Colleges, 2015). The affordability and accessibility of
two-year community colleges may lead students to ignore the low persistence rates and high
attrition rates that plague community colleges.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 12
Organizational Context and Mission
Innovation High (pseudonym) is a private, all-male, college-preparatory high school
located in Sunny, California. Since 1955, Innovation High has implemented a project-based
learning model approach. Innovation High is the only private high school in the San Gabriel
Valley to offer the following five pre-engineering majors: Architecture and Construction
Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Integrated Design Engineering and
Art, Media Arts Technology and Materials Science, and Engineering and Technology. As a
college-preparatory high school, Innovation High is responsible for providing its student body
with a rigorous curriculum to fulfill the A-G requirements for admission to the California State
University and University of California systems. Every year, 66% of graduates from Innovation
High pursue degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at colleges and
universities throughout the United States. Within the walls of the institution, Innovation High
employs 59 faculty and staff members within the administrative, academic, technology,
academic counseling, and maintenance departments. The faculty and staff members dedicate
their time to provide an enriching academic and spiritual experience for the 390 students and
develop leaders within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The mission statement of Innovation High is:
To be guided by the Salesian educational system of St. John Bosco. Innovation High is a
Catholic high school that offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum—uniquely
integrating academics and technology—to qualified men of all religious, ethnic, and
socioeconomic backgrounds. As a Christian-faith community, the school prepares and
equips students to be life-long learners who are dedicated men of faith and integrity,
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 13
committed to leading successful lives of distinguished service and social justice (Bosco
Tech, 2015).
In addition, the Salesian educational system frames the reason for the existence of Innovation
High. The Salesian educational system enables concept adoption of the St. John Bosco’s Oratory
and is responsible for transforming Innovation High from an ordinary high school into a church,
playground, school, and home for its students (Bosco Tech, 2015). As stated in the mission
statement, Innovation High values and is committed to a diverse student population, and during
the 2015-2016 school year, approximately 72% of students received tuition assistance
scholarships to help alleviate the expense of a private high school education. The total population
of Innovation High is 390 students, and the ethnic breakdown is as follows: Asians or Pacific
Islander, 45 students; African American, three students; Caucasian, 28 students; Filipino, three
students; Latino, 266 students; and Multiracial, 45 students. The age range of the student
population is 12 years old to 19 years old, and to maintain the Catholic identity of the institution,
approximately 83% of students or, 325 out of 390, identify as Catholic.
Organizational Performance Need
To fulfill its mission as a college preparatory high school and continue providing
educational services for teenage males, it is essential that Innovation High provides effective
college readiness counseling. Failure to do so can result in a low four-year college and university
acceptance and matriculation rate, a decrease in institutional grants from external organizations,
and a reduction in the student population. Therefore, Innovation High needs a systemic approach
to improve and maintain its college preparatory status through a college readiness counseling
program, which now, does not exist.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 14
Related Literature
Across the United States, there is an inconsistency associated with the quality of college
readiness counseling received by high school students. According to Savitz-Romer (2012),
college readiness counseling includes the process of (a) introducing and exposing high school
students to colleges and universities, (b) providing the support that is needed to help guide and
shape student expectations as they engage the college application process, and (c) ensuring that
students have the knowledge and resources to access information about postsecondary
institutions. In addition, college readiness counseling is often a student’s first introduction to
postsecondary education, and through this counseling process, the academic counselor evaluates
the student’s level of preparation and overall readiness to achieve success in a postsecondary
environment (Savitz-Romer, 2012). The academic counselor serves as the gatekeeper to
postsecondary knowledge within the high school and could influence the student matriculation
rate to postsecondary institutions (McDonough, 2004; Savitz-Romer, 2012). Unfortunately, high
school students from low-income, ethnic minority, and first-generation families are often
deprived of high-quality college readiness counseling and often, students within these socio-
demographics lack knowledge of postsecondary education, the college application process, and
the opportunities that exist to secure funding for their postsecondary education (Baum & Ma,
2007; Engle, Bermeo, & O’Brien, 2006; Savitz-Romer, 2012). As a result, student matriculation
and college degree attainment within these communities remain low while inequities in the
quality of college readiness counseling remain high.
As colleges and universities continue to grow more competitive, there is a dramatic
increase in the need for high-quality college readiness counseling. Knowledge about
postsecondary institutions extends far beyond the details of a particular institution’s course
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 15
offerings and alumni network. Postsecondary knowledge involves college planning and requires
potential applicants to understand the importance of pursuing a rigorous curriculum while in high
school, participating in extracurricular activities, leadership, community service, and preparing
for college admission tests (Noeth & Wimberly, 2002). Although students from affluent
communities may have access to resources and networks that can provide a pathway to college,
many students attending high school within urban communities may not have the same level of
access (McDonough, 2004; Noeth & Wimberly, 2002). According to Bedsworth, Colby, and
Doctor (2006), a high school student may have the desire to pursue a postsecondary education
but the absence of high-quality college readiness counseling in an urban high school setting may
deter the high school student from actively engaging the college application process due to low
self-esteem, low self-efficacy, and minimal postsecondary knowledge. Ultimately, the increased
matriculation of low-income, ethnic minority, and first-generation students to postsecondary
institutions is dependent on the quality of college readiness counseling offered at their respective
high schools.
Importance of the Organizational Innovation
The growing expectations of parents who demanded their student's transition into
colleges and universities rather than the workforce developed a pathway to four-year
postsecondary institutions. Despite the efforts of Innovation High’s administration to focus on
strengthening the college-preparatory program and improving student matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions, the percentage of students gaining admission to and enrolling at four-
year postsecondary institutions has remained consistent since 2013. Although 100% of
graduating seniors have matriculated into postsecondary institutions since 2013, the percentage
of students matriculating to four-year postsecondary institutions has remained fairly consistent at
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 16
75%. Therefore, there is a significant gap between the desired goal of reaching a 100% four-year
postsecondary institution matriculation rate and the actual four-year postsecondary institution
matriculation rate of 75%. This significant gap is a major problem for Innovation High because
of the institution’s inability to significantly reduce two-year postsecondary institution
matriculation over the past four years and also, the constant failure associated with not meeting
the organizational goal of achieving a 100% four-year postsecondary matriculation rate for all
graduating seniors.
Innovation High’s inability to reach a 100% four-year postsecondary matriculation rate
over the past four years has proven to be a major organizational problem for a variety of reasons.
As an independent Catholic high school not financially supported by the Los Angeles
Archdiocese, Innovation High relies heavily on the collection of tuition to cover a majority of the
institution’s expenses. The competition for qualified applicants for the incoming freshmen class
has intensified in recent years due to a reduction in the number of male students enrolled at
Catholic elementary and middle schools that have traditionally served as local feeder schools to
the Catholic high schools within Los Angeles County. Although safety and the quality of
education have remained important factors to potential parents, the admission department at
Innovation High has consistently been asked to report on the percentage of students gaining
admission to and matriculating to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Families have grown increasingly concerned with the percentage of students
matriculating to two-year community colleges, and in the past three years, surveys suggest that
parents place a great amount of importance on the enrollment of recent graduates into four-year
postsecondary institutions. According to surveys distributed by Innovation High’s admission
department, parents overwhelmingly mentioned Innovation High’s low four-year postsecondary
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 17
matriculation rate as the most influential factor in selecting another high school for their son.
Innovation High’s ability to attract and enroll highly qualified applicants to the incoming
freshmen class is severely impacted by its 75% four-year postsecondary matriculation rate
because Innovation High’s local competition, boast four-year postsecondary matriculation rates
above 90%. Ultimately, Innovation High’s sustainability is jeopardized by a decrease in student
enrollment because collected tuition covers 40% of Innovation High’s annual operating budget.
Innovation High’s status as a private and Catholic high school does not allow the
institution to receive financial support from the government despite the fact that Innovation High
is a nonprofit organization. The impact of Innovation High’s 75% student matriculation rate to
four-year postsecondary institutions has created a problem for the high school’s development
department as they have attempted to secure increased external funding and grants from private
corporations, organizations, and foundations (Lee & Nowell, 2014). Over the past 10 years,
Innovation High’s tuition assistance budget has been exclusively funded by external entities and
without a consistent level of financial support, Innovation High would not be able to provide pre-
engineering high school education to its current and future students (Lee & Nowell, 2014).
Currently, the funding received from external entities provides roughly $800,000 for tuition
assistance, but unfortunately, this funding has not increased in the past five years despite an
increase in student and family need. Foundations require potential recipients to provide
information regarding the percentage of students matriculating to two-year and four-year
postsecondary institutions, and recipients must show gradual improvement on a year-to-year
basis towards an improved four-year postsecondary matriculation rate.
Although Innovation High’s four-year postsecondary matriculation rate is not the only
reason for lack of growth in external funding for tuition assistance, the absence of gradual
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 18
improvement has created obstacles related to securing additional funding. If Innovation High is
unable to secure additional funding to increase its tuition assistance budget, Innovation High’s
ability to provide a pre-engineering education to current and potential incoming students from
underserved communities will be limited. At the moment, Innovation High’s tuition assistance
awards covered an average of 40-50% of the tuition for students from low-income families but
based on the number of appeal letters and applications for tuition assistance, the amount of
tuition assistance needed is roughly 60-70%. Innovation High’s inability to meet the tuition
assistance needs of families will have a direct impact on student enrollment and also, may lead to
higher levels of attrition.
The high level of student matriculation to two-year postsecondary institutions is an
organizational problem for Innovation High because of the low rate of persistence and the high
rate of attrition experienced by many students attending a two-year community college (Walters
& McKay, 2005). The Community College Research Center at Columbia University found that
44% of low-income students, 38% of first-generation students, and 56% of Hispanic students
were enrolled at community colleges (Jenkins & Fink, 2016; Ma & Baum, 2015). As previously
mentioned, 68% of Innovation High students identify as Hispanic, 70% are first-generation
college students, and 72% are considered low-income. Although these numbers are consistent
with the demographics of community colleges, students within this population have historically
been at a greater risk of experiencing higher levels of attrition when compared to students from
college educated, middle class, and Caucasian families (Windham, Rehfuss, Williams, Pugh, &
Tincher-Ladner, 2014). As a college-preparatory institution that requires families to pay tuition,
Innovation High must guide students towards a higher education pathway that will allow
students to persist and complete their undergraduate degree within a six-year period. Ultimately,
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 19
high levels of student attrition at community colleges threaten Innovation High’s reputation
within the community and devalue Innovation High’s dedication to higher education and
graduation from four-year postsecondary institutions.
Organizational Performance Goal
By June 2019, Innovation High would have established a comprehensive college
readiness counseling program during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years, and by the end
of the Spring 2019 semester, 100% of Innovation High’s graduating seniors would have
matriculated to a four-year postsecondary institution. The decision to achieve a 100% four-year
matriculation rate to a four-year postsecondary institution for all 85 graduating seniors is a
conservative estimate that is based on Innovation High’s status as a college-preparatory
institution. In addition, the 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions is in line with the four-year postsecondary matriculation rates achieved by Innovation
High’s local competitors (96% and 97%). Ideally, the number of participants should exceed 90%
of graduating students.
To reach this goal, the academic counselors are expected to participate and actively
engage students in college readiness counseling. As the gatekeepers to higher education, the
academic counselors are expected to meet with every Innovation High student to discuss colleges
and universities at the beginning of the fall term and periodically throughout the academic school
year. In addition, the academic counselors host an evening college fair for all Innovation High
students and their families, schedule college presentations during lunch and normal class
sessions, and organize college tours within the state of California and neighboring states.
Traditionally, conversations about college and universities begin in the senior year, but under the
newly introduced college readiness program, college readiness counseling begins in the summer
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 20
before the start of a student’s freshman year and continue until the student graduates from
Innovation High.
The goal of achieving a 100% matriculation rate for all graduating seniors to four-year
postsecondary institutions was introduced by the Board of Trustees and Innovation High’s
principal. The concept of developing a comprehensive college readiness program was the result
of a meeting between the president and college counselor of Innovation High who addressed the
need to improve and increase the acceptance and matriculation rate of graduating seniors at
Innovation High to four-year postsecondary institutions. Ultimately, the number of students who
successfully matriculate to four-year postsecondary institutions measures innovation High's
ability to fulfill this goal.
Description of Stakeholder Groups
The identified stakeholder groups for this study consists of students, academic
counselors, and the senior leadership within Innovation High. Within the organization, the
student population allows Innovation High to exist and evolve. Over the last six years, the
academic achievements of students attending Innovation High have significantly improved, and
this higher quality of academic performance demands a more rigorous college-preparatory
curriculum. This demand requires innovative strategies and programs implemented throughout
the institution and in recent years, most of the changes to the curriculum have taken effect in the
five pre-engineering majors. Despite the initial attraction to the five pre-engineering majors, the
admission standards for colleges and universities throughout the United States have grown
tougher, and as a result, students must strengthen their academic profiles by pursuing academic
activities that are outside of the normal prerequisites for college admission. Through the
challenge of innovation, the needs of Innovation High students have set forth the path towards
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 21
the introduction of the program for college readiness counseling and student participation is
imperative to the success of the program.
The academic counselors at Innovation High play a vital role in the fulfillment and
success of the program for college readiness counseling because counselors serve as the
navigators of students and their families throughout a student’s four years at Innovation High,
and the student’s ability to transition into a four-year postsecondary institution. By guiding and
preparing students for a college admission process that can be tedious and have great potential
for unfavorable results, academic counselors must exhaust all options when developing a
personalized academic strategy exposing and preparing students for four-year postsecondary
institutions. The program for college readiness counseling at Innovation High will not succeed
and the goal will not be fulfilled without the unwavering support of the academic counselors.
The senior leadership within Innovation High consists of the principal and the Board of
Trustees. The senior leadership establishes the introduction and implementation of all school
policies and without the resources and support, Innovation High would struggle to meet the
demands of the students, faculty and staff, and the standards of postsecondary education that are
consistently changing. In the context of the college readiness counseling program, senior
leadership must implement flexibility and practice patience because a program of this magnitude
has never existed at Innovation High. Despite the learning process associated with implementing
a new program, the senior leadership must continue to establish a vision for the organization and
provide the opportunities for the institution’s mission to evolve. The senior leadership cannot
afford to allow the organization to remain stagnant.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 22
Sta k e h ol d e r ’s Performance Goals
Table 1
Innovation High Mission and Goal
Organizational Mission
The mission of Innovation High is “to be guided by the Salesian educational system of St. John Bosco.
Innovation High is a Catholic high school that offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum – uniquely
integrating academics and technology – to qualified men of all religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
As a Christian faith community, the school prepares and equips students to be life-long learners who are
dedicated men of faith and integrity, committed to leading successful lives of distinguished service and social
justice” (Bosco Tech, 2015).
Organizational Global Goal
By June 2019, 100% of graduating seniors will matriculate to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Stakeholder Goal
By June 2019, the academic counselors will provide effective college readiness counseling to all students
attending Innovation High.

Stakeholder Group for the Study
Innovation High’s ability to successfully achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to
four-year postsecondary institutions requires the active and effective participation of the
academic counselors. The academic counselors execute and promote the academic policies
established by the senior leadership within Innovation High and ultimately, serve as the liaison
between students and the college admission process. To fulfill the goal of 100% student
matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions, the academic counselors are
responsible for engaging in college readiness counseling with all students, hosting a college fair,
scheduling on-campus college presentations, and organizing campus tours to four-year colleges
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 23
and universities. The academic counselors must be able to provide access and exposure to
colleges and universities.
The constant need to innovate and enhance the college readiness counseling experience
for all students at Innovation High is essential, and if college readiness counselor failed,
Innovation High would struggle to fulfill its mission of providing a rigorous, college preparatory
institution. As a result, this may threaten the percentage of students transitioning to a four-year
institution, threaten the acceptance rates to more competitive institutions, and affect the
recruitment of high achieving students to Innovation High.
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this study was to understand and offer explanations for the identified
influences that contribute to Innovation High’s inability to achieve its organizational
performance goal of a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions.
As a college-preparatory institution, Innovation High must provide a rigorous academic
environment that prepares the student population to gain admission to four-year colleges and
universities. Although Innovation High has increased its postsecondary acceptance rate from
45% to 100% over the course of six years, the four-year college and university matriculation rate
has remained steady at under 75%. Therefore, the performance gap in existence at Innovation
High represents a 25% deficit.
The four Innovation High’s academic counselors perform daily activities related to
strengthening the academic profile of the student body and create safety nets to assist struggling
students. In addition, Innovation High’s academic counselors are responsible for engaging
students and providing college readiness counseling to students from all grade levels. Ultimately,
the academic counselors influence the direction of a student’s postsecondary academic plans and
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 24
goals. Although the organizational performance goal presents a challenge to the small and
limited counseling staff, it is essential that this study adopts a purposeful sampling technique for
this stakeholder group. Therefore, four Innovation High’s academic counselors participated in
this study.
Catholic secondary institutions often do not engage in rigorous evaluations and remain
stagnant due to numerous factors that influence outcomes. It is important to identify and
understand the influences that contribute to Innovation High’s performance gap to propose
potential solutions. By developing effective and impactful solutions, Innovation High can make
positive progress towards increasing student matriculation and acceptance rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions. If Innovation High is unable to address the performance gap,
Innovation High’s status as a college-preparatory high school may be threatened and their ability
to attract and recruit highly-qualified and talented students may be negatively impacted. This
outcome may be the result of a very competitive recruitment environment where parents and
middle school students search for high schools with impressive college acceptances to selective
postsecondary institutions and high acceptance rates. Furthermore, three research questions
guided this study:
1.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to effectively provide college
readiness counseling?
2.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to successfully fulfill the
organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions?
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 25
3.) What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
The conceptual framework stems from a needs analysis and relies on an adaptation of a
gap analysis, a systematic and analytical method developed by Clark and Estes (2008) to
elucidate the performance goals of the organization and distinguish between the organization’s
actual performance level and the preferred performance level. An analysis of related literature
and personal knowledge provided valuable insight into the assumed knowledge, motivation, and
needs of the organization. An extensive literature review and content analysis substantiated the
identified needs. In addition, interviews, observations, and documents, further confirmed the
organization’s needs. A comprehensive evaluation and recommendation process thoroughly
examined research-based solutions.
Organization of the Study
Five chapters were used to organize this study. Introduced in this chapter were the
organization’s mission, goals, and stakeholders as well as the initial concepts of gap analysis
adapted to needs analysis. Chapter Two provides a review of the current literature surrounding
the scope of the study. Also addressed in Chapter Two are topics of equity, college readiness,
and retention. Chapter Three details the assumed needs for this study as well as the methodology
as it relates to the choice of participants, data collection, and analysis. In Chapter Four, the data
and results are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides solutions, based on data and
literature, for addressing the needs and closing the performance gap as well as recommendations
for an implementation and evaluation plan for the solutions.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 26
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Chapter Two explores the importance of college readiness literature as it relates to the
promotion of college readiness counseling as an instrumental element influencing student
matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions. The first section provides a historical
summary of the factors impacting high school student college readiness. The second section
introduces socio-demographic factors that impact college readiness and the current response by
educators to increase four-year postsecondary matriculation. The third section concentrates on
the important components that are utilized to explore potential connections between the
knowledge/skills, motivation, and student performance gaps that contribute to inadequate levels
of college readiness amongst students at Innovation High.
Factors Impacting High School Student College Readiness
According to the U.S Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics
(2015), 81% of twelfth graders earned a diploma from an American high school in 2013. The
percentage of high school graduates pursuing a college education in 2013 was about 65.9%
(National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). Despite the high percentage of high school
students graduating from secondary institutions and pursuing a college education within the
United States, 33% of American high school students were college-ready while the percentage of
incoming college freshmen enrolled in remedial courses was about 40% (Chapa, Leon, Solis, and
Mundy, 2014). College readiness may be defined as the level of proficiency and understanding a
student may need to successfully earn credit for a lower-division course at a postsecondary
institution without having to enroll in course for remediation (Conley, 2008). In addition, Conley
(2008) argued that there is a need to understand the critical difference between a student who
complete a high school curriculum and one who has graduated from high school and is college
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 27
ready. When a student lacks the basic foundations of college readiness, the transition to a college
environment may be challenging, and the student may experience a lower level of self-efficacy
within the program of study. The absence of foundational skills in reading comprehension,
writing, critical thinking, and mathematics may limit a student’s ability to earn a
Socio-Demographics: Low-Income

Historically, there is a direct correlation between a student’s family income and a
student’s matriculation to a postsecondary institution. Low-income and poor students have
endured numerous inequities throughout their educational experience compared to students from
more affluent households (Bryan, Holcomb-McCoy, Moore-Thomas, & Day-Vines, 2009).
According to McDonough (2005), students from affluent families benefit from expectations that
a student is college-bound and as a result, receive college readiness counseling and other
resources related to college planning while in high school. Students from low-income and poor
households are often not exposed to the same level of college-bound expectations. In fact, the
establishment of a college-bound culture is limited in many high schools that serve low-income
and poor students because resources may be allocated towards improving the high school’s
graduation rate rather than postsecondary matriculation (Bryan et al., 2009; McDonough, 2005).
Low-income and poor students with postsecondary aspirations are less likely to schedule
appointments with their academic counselors to discuss college planning (Bryan et al., 2009).
When appointments are scheduled, academic counselors encourage students to pursue their
education at a local two-year community college (Bryan et al., 2009). The academic counselors
may encourage low-income students to matriculate into a two-year community college because
of affordability issues (McDonough & Calderone, 2004). The limited academic counselor-
student interactions may limit the low-income student’s ability to explore financial aid and
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 28
scholarship opportunities at four-year postsecondary institutions (McDonough & Calderone,
2004).
According to Grodsky and Jones (2007), students from low-income communities may not
immediately pursue their undergraduate education at a four-year postsecondary institution
because of tuition cost and general misunderstandings about the college application process. A
family’s household income may have a direct impact on the quality and quantity of college-
related information disseminated to students from underserved communities (Shamsuddin,
2015). Students from low-income households may not have access to college-related resources
that address scholarship opportunities and differentiate between the numerous tiers of college
and universities (Grodsky & Jones, 2007). As a result, low-income and poor students may
engage in the process of self-filtering and essentially, narrow their postsecondary options to local
community colleges (Perna, 2004; Shamsuddin, 2015). Students attending high schools
that serve low-income communities are more likely to avoid the college application process and
are less likely to apply for financial aid because they perceive both experiences too difficult (De
La Rosa, 2006). In addition, local community colleges may have a frequent presence on high
school campuses that serve low-income and ethnic minority students and offer a less complicated
application process (Perna, 2006).
The Community College Research Center at Columbia University found that 44% of low-
income students are enrolled in two-year community colleges (Jenkins & Fink, 2016). In theory,
two-year community colleges serve as a gateway to higher education by offering an affordable
alternative and remedial courses. Unfortunately, researchers showed that many low-income
students attending community colleges experience a low level of persistence and high-level
attrition (Walters & McKay, 2005; Windham et al., 2014). In fact, 13% of low-income students
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 29
attending a two-year community college will successfully transfer into a four-year postsecondary
institution and earn an undergraduate degree within a six-year period (Ma & Baum, 2015).
Socio-Demographics: Ethnicity
As students transition from middle school to high school, college readiness and college
access programs are essential components in shaping a student’s aspirations to attend a
postsecondary institution (Bryan, Moore-Thomas, Day-Vines, & Holcomb-McCo, 2011). Academic
counselors are responsible for establishing a college-bound culture at their respective high school
campuses, yet Bryan et al. (2011) indicated that there are disparities in the quality and frequency
of college-related materials and services shared with high school students that identify as
Latino/Hispanic. Latino/Hispanic students often attend high schools in low-income communities
and as a result, are subjected to limited interactions with their academic counselor due to a high
academic counselor-student ratio, fewer academic counselors, and academic counselors that are
not adequately prepared to provide guidance during the college planning process (Corwin,
Venegas, Oliverez, & Colyar, 2004).2004; Plank & Jordan, 2001). College readiness counseling
and assistance with the college application and financial aid process are often times absent from
the high school experience of Latino/Hispanic students (Castleman, Owen, & Page, 2015). In
fact, on an annual basis, an estimated 20% of the Latino/Hispanic students that earn an
acceptance to a four-year postsecondary institution do not attend any postsecondary institution
because they do not understand the postsecondary matriculation process (Castleman & Page,
2014).
In addition to a lack of understanding about the postsecondary matriculation process,
Latino/Hispanic students may elect to not attend a four-year postsecondary institution because of
the limited diversity in the student population of many four-year postsecondary institutions
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 30
(Constantine, Kindaichi, & Miville, 2007). As members of an underrepresented group on many
four-year college and university campuses, Latino/Hispanic students may not feel welcomed and
question their ability to achieve success in a four-year postsecondary institution (Castleman et
al., 2015). Low self-efficacy and their concern with affirming stereotype threats at a four-year
postsecondary institution may lead Latino/Hispanic students to explore alternative postsecondary
options at a two-year community college (Yeager & Walton, 2011).
As previously mentioned, Latino/Hispanic students are underrepresented at four-year
postsecondary institutions (Zarate & Gallimore, 2005). A majority (56%) of college students
who identify as Latino/Hispanic are enrolled in a two-year community college (CCRC, 2016).
Although Latino/Hispanic students are overrepresented at two-year community colleges, an
estimated 25% of Latino/Hispanic students enrolled in two-year community colleges transfer to
four-year postsecondary institutions (Arbona & Nora, 2007). In addition, only 6% of
Latino/Hispanic students who began their postsecondary education at a community college
completed an undergraduate degree within a six-year period (Arbona & Nora, 2007;
Hoachlander, Sikora, Horn, & Carroll, 2003).
Socio-Demographic: First-Generation
Ward, Siegel, and Davenport (2012), defined first-generation college students as students
with parents that did not earn an undergraduate degree from a four-year postsecondary
institution. First-generation college students are not able to directly benefit from a parent’s
experience and knowledge of postsecondary institutions compared to students with parents who
earned an undergraduate degree (Ward et al., 2012). Although members of all ethnic and racial
groups may identify as first-generation college students, African American and Latino/Hispanic
students are overrepresented within this category of students (Ward et al., 2012). In addition, a
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 31
majority of first-generation college students identify as low-income or working-class (Horn &
Nunez, 2000). The financial well-being of a first-generation student’s household may have a
direct impact on the student’s ability to receive adequate academic preparation for a
postsecondary institution (Stephens et al., 2012). Warburton et al. (2001) found that first-
generation college students were less likely to attend a high-quality college-preparatory high
school and as a result, have a difficult time transitioning academically into a postsecondary
institution, and are more likely to enroll at a two-year community college. In fact, researchers
indicated that first-generation college students enroll in fewer academic courses every semester
and earn lower grades. Therefore, college students require additional tutoring and support from
their postsecondary institution (Housel & Harvey, 2009; Warburton et al., 2001).
The academic woes of first-generation college students may also be attributed to their
inability to adequately adjust to the culture of a postsecondary institution (Stephen et al., 2012).
According to Ostrove and Long (2007), first-generation college students matriculate into a
postsecondary institution without having an understanding of how colleges and universities
operate and often, are unable to engage all the opportunities offered by the postsecondary
institution. There is a general disconnect with the postsecondary institution that many first-
generation college students experience, and this disconnect may lead the student to believe that
they do not belong in a college environment (Ostrove & Long, 2007; Stephens et al., 2012).
Historically, first-generation college students participated in fewer extracurricular activities
compared to non-first-generation college students because first-generation college students often
are required to work multiple jobs to support themselves and cover tuition cost (Phinney & Haas,
2003; Stephens et al., 2012). The need to work multiple jobs while attending classes at
a postsecondary institution may have a negative impact on a first-generation college student’s
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 32
grades and also, contributes to a high drop-out rate (Bowen, Kurzweil, & Tobin, 2005).
The numerous obstacles faced by first-generation college students at a postsecondary institution
contributes to a higher drop-out rate after their first year of college (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak,
& Terenzini, 2004). In fact, only 8% of first-generation college students who began their
postsecondary education at a two-year community college earn an undergraduate degree within a
six-year period (College Board, 2016).
Current Responses to Increase Four-Year Matriculation to Postsecondary Institutions
Dual Enrollment
Across the United States, many education reformers, leaders, and school districts
modified their approach towards secondary education. The need to modify the existing
educational practices within secondary institutions was motivated by the need to improve the
college readiness of students and also, increase the participation of students from
underrepresented groups in postsecondary education. The introduction of the Early College High
School Initiative in 2002, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, gave birth to partnerships
between high schools and postsecondary institutions. These partnerships vary in design and
course offerings, and according to Bailey and Karp (2003), these programs include early college
schools and dual enrollment programs. Early college schools typically are located on community
college campuses. By design, early college schools provide high school students the opportunity
to earn a high school diploma and possibly, the equivalent of two years of college credit or an
associate’s degree within a five-year period. (Hoffman, Vargas, & Santos, 2009).
In addition to the early college model, high schools and postsecondary institutions have
introduced dual enrollment programs. High school students participating in a dual enrollment
program are allowed to earn college credit at a local community college or four-year
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 33
postsecondary institution (Allen, 2010; Bailey & Karp, 2003; Ozmun, 2013). By enrolling in a
dual enrollment program, students have the opportunity to enroll in courses that fulfill lower-
division elective and general education requirements. According to Kleiner and Lewis (2005),
approximately 813,000 high school students throughout the United States participate in programs
that allowed them to earn college credit on an annual basis. Based on research conducted by
Adelman (2006), students who earn more than 20 college units while in high school are more
likely to earn a college degree.
According to Ozmun (2013), high school students enrolled in a dual enrollment program
with a postsecondary institution approach the college application process with increased self-
efficacy and experience a greater rate of matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Historically, student matriculation rates to and their persistence at a four-year postsecondary
institution may increase as a result of their participation in a dual enrollment program because
students are better prepared to meet academic demands of college courses, understand the
expectations and ultimately, and achieve higher levels of academic success (Bailey & Karp,
2003; Lerner & Brand, 2006). In addition, dual enrollment programs create an equitable
opportunity for students from first-generation, low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds to
gain access and exposure to postsecondary education (Howley, Howley, Howley, & Duncan,
2013).
Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID)
Across the United States, an estimated 1.5 million students at over 5,600 K-12 schools
participate in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program (AVID, 2017).
AVID was founded in 1980 as an instrument to introduce a college readiness system to address
the achievement gap experienced by low income, first-generation and ethnic minority students;
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 34
and to improve the four-year postsecondary matriculation rate of students from these
populations. Through the AVID program, students from academically “at-risk” or vulnerable
communities receive instruction, guidance, and acquire the knowledge and skills that are
necessary to effectively pursue and complete rigorous coursework that is essential in their
preparation and admission to four-year postsecondary institutions (AVID, 2017). As AVID
participants, students engage in daily instruction from teachers who have extensive training in
college readiness techniques, receive academic tutoring services from college students, and are
mentored by students currently enrolled in four-year postsecondary institutions (Mendiola, Watt,
& Huerta, 2010). The college mentors provide guidance related to the four-year college and
university application process, served as a support system, and teach time management and
planning principles to the students they mentor (Mendiola et al., 2010). In addition, AVID
participants are encouraged to enroll in advanced placement and concurrent enrollment courses
that offer college credit to help them succeed in post-secondary education (Lozano, Watt, &
Huerta, 2009; Mediola et al., 2010).
According to Huerta, Watt, and Reyes (2012), students who participated in the AVID
program while in high school and matriculated to four-year postsecondary institutions had higher
levels of academic success and persistence compared to AVID participants who had matriculated
to a two-year postsecondary institution or those who did not participate in an AVID program.
Researchers (Huerta et al., 2012) illustrated that AVID participants who matriculated to four-
year postsecondary institutions were more likely to complete an undergraduate degree within a
six-year period in comparison to their community college counterparts. In addition, students who
participated in an AVID program had a 77% retention rate when they immediately enrolled at a
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 35
four-year postsecondary institution while AVID participants who began their postsecondary
education at a community college had a 61% retention rate (Huerta et al., 2012).
Although the AVID program was designed to increase the college readiness of program
participants and improve the percentage of student matriculation to four-year postsecondary
institutions, AVID has not been able to completely eliminate the matriculation of students to
two-year postsecondary institutions. According to postsecondary enrollment data collected by
AVID (2017), 63% of AVID participants matriculated to four-year postsecondary institutions,
and approximately 31% matriculate to two-year postsecondary institutions. Despite the presence
of a 37% performance gap, over the past 37 years, 93% of AVID participants are qualified to
meet four-year college and university admission requirements and 84% of AVID participants
have earned college credit while in high school (AVID, 2017). A majority of AVID participants
identify as Hispanic (52%) and 66% are considered low-income (AVID, 2017). Since its
founding in 1980, AVID attempted to address the barriers faced by high school students from
underserved and “at-risk” communities and limit obstacles that impact their immediate
matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Clark and Estes (2008) Organizational Problem-Solving Framework
According to Clark and Estes (2008), there is a general disconnect between individual
performance goals and the overall goals of an organization. Performance goals focus on specific
objectives that must be reached by an individual or team and ultimately, must contribute to the
fulfillment of the larger organizational goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). Although organizational
goals establish the direction of the organization, these goals must also be flexible and specific
(Clark & Estes, 2008). The disconnect between individual performance goals and organizational
goals is often understood by identifying and measuring the gap between the actual and desired
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 36
performance goals (Clark & Estes, 2008). To properly address and close the gap in performance,
Clark and Estes (2008) introduced the concept of gap analysis as a means to identify the human
causes that contribute to performance gaps.
The achievement of organizational goals relies heavily on employees having access to
three essential factors: knowledge, motivation, and organizational support (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Inadequacy in any of these three areas will lead to performance gaps within the organization.
Knowledge focuses on whether individuals know how to achieve their individual and team
performance goals, and whether they have the necessary knowledge and skills (Clark & Estes,
2008). Motivation addresses an individual’s decision to pursue a work goal, their ability to
persist and the amount of mental effort they are willing to invest (Clark & Estes, 2008). Lastly,
inadequate resources and faulty processes within the organization may create organizational
barriers that increase the performance gap and jeopardize the fulfillment of organizational goals
(Clark & Estes, 2008).
Stakeholder Knowledge and Motivation Influences
Knowledge and Skills Influences
The literature review was designed to investigate the knowledge and motivational
influences that apply to the fulfillment of Innovation High’s organizational goal. As a small,
private, and faith-based institution, Innovation High’s organizational goal is to successfully
achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Innovation
High’s ability to achieve the organizational goal is dependent on the fulfillment of the
stakeholder goal. The stakeholder goal requires the academic counselors to provide effective
college readiness counseling. The significance of achieving the stakeholder goal is closely
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 37
related to the influence of the various types of knowledge and motivation. Therefore, the the
literature review focused on the knowledge and motivation influences.
Knowledge influences. Borrowing from Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives,
Krathwohl (2002) identified four main categories within the framework of the revised knowledge
dimension: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognition. Factual and conceptual
knowledge are classified as declarative knowledge because both knowledge types are associated
with the information an individual knows. Factual knowledge focuses on an individual’s
familiarity and understanding of terminology, specific details, and elements within a particular
discipline, and can serve as an instrument for problem-solving (Krathwohl, 2002). Conceptual
knowledge focuses on the larger structure and the relationship between and functionality of the
basic elements that rely on the basic elements associated with factual knowledge (Krathwohl,
2002).
While factual and conceptual knowledge focus on information, procedural knowledge
addresses an individual’s knowledge as it pertains to how to perform a specific task, or rather,
how to do something (Krathwohl, 2002). Through procedural knowledge, an individual has a
strong grasp of the methods of inquiry, and understands the principles associated with employing
particular techniques and skills within a discipline (Krathwohl, 2002). According to Baker
(2006), an additional knowledge type within the revised knowledge dimension is metacognition.
Within metacognition, an individual is empowered and understands the details of and strategies
needed to properly execute a particular task and develop greater knowledge of oneself in relation
to learning (Baker, 2006; Krathwohl, 2002). An understanding of the four identified knowledge
types is important to the fulfillment of the stakeholder goal. Therefore, their influence and
relationship to the stakeholder goal are explored throughout this literature review.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 38
Stakeholder knowledge influences. Identifying literature that is relevant to the
stakeholder goal is essential. Therefore, provided in this section is a review of existing literature
that supports the stakeholder goal that requires the academic counselors to provide effective
college readiness counseling. Also incorporated in this section are the influence of factual
knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and metacognitive knowledge, and
the impact of these knowledge types on the fulfillment of the stakeholder goal.
Declarative knowledge influences: Academic counselors need knowledge of the
barriers that negatively influence a student ’s matriculation to a four-year, postsecondary
institution. Throughout the college admission process, effective and successful academic
counselors must possess the knowledge and understanding of minimum admission requirements
to four-year postsecondary institutions. These minimum admission requirements include the
following factors: high school coursework, grade point average (GPA), scores on the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Test (ACT), community service, and extra-curricular
activities. According to McDonough (2005), when compared to teachers and administrators
within a secondary institution, academic counselors serve as the most important source of
providing and sharing college knowledge and information with students. As students actively
engage the college admission process, their success is heavily dependent on the acquisition of
relevant information (Belasco, 2013). In fact, the student-counselor relationship that involves the
sharing of knowledge related to postsecondary admission requirements was found to have a
positive impact on student matriculation into postsecondary institutions (Belasco, 2013). The
absence of relevant information related to the college admission process may limit a student’s
ability to effectively fulfill the minimum standards that are necessary to attain an admissions
offer, thereby jeopardizing their entry into postsecondary institutions (Belasco, 2013).
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 39
Within secondary institutions, academic counselors need to know the barriers that may
negatively influence and jeopardize a student’s matriculation into a four-year, postsecondary
institution. These barriers may include: socioeconomic status, identification as an ethnic
minority, and first-generation college student. It is imperative that academic counselors provide
resources and assistance to students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Bryant & Nicolas, 2011).
Students from low socio-economic backgrounds often do not have accurate knowledge or ample
information regarding the college admission process (Tierney & Venegas, 2009). According to
Bryant and Nicolas (2011), college-bound first-generation students are more likely to perform
poorly on college admission tests, apply to college with low-grade point averages, and lack
college-preparatory coursework. It is important for academic counselors to understand the impact
of the aforementioned barriers to know how to address the needs of students from disadvantaged
backgrounds effectively.
Procedural knowledge influences: Academic counselors need to know how to
introduce college readiness counseling into their daily counseling activities. Academic
counselors need to know how to introduce college readiness counseling into their daily
counseling activities. The involvement of academic counselors in the creation and
implementation of college readiness policy within the school context is essential yet within many
institutions; the policy decision-making process does not include academic counselors (Stone-
Jackson, 2015). Stone-Johnson (2015) found that many schools do not know how to properly
commit and allocate resources that can adequately fulfill their organizational goals geared
towards helping students become college-ready. Educational attainment is an important factor
influencing the adoption of practices and programs within college readiness counseling. For
example, dual enrollment programs can serve as an instrument towards college readiness
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 40
counseling. Students participating in dual enrollment programs are exposed to the college
learning environment while in high school and are better prepared to meet the rigorous demands
of college coursework upon their transition into postsecondary institutions (An, 2013; Hoffman
et al., 2008, Ozmun, 2013). As academic counselors provide college readiness counseling, their
engagement and innovativeness reflect through the enrichment opportunities presented to their
students.
Metacognitive knowledge influences: Academic counselors need to be aware of their
comfort with engaging in college readiness counseling. As academic counselors provide
guidance and assist students, it is important that they are comfortable with college readiness
counseling. According to Jordan and Kelly (2004), the engagement of students in an academic
advising situation is often an uncomfortable experience for many within the academic counseling
community. Academic counselors may not have confidence in their level of knowledge to
engage in conversations about identifying the right college or discussing the college admission
process. Effective college readiness counseling is contingent on an academic counselor’s ability
to understand their metacognition as a means to use this metacognitive information to shape their
approach towards providing effective interventions (Wilkinson, 2011). Rather than focusing on
their deficiencies, academic counselors should embrace their metacognition and use this
information as a tool for addressing the unique needs of students (Wilkinson, 2011). An
academic counselor’s metacognition is an essential part of approaching goal-setting (Wilkinson,
2011).
Included in the Knowledge Worksheet (Table 2) are the organizational mission and
global goal of Innovation High. The stakeholder goal requires academic counselors at Innovation
High to have knowledge that is necessary for college readiness counseling and have the ability to
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 41
provide highly interactive, engaging, and effective academic guidance to all Innovation High
students is highlighted. Within the Knowledge Worksheet, assumed knowledge influences are
introduced as a means to understand their impact on the fulfillment of the stakeholder goal.
These assumed knowledge influences address the following in column one: factual, conceptual,
procedural, and metacognitive. The assessment of the assumed knowledge influences is included
in column two.

Table 2
Assumed Knowledge Influences
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence Assessment
Academic counselors need to have
knowledge of the barriers that negatively
influence student matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
Conceptual Participants addressed questions
regarding their knowledge of the impact
that a student’s ethnicity, socio-
economic background, and first-
generation status have on a student’s
matriculation to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Academic counselors need to know how to
implement and introduce college readiness
counseling into their daily counseling
activities.
Procedural Participants addressed questions
regarding their ability to implement
college readiness counseling into their
daily counseling activities.
Academic counselors need to be aware of
their comfortability with engaging in
college readiness counseling.
Metacognitive Participants addressed questions about
their comfortability with engaging in
college readiness counseling.

Motivational Influences
According to Mayer (2011), the goal-directed behavior is initiated and maintained by
motivation. Within this internal state, identified are the following motivational processes: active
choice, persistence, and mental effort (Clark & Estes, 2008). Active choice involves an
individual’s decision to actively engage a work goal by consciously getting started (Clark &
Estes, 2008). Persistence is the continued pursuit of an identified work goal, despite the
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 42
overabundance of potential threats to an individual’s focus and dedication (Clark & Estes, 2008).
While an individual may decide to begin the pursuit of a work goal and remain persistent, mental
effort refers to the amount of effort exerted in the fulfillment of the work goal (Clark & Estes,
2008). In relation to the motivation, this section of the literature review addresses the impact of
motivation on the fulfillment of the stakeholder goal. Specifically, an introduction of two
assumed motivational influences, self-efficacy, and attributions.
Self-efficacy theory. According to Pajares (2006), self-efficacy serves as one of the key
components in establishing the foundation for human motivation. Self-efficacy involves an
individual’s evaluation of their ability to effectively learn and perform a particular task at a
desired level (Pajares, 2006). This evaluation of an individual’s capabilities may alter their
beliefs and have an impact on their motivation, behavior, and approach towards daily activities
(Pajares, 2006). This motivation is closely associated with the accomplishment of identified
work goals. Ultimately, an individual’s self-efficacy may shape their perseverance, the amount
of effort invested, and their resiliency when faced with difficult situations and tasks (Pajares,
2006).
Self-efficacy: Academic counselors need to believe they have the ability to engage
students and provide effective college readiness counseling. In relation to the college admission
process, an academic counselor’s self-efficacy as an assumed motivational influence may have
an impact on the “college-going” culture within the high school. Academic counselors need to
believe they possess the ability to engage students and provide effective college readiness
counseling. If an academic counselor does not have a high level of self-efficacy, there is a strong
possibility that they may have a negative impact on the college-related outcomes of their
students. In fact, Bodenhorn, Wolfe, and Airen (2010) indicated a positive correlation between
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 43
high levels of counselor self-efficacy and positive student outcomes. The School Counselor Self-
Efficacy Scale along with existing research supports the assumption that academic counselors
who experience high levels of self-efficacy are more inclined to develop creative solutions to
address the complexities of goals, pursue more ambitious goals, and remain more persistent
(Bodenhorn, et al., 2010; Mullen & Lambie, 2016; Vancouver, Thompson, & Williams, 2001).
Academic counselors engage students through programmatic service delivery, the
facilitation of educational counseling interventions that are used to fulfill the annual goals of the
counseling department (Mullen & Lambie, 2016; Scarborough, 2005). The self-efficacy of an
academic counselor may have an impact on the outcomes of the programmatic service delivery
(Mullen & Lambie, 2016; Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008). According to Dimmit and Wilkerson
(2012), academic counselors are more likely to engage in frequent programmatic service delivery
when they experience high levels of self-efficacy. As the frequency of programmatic service
delivery increases, there is a positive impact on the outcomes of students (Dimmit & Wilkerson,
2012; Mullen & Lambie, 2016). Academic counselors with high levels of self-efficacy are more
likely to take the initiative and design innovative intervention programs to facilitate effective
college readiness practices.
Attribution theory. Attribution theory yields unique insight into the meaning of
motivation and its relationship to education (Anderman & Anderman, 2006). In an attempt to
understand the reasons behind the existence of particular experiences, individuals strive to
identify factors that contribute to potential causes. The process of understanding the factors that
have caused a particular event to occur may alter an individual’s level of motivation in their
pursuit of similar activities (Anderman & Anderman, 2006; Weiner, 2005). The causal
dimensions associated with attributions are locus, controllability, and stability (Anderman &
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 44
Anderman, 2006; Weiner, 2006). The locus dimension addresses the internal characteristics that
individual’s associate accomplishment with (Anderman & Anderman, 2006). Controllability
involves the individual’s perception of casualty and control over the experience (Anderman &
Anderman, 2006). Stability explores the consistency and frequency of a cause attributed to an
experience (Anderman & Anderman, 2006). The applied nature of attribution theory and its
dimensions has the potential to positively or negatively impact motivation.
Attribution theory: Academic counselors should understand that low student
matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions is due to their own deficiencies and
efforts in college readiness counseling rather than st u de n t ’s lack of motivation and
achievement. Academic counselors should understand that low student matriculation to four-
year postsecondary institutions is due to their deficiencies and efforts in college readiness
counseling rather than students lack of motivation and achievement. According to McKillip,
Rawls, and Barry (2012), academic counselors within a high school setting can empower
students to enroll in postsecondary institutions. Students who have regular access to academic
counselors and receive college readiness guidance often attribute their enrollment at a
postsecondary institution to the efforts of academic counselors at their high school (Solmonson,
Roaten, Jones, & Albrecht, 2014). Unfortunately, effective college readiness counseling and
frequent counselor-student interactions face obstacles within the high school environment.
Solmonson et al. (2014) argued school counselors have failed to adequately address the needs of
their students due to the ambiguity that exists within the academic counselor’s job description.
Rather than focusing on providing academic guidance to students, academic counselors are
required to adopt multiple roles on a high school campus. These additional roles allow the
counselor to associate student failures to external forces that cause the subsequent decrease in
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 45
enrollment at postsecondary institutions. Ultimately, academic counselors attempt to understand
the specific causes and reasons why students do not pursue their education in postsecondary
institutions and this process will have an impact on counselor motivation in the future
(Anderman & Anderman, 2006).
According to the American School Counselors Association (2016), academic counselors
should engage in the following appropriate counseling duties: implementing and creating
individualized college readiness programs and performing academic advising. Instead, vague job
descriptions lead academic counselors to adopt inappropriate roles such as performing
administrative duties and administering achievement tests (American School Counselor
Association, 2016; Baggerly & Osborn, 2006). Job responsibilities unrelated to counseling often
increase the counselor’s workload and may lead to greater numbers of dissatisfied, frustrated,
and exhausted academic counselors (Baggerly & Osborn, 2006; Bardhoshi, Schweinle, &
Duncan, 2014). The negative attitudes may jeopardize the motivation of the academic counselors
and their willingness to engage in activities associated with the institution’s goals. For example,
an academic counselor who is unable to address the needs of students effectively may experience
threatened mental effort and persistence because the counselor may begin to attribute their
degree of ineffectiveness to external forces that are beyond one’s control (Anderman &
Anderman, 2006; Clark & Estes, 2008). By doing so, the counselor may engage in
depersonalization, the act of emotionally and cognitively distancing oneself from work goals
(Bardhoshi et al., 2014). Rather than allowing their motivation to decrease, academic counselors
must attempt to arrange a set schedule that will grant them the time to balance appropriate and
inappropriate counseling duties.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 46
The attached Motivational Worksheet (Table 3) articulates the importance of identifying
the motivational influences that impact the stakeholder goal that requires the academic
counselors at Innovation High to have the knowledge that is necessary for college readiness
counseling and the ability provide highly interactive, engaging, and effective academic guidance
to all Innovation High students. In addition, the organizational mission and global goal for
Innovation High are included. The assumed motivational influences that impact academic
counselors at Innovation High are introduced and a description is provided for self-efficacy
theory and attribution theory within column one. Included in column two are the assessment
instruments for these motivational influences and their impact on self-efficacy theory and
attribution theory associated with Innovation High’s academic counselors.

Table 3
Assumed Motivation Influences
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-Efficacy: Academic counselors need to have
confidence in their ability to engage students and
provide effective college readiness counseling.
In your guidance sessions, how confident are you in
your ability to discuss postsecondary institutions and
provide college readiness counseling?
Attribution: Academic counselors need to understand
that low student matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions is due to their own
deficiencies and efforts as academic counselors.
As an academic counselor, do you attribute student
matriculation to two-year colleges as a reflection of
professional deficiencies?

Organizational Influences
General theory. Although knowledge and motivation barriers provide a unique and
valuable perspective into the performance gaps that exist within Innovation High, there is one
considered additional barrier. Innovation High’s ability to fulfill its organizational goal may be
jeopardized by organizational barriers. According to Clark and Estes (2008), an organization’s
performance goals may not be achieved due to inefficiencies and the ineffectiveness of work
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 47
processes, and an absence of adequate resources. In addition, contradictions and inconsistencies
between organizational culture and organizational goals may further contribute to performance
gaps.
Organizational culture. As a pre-engineering high school, Innovation High's curriculum
and programs are constantly evolving on a yearly basis to meet the demands of colleges,
universities, and industries. Although these changes are intended to impact the educational
experience of the student body, faculty and staff find themselves forced to adapt. According to
Clark and Estes (2008), organizational culture provides a set of guidelines to determine how
individuals within an organization should work together to complete tasks related to the
organizational goal. Within a high school environment, the concept of outlining how individuals
are expected to work together to reach a particular outcome has proven to be a daunting task.
Developing a common organizational culture is difficult to accomplish in the pursuit of
organizational goals because of the division of labor within the school environment. According
to Scarborough and Culbreth (2008), there is a disconnect between academic counselors,
teachers, and administrators because of fundamentally different approaches and philosophies for
assisting students. As academic counselors pursue their counseling activities, their self-efficacy
may be affected by the lack of understanding and support they are receiving from their fellow
educators (Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008; Sutton & Fall, 1995). Unless the organization adopts
a culture focused on learning about the responsibilities of particular positions within a school
setting and allowing educators to receive similar training, a collaborative work environment will
be challenging to maintain (Dodson, 2009; Shoffner & Williamson, 2000). In addition, there may
be discrepancies between the “actual and preferred practices” of academic counselors because of
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 48
their struggles with administrators who intend to redefine the role of academic counselors
(Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008).
The negative interaction between administrators and academic counselors may result in
counseling initiatives and programs that are inefficient and ineffective because of the low self-
efficacy of the academic counselors (Ponec & Brock, 2000; Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008). The
absence of a unified approach and strategies towards the fulfillment of organizational goals is
problematic for an organization (Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008). Weak organizational culture
may create an environment that fosters growth in performance gaps. These performance gaps
jeopardize the organization’s ability to address the needs of students and ultimately, threaten the
fulfillment of organizational goals (Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008).
Work processes. According to Clark and Estes (2008), inefficient work processes
threaten an organization’s ability to address performance gaps effectively and ultimately, achieve
organizational goals, even when high levels of knowledge and motivation are present. Within an
educational setting, academic counselors often endure policies and processes that are
contradictory to their intended role within the organization. For example, academic counselors
experience school settings where there is a struggle between appropriate and inappropriate job
duties (Dodson, 2009). As academic counselors engage in inappropriate job duties such as
providing mental health services, serving as a disciplinarian and monitoring attendance records,
this process distracts the academic counselor from pursuing goals related to their specified role
within the organization (Dodson, 2009; Nelson, Robles-Pena, & Nichter, 2008). Academic
counselors who engage in processes unrelated to providing academic advising to students often
spend most of their time throughout the normal school day performing these inappropriate job
duties (Scarborough, 2005; Scarborough & Culbreth, 2008; Sink, 2005). The absence of a
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 49
thorough and comprehensive advising program within the high school setting does not allow for
the promotion of the most effective processes and ultimately, creates an environment that does
not promote the academic success of students (Dodson, 2009). In addition, work processes that
allow an academic counselor to utilize resources and their knowledge and experience have
proven to be beneficial to the organization because counselors can focus on developing
aggressive and innovative approaches to academic counseling and ultimately, address the
organizational goals (Dodson, 2009).

Table 4
Assumed Organizational Influences
Assumed Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
There is a culture of complacency, negative attitudes
and resistance by non-counseling faculty and staff
towards the academic counselor’s attempts to introduce
new college readiness counseling practices.
Interview the academic counselors to identify the types
of opposition they experience while attempting to
perform college readiness counseling.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
There is a culture of unsupportive leadership that
negatively impacts the self-efficacy of the academic
counselors and their effectiveness in delivering college
readiness counseling.
Interview the academic counselors to identify their
experiences of coping with unsupportive leadership
and the impact of unsupportive leadership on their
delivery of college readiness counseling.
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
Academic counselors are inundated by non-academic
counseling activities and this creates barriers within the
organization’s work processes. Academic counselors
endure time restrictions that impact college readiness
counseling.
Interview the academic counselors to identify the
impact of non-academic counseling activities on their
workday.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
Academic counselors do not have the necessary
resources to effectively perform college readiness
counseling and expand the college counseling program.
Interview the academic counselors to identify the
needed resources to perform college readiness
counseling.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 50
Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders ’ Knowledge and Motivation and
the Organizational Context
According to Maxwell (2013), the conceptual framework provides a visual representation
of the existing relationship between factors, variables, and concepts within a specific topic that
help guide the research study. The conceptual framework can serve as a narrative to further
illustrate a researcher’s plan and ideas for conducting a study (Maxwell, 2013). In addition, as
the foundation for the study, the conceptual framework enables the researcher to develop a
stronger understanding of the different components within the study and redefine his/her
approach and methods (Maxwell, 2013). Within the conceptual framework, three main
components are evident by adopting Clark and Estes’ KMO Model. Specifically, knowledge,
motivation, and organization serve as independent influencers that at times, may experience a
degree of similarity and interdependence.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 51

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework (Figure 1) explores the existing research that impacts the
specific research study focusing on the factors impacting four-year postsecondary matriculation
at a college-preparatory, Catholic high school. As illustrated by a Venn diagram, the KMO
(knowledge, motivation, and organization) model as presented by Clark and Estes serves as the
framework for this research study. Although knowledge, motivation, and organization serve as
independent concepts within this framework, there may be an intersection between the various
influences within each concept. All three concepts impact the stakeholder group and goals. The
stakeholder group within this research study are Innovation High’s academic counselors, and all
three influences impact the effectiveness, engagement, and interactive activities of the academic
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 52
counselors. It is necessary for an understanding of the KMO’s to inform the stakeholder group’s
outcomes.
Summary
Student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions is often contingent on
effective college readiness counseling at the secondary level. Innovation High must address
knowledge, motivational and organizational influences to assist academic counselors in their
ability to introduce college readiness activities into their daily counseling activities. As a college-
preparatory institution, Innovation High’s academic counseling department has consistently
reserved college readiness counseling exclusively to the incoming senior class and to achieve a
100% matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions, there is a need to introduce
college readiness counseling early on in a student’s academic career. In order to gain a further
understanding of the influences, Chapter 3 will provide a clear validation of the three influencing
factors.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 53
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences that impact Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to effectively
provide college readiness counseling and successfully fulfill Innovation High’s organizational
goal. The methodology adopted for this study’s data collection process is introduced in Chapter
Three. To guide the study, the following research questions were addressed:
Research Questions
1.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to effectively provide college
readiness counseling?
2.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to successfully fulfill the
organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions?
3.) What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions?
Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholders identified were Innovation High’s academic counselors. The academic
counselors were selected because of their daily interaction with the Innovation High’s student
body. Also, the academic counselors provide academic guidance and engage students in college
readiness counseling. Ultimately, the academic counselors were selected because they serve as
the main gatekeepers to colleges and universities and are responsible for student matriculation.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 54
Interview and/or Focus Group Sampling Criterion and Rationale
Criterion 1. Academic counselors with experience working with high school age
boys. (Innovation High is an all-male high school).
Criterion 2. Academic counselors with college readiness
counseling experience. (Innovation High’s academic counselors are expected to
engage in discussions and provide college readiness counseling).
Criterion 3. Academic counselors with confidence to lead college
readiness counseling. (Effective, interactive, and engaging college
readiness counseling begins with the academic counselor’s comfort and
confidence with leading counseling sessions).
Interview Sampling (Recruitment) Strategy and Rationale
The sampling strategy used was purposeful, specifically, convenience sampling. To
conduct the interviews, a total of four academic counselors served as participants. The
participants consisted of a freshmen counselor, a sophomore and junior counselor, a senior
counselor, and an international student counselor. The sample size was appropriate because it
allowed a more focused approach towards understanding the knowledge, motivational, and
organizational factors impacting Innovation High’s four-year college and university
matriculation rate.
Criterion 1. Academic counselors performing their daily academic counseling activities.
Criterion 2. Academic counselors introducing college readiness counseling into their
discussions with students.
Criterion 3. Academic counselor meetings with students on their caseload.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 55
Observation Sampling (Access) Strategy and Rationale
The appropriate setting for the observation was selected by exploring the locations where
a majority of college readiness counseling occurred, the academic counselor’s office. The
administration and academic counselors granted access to the academic counselor’s office
because they both supported the research study and were willing to provide valuable information
if needed. The buy-in from the counseling department is an essential component of this study and
there is a general level of trust and respect.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Data collection consisted of qualitative methods. Qualitative data provide in-depth insight
into the attitudes and values of an individual (Creswell, 2015; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
Qualitative methods consist of interviews, observations, focus groups, artifacts, and documents
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Qualitative methods used in this study consisted of academic
counseling session observations, academic counselor interviews, and a review of relevant
artifacts and documents. These instruments are appropriate for collecting relevant and
meaningful data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). In addition, the methods above provided the
framework for triangulation. Triangulation is a method used to cross-reference different data
collection instruments (Maxwell, 2013).
Qualitative methods best suited this study because qualitative data provide greater insight
into the causes and factors impacting the matriculation rate to four-year colleges and universities
by the students of Innovation High. Also, through triangulation, the use of multiple methods
reduces the threat of bias within conclusions and also, grants the researcher the opportunity to
develop a deeper understanding of the findings (Maxwell, 2013). Ultimately, triangulation
affords the study greater accountability and trustworthiness.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 56

Interviews
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), interviews involve a conversation between the
researcher and study participant(s) and the purpose of this conversation is to discover additional
information quantitative data collection methods cannot gather. The additional information may
stem from a participant’s behaviors, feelings, and past experiences (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
The questions introduced during the interview were framed on existing research literature, the
conceptual framework and the study’s research questions, and sought to answer additional
questions regarding the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors impacting the
academic counselor’s ability to engage in college readiness counseling. Interviews were face to
face and on an individual basis. Rather than adopting a concise and close-ended approach similar
to a survey questionnaire, the interviews were semi-structured by offering flexible, guiding and
follow-up questions to encourage the participant to express their attitudes, feelings and additional
pertinent information related to their perception of the relationship between the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational factors and the stakeholder goal (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
Four academic counselors (one freshmen counselor, one sophomore and junior counselor,
one senior counselor, and one international student counselor) participated in the interview
process. The interviews were conducted in English and occurred November 6
th
through
November 17
th
. The interviews were on an individual basis within the respective academic
counselor’s office because it is essential to the study that the participants felt comfortable and
safe. Each interview took approximately one hour, but if needed, the academic counselors were
encouraged to take additional time.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 57
The conceptual framework served as the foundation for the study and all interview
questions addressed the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors. The interviews
provided more in-depth information regarding the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
factors impacting the stakeholder goal. Patton’s (2015) framework for asking questions was
adopted to achieve detailed responses from study participants. This framework relies on six types
of interview questions: demographic/background, knowledge, feelings, values and opinions,
sensory, and experience and behavior (Patton, 2015). Ultimately, all six types of questions
influenced the questions and direction of each participant interview.
Observation
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), observations serve as an effective instrument
for data collection when addressing a specific research question, provide mechanisms to ensure
the trustworthiness of results, and consist of a systematic method. Observations grant researchers
the opportunity to gather pertinent data on a firsthand basis while at the same time, observing
participants in their natural settings to acquire greater knowledge of the situational context
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The observations conducted for this study consisted of non-random,
purposeful sampling and Innovation High’s four academic counselors participated.
The four academic counselors engage students on their caseload on a daily basis and
although the counselor-student meetings occur on a frequent basis throughout the school day, the
observations occurred during a two-week period, November 6
th
through November 17th. Each
academic counselor participated in three observations and 30 minutes was allocated to each
observation. The observations were designed to identify and develop greater insight into the
college readiness counseling activities of the academic counselors during counselor-student
meetings. Triangulation of data was important to cross-reference data collected from the
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 58
participant interviews to ensure the trustworthiness of data collected through the observation
method. In addition, the signed consent form provided the academic counselors with a complete
understanding of the need for observations, and the study’s purpose of identifying the causes and
factors impacting Innovation High’s counseling readiness counseling and the student
matriculation rate to four-year colleges and universities.
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), note-taking serves as an important instrument
within data collection because the study’s findings are dependent on detailed, raw data collected
during the observations. This data can be collected through field notes and the memory of the
researcher, but for this study, the researcher used a laptop to capture the details of the
observation. The field notes gathered on the laptop observations were analyzed, transcribed, and
saved on a password locked the external hard drive. Although the observation provided a
considerable amount of insight into the interactions between the academic counselor and student,
the researcher was most concerned with measuring the frequency and nature of college readiness
counseling. Throughout the observation, the researcher used a tally and comments to illustrate
the depth and meaning of college readiness counseling within the counselor-student meeting.
Upon completion of the three observations per academic counselor, the information gathered was
shared with the participants for their approval. Field notes and an observation transcript were
available for review by the participants.
Documents and Artifacts
Documents and artifacts relative to the study served as an important component of the
research and used as a reference tool to further understand the data collected through the
interviews, and observations (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The documents and artifacts provided
insight into the student four-year college/university acceptance rates, matriculation rates, and
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 59
other information related to four-year colleges and universities. In addition, a copy of the
counseling department’s handbook was reviewed to acquire a deeper understanding of the role of
the academic counselors in reference to college readiness counseling and how the job
descriptions and role of the academic counselors shape the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational factors that address the conceptual framework and research questions. Academic
counselor training materials and meeting minutes were also gathered and analyzed. The
documents and artifacts were obtained through the written consent of Innovation High’s
principal. The registrar and human resource manager provided the researcher with the documents
and artifacts that were needed.
Data Analysis
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), the qualitative analysis of this study was
contextually defined due to the study’s highly interactive nature. Analytic memos were written at
the conclusion of each interview and observation, and data analysis began as data was collected.
The analytic memos included the initial interpretation of the data, the researcher’s concerns and
thoughts, and possible conclusions related to the research questions and conceptual framework.
To protect the identity and confidentiality of each interview and observation participant, I
transcribed and coded the data in a secured and locked office that is not located on the site of the
study. Open coding, the identification of empirical codes and the conceptual framework are a
priori codes applied during the first phase of analysis. Empirical and a priori codes were
aggregated into axial and analytic codes during the second phase of analysis. The coding was
used to identify possible patterns and emerging themes in the data and their relationship to the
research questions and conceptual framework. Lastly, the documents and artifacts gathered were
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 60
analyzed to determine whether or not they were consistent with the data gathered from the
interviews and observations.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
According to Patton (2015), the credibility and trustworthiness of qualitative research are
dependent on the researcher’s intellectual rigor, training, and experience. The ethical reputation
of the researcher is important when evaluating the trustworthiness and integrity of the data
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Patton, 2015). Data gathered through interviews must accurately
reflect research findings to establish the trustworthiness of the researcher (Merriam & Tisdell,
2015). To further establish the trustworthiness of the researcher, it is important for the researcher
to communicate the importance and purpose of the research study with participants (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015). The researcher must help the participants feel comfortable with and understand
the reason for the adopted data collection methods and the final analysis of the data (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015).
The credibility of the study becomes evident when the collected data is relevant to the
context and purpose of the research study (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). To
establish credibility within the research study, I adopted the triangulation strategy by cross-
checking data through multiple data collection methods (Creswell, 2015; Merriam & Tisdell,
2015). The multiple data collection methods were artifacts and documents, interviews, and
observations. Through triangulation, credibility increases by ensuring the existence of multiple
data collection methods, rather than only one (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Patton, 2015). In
addition, the research study’s credibility was further established through the adoption of the
respondent validation strategy (Creswell, 2015; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). To ensure the
accurate interpretation of data collected from interviews, the researcher shared early versions of
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 61
the findings with interview participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The interview participants
were asked to assess the findings for accuracy and provide their approval. Ultimately, credibility
was established by properly documenting the experiences of the study’s participants (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015).
Validity and Reliability
According to Creswell (2015), the credibility of findings must be verified and maintained
throughout the study. The credibility of findings is accomplished by assessing and ensuring the
validity of the study by introducing specific procedures for monitoring the accuracy of the
study’s findings (Creswell, 2015). In addition, the reliability of the study is contingent on the
researcher’s ability to cross-reference his/her approach with the works of other researchers to
ensure a state of consistency (Creswell, 2015; Gibbs, 2007). Ensuring the accuracy of the
findings can be accomplished by adopting validity strategies and implementing these strategies
into the research study (Creswell, 2015). Although there are multiple procedures to verify the
validity of the findings, Creswell (2015) recommended the implementation of the following:
triangulation; member checking; rich and detailed description; identifying the researcher bias;
presenting discrepant information; conducting the study for a prolonged period of time; peer
debriefing; and inviting a peer to debrief the study and its findings.
Triangulation within the research study can be accomplished by cross-checking the data
gathered from the interviews, observations, and artifacts and documents (Creswell, 2015;
Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Through the triangulation procedure, themes within the collected data
can be identified (Creswell, 2015). Member checking is an important component employed to
increase the trustworthiness of the researcher while at the same time, strengthening the validity
of the study by granting study participants the opportunity to critique the interpretation of the
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 62
findings and checking for accuracy (Creswell, 2015). The researcher ensured that findings
presented were detailed and rich in manner, and by doing so, readers were able to fully
understand the context of the findings (Creswell, 2015). Although the researcher is willing and
able to share research findings, the threat of researcher bias may be evident. To combat this form
of bias, the researchers should engage in reflective activities to fully articulate their interpretation
of the phenomena and findings while at the same time, sharing the factors within their
background that helped shape this interpretation (Creswell, 2015).
The purpose of the study and the interpretation of data aimed for preconceived and
desired results. Despite the existence of reaching a particular conclusion based on the findings,
the gathered data may not always support or strengthen the identified themes within the findings.
It is important for the researcher to identify information that runs counter to the desired outcomes
of the study (Creswell, 2015). By doing so, the trustworthiness of the researcher is strengthened
by his/her honesty, and also, validity is ensured. Although the study is not longitude, the
knowledge and experience of the researcher is important because he/she may be able to articulate
their commitment to the study and can provide additional insight into the background of the
study’s narrative (Creswell, 2015). By developing a complete picture of the background of the
study and its findings, peer debriefing can occur to assess the quality of the qualitative study and
ask questions to clarify aspects of the study (Creswell, 2015). In addition, an external auditor can
increase the validity of the study by reviewing the research study in its entirety (Creswell, 2015).
For example, the external auditor will assess the connection between the findings, research
questions, and the interpretation of data (Creswell, 2015). Ultimately, the validity strategies will
not only ensure the accuracy of the findings but also, can hold the researcher accountable and
reduce the ever-present threat of researcher bias.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 63
In conjunction with validity, reliability within the study is used as an instrument for
ensuring a state of consistency with the approach and procedures that were used to gather data by
cross-referencing the researcher’s procedures with the procedures and works of other researchers
who have conducted similar studies (Creswell, 2015; Gibbs, 2007). The cross-referencing of
procedures can be accomplished by accurately recording each procedural step and creating a
database so that the study can be replicated and compared to the procedural steps adopted in
other studies (Creswell, 2015; Yin, 2009). To ensure the reliability of the study’s findings, Gibbs
(2007) recommended a constant review of the transcripts and verifying the consistency of the
definition of codes related to the study. In addition, the concept of creating an intercoder
agreement with another researcher who can cross-check codes related to the study may prove to
be difficult because the study does not have multiple researchers and in reality, will rely on the
interpretation of data by one researcher (Creswell, 2015; Gibbs, 2007).
According to Maxwell (2013), purposeful sampling may be used in qualitative studies
because it grants the researcher the opportunity to identify and select participants who can
provide information that is relevant to the research questions and desired outcomes of the study.
Non-random, purposive sampling was ideal for this study because Innovation High’s population
is rather small. In addition, the purposeful sampling was relevant to this study because
Innovation High represents a typical high school where interactions between academic
counselors, administrators, students, and teachers are normalized (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). In
addition, the confidence in the size of the sample will be confirmed when the information
received from study participants becomes redundant and offers little to no new information
relative to the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 64
Although Innovation High is a relatively small high school when compared to local
public and private high schools, the threat of a low response rate was real. As the former college
counselor who recently held the position of director of admissions, the students are familiar with
the researcher, and over the past five years, the faculty and staff have grown aware of the
researcher’s interest in identifying areas for growth within the academic counseling department.
This familiarity and common interest in the success of Innovation High influenced individuals to
participate in the study (Fink, 2013). The size of Innovation High’s population may create an
obstacle as participants complete the interviews because of a concern for confidentiality. To
address this concern, Fink (2013) recommends ensuring the participants that their safety and
confidentiality is of the utmost importance. In addition, the participants were provided with a
description of the study and how their responses to the interviews were used to inform the
findings (Fink, 2013).
Ethics
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), validity, reliability, and ethics serve as
foundational components of research studies. The collection and interpretation of data,
dissemination of findings, and confidentiality of participants requires a researcher to behave in
an ethical manner (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). By engaging in ethical practices, researchers
ensure the trustworthiness, validity, and reliability of their data. Data collection through rigorous
methods and analysis, coupled with the credibility of the researcher provides a pathway towards
achieving the credibility of qualitative research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015; Patton, 2015).
Ultimately, the researcher’s intellectual thought process, experience, and training ensure the
integrity, ethical nature, and credibility of the data collected through qualitative research
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2015).
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 65
In relation to my qualitative research study, I maintained and strengthened my credibility
as a researcher. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2015), institutions, professional
organizations, and the federal government have implemented policies to ensure ethical behavior
when studies involve human participants. To conduct my interviews and gather data, I
interviewed four academic counselors from Innovation High. To protect the four academic
counselors and maintain my credibility as a researcher, I submitted my study for approval from
the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Southern California. Based on the
recommendations of the IRB, I promise to continue to protect the confidentiality, rights, and
overall welfare of the participants in my research study by adhering to the rules and regulations
of the IRB. Engaging in ethical behavior while protecting the confidentiality and welfare of
participants within the research study is important.
According to Glesne (2011), informed consent forms protect the study participant from
unethical behavior by granting a safety net. By providing the informed consent form at the
beginning of the interview, study participants were properly informed of their voluntary status
within the study, received assurance that their personal information and responses would remain
confidential and that they had the right to conclude their participation at any point without
penalty (Glesne, 2011). In addition, the informed consent forms provided study participants with
a detailed description and outline about the purpose of the research study, the importance of their
role within the study, the methods for collecting data, and the steps that would be taken to ensure
that the data collected would be protected and not accessed by any additional parties. Study
participants were asked to sign the informed consent form to ensure their understanding of their
rights. I also provided my contact information and the contact information for my dissertation
chair. Innovation High is a relatively small high school, and as a result, random sampling is not
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 66
a possibility. Therefore, it is essential that the responses of the participants remained confidential
and their identities protected because the interviews had the possibility of uncovering honest and
potentially brutal assessments of Innovation High. The identity and responses of each participant
were uniquely coded. Before the start of each interview, participants were asked to permit me to
audio record the interview. If the participant elected not to grant their permission, the interview
continued with handwritten notes, and the participant did not face any negative consequences. In
addition, at the conclusion of each interview, I provided participants with the opportunity to
receive a transcript of the interview and review the notes to ensure that I had accurately
documented their responses. If a participant was unhappy with the information documented and
shared, they had the right to rescind their permission. The four participants were satisfied with
the documentation.
After receiving permission and ensuring that I had the confidence and trust of each
participant, I provided a detailed plan for securing the transcripts from the interview. In
accordance with the IRB, handwritten notes were stored in a locked safe and I was the only
person with knowledge of the lock combination and key (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). The audio
recordings and digital transcripts were stored on a computer that is password protected and under
an encrypted computer file that requires a password to access (Rubin & Rubin, 2012). I provided
the participants with insight into the storage process and also, informed them that at the
conclusion of the research, the transcripts would be protected and stored for a three-year period.
After the three-year period, I intend to destroy the hard copy transcripts and delete the digital
files.
Throughout the interview phase of the research study, I explained to the participants that
there is not an incentive for participating in the study. I did not want participants to become
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 67
distracted by the thought of a reward for their participation while at the same time, I did not want
them to fill obligated to participate. Instead, I provided participants with an unexpected thank
you card and invited them to lunch at the conclusion of the study.
Limitations and Delimitations
The study’s limitations included the sample size, the number of interviews and
observations, limited artifacts and documents, and the overall truthfulness of the participants.
The observations and documents served as an instrument of triangulation to validate the data
collected during the interviews. Ultimately, an extensive review of the available documents, the
notes from multiple observations, and the digital transcript were rigorously reviewed to ensure
that the collected data appropriately addressed this study’s needs.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 68
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences that impact Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to effectively
provide college readiness counseling and successfully fulfill Innovation High’s organizational
goal. Innovation High’s organizational goal is to achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to
four-year postsecondary institutions. The following research questions guided this study:
1.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to effectively provide college
readiness counseling?
2.) What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that impact
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to successfully fulfill the
organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions?
3.) What are the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions?
Data collected through document analysis, observations, and one-on-one interviews
addressed the research questions. The data analysis and findings related to the first and second
research questions will be presented in this chapter. Chapter five will address the findings related
to the third research question.
Participating Stakeholders
The sampling strategy adopted for this qualitative study was purposeful and specifically,
convenience sampling. Purposeful and convenience sampling was appropriate for this qualitative
study because qualitative data will provide in-depth insight into the attitudes and values that
influence the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that impact Innovation High’s
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 69
academic counselors and their ability to provide effective college readiness counseling and their
ability to fulfill the organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-
year postsecondary institutions. (Creswell, 2015; Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The participating
stakeholder group for this study was the four, full-time academic counselors at Innovation High.
As members of the counseling department, the academic counseling responsibilities were divided
into the following: (a) one freshmen counselor; (b) one sophomore and junior counselor; (c) one
senior counselor; and, (d) one international student counselor. The four academic counselors
represented an extensive amount of experience as academic counselors and educators at
Innovation High and other educational institutions. As study participants, the four academic
counselors participated in a one-on-one interview with a range of 31 to 42 minutes and each
counselor was observed conducting academic counseling for 30 minutes. In addition, the agenda
from 20 daily counseling department meetings and job descriptions for each counseling position
were analyzed.
Overview of Findings
The study’s findings identified three factors that impact Innovation High’s academic
counselors and their ability to effectively provide college readiness counseling and successfully
fulfill the organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions. The three identified factors included: the academic counselor’s
complex professional identities; Innovation High’s limited professional development
opportunities; and Innovation High’s inadequate organizational resources and support.
In addition, the study’s findings were compared to the literature review and conceptual
framework to determine whether the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs
were validated or not validated by the data. The assumed knowledge, motivation and
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 70
organizational needs were expected to be present in the responses of three out of the four
academic counselors to achieve a validated state. The assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational needs were validated in the following: academic counselor’s procedural
knowledge, attribution, and Innovation High’s cultural model and cultural setting.
Factors Currently Impacting Innovation High Academic Counselor ’s Delivery of College
Readiness Counseling
The identification of the factors that impact Innovation High’s academic counselors and
their ability to provide college readiness counseling effectively and successfully fulfill the
organizational goal of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions allowed for the academic counselor’s knowledge, motivation, organizational needs to
be determined. The identified factors created barriers for the academic counselors and threatened
the academic counselor’s ability to achieve the competency that was needed to effectively
provide college readiness counseling and fulfill Innovation High’s organizational goal. Through
the analysis of data gathered from the interviews, observations and artifacts/documents, the
following three major factors that impact Innovation High’s academic counselors were
identified:
1. Academic counselor’s complex professional identities.
2. Innovation High’s limited professional development opportunities.
3. Innovation High’s inadequate organizational resources and support.
Academic Counselor ’s Complex Professional Identities
Innovation High’s academic counselors experience complex professional identities
because of the increased demand for inappropriate, non-academic counseling related
responsibilities and daily activities. In addition to fulfilling their daily academic counseling
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 71
responsibilities that include monitoring the academic progress of students on their caseload,
providing academic guidance by meeting with students on an individual basis, and establishing
academic plans, Innovation High’s academic counselors are expected to perform administrative
responsibilities. The academic counselors are expected to administer standardized examinations,
serve on campus committees, attend non-counseling related meetings, and manage the library
throughout the school day. The four academic counselors admitted that their initial job
description has expanded on an annual basis and the additional responsibilities have limited their
opportunities to engage students and provide academic and college readiness counseling. The
increase in non-academic counseling responsibilities and the relative absence of a definitive job
description have created confusion among the four academic counselors regarding their expected
role within the institution and their professional identities as academic counselors. This finding is
consistent with the existing research literature. According to Janson (2009), academic counselors
are forced to prioritize their daily activities and may experience role confusion regarding the
importance of appropriate, academic counseling and inappropriate, non-academic counseling
related duties. As a result, increased role expectations within the institution may drive the
academic counselor to postpone or sacrifice their academic counseling duties and dedicate more
of their efforts towards non-academic related activities (Janson, 2009).
The four academic counselors interviewed expressed their concern with the
inappropriate, non-academic counseling duties because of its impact on their ability to fulfill
their professional role as academic counselors and provide college readiness counseling. Three
of the four academic counselors admitted that a majority of their daily activities were spent on
non-academic counseling activities. To illustrate the daily experience of the academic
counselors, David expressed:
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 72
I would say, about 30% of my day is actually counseling students. The other 70% of the
day, I am estimating, is covered by a lot of different things, which would include
meetings that I attend. I have some standing weekly meetings that I am obligated to go to.
I have some committees that I serve on. There are specific events that I am responsible
for on campus. For example, the PSAT testing, which I am responsible for. It takes a lot
of hours of preparation and follow through. From my experience, it is usually one event
after another. It is exhausting and I am not able to meet with my students, as often as I
would like, because the planning takes so much of my time.
David’s daily non-academic counseling duties limited his ability to serve as an academic
counselor and perform his academic counseling responsibilities. The constant demand to
organize, plan and execute different campus events created barriers and required David to
prioritize his time and daily activities. As a result, David was forced to sacrifice college
readiness counseling.
In addition to David’s experiences, Sarah shared her experiences with inappropriate non-
academic counseling related duties and confusion regarding her professional identity within
Innovation High. Sarah described the following experience:
I was not hired to be an academic counselor. I was hired to manage the international
student program. My first year, I was managing the international student program and
then, halfway through the year, I was told that I was also going to be an academic
counselor. I was under the impression that an administrator would take charge of the
international student program and I would serve as the academic counselor. It has been
three years and I am expected to fulfill both positions. There is a lot of pressure for me to
meet with students but I do not have the time. Recruiting new international students is a
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 73
full-time job. My international students need my academic guidance but I will be honest,
only about 10% of my time is spent on academic counseling. It bothers me because I was
told that I should dedicate most of my time to college readiness counseling because that
is my so-called official job title.
The statements presented by David and Sarah reflect the general attitude and perceptions
of the four academic counselors. The four academic counselors expressed that they felt pressure
from administrators to adopt a larger role within the institution and this larger role was often
forced upon them. The academic counselors shared their confusion about their role within
Innovation High and whether they would be able to dedicate a majority of their time to assist
students or continue to perform administrative duties.
Innovation High ’s Limited Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development is an essential component to strengthening an academic
counselor’s ability to engage in effective college readiness counseling and increase student
matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions. The concept of continuing education
and the availability of professional development opportunities allow for academic counselors to
learn and adopt innovative and effective methods for conducting college readiness counseling for
low-income and ethnic minority students, and address deficiencies in student achievement
(Anctil, Smith, Schenck, & Dahir, 2012). Academic counselors participating in professional
development opportunities are afforded the opportunity to collaborate, learn and share successful
academic counseling practices with academic counselors from different schools and districts
(Anctil et al., 2012). The impact of encouraging academic counselors to participate in
professional development opportunities can positively influence the effectiveness of college
readiness counseling and student matriculation outcomes to four-year postsecondary institutions.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 74
Innovation High’s four academic counselors expressed a desire to participate in professional
development opportunities and a need for more training in academic counseling. The four
academic counselors agreed that there are limited professional opportunities within Innovation
High and as an organization, there is minimal encouragement and support for those who would
like to participate in continuing education programs and conferences. During his interview,
David expressed:
I would say that professional development opportunities or any type of training for the
academic counselors have not been a priority or main focus for Innovation High. We do
not have a clear plan for using professional development to strengthen college readiness
counseling, and if you look at our participation [in professional development], we send
our counselors to the same two conferences every year.
Andrew agreed:
It is a struggle to gain approval for professional development. I have been told that we do
not have the money to cover the cost of the conference or if I attend a conference, the
school will cover the registration, but I will need to cover the transportation and every
other expense. It is tough and a headache. I decided to stick to the conference at one of
the local colleges. It helps me counsel students that want to attend that specific college
but what about the other students? I am not familiar with the Common Application, and
many of our students apply to college through the Common Application. I need to learn
about how the application has changed, but I am discouraged from spending the school’s
money. I wish they would just say yes and they can even place a maximum dollar amount
for our department. At least we would know that we could explore professional
opportunities and might hear yes.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 75
Rick shared a similar experience:
We know professional development opportunities exist. The school does not promote
them so if we want to go, we have to dedicate time to researching conferences and
trainings. It can be discouraging because these conferences can be expensive and I will
probably be told no. I believe attending a few conferences every year or even in the
summer would help me provide college readiness counseling to my boys.
The four academic counselors found value in participating in professional development
opportunities because of the potential for career growth and positive impact on their ability to
effectively engage in college readiness counseling. Ultimately, the academic counselors shared
their belief that professional development needed to be a priority for Innovation High.
Innovation High ’s Inadequate Organizational Resources and Support
Innovation High’s inadequate organizational resources and support were a concern
expressed by all four academic counselors. During their respective interviews, the four academic
counselors shared insight into the impact of inadequate organizational resources and support on
their ability to engage in college readiness counseling and the institution’s ability to achieve a
100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Although the academic
counselors identified some areas for additional resources and support, the two most common
responses amongst the academic counselors highlighted the need for increased funding and
support for the college tour program and also, technology upgrades. According to the four
academic counselors, access to adequate organizational resources and support would allow them
to achieve their stakeholder and organizational goal by eliminating a common barrier to
forwarding progress within the counseling department and overall organization. In support of the
academic counselor’s assertion, Clark and Estes (2008) argued that the availability of necessary
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 76
resources allows team members to become empowered, eliminates organizational barriers, and
allows for organization to meet goals.
Although the one-on-one interviews did not include a specific question on the college
tour program, all four academic counselors used the opportunity to address their concern over the
lack of funding and support for the college tour program. The college tour program was designed
to expose 11
th
and 12
th
-grade students to college and university campuses by having the
academic counselors organize and schedule the tours. According to Rick:
We [college counselors] believe in the effectiveness of the college tour program because
the boys are able to picture themselves on the college campus and figure out if the college
is the right fit. Unfortunately, we [academic counselors] organize college tours and then
we find out, we do not have the funds to cover the travel expenses and we’ve had to
cancel so many tours. The boys become disappointed and it is counter-productive.
To further illustrate this point, David argued:
As academic counselors, we are consistently told that we need to be thinking about four-
year colleges and universities by the Board of Trustees. As a department, we agree that
college tours will help out matriculation rates to four-year colleges because research
supports the idea that kids who visit colleges and universities, will lean towards pursuing
admission to the colleges they have visited. We know that but our Board [of Trustees]
ignores our requests for funding. They [Board of Trustees] say that they support us but
when it comes to resources, we do not receive any resources from them. This happens all
the time.
The four academic counselors believe that their inability to successfully lead and receive
adequate funding for a college tour program has a direct impact on their effectiveness in
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 77
delivering college readiness counseling and has a negative impact on student matriculation to
four-year postsecondary colleges and universities. During the observational phase of this study, it
was evident that all of the students participating in the observed counseling sessions had not
visited a college or university. Sarah shared, “most of my students know the local colleges, but
they have never stepped foot on campus. These kids are applying to schools based on pictures
and for many of them, their parents have never stepped foot on these campuses either”. The four
academic counselors expressed concern regarding their student’s over-reliance on recruitment
materials and pictures in deciding which college or university to apply to.
In addition to the academic counselor’s concerns regarding inadequate resources and
support, three of the four academic counselors expressed the need for upgraded computers and
internet service at Innovation High. The three academic counselors shared their experiences with
attempting to upload a college website, recruitment brochure, and admissions video in front of a
student and his parents, and being unable to do so because the technology was not operating
properly. The constant need to reset a computer and inconsistent internet service interrupted the
academic counselors and their ability to engage in college readiness counseling. Andrew shared
the following experience:
I had been discussing the University of Nevada’s amazing website with a student and his
mom. I was telling them how interactive it is and how easy it is to navigate the site. I
wanted to show them the civil engineering page and a really cool video displaying their
earthquake simulation lab. I typed in the website and it literally took close to five minutes
to finally reach the civil engineering page, I had to refresh the page multiple times. Then,
the earthquake simulation video would not play because the program was outdated. It was
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 78
frustrating and embarrassing. I mean, I am trying to convince this family that this is a
great university and I can’t even show them.
Sarah agreed with Andrew by stating:
We are a pre-engineering school. Technology is what we do here but we can’t even get
computers that function properly. I have to bring my personal laptop to work and
download the contents at home if I want to show students something online because our
computers are old and slow. I remember trying to download the digital copy of a students
completed Common Application so that I could review it prior to submission, and I
couldn’t. The damn office computer would not allow it to download. How effective can I
be if I can’t access basic college materials?
The outdated computers and inconsistent internet service have a negative impact on the
academic counselors and their ability to engage in college readiness counseling. The academic
counselors shared that they have communicated their frustrations and needs to the administrators
but in their opinion, the requests were ignored. The absence of adequate and properly operating
technology equipment is problematic because, in the fall semester, the academic counselors
attempt to lead online college application workshops during the lunch period for students, yet the
computers and inconsistent internet create hurdles. David expressed the following: “I am fed up.
I have attempted to host application workshops for the Cal State’s and most of the computers, we
can’t even access the CSU website”. According to the academic counselors, many of Innovation
High’s students do not have computer accessibility at home and rely on the computers in the
library to complete homework assignments, research colleges and universities, and apply to
postsecondary institutions. Inadequate organizational resources and support create additional
barriers for the academic counselors and negatively impacts their ability to engage in effective
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 79
college readiness counseling and increase student matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Innovation High’s academic counselors and their ability to engage in effective college
readiness counseling and increase the student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions were impacted by the following factors: the academic counselor’s complex
professional identities; Innovation High’s limited professional development opportunities; and
Innovation High’s inadequate organizational resources and support. The identification of the
three factors impacting the academic counselors and their fulfillment of the stakeholder and
organizational goals highlighted the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
Innovation High’s academic counselors need to engage in effective college readiness counseling
and increase student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. The specific
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs of Innovation High’s academic counselors will
be addressed in the subsequent sections.
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Needs
In this study, a majority of the knowledge, motivation and organizational needs of
Innovation High were validated and supported by existing literature. The academic counselors
possessed the declarative and metacognitive knowledge, therefore, this influence was
invalidated. Innovation High academic counselors experienced a deficiency in procedural
knowledge and attribution. In addition, the Innovation High’s organizational needs were
validated because of deficiencies in organizational culture, a culture of unsupportive leadership,
ineffective work processes, and inadequate access to organizational resources. The validated
knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs impacted Innovation High’s academic
counselors and their ability to provide effective college readiness counseling, and successfully
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 80
achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Knowledge Needs
In this study, the assumed knowledge evaluated included Innovation High academic
counselor’s knowledge of the barriers that negatively influence a student’s matriculation to a
four-year postsecondary institution (declarative knowledge), the ability to introduce college
readiness counseling into daily counseling activities (procedural knowledge), and an awareness
of their comfortability with engaging in college readiness counseling (metacognitive
knowledge).
Declarative knowledge. Academic counselors serve as the gatekeepers to postsecondary
education and for many ethnic minorities, first-generation, and low-income students, academic
counselors are the main source of relevant knowledge related to the college admission process
(Belasco, 2013; McDonough, 2005; Tierney & Venegas, 2009). As an institution that serves
students from disadvantaged backgrounds, it is essential for Innovation High’s academic
counselors to understand the barriers that negatively impact student matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions because identifying and overcoming the obstacles endured by students
from disadvantaged backgrounds as they navigate the college admission process produces
positive outcomes in four-year postsecondary matriculation (Belasco, 2013). In this study, the
four academic counselors did possess the declarative knowledge needed to engage in effective
college readiness counseling with students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The four academic
counselors were familiar with the impact of financial hardship as it related to a student’s ability
to apply to and visit colleges and universities and were able to identify or describe specific
strategies for addressing additional barriers faced by students from ethnic minority, first-
generation, and low-income backgrounds. According to Sarah, “my approach is different for all
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 81
students. I try my best to tailor my college readiness counseling activities based on the hardships
faced by specific groups of students”. In support of Sarah’s statement, Andrew stated:
It is absolutely necessary for us to know where our students are coming from because if
we don’t we won’t be able to help them. It is dangerous to assume that all students have
the same opportunities because many of the boys will begin to self-filter because of the
sticker shock of what colleges cost today. Also, many of our boys are first-generation,
and they need a lot of help, especially when it comes to filling out applications, if I left it
to them, they would not apply to college because some applications can be difficult, we
need to do a lot of hand-holding.
The presence of the academic counselor’s declarative knowledge on the barriers that
negatively influence a student’s matriculation to a four-year postsecondary institution grants the
invalidation of the assumed declarative knowledge needs.
Procedural knowledge. Three of the four academic counselors did not have the
procedural knowledge needed to introduce college readiness counseling into their daily
counseling activities. Academic counselors are often excluded from the policy decision-making
process and their exclusion impacts their ability to have the resources, time and support to
successfully introduce college-readiness counseling into their daily activities (Stone-Johnson,
2015). Innovation High’s academic counselors struggled with introducing college readiness
counseling into their daily counseling activities because the academic counselors felt that they
were limited by the expectations of the institution’s administrators and were discouraged from
spending “too much” time with students because of the “other” demands of their job. The
academic counselors were hesitant regarding their ability to successfully introduce college
readiness counseling into their daily activities because they did not have the time, resources, or
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 82
support to develop innovative initiatives to assist their students in becoming college-ready. For
example, David stated:
I have a difficult time introducing college readiness counseling into my daily activities
because my daily activities vary. There is a degree of uncertainty, and every day I am not
confident that I will be able to meet with my students. Decisions are made by
administrators and in the morning, I receive an email stating that I need to join this
committee or that I need to assist with this project. I want to spend my days helping
students but I feel like I will be judged for not participating in other activities, even
though I am an academic counselor. I simply do not have time and when I do have time, I
am meeting with students to discuss their grades or missing assignments, and not
introducing college readiness counseling.
To further support David’s statement, information gathered from the observation of
counseling sessions with students suggest that the academic counselors endure strict limitations
in time and during counseling sessions, the academic counselors addressed the immediate
academic needs of the student rather than college readiness. Ultimately, the academic
counselor’s inability to know how to introduce college readiness counseling into their daily
counseling activities allows for the validation of the assumed procedural knowledge needs.
Metacognitive knowledge. The metacognition of the academic counselors serves as an
essential component in identifying effective and unique strategies for establishing goals and
engaging students in counseling interventions (Wilkinson, 2011). Academic counselors may be
uncomfortable with providing college readiness counseling because they do not have trust in
their level of knowledge regarding the college admission process, college and university
requirements, and their ability to identify the appropriate postsecondary institutions for their
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 83
students (Jordan & Kelly, 2004). Innovation High’s academic counselors acknowledged the
degree of comfort they had with engaging in college readiness counseling. The four academic
counselors shared that they were very comfortable with engaging in college readiness counseling
because they trusted their knowledge and also, were confident in their ability to provide students
with accurate information and direction. In addition, the four academic counselors understood
how their level of comfort with college readiness counseling could have a direct impact on their
effectiveness as academic counselors and were determined to be actively engaged in college
readiness counseling. The academic counselors also admitted that their comfort with college
readiness counseling had a direct impact on four-year postsecondary matriculation rates. The
awareness of the academic counselors regarding their impact on performance outcomes due to
their high degree of comfortability was further articulated by the following statement made by
David:
I know that I am an academic counselor and I have the experience to show for it.
Innovation High has very high expectations for the counseling department and what we
are supposed to achieve on an annual basis. I am comfortable with providing college
readiness counseling but I do not have the time nor the resources to expand my
knowledge or invest in meeting with students. I have not been able to participate in
professional development opportunities so I do my best to visit different college-related
websites to stay updated. Despite my college counseling knowledge, I am in no way an
expert, I have a lot more to learn. In fact, I have been focused on trying to improve my
college readiness counseling efforts. I am familiar with a lot of the local colleges but I am
working to improve my ability to identify the right fit for many of my students because I
am often times learning about a particular college at the exact same time.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 84
In addition, Sarah shared:
I am very comfortable with college readiness counseling, if I had the time, of course. I
am not satisfied with my level of knowledge, I want to learn more so that I can continue
to help my students. I try my best to learn about college requirements but I have a lot
more to learn. I usually look at websites about college counseling and I have spoken to
counselors at other schools to get ideas from them. I’ll admit, I try my best to provide
college readiness counseling, I am comfortable with it but I am obsessed with learning
more.
Based on the observations, the four academic counselors appeared to be comfortable with
engaging in college readiness counseling. The academic counselors were able to respond to
college-related questions posed by students and offered their students some resources to help
guide them through the college application and planning process. The academic counselors
reviewed the academic progress and completed or updated a graduation check form with each
student. In addition, the academic counselors asked each student a series of questions related to
the colleges and universities that the student intended to apply.
The four academic counselors were able to articulate their high degree of comfortability,
identify the areas to strengthen their degree of comfortability further and have the metacognitive
knowledge to identify their level of comfortability with college readiness counseling. Therefore,
the assumed metacognitive knowledge were not validated.
Motivation Needs
In this study, the assumed motivation needs evaluated addressed Innovation High
academic counselor’s confidence in their ability to engage students and provide effective college
readiness counseling (self-efficacy) and understand that low student matriculation to four-year
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 85
postsecondary institutions is due to their deficiencies and efforts as academic counselors
(attribution).
Self-efficacy. Academic counselors with a high degree of self-efficacy in college
readiness counseling are more effective in their delivery of college readiness counseling and
produce positive student outcomes (Bodenhorn et al., 2010). Self-efficacious academic
counselors are more persistent in their delivery of college readiness counseling interventions,
establish ambitious goals for their students, and develop innovative techniques for achieving
performance goals (Bodenhorn et al., 2010; Mullen & Lambie, 2016; Scarborough, 2005). The
self-efficacy of Innovation High’s academic counselors varied from average self-efficacy to high
self-efficacy. Three of the four academic counselors shared their experiences with a strong sense
of high self-efficacy in their ability to engage students and provide effective college readiness
counseling. In particular, David, Sarah, and Rick described their degree of self-efficacy in the
delivery of college readiness counseling as above 75% as compared to Andrew, who expressed a
degree of self-efficacy slightly above 50%. In their respective interviews, Rick and Sarah were
willing to express their high self-efficacy in great detail. Rick shared the following experience:
I have been a counselor for many years and I will be honest, I consider myself to have
high self-efficacy when it comes to college readiness counseling. Over the years, I have
done my homework and I am well prepared to guide students because I have spent my
summers researching colleges and universities. As a veteran counselor, I have personally
witnessed the impact of high expectations that our administrators force on us and that has
forced me to acquire more knowledge of the colleges because I enjoy my job and I find
my ability to guide students to be an awarding experience. I have made it a point to
develop a strong understanding of the college admission process and what it takes to gain
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 86
admission into the more competitive universities. I use the College Board website as a
resource to identify universities and I encourage my students to create an account and
learn how to search for the perfect college.
To further articulate her high self-efficacy with college readiness counseling, Sarah shared:
I am confident in my abilities to help students identify colleges. Although I have only
visited a few college campuses, I have borrowed a lot of information from Rick. Rick has
definitely accumulated a high volume of college-related knowledge over the years so
whenever I have a question, I turn to him. I spend a lot of time online on the weekends,
visiting different college websites so that I can stay updated, even though it is time
consuming and challenging to do. I want to make sure I am advising my students and
helping them move towards the right schools.
Innovation High’s counseling department is comprised of experienced academic
counselors, and three of the four academic counselors experienced high self-efficacy in
performing college readiness counseling. The high self-efficacy experienced by David, Sarah,
and Rick is beneficial for Innovation High because academic counselors who experience low
self-efficacy in providing college readiness counseling may negatively affect college readiness
counseling outcomes (Mullen & Lambie, 2016). Academic counselors with high self-efficacy are
more likely to engage in effective college readiness counseling, and as a result, student
matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions may improve. It is essential and
beneficial for the academic counselors at Innovation High to maintain and improve their strong
sense of high self-efficacy in performing college readiness counseling to be effective and
increase student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions.
The observations identified the degree of self-efficacy experienced by the academic
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 87
counselors. It was evident that David, Sarah, and Rick were well-researched and had a wealth of
knowledge about colleges and universities. Throughout their interactions with students, the three
academic counselors encouraged their students to conduct further research on the colleges that
they had discussed, and if they students had any additional questions, the academic counselors
reminded their students of their availability. While David, Sarah, and Rick illustrated their high
degree of self-efficacy, Andrew appeared to be hesitant in recommending colleges and
universities.
Attribution theory. Academic counselors serve as the gatekeepers to higher education
and those who associate their professional accomplishments and failures with the matriculation
of their students to four-year postsecondary institutions engage in attribution theory. By
understanding that low student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions is a result of
their own professional deficiencies and efforts in the delivery of college readiness counseling,
academic counselors internalize attribution theory and are motivated to engage in effective
college readiness counseling and committed to increasing student matriculation rates to four-year
postsecondary institutions. According to McKillip et al. (2012), academic counselors who
attribute low student matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions as a professional
failure are motivated to empower their students by ensuring that they are accessible to their
students and provide adequate college readiness counseling to address the needs of their students.
Based on the interviews conducted at Innovation High, one of the four academic counselors
attributed the low student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions to his
professional deficiencies and efforts in college readiness counseling. Rick, the one counselor
who engaged in attribution theory, questioned the quality of college readiness counseling
received by students who did not matriculate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Attribution
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 88
theory was exhibited by Rick in the following statement:
I have been doing this job for a long time. I want to see my students succeed and I have
read the research. Students who go directly to four-year colleges are more likely to earn a
degree. Many of our students are from disadvantaged backgrounds, and because I am
familiar with the research, I take their decision to not enroll at a four-year college
personally, especially for my students that need to mature academically. They will be lost
at a community college, and it bothers me to see students with so much potential get lost
in the community college environment. I always wonder if I could have done more to
guide the student, did I exhaust all options or did I concede?
Although Rick attributed low matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions
as a professional failure, the other three academic counselors adopted a different interpretation of
student matriculation to postsecondary institutions. The three academic counselors did not adopt
attribution theory and minimized their role in a student’s decision to attend a two-year college
instead of a four-year postsecondary institution. According to Sarah, “there are external forces
that influence a student’s attitude about where he wants to go to college, we have no control over
that.” In addition, David shared:
I want to help students. If they go to a four-year or two-year college, at least they are
enrolled in a college. Sometimes, a two-year college is appropriate for a student. I do not
take it personally. I know our administrators want the counseling department to only
focus on four-year colleges but I do not believe in forcing students to do something they
may not want to do. I have been doing this job for a long time, I do what I can to help
guide students and I will be honest, it is not my fault if a student goes to a JC [junior
college], it is probably because of the cost or their family.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 89
The absence of attribution theory in the professional identities of three of the four
academic counselors at Innovation High validates attribution theory as a motivation needs within
this study. It is essential for Innovation High’s academic counselors to attribute student
matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institution to their own professional successes and
failures in order to effectively engage in college readiness counseling and increase student
matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Organizational Needs
In this study, the assumed organizational needs evaluated consisted of Innovation High’s
cultural model and cultural setting. The cultural model influences investigated were Innovation
High’s organizational culture and the impact of unsupportive leadership. The cultural setting
influences investigated were Innovation High’s ineffective work processes and inadequate access
to organizational resources. The validation of Innovation High’s organizational needs identifies a
direct correlation to the factors mentioned above that impact the academic counselor’s ability to
effectively provide college readiness counseling and successfully fulfill the organizational goal
of achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Based on
the findings, Innovation High’s organizational culture and setting had a negative impact on the
fulfillment of stakeholder and organizational goals.
Cultural model. Innovation High’s academic counselors understood the organization’s
focus on increasing four-year postsecondary matriculation and the delivery of effective college
readiness counseling. Innovation High’s emphasis on the development of a college-bound and
college-preparatory culture was a widely understood expectation of all faculty and staff
members, yet a breakdown in organizational culture negatively impacted the academic
counselor’s ability to provide effective college readiness counseling and successfully achieve a
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 90
100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. In theory, organizational
culture establishes an outline for how members of the organization are expected to collaborate
and complete tasks related to the fulfillment of the organizational goal (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Innovation High’s organizational culture negatively impacted the academic counselor’s
performance outcomes because there were fundamentally different approaches and philosophies
related to the delivery of college readiness counseling and the establishment of a college-bound
culture between the academic counselors, teachers, and administrators (Scarborough & Culbreth,
2008). According to the four academic counselors, Innovation High’s cultural model needed to
be redefined to ensure that all stakeholder groups within the organization understood their role
and contribution towards the fulfillment of the organizational goal. To illustrate his negative
experiences with Innovation High’s organizational culture, Rick stated:
In faculty and staff meetings, we openly discuss the importance of preparing our students
to meet the demands of colleges and universities. We all understand that. We experience
a significant breakdown in organizational culture when we begin to discuss our roles
within the high school because it seems as if everyone thinks they know what is best to
prepare our students. We are not on the same page. We have teachers discussing two-year
community colleges and technical programs with our students. We have teachers and
administrators who have never attended a Cal State or UC conference that are providing
the wrong advice. Everyone is supposed to be focused on sending our students to four-
year colleges but when we [academic counselors] pull students out of class to attend a
college presentation or participate in a college tour, we receive a nasty and mean email
from some of our teachers. There is a breakdown with how we are supposed to
accomplish the big picture.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 91
David, who had experienced similar resistance from teachers expressed a similar sentiment:
Recently, I have witnessed a number of teachers who attempt to “guilt-trip” students who
leave class fifteen minutes early to attend a college presentation. Some of the teachers
believe the boys should explore colleges on their free time and some refuse to let the boys
out of class to attend a presentation. I have also run into issues with recruiting teachers to
read application essays. I have a handful of teachers who want to help out with college-
related stuff and others who do not want to be bothered. I am not 100% confident that all
of our teachers understand the need to strengthen our student’s educational experience
and how that experience directly impacts how many students attend college. I know it’s
not the teachers fault, it’s our administrators. They haven’t provided the training or
clearly defined how each teacher affects our college-bound culture. I want to believe that
many of our teachers know what we want to accomplish but don’t know how to
positively contribute.
As a department, the academic counselor’s sentiment towards the redefining of
Innovation High’s organizational culture was in agreement with the statements presented by Rick
and David. The academic counselors believed that the teachers did not purposefully oppose
measures to shape a college-bound culture but rather, was the result of poor communication from
administrators and a lack of clarity regarding how each component contributed to the fulfillment
of organizational goals. Innovation High’s ability to redefine its organizational culture is
essential to ensure that all stakeholders positively contribute to the fulfillment of the
organizational goal and support the academic counselor’s ability to provide effective college
readiness counseling and successfully achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 92
Culture of unsupportive leadership. According to Ponec and Brock (2008), school
administrators who are unable to communicate with academic counselors effectively jeopardize
the efficiency and effectiveness of academic counseling programs and initiatives by negatively
impacting the self-efficacy of the academic counselors. The self-efficacy of academic counselors
suffers when school administrators do not establish short-term and long-term goals and do not
introduce strategic approaches towards the fulfillment of organizational goals (Scarborough &
Culbreth, 2008). The four academic counselors mentioned the absence of direction and support
from the administrators. Sarah shared that administrators made general statements about sending
students to college but remained silent on the methods to strengthen a college-bound culture.
Rick expressed concern about the lack of communication and the administrator’s inability to
understand the value of professional development opportunities. The four academic counselors
expressed a need to improve communication with the administrators and receive financial
support for programs such as the college tour and possible, dual enrollment program. The
consensus of the four academic counselors regarding the lack of supportive leadership from
administrators validated Innovation High’s culture of unsupportive leadership.
Ineffective work processes. Innovation High’s four academic counselors expressed the
belief that they spent a majority of their workday engaged in non-counseling related activities.
Their frequent engagement in inappropriate job duties distracted the academic counselors from
providing effective college readiness counseling and limited their ability to successfully achieve
a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Throughout their
respective interviews, the academic counselors shared their desire to dedicate their daily
activities to appropriate, counseling related activities because it would be beneficial to the
fulfillment of organizational goals and also, have a direct impact on their students. The academic
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 93
counselors also shared that the opportunity to focus on counseling related activities would
improve their satisfaction with their career and improve their overall performance as academic
counselors. According to Dodson (2009), academic counselors who can dedicate their efforts to
the delivery of academic advisement are more effective in their performance outcomes and also,
their students achieve greater levels of academic success with matriculation to postsecondary
institutions. For example, Andrew stated, “I feel limited, like I am letting my students down, I
meet with them when I can and I know that isn’t enough”. Sarah shared similar frustration by
adding, “I was hired to do one job, then they moved me to counseling, ok, well, give me the time
to counsel students”. In agreement with Andrew and Sarah, Rick provided the following
statement:
I want to make it clear, I am willing to help the school anyway I can. We all have to make
sacrifices but it seems as if the counseling department is required to make the greatest
sacrifices. We get pulled away from meeting with students because of meetings or
different activities on campus. How am I supposed to get students to college, four-year
colleges if I can’t meet with them? Time is an invaluable resource on campus and we
[academic counselors] clearly don’t have it. I believe that if I had two weeks to focus on
only counseling, I could accomplish a lot with my students. The downside is, I don’t
think that will happen. When I express my concerns, I think it gets interpreted in a
negative way but I am here for the students, not to collect attendance rosters or handle
disciplinary issues.
David expressed the need for a workday engaged in counseling related activities by stating:
We have a lot of room for improvement and growth in our department. We have a lot of
things we need to accomplish, and we aren’t doing a very good job. We need to learn
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 94
more about colleges and how to perform college readiness counseling at a high level but
how can we when we are pulled in multiple directions? I think most of us know where we
can improve but when you are hired to be an academic counselor and then spend a
majority of your day in a different capacity, there is a state of confusion. Like, why am I
here? Then, parents complain that I haven’t met with their sons. I wish they knew what
my workday looked like and they would realize that it isn’t that I don’t want to meet with
them, it’s just that I have no time.
The observations supported the statements of the academic counselors. Throughout many
of their one-on-one counseling sessions with students, the meetings were frequently interrupted
by phone calls from staff members, and on five separate occasions, a meeting with a student was
either before the start of the meeting or the academic counselor ended the meeting early to attend
to the needs of another department. In addition, the roles of the academic counselors were
inconsistent with their job descriptions. It was evident that the academic counselor’s job
descriptions did not take into account the numerous other activities that they engaged frequently.
Ultimately, the academic counselors reached a consensus on the need to improve
ineffective work processes and dedicate more time to counseling-related activities. Non-
counseling related duties jeopardize the academic counselor’s ability to provide college readiness
counseling and in turn, negatively impact the organization’s ability to successfully achieve a
100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Academic counselors
engaged in counseling related activities for a majority of their workday would be able to address
the unique needs of students and foster an environment dedicated to a college-bound culture. The
findings are further supported by Dodson’s (2009) argument that academic counselors who can
perform appropriate job duties are more innovative in their counseling techniques and employing
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 95
the adopted techniques to address organizational goals.
Inadequate organizational resources. According to Clark and Estes (2008),
organization’s that can provide highly desired and needed resources that can eliminate
organizational barriers and successfully reach organizational goals. Innovation High’s four
academic counselors shared their concerns and experiences with inadequate resources,
specifically focusing on the need for funding and support for the college tour program and
technology upgrades. The four academic counselors believed that the absence of adequate
resources jeopardized their ability to engage in effective college readiness counseling and
negatively impacted their ability to achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions. Andrew stated, “It’s disappointing to realize that our school’s
leadership doesn’t support the college tour program, even though it’s a great resource for college
readiness counseling.” Rick supported Andrew’s statement by articulating, “Visiting college
campuses would motivate students and shape the college readiness dialogue that we engage in.”
Further evidence to support the specific needs of the academic counselors are highlighted at the
beginning of this chapter.
Summary
According to the study’s findings, six of the nine knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences experienced gaps and were validated. The gaps in the knowledge
influences suggest that the academic counselors will need to learn how to introduce college
readiness counseling into their daily counseling activities. The academic counselors experienced
gaps in the motivational influences and will need additional support and training to address their
inability to attribute low student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions as a result
of their deficiencies and efforts as academic counselors. The gaps in the organizational
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 96
influences highlighted the need for significant improvements within the organization to
effectively address the identified deficiencies in the organizational culture of Innovation High, a
culture of unsupportive leadership, ineffective work processes, and inadequate access to
organizational resources. To address the knowledge, motivation, and organizational gaps within
Innovation High, chapter five will introduce the recommendations, solutions, and the
implementation of programs based on theoretical principles. In addition, to measure the success
of the recommendations, solutions, and implementation of programs to improve Innovation
High, an integrated evaluation and implementation plan will be introduced.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 97
CHAPTER FIVE: RECOMMENDATIONS, SOLUTIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
In this chapter, the first and second research questions are addressed through the
presentation of findings associated with Innovation High academic counselor’s knowledge,
motivation, and organizational needs to effectively engage in college readiness counseling and
achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. For research
question three, the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions to address
the needs of the academic counselors and fulfill the stakeholder and organizational goals are
discussed. To execute the recommended knowledge, motivation, and organizational solutions,
the New World Kirkpatrick model is adopted as the framework, and an integrated
implementation and evaluation plan is presented (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences
Knowledge Recommendations
The document analysis, interviews, and observations were used to collect and analyze
data that identified the knowledge influences impacting Innovation High academic counselor’s
ability to achieve their stakeholder goal. The knowledge influences were separated into three
distinct knowledge type categories: declarative (factual and conceptual), procedural, and
metacognitive (Krathwohl, 2002). Declarative knowledge addresses the specific knowledge
possessed by the academic counselors, procedural knowledge focuses on how academic
counselors perform, and the metacognitive knowledge acknowledges a person’s cognitive
abilities and functions (Krathwohl, 2002). The validation of the knowledge influences relied on
the frequency of findings within the data collection phase of this study and also, existing research
literature. In Table 5, the assumed knowledge influences were presented with their status as
validated or non-validated. In addition, the knowledge influences were prioritized about their
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 98
ability to impact the achievement of the academic counselor’s stakeholder goal, and theoretical
principles were introduced to guide recommendations.

Table 5
Summary of Knowledge Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need, or
Asset
Validated Yes,
High Probability,
or No (V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Academic counselors need
to have knowledge of the
barriers that negatively
influence student
matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
(C)
NO N
Academic counselors need
to know how to implement
and introduce college
readiness counseling into
their daily counseling
activities. (P)
YES Y The ability to
increase outcomes
when performing
routine tasks relies
on the availability
and accessibility of
information and job
aids (Clark & Estes,
2008).
Innovation High’s
administrators
should provide job
aids related to the
implementation of
college readiness
counseling into the
daily schedules of
the academic
counselors. In
addition, academic
counselors should be
provided with
information sheets
highlighting the
information that
should be covered
during each step of
the college readiness
counseling process.
Academic counselors need
to be aware of their
comfortability with
engaging in college
readiness counseling. (M)
NO N

*Indicate knowledge type for each influence listed using these abbreviations: (D)eclarative = (C)onceptual &
(F)actual; (P)rocedural; (M)etacognitive

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 99
Procedural knowledge recommendations. Academic counselors need to know how to
implement and introduce college readiness counseling into their daily counseling activities. The
opportunity to develop a college readiness culture is dependent on the academic counselor’s
ability to adapt and consistently perform specific procedures for delivering college readiness
counseling to their students. According to Stone-Jackson (2015), academic counselors are
limited in their ability to adopt a standardized approach to college readiness counseling because
of the additional inappropriate job duties that they are required to perform. The absence of time
to allocate to the implementation of college readiness counseling into the daily activities of
academic counselors limits their ability to develop a standardized methodology, or rather, job
aids to inform the discussion during college readiness counseling. The ability to increase
outcomes when performing routine tasks relies on the availability and accessibility of
information and job aids (Clark & Estes, 2008). Therefore, the recommendation is for Innovation
High’s administrators to provide job aids related to the implementation of college readiness
counseling into the daily schedules of the academic counselors. In addition, academic counselors
should be provided with information sheets highlighting the information that should be covered
during each step of the college readiness counseling process.
Motivation Recommendations
The document analysis, interviews, and observations were used to collect and analyze
data that identified the motivation influences impacting Innovation High academic counselor’s
ability to achieve their stakeholder goal. The motivation influences identified were self-efficacy
and attribution theory. According to Clark and Estes (2008), motivation is an essential
component in an individual’s ability to accomplish a goal because motivation impacts an
individual’s ability to initially engage in a goal-oriented activity, the individual’s ability to
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 100
persist at a goal-oriented activity, and the amount of mental effort that an individual is willing to
invest towards the completion of a goal. The validation of the motivation influences relied on the
frequency of findings within the data collection phase of this study and also, existing research
literature. In Table 6, the assumed motivation influences were presented with their status as
validated or non-validated. In addition, the motivation influences were prioritized can impact the
achievement of the academic counselor’s stakeholder goal, and theoretical principles were
introduced to guide recommendations.

Table 6
Summary of Motivation Influences and Recommendations
Assumed Knowledge
Influence: Cause, Need, or
Asset
Validated Yes,
High Probability,
or No (V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Academic counselors need
to have confidence in their
ability to engage students
and provide effective
college readiness
counseling. (Self-Efficacy)
NO N
Academic counselors need
to understand that low
student matriculation to
four-year postsecondary
institutions is due to their
own deficiencies and
efforts as academic
counselors. (Attribution)
YES Y According to
Anderman and
Anderman (2009),
individuals who are
able to attribute the
success or failure of
specific activities to
their own
deficiencies as a
professional are
able to learn,
progress, and
increase their
motivation.
The
recommendation
would focus on the
principal of
Innovation High
providing feedback
to the academic
counselors by
highlighting
deficiencies in
effort, introducing
opportunities for
growth and learning,
and providing the
academic counselors
with the resources
and training to
improve their efforts
in college readiness
counseling
(Anderman &
Anderman, 2009).
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 101
Attributions. Academic counselors need to understand that low student matriculation to
four-year postsecondary institutions is due to their deficiencies and efforts as academic
counselors. According to Anderman and Anderman (2009), academic counselors who can
attribute the success or failure of their students to their deficiencies as a professional academic
counselor can learn, progress, and increase their motivation. The ability to establish and
acknowledge a relationship between performance efforts in the delivery of college readiness
counseling and student matriculation outcomes is essential in the continued professional
development of an academic counselor. The recommendation to address this need would focus
on the principal of Innovation High providing feedback to the academic counselors by
highlighting deficiencies in effort, introducing opportunities for growth and learning, and
providing the academic counselors with the resources and training to improve their efforts in
college readiness counseling (Anderman & Anderman, 2009).
According to Clark and Estes (2008), an individual’s confidence and emotions related to
the activities they are engaged in will have a direct impact on their effectiveness. It is important
for the academic counselors to reflect on the reasons why student matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions is relatively low and identify the factors that impacted student
matriculation (Anderman & Anderman, 2009). The academic counselors must fully understand
their relationship to student matriculation rates, and by doing so, the academic counselor’s
emotions may alter, and they may consider the impact of factors such as locus, controllability,
and stability (Anderman & Anderman, 2009; Weiner, 2006).
Organizational Recommendations
The document analysis, interviews, and observations allowed for the collection of data
and the analysis of this data identified the organizational influences impacting Innovation High
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 102
academic counselor’s ability to achieve their stakeholder goal. The organizational influences
identified were cultural model and cultural setting. The values and adopted practices shared by
members of an organization that shapes the organization’s structure and behavior are referred to
as the cultural model (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). The cultural model influences the
cultural setting of an organization, are visible within the organization and include the daily
activities that members of an organization are engaged in (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001;
Rueda, 2011). This study’s cultural model addressed Innovation High’s organizational culture,
and the impact of unsupportive leadership and the cultural setting focused on ineffective work
processes and inadequate access to organizational resources. The validation of the organizational
influences relied on the frequency of findings within the data collection phase of this study and
also, existing research literature. In Table 7, the assumed organizational influences were
presented with their status as validated or non-validated. In addition, the organizational
influences were prioritized in relation to their ability to impact the achievement of the academic
counselor’s stakeholder goal, and theoretical principles were introduced to guide
recommendations.

Table 7
Summary of Organizational Influences and Recommendations
Assumed
Knowledge
Influence: Cause,
Need, or Asset
Validated Yes, High
Probability, or No
(V, HP, N)
Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
There is a culture of
complacency,
negative attitudes
and resistance by
non-counseling
faculty and staff
towards the
academic
counselor’s attempts
YES Y According to
Knowles (1980),
adults are goal
oriented and as a
result, must
understand the
relevance of
information,
specific tasks or
The
recommendation
would be to engage
faculty and staff
members and
properly articulate
how the activities of
the academic
counselors align
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 103
to introduce new
college readiness
counseling
practices.
requests to their role
within the
organization.
with the vision and
goals of the
organization.
There is a culture of
unsupportive
leadership that
negatively impacts
the self-efficacy of
the academic
counselors and their
effectiveness in
delivering college
readiness
counseling.
YES Y According to
Colqutt, Scott and
LePine (2007),
organizations with a
high degree of
cultural trust and
channels of
communication are
more productive
because of
increased levels of
employee
commitment and
employee
motivation.
Innovation High’s
Board of Trustees
and administrators
should not micro-
manage the
counseling
department. Instead,
Innovation High’s
leadership should
identify a set of
annual goals for the
counseling
department and
encourage the
academic
counselors to
provide feedback
and have an open
channel of
communication.
Academic
counselors are
inundated by non-
academic
counseling activities
and this creates
barriers within the
organization’s work
processes.
Academic
counselors endure
time restrictions that
impact college
readiness
counseling.
YES Y According to
Marzano, McNulty
and Waters (2003),
organizations must
insure that the
resource needs of
their employees are
addressed and by
doing so, there is an
opportunity for an
improvement and
increase in learning
outcomes.
Innovation High’s
principal should
review the daily
workload of the
academic
counselors and
compare their
workload with their
job description. The
principal should
identify ways to
decrease the amount
of non-academic
counseling activities
that the academic
counselors are
expected to
perform.
Academic
counselors do not
have the necessary
resources to
effectively perform
college readiness
counseling and
expand the college
counseling program.
YES Y According to
Marzano, McNulty
and Waters (2003),
organizations must
insure that the
resource needs of
their employees are
addressed and by
doing so, there is an
opportunity for an
improvement and
increase in learning
outcomes.
Innovation High’s
principal will
establish a budget
for college
readiness
counseling
activities. The
requested resources
will be prioritized
based on the
perceived impact on
the college
readiness
counseling program,
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 104
the budget, and the
requested resources
alignment with the
goals of the
counseling
department and
Innovation High.

Organizational culture. The academic counselors believe there is a breakdown in
Innovation High’s organizational culture, specifically with the delivery of college readiness
counseling and the establishment of a college-bound culture. The academic counselors
experience resistance to the adoption of proposed college readiness counseling practices because
of disagreements with non-counseling members within the Innovation High community. There
are deficiencies in the communication of organizational goals and misunderstandings regarding
the necessary methods for achieving organizational goals related to college readiness counseling.
In addition, there is confusion regarding the role of the non-counseling members of the
Innovation High community in successfully fulfilling the organizational goal of achieving a
100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. According to Knowles
(1980), adults are goal oriented and as a result, must understand the relevance of information,
specific tasks or requests to their role within the organization. Therefore, the recommendation is
to engage faculty and staff members and properly articulate how the activities of the academic
counselors align with the vision and goals of the organization.
Culture of unsupportive leadership. The academic counselors believe Innovation High
experiences a culture of unsupportive leadership from administrators and members of the Board
of Trustees. The absence of supportive leadership negatively impacts the self-efficacy of the
academic counselors and jeopardizes their effectiveness in delivering college readiness
counseling to their students (Ponec & Brock, 2008). The academic counselor’s experiences with
unsupportive leadership involve a weak articulation of short-term and long-term goals, limited
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 105
support for professional development opportunities, and a lack of communication between the
academic counselors and the administrators in the creation of organizational goals related to
college readiness counseling. According to Colqutt, Scott, and LePine (2007), organizations with
a high degree of cultural trust and open channels of communication are more productive because
of increased levels of employee commitment and employee motivation. Therefore, the
recommendation is to encourage Innovation High’s Board of Trustees and administrators to not
micro-manage the counseling department. Instead, Innovation High’s leadership should identify
a set of annual goals for the counseling department and encourage the academic counselors to
provide feedback and have an open channel of communication.
Ineffective work processes. The academic counselors believe non-academic counseling
activities inundate them and this creates barriers within the organization’s daily work processes
by limiting the amount of time that the academic counselors can dedicate to providing college
readiness counseling to their students. The academic counselors are unable to develop innovative
methods for addressing the unique college-related needs of their students because they engage in
additional duties that do not involve college readiness counseling (Dodson, 2009). As a result,
Innovation High’s ability to successfully achieve a 100% student matriculation rate is threatened
by the limited opportunities for effective college readiness counseling to be performed.
According to Marzano, McNulty, and Waters (2003), organizations must ensure that the resource
needs of their employees are addressed and by doing so, there is an opportunity for improvement
and increase in learning outcomes. The recommendation is to have Innovation High’s principal
review the daily workload of the academic counselors and compare their workload with their job
description. The principal should identify ways to decrease the amount of non-academic
counseling activities that the academic counselors are expected to perform.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 106
Inadequate organizational resources. The academic counselors believe they do not
have the necessary resources to effectively perform college readiness counseling and expand the
college counseling program. The limited resources offered to the counseling program have a
direct impact on the college tour program, professional development opportunities, the creation
of a dual enrollment program and additional opportunities that can impact a student’s exposure to
four-year postsecondary institutions. Without the necessary resources to fully engage in college
readiness counseling, the academic counselor’s ability to achieve a 100% student matriculation
rate to four-year postsecondary institutions is threatened. In fact, organizational barriers that
jeopardize the fulfillment of organizational goals are eliminated by providing the necessary
resources to employees (Clark & Estes, 2008). According to Marzano et al. (2003), organizations
must ensure that the resource needs of their employees are addressed and by doing so, there is an
opportunity for improvement and increase in learning outcomes. The recommendation is to have
Innovation High’s principal establish a budget for college readiness counseling activities. The
requested resources will be prioritized based on the perceived impact on the college readiness
counseling program, the budget, and the requested resources alignment with the goals of the
counseling department and Innovation High.
Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Implementation and Evaluation Framework
The New World Kirkpatrick Model serves as the adopted framework for this study’s
implementation and evaluation plan (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The adopted framework
within the New World Kirkpatrick Model addresses the misinterpretations associated with the
original version of Kirkpatrick’s Four Level Model of Evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick,
2006) by serving as a modified version that illustrates the evolution of the modern-day
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 107
workplace and learning environment (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Unlike the original
version of Kirkpatrick’s Four Level Model of Evaluation (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006;
Level 1, Reaction; Level 2, Learning; Level 3, Behavior; and Level 4, Results), the New World
Kirkpatrick Model occurs in the reverse order by beginning with Level 4, Results; and
concluding with Level 1, Reaction because of the importance of outcomes and their impact on
organizational goals (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The New World Kirkpatrick Model allows for the introduction of leading indicators to
determine an organization’s ability to achieve identified goals and desired results (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016). The leading indicators include internal and external outcomes, and
assessment metrics (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The New World Kirkpatrick Model’s
framework is built on the following:
1. Level 4, addresses the development of the implementation and evaluation plan by
employing and measuring the impact of leading indicators on the results;
2. Level 3, focuses on the identified critical behaviors and required drivers to
successfully achieve the fulfillment of desired organizational goals;
3. Level 2, assesses the learning that has occurred in relation to a participant’s level of
knowledge, skills, confidence, attitude and commitment; and
4. Level 1, consists of the participants response to the training program by evaluating
their level of engagement, satisfaction, and perception of relevance (Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2016).
Overall, the successful introduction of an implementation and evaluation plan based on the New
World Kirkpatrick Model contributes to the fulfillment of the organizational goals (Kirkpatrick
& Kirkpatrick, 2016).
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 108
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
Innovation High’s mission addresses the need to provide a rigorous, college-preparatory
curriculum that uniquely integrates academic and pre-engineering coursework to a population of
students from underserved communities. A majority of Innovation High’s students are from first-
generation, low-income and ethnic minority backgrounds. In addition to providing educational
opportunities for students from underserved communities, Innovation High’s mission includes
assisting students in their matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions. Throughout the
high school’s sixty-two year history, Innovation High has never achieved a 100% student
matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions and has remained stagnant at 75%. As a
private, Catholic high school, a 75% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions has a direct impact on student recruitment efforts for the incoming freshmen class,
jeopardizes Innovation High’s ability to secure external funding from potential donors and
foundations, and threatens the college-bound and college-preparatory culture on Innovation
High’s campus.
Innovation High’s ability to improve the student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions relies on the delivery of college readiness counseling by the academic
counselors. The stakeholder goal for the academic counselors addresses the need to provide
effective college readiness counseling to achieve the organizational goal of achieving a 100%
student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. This study explored the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact the fulfillment of the
stakeholder and organizational goal. The proposed solutions focus on modeling and training
opportunities for the academic counselors, support from Innovation High’s administrators, and
job aids to address the needs of the academic counselors. The proposed solutions should
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 109
contribute to the academic counselor’s ability to provide effective college readiness counseling
and increase the student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Innovation High’s proposed Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators are presented in
Table 8 and are identified as external and internal outcomes, metrics, and assessment methods.
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), the impact of critical behaviors on the ability
to achieve desired outcomes are tracked and influence the leading indicators ability to measure
favorable and unfavorable outcomes. The introduction of training opportunities, support from
Innovation High’s administrators, and job aids are expected to meet the internal outcomes
successfully, and as a result, the external outcomes are met.

Table 8
Outcomes, Metrics, and Methods for External and Internal Outcomes
Outcome Metric(s) Method(s)
Internal Outcomes
1) Increased academic counselor
self-efficacy in conducting college
readiness counseling.
Three positive/negative examples
of delivering college readiness
counseling per academic counselor.
The principal will monitor and
compare self-efficacy related
responses (positive and negative)
on a monthly basis.
2) Increased academic counselor
competency in delivering college
readiness counseling.
The frequency of academic
counselor engagement in college
readiness counseling during
counseling sessions.
The principal will conduct random
observations of counseling sessions
and discuss findings with each
academic counselor.
3) Increased academic counselor
knowledge of how to engage in and
promote college readiness
counseling.
Positive/negative feedback from
fellow academic counselors.
During a weekly counseling
meeting, one academic counselor
will conduct a mock college
readiness counseling session with
another academic counselor
pretending to be a student. The
remaining two academic counselors
will provide feedback.
4) Increased time for the academic
counselors to strategize about
college readiness counseling
techniques and set goals.
At the beginning of every quarter
(4), the academic counselors will
work together to evaluate existing
techniques for providing college
Establish a specific date and time to
meet and strategize. Develop an
implementation plan and set goals
for the quarter.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 110
readiness counseling and discuss
the adoption of new techniques to
meet the needs of students.
External Outcomes
5) Increased student matriculation
rates to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Collect data from registrar
regarding where transcripts have
been requested to be sent.
Compare annual reports on student
matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
6) Increased number of students
who register and take the ACT/SAT
during their junior year.
The number of students registered
for the ACT/SAT.
Require students to submit a
registration confirmation page and
within one week of the release of
the scores, require students to
submit test scores.
7) Reduce the percentage of
graduating seniors who apply to
community colleges.
The number of four-year
postsecondary applications
completed and submitted.
Require students to submit
documentation show that they have
applied to a four-year
postsecondary institution.
8) Redefined organizational culture
to focus on strengthening the
expectations for student
matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
Schoolwide positive/negative
feedback from faculty, staff,
parents, and students.
Conduct and compare a quarterly
(4) schoolwide survey with all
faculty, staff, parents, and students.

Level 3: Behavior
Critical behaviors. The ability of the academic counselors to provide effective college
readiness counseling and achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions requires the academic counselors to adopt and engage in four essential critical
behaviors. The first critical behavior requires the academic counselors to meet with students on
their caseload to complete a survey that identifies a student’s educational plans after high school.
The second critical behavior requires the academic counselors to complete a roadmap to college
form with each student. The third critical behavior requires the academic counselors to meet with
each student to discuss the completed roadmap to college from throughout the academic year and
update the form, if necessary. The fourth critical behavior requires the academic counselors to
schedule an appointment with the student and his family to discuss the updated roadmap to
college form and engage in college planning. Table 9 provides a list of the specific metrics,
methods, and timing for each of the highlighted critical behaviors.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 111

Table 9
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
Academic counselors are
required to meet with
students on their caseload
to complete a survey that
identifies a student’s
educational plans after
high school.
The number of completed
student surveys.
The principal will assign
each academic counselor
with a caseload of
students.
During the following
months: September,
October, and November.
Academic counselors
need to complete a
roadmap to college form
with each student.
The number of completed
roadmaps with the
identification of desired
colleges and universities.
The principal will track
the completed number of
roadmaps and will require
academic counselors to
maintain detailed notes
from each student
meeting.
During the following
months: September,
October, and November.
Academic counselors are
to meet with each student
to discuss the completed
roadmap to college form
throughout the academic
year and update the form,
if necessary.
The number of student
meetings to discuss the
roadmap.
The principal will require
the academic counselors
to create and submit a
spreadsheet to list all
student meetings. The
spreadsheet should
include the time, date, and
length of meeting.
During the following
months: November,
December, January, and
February.
Academic counselors are
to schedule an
appointment with the
student and his family to
discuss the updated
roadmap to college form
and engage in college
planning.
The number of meetings
with the student and
family.
The principal will require
the academic counselors
to create and submit a
spreadsheet identifying
the time, date and length
of meeting. In addition,
the academic counselor
will be required to submit
notes from the meeting in
the student’s counseling
file.
Throughout the Spring
semester.

Required drivers. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), required drivers are
the processes that ensure accountability within the performance of the critical behaviors.
Innovation High’s administrators must provide the academic counselors with the support and
opportunity to reinforce what the academic counselors have learned through their participation in
college readiness training. The academic counselors are expected to be encouraged by the
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 112
administrators to apply their knowledge acquired from training to their college readiness
counseling activities. In addition, the academic counselor’s ability to successfully achieve
stakeholder and organizational goals should be acknowledged and rewarded by Innovation
High’s administrators. The recommended and required drivers presented in Table 10 support the
critical behaviors of Innovation High’s academic counselors

Table 10
Required Drivers to Support Innovation High Academic Couns e l or ’s Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing Critical
Behaviors
Supported (1,
2, 3, etc.)
Reinforcing
Job aid including a list of four-year
postsecondary institutions based on grade point
average (GPA) range and available majors.
Ongoing 1, 2
Emails to support college readiness counseling
initiatives and organizational goals.
Ongoing 1, 2
Staff meetings to discuss the department’s
progress towards the fulfillment of short-term
and long-term goals.
Weekly 1, 2, 3
Encouraging
Collaboration among the academic counselors. Weekly 1, 2, 3
Feedback and support from the administrators. Ongoing 1, 2, 3, 4
Rewarding
Administrators will acknowledge the successful
fulfillment of short-term and long-term goals at
school-wide meetings.
Quarterly 1, 2, 3, 4
Monitoring
Principal will observe, evaluate and provide
feedback on each counselor’s progress.
Monthly 1, 2, 3, 4
Principal will identify areas of deficiency in the
delivery of college readiness counseling and
create a training program to promote learning.
Monthly 1, 2, 3, 4
Principal will encourage open channels of
communication to identify resource needs and
will address those needs by allocating the
necessary resources to college readiness
counseling.
Monthly 1, 2, 3, 4
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 113

Organizational support. Innovation High’s principal will create an advisory committee
to monitor the monthly progress of the academic counselors. The academic counselor’s ability to
provide effective college readiness counseling and adopt the necessary steps to achieve a 100%
student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions will be evaluated on a quarterly
basis. The committee will address issues related to the inappropriate job duties impeding the
academic counselor’s ability to perform college readiness counseling, strengthen communication
between Innovation High’s leadership and academic counselors, improve leadership’s ability to
articulate the roles of faculty and staff members, clarify organizational goals, and insure that
necessary organizational resources are appropriately allocated.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. At the conclusion of the bi-monthly college readiness counseling
workshops, Innovation High’s academic counselors will be able to:
1. Introduce college readiness counseling into their daily counseling activities.
2. Understand their impact on student matriculation to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
3. Monitor their effectiveness in delivering college readiness counseling through
refection journals.
4. Strengthen communication with administrators regarding needed resources and
organizational goals.
Program. A program for college readiness counseling training for Innovation High’s
academic counselors will fulfill the learning goals. The program for college readiness counseling
training will be held on the second and fourth Saturday of every month for an entire year (24 in
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 114
total). In addition, Innovation High’s principal will schedule bi-weekly meetings with the
academic counselors to discuss the effectiveness of the training program, encourage the
academic counselors to provide feedback and identify additional training opportunities.
Ultimately, the training program and meetings will allow Innovation High to achieve its
organizational goal by identifying and creating actionable items.
The program for college readiness counseling training will focus on identifying
opportunities for the academic counselors to introduce college readiness counseling into their
daily counseling activities and improve the effectiveness in delivering college readiness
counseling to their students. Short-term goals established in-between training sessions, and the
academic counselors will be encouraged to share their opinions and ideas about the training
program with the principal at the bi-monthly meetings to monitor the progress of the academic
counselors.
Although a majority of the knowledge influences were not validated, the training
program will still address important areas of knowledge that are essential components in the
delivery of college readiness counseling and also, will focus on the implementation of college
readiness counseling into the daily counseling activities of the academic counselors. Job aids are
an integral part in the implementation of college readiness counseling, and the academic
counselors will learn how to use job aids to strengthen their performance. In addition, the
training program will provide real-life counseling scenarios to prepare the academic counselors.
The real-life counseling scenarios will allow for the transfer of the newly acquired knowledge to
the daily activities of the academic counselors.
The training program will address the identified and validated motivation influences. The
academic counselors will openly share their understanding and reasons for not attributing student
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 115
matriculation to two-year postsecondary institutions as a reflection of their professional
deficiencies. The group discussion will also encourage the academic counselors to discuss the
topic in great detail and also, receive feedback from the trainers. The ability of the academic
counselors to fully understand the importance of attributing student matriculation rates to their
professional deficiencies is an important component of the training program.
Lastly, the training program will address the identified organizational influences. The bi-
monthly meetings with the principal will allow the academic counselors to share their concerns
regarding the organizational culture and identify issues with communication and support from
Innovation High’s leadership. Academic counselors will also be able to share concerns regarding
inappropriate job duties and request necessary resources for the successful and effective
implementation of the college readiness counseling into their daily counseling activities.
Ultimately, the open channel of communication will allow for the achievement of Innovation
High’s organizational goal.
Components of learning. The ability to effectively solve and overcome barriers that may
jeopardize the achievement of organizational goals requires an individual to apply the declarative
and procedural knowledge acquired through their participation in training programs and
additional methods of learning (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). The acquired declarative and
procedural knowledge must be evaluated to determine whether an individual has acquired the
necessary knowledge to perform one’s role within the organization effectively. In addition, the
evaluation of an individual’s attitude, confidence, and commitment to training programs serves
as an essential component to the fulfillment of organizational goals. To gauge the effectiveness
of Innovation High’s program for college readiness counseling training, identified in Table 11
are the time and evaluation methods and activities for assessing the acquired knowledge.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 116
Table 11
Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge “I know it .”
Declarative knowledge checks using short
answer reflections.
At the conclusion of each workshop, the
academic counselors will be required to reflect on the
session’s topics by responding to three to five short
answer questions.
Knowledge checks through group discussions. The college readiness counseling expert/trainer will
introduce a discussion topic related to college readiness
counseling. The responses of the academic counselors
will be recorded by the trainer through observation
notes and will during every workshop.
Procedural Skills “I can do it right n o w .”
The academic counselors will be required to
solve “real-life” college readiness counseling
related issues/problems on an individual and
group bases (simulated counseling sessions).
During the workshop.
Pre-test on the academic counselor’s
knowledge of the day’s topics.
At the beginning of the workshop.
Post-test on the academic counselor’s
knowledge of the covered topics for the day.
At the conclusion of the workshop.
The trainer will imitate a student seeking
college counseling and on an individual basis,
each academic counselor will provide
guidance. The non-participating academic
counselors will evaluate, observe and offer
feedback.
During the workshop.
Attitude “I believe this is w o r t h w h il e .”
In a group setting, the trainer will observe the
reflection activities by monitoring the
interaction between the four academic
counselors to gauge whether the academic
counselors understand the importance and
benefit of the workshop and the newly
acquired knowledge.
During the workshop.
The trainer will observe group discussions
about the “need” and “importance” of college
readiness counseling.
During the workshop.
Confidence “I think I can do it on the j o b .”
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 117
Confidence related questions on the Likert-
scale survey items.
At the conclusion of each workshop.
Group discussions after every college
readiness counseling activity.
During the workshop.
Commitment “I will do it on the j o b .”
Establish goals for the upcoming school year. During the workshop.
Create an action plan and identify strategies
on how to implement college readiness
counseling.
During the workshop.

Level 1: Reaction
According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016), an essential component of
implementing a training program is the collection of ongoing feedback from participants during
and at the conclusion of their participation in the training program. The collection of ongoing
feedback allows for an evaluation of participant engagement, the opportunity to gauge the
relevancy of the information addressed during the training, and the ability to measure the degree
of satisfaction experienced by the participants about the information that they are learning
(Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016). Ongoing participant feedback allows the leaders within the
training program to modify the existing training to address the needs of the participants
effectively. The methods and timing presented in Table 12 will evaluate the level of engagement,
degree of relevance, and overall satisfaction of Innovation High’s academic counselors towards
the program for college readiness counseling training.
Table 12

Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 118
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Observation by trainer. During the workshop.
Pulse check by the trainer. During the workshop.
Reflection journal. Ongoing, one day after every workshop.
Attendance and participation. Ongoing, during the workshop.
Workshop evaluation. One week after every workshop.
Relevance
Pulse check with academic counselors via one on one
discussions.
During the workshop.
Workshop evaluation. One week after every workshop.
Customer Satisfaction
Pulse check with academic counselors via brief online
satisfaction survey.
One day after every workshop.
Workshop evaluation. One week after every workshop.

Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. The program for college
readiness counseling training will provide workshops on a bi-monthly basis, the second and
fourth Saturday of the month for twelve months. Innovation High’s academic counselors are
required to participate in the bi-monthly training workshops. To evaluate the impact of the
academic counselor’s participation in the workshops about Level 1 outcomes, the workshop’s
trainers will conduct observations of the participants and periodically, perform pulse checks.
Observations will grant the trainers the opportunity to evaluate the academic counselor’s
participation in the workshops while the pulse checks will measure the degree of relevance and
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 119
overall satisfaction with the training experienced by the academic counselors. The workshop’s
trainers will maintain an attendance record for every workshop to monitor the participation of
each participant. In addition, one day after every workshop, the academic counselors will submit
a reflection journal to express their personal feelings towards the relevance of the workshop and
satisfaction with the previous day’s workshop activities.
The program's trainers will evaluate the Level 2 outcomes during the bi-monthly
workshops. During the workshops, the academic counselor’s will be asked to respond to real-life
college readiness counseling scenarios using the techniques learned from their participation in
the workshop, and the trainers will evaluate their performance and application of the information
acquired from the training. The academic counselor’s attitude, commitment, confidence,
knowledge, and skills will also be evaluated by the trainers through discussions addressing the
information covered in the workshop.
The information gathered from the observations, pulse checks, discussions, and reflection
journals will provide the trainers with insight into the impact of the college readiness counseling
workshops and will grant the trainers the opportunity to make adjustments to the training
program, if necessary. In addition, the academic counselor’s will be required to complete an
online survey to evaluate the Level 1 and Level 2 outcomes within a week of completing every
workshop. The online survey will consist of short-answer, open-ended, and Likert-scale
questions responding to training-specific questions and real-life college readiness counseling
situations. The results of the online survey (see Appendix H) will be evaluated to identify the
areas for growth, the needs of the academic counselors, and will influence the topics covered in
future workshops.
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 120
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. Innovation High’s vice-
principal of curriculum and instruction will administer an online evaluation survey consisting of
Likert-scale items to the four academic counselors to assess the impact of the college readiness
counseling workshops and the outcomes of Level 1 through 4. The evaluation survey’s will be
framed on a Blended Evaluation approach and will be administered every three months during a
twelve-month period and will consist of a total of four assessments. The assessments would
measure the relevance of the training (from the perspective of the academic counselors) and the
academic counselor’s satisfaction with the program for college readiness counseling training
(Level 1), the confidence of the academic counselors (in relation to the knowledge they have
acquired from the workshop) and their commitment to employing the learned techniques (Level
2), the academic counselor’s ability to introduce and apply their training to provide effective
college readiness counseling (Level 3), and the effectiveness of the academic counselors in
engaging in college readiness counseling activities to achieve effective college readiness
counseling and improve the student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions
(Level 4). See Appendix I to illustrate the Likert scaled items on the evaluation survey further.
Data Analysis and Reporting
Innovation High academic counselor’s ability to provide effective college readiness
counseling and successfully achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year
postsecondary institutions serves as the Level 4 goal of the academic counselors. To determine
the degree of effective college readiness counseling delivered to students and the amount of
progress towards achieving a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions, Innovation High’s principal will email the four academic counselors two questions
every two weeks. The first question will address the delivery of effective college readiness
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 121
counseling by requesting the academic counselors to identify the frequency (in percentage form)
of college readiness counseling activities they engaged in with students over the course of two
weeks by indicating the following: 0%-25%; 26%-50%; 51%-75%; or 76%-100%. The second
question will require the academic counselors to use the same scale but will address the
frequency of personal education plans and academic roadmaps created by the academic
counselors over the course of two weeks.
The results of the four surveys will be collected on a bi-monthly basis and presented to
the academic counselors during their monthly meeting with the principal of Innovation High. As
a visual aid, the principal will present the results of the survey on a dashboard with the
aforementioned two indicators. The principal will also share the results of the survey with the
Board of Trustees at their quarterly meetings. Innovation High’s ability to gather data regarding
the frequency of college readiness counseling and the creation of personal education plans and
academic roadmaps to improve the matriculation of students to four-year postsecondary
institutions will grant Innovation High’s administrators the opportunity to gauge the
effectiveness of the program for college readiness counseling training. In addition, the data will
highlight the relationship between the frequency of delivering college readiness counseling
activities and the creation of personal education plans and academic roadmaps to improve
student matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 122

Figure 2. Delivery of College Readiness Counseling and Creation of Personal Education Plans

Summary
This study’s implementation and evaluation plan were framed on the New World
Kirkpatrick Model (2016). The introduction of the four levels of training and evaluation
informed the direction of this study and served as the foundation for launching a college
readiness counseling training program at Innovation High. The training program was developed
as an instrument for strengthening the successful achievement of Innovation High’s stakeholder
and organizational goal. The implementation of Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick’s (2016) four levels
of training and evaluation allowed for the academic counselor’s experiences during their
participation in the training program to be measured by the following: Level 4, desired results;
Level 3, behavior; Level 2, learning; and Level 1, reaction. The data gathered from the
observations, pulse checks, and workshop evaluations enabled modifications to the existing
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 123
training program on a frequent basis and enabled Innovation High’s academic counselors to
address specific needs of the training program. Innovation High’s ability to implement a program
for college readiness counseling training would allow the academic counselors to strengthen their
knowledge and motivation in delivering effective college readiness counseling to their students.
In addition, a successful training program would have a favorable impact on increasing student
matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions, thereby, strengthening Innovation
High’s ability to successfully achieve a 100% matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary
institutions.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 124
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FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 138
Appendix A
Assumed Knowledge Influences
Organizational Mission
The mission of Innovation High is “to be guided by the Salesian educational system of St.
John Bosco. Innovation High is a Catholic high school that offers a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum – uniquely integrating academics and technology – to qualified men of
all religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a Christian faith community, the
school prepares and equips students to be life-long learners who are dedicated men of faith and
integrity, committed to leading successful lives of distinguished service and social justice”
(Bosco Tech, 2015).
Organizational Global Goal
By June 2019, 100% of graduating seniors will matriculate to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Stakeholder Goal
By June 2019, the academic counselors will provide effective college readiness counseling to
all students attending Innovation High.
Assumed Knowledge Influence Knowledge Type Knowledge Influence Assessment
Academic counselors need to have
knowledge of the barriers that
negatively influence student
matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.
Conceptual Participants are asked questions
regarding their knowledge of the
impact that a student’s ethnicity,
socio-economic background and
first-generation status have on a
student’s matriculation to four-
year postsecondary institutions.
Academic counselors need to know
how to implement and introduce
college readiness counseling into
their daily counseling activities.
Procedural Participants are asked questions
regarding their ability to
implement college readiness
counseling into their daily
counseling activities.
Academic counselors need to be
aware of their comfortability with
engaging in college readiness
counseling.
Metacognitive Participants are asked questions
about their comfortability with
engaging in college readiness
counseling.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 139
Appendix B
Assumed Motivation Influences
Organizational Mission
The mission of Innovation High is “to be guided by the Salesian educational system of St.
John Bosco. Innovation High is a Catholic high school that offers a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum – uniquely integrating academics and technology – to qualified men of
all religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a Christian faith community, the
school prepares and equips students to be life-long learners who are dedicated men of faith and
integrity, committed to leading successful lives of distinguished service and social justice”
(Bosco Tech, 2015).
Organizational Global Goal
By June 2019, 100% of graduating seniors will matriculate to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Stakeholder Goal
By June 2019, the academic counselors will provide effective college readiness counseling to
all students attending Innovation High.
Assumed Motivation Influences Motivational Influence Assessment
Self-Efficacy: Academic counselors need to
have confidence in their ability to engage
students and provide effective college
readiness counseling.
In your guidance sessions, how confident are
you in your ability to discuss postsecondary
institutions and provide college readiness
counseling?
Attribution: Academic counselors need to
understand that low student matriculation to
four-year postsecondary institutions is due to
their own deficiencies and efforts as academic
counselors.
As an academic counselor, do you attribute
student matriculation to two-year colleges as
a reflection of professional deficiencies?

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 140
Appendix C
Assumed Organizational Influences
Organizational Mission
The mission of Innovation High is “to be guided by the Salesian educational system of St.
John Bosco. Innovation High is a Catholic high school that offers a rigorous college
preparatory curriculum – uniquely integrating academics and technology – to qualified men of
all religious, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. As a Christian faith community, the
school prepares and equips students to be life-long learners who are dedicated men of faith and
integrity, committed to leading successful lives of distinguished service and social justice”
(Bosco Tech, 2015).
Organizational Global Goal
By June 2019, 100% of graduating seniors will matriculate to four-year postsecondary
institutions.
Stakeholder Goal
By June 2019, the academic counselors will provide effective college readiness counseling to
all students attending Innovation High.
Assumed Organizational Influences Organization Influence Assessment
Cultural Model Influence 1:
There is a culture of complacency, negative
attitudes and resistance by non-counseling
faculty and staff towards the academic
counselor’s attempts to introduce new college
readiness counseling practices.
Interview the academic counselors to identify
the types of opposition they experience while
attempting to perform college readiness
counseling.
Cultural Model Influence 2:
There is a culture of unsupportive leadership
that negatively impacts the self-efficacy of the
academic counselors and their effectiveness in
delivering college readiness counseling.
Interview the academic counselors to identify
their experiences of coping with unsupportive
leadership and the impact of unsupportive
leadership on their delivery of college
readiness counseling.
Cultural Setting Influence 1:
Academic counselors are inundated by non-
academic counseling activities and this
creates barriers within the organization’s
work processes. Academic counselors endure
time restrictions that impact college readiness
counseling.
Interview the academic counselors to identify
the impact of non-academic counseling
activities on their workday.
Cultural Setting Influence 2:
Academic counselors do not have the
necessary resources to effectively perform
college readiness counseling and expand the
college counseling program.
Interview the academic counselors to identify
the needed resources to perform college
readiness counseling.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 141
Appendix D
Conceptual Framework

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 142
Appendix E
Interview Questions
1.) How long have you served as an academic counselor (reflect on entire career)? What is
your educational and career background?
2.) As an academic counselor, what does your typical work day look like?
A. How often are you performing counseling-related duties?
B. Do you perform non-counseling related duties? If so, how often?
3.) How often do you meet with students on your caseload?
A. How many students do you normally meet with in one day?
B. How long do your counseling meetings last?
C. What do these interactions typically entail?
4.) Do you engage in academic counseling? If so, can you provide me with an example of a
scenario that you often face?
5.) How do you prepare for an academic counseling session with a student?
A. What steps do you take?
B. What type of information do you use?
6.) As you meet with students, do you mention or discuss college?
A. If so, how often and to what extent?
B. If not, is there a particular reason?
7.) How would you define college readiness counseling?
A. Can you provide specific examples?
B. In your opinion, what does college readiness counseling include?
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 143
8.) As an academic counselor at a college-preparatory institution, can you please provide me
with an estimate regarding how much of your academic counseling activities are
dedicated to college readiness counseling?
9.) How do you prepare for college readiness counseling?
10.) Can you explain a specific experience you have had with college readiness
counseling?
11.) How comfortable are you with providing college readiness counseling?
A. If you are comfortable, what can you attribute to your level of
comfort?
B. If you are uncomfortable, can you provide some insight as to the
reasons why you are uncomfortable?
12.) As you meet with students, how often do you introduce college readiness
counseling?
13.) Based on your experiences at Innovation High, do you personally believe you
have received the proper amount of training to acquire the knowledge to engage
in college readiness counseling?
14.) How confident and comfortable are you with discussing and identifying colleges
and universities?
15.) To strengthen your knowledge of college readiness counseling, does Innovation
High offer professional development opportunities?
A. Do you participate in the professional development opportunities?
B. If you do not participate, why not?
FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 144
16.) In your opinion, are there organizational barriers that impact your ability to be
successful in college readiness counseling?
A. Supportive Leadership
B. Organizational Resources
C. Work Processes
17.) As an overall organization, how committed is Innovation High to achieving a
100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions?
18.) Do you believe the school has developed a four-year college-bound culture?
19.) What have been your contributions to the four-year college-bound culture and
college readiness culture of Innovation High?
20.) Would you change anything? Improvements?
21.) Is there anything else you would like to share?

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 145
Appendix F
Observation Reflection
Time/Date College Readiness
Counseling Session
(Tally)
Notes

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 146
Appendix G
Documents and Artifacts
Type of
Document:
Provided By: Notes: Useful:
(Yes/No)
Reflection:

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 147
Appendix H
During and Immediately Following Evaluation Questions
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
Level 1: Engagement
1. Throughout the training workshop, I was
interested in the covered information because the
trainer was interesting.

2. The trainer engaged me and encouraged me to
participate.

Level 1: Relevance
3. The information covered is applicable to my daily
counseling activities.

4. The information will be adopted and will impact
my approach to college readiness counseling

Level 1: Customer Satisfaction
5. The training workshop was beneficial to my
development as an academic counselor.

6. I believe the workshop should be offered to
additional academic counselors.

Level 2: Knowledge
7. I learned how to use job-aids to employ a
uniformed approach to college readiness counseling.

8. I understand my impact as an academic counselor
on a student’s matriculation to four-year
postsecondary institutions.

Level 2: Skills
9. I learned how to introduce college readiness
counseling into my daily counseling activities.

Level 2: Attitude
10. The training is valuable tool for professional
development.

Level 2: Confidence
11. I am confident that I can engage in college
readiness counseling.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 148
12. I am confident in my ability to introduce college
readiness counseling into my daily counseling
activities.

Level 2: Commitment
13. I am determined to use the college readiness
counseling techniques by setting quarterly goals.

14. I am committed to creating academic roadmaps
for all of my students.

15. I would recommend the following changes to the college readiness counseling workshop:

16. I would like to address the following topics in the college readiness counseling workshop:

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 149
Appendix I
Delayed Evaluation Questions
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree Agree Strongly
Agree
Level 1: Reaction
1. I have been able to apply the techniques taught at
the workshop to my daily counseling activities.

2. The training program has benefitted my
professional development and I am satisfied with my
experience.

Level 2: Learning
3. The workshops helped me identify and introduce
college readiness counseling into my daily activities.

4. I am confident and committed to using the
information acquired at the workshops.

Level 3: Behavior
5. I have been able to complete academic roadmaps
for at least 25% of my students.

6. The workshops helped me increase the number of
students that I provide college readiness counseling
to.

Level 4: Results
7. The workshops have allowed me to develop an
academic counselor.

8. The workshops have strengthened by knowledge
and motivation to implement college readiness
counseling.

FACTORS IMPACTING FOUR-YEAR 150
Appendix J
USC Information Sheet
INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

Factors Impacting Four-Year Postsecondary Matriculation At A
College-Preparatory, Catholic High School

You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies include only people who
voluntarily choose to take part. This document explains information about this study. You should
ask questions about anything that is unclear to you.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that impact the college
readiness counseling program at Innovation High. Specifically, I am attempting to identify
potential barriers that impact student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions and the
level of college readiness received upon matriculation.

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you elect to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in a one hour, audio recorded
interview and three 30-minute observations. If at any point throughout the study you feel
uncomfortable with a question, please know that you are not obligated to provide an answer. Also,
if you prefer, you have the right to proceed with the hand-written interview without it being audio-
recorded.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Although you were non-randomly selected to participate in this study, please note that all
identifiable information obtained in connection with this study will remain confidential. To protect
your confidentiality, your responses will be coded using a false name and all data will be secured
on a password protected computer in the researcher’s home office. The data will none kept for a
minimum of 3 years after the completion of the study and will permanently be deleted.
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors research studies
to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Principal Investigator: Alberto Pimentel Jr, MPA, MA
Email: pime512@usc.edu or by phone: 323.309.3439
Faculty Advisor: Anthony Maddox, Ph.D
Email: amaddox@rossier.usc.edu

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Throughout the years, the college admission process has proven to be a daunting experience for students attempting to matriculate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Specifically, students from ethnic minority, low-income, and first-generation backgrounds struggle with the college admission process because these communities often attend secondary institutions that do not have sufficient resources and adequate assistance to navigate and prepare for postsecondary matriculation. College readiness counseling is an essential component of a student’s high school experience that will address the needs of students from underserved communities and increase the rate of student matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions. College readiness counseling offers students the knowledge and guidance to successfully adopt a college-preparatory curriculum, identify postsecondary institutions and programs of study, and strengthen matriculation to four-year postsecondary institutions. ❧ Innovation High, a pseudonym, is a Catholic high school that is attempting to improve its delivery of college readiness counseling as a means to increase student matriculation rates to four-year postsecondary institutions. The purpose of this study was to conduct a gap analysis (Clark & Estes, 2008) of the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that impact the academic counselor’s ability to deliver effective college readiness counseling and ultimately, identify the influences that impact Innovation High’s ability to achieve a 100% student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions. Existing literature initially supported the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences and about Innovation High, a qualitative study was used to validate the assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences. Triangulation of the documents, interviews, and observations validated findings the study's findings. The adoption of The New World Kirkpatrick Model to introduce recommendations and solutions addressed the validated knowledge, motivation, and organizational needs. In addition, the adoption and successful implementation of the recommended college readiness counseling training program will strengthen Innovation High academic counselor’s ability to deliver effective college readiness counseling and improve the student matriculation rate to four-year postsecondary institutions.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Pimentel, Alberto Jr. (author)

Core Title Factors impacting four-year postsecondary matriculation at a college-preparatory, Catholic high school: an innovation study

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 02/07/2018

Defense Date 01/19/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic counseling,Catholic high school,college counseling,college readiness,ethnic minority,first-generation,low-income,OAI-PMH Harvest,postsecondary matriculation,student matriculation rates

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Maddox, Anthony (committee chair), Pearson, Mark (committee member), Ronney, Paul (committee member)

Creator Email apimenteljr10@gmail.com,pime512@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c40-469176

Unique identifier UC11267333

Identifier etd-PimentelAl-5999.pdf (filename),usctheses-c40-469176 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-PimentelAl-5999.pdf

Dmrecord 469176

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Pimentel, Alberto Jr.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA