Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

Spring 4-8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

April 2026

Department

Public Administration

College Granting Degree

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Department Granting Degree

School of Public Administration

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Arthur Semenetelli

Abstract

To fill the gap in the current literature, the purpose of this dissertation was to explain how and why Street-Level Bureaucrats (SLBs) in public higher education helped psychologically at-risk students during the pandemic. This qualitative study was intended to examine the role of SLBs in public higher education as it relates to their utilization of administrative discretion when advising psychologically at-risk students. In addition to administrative discretion, this dissertation also explored the role of ethical obligations and the use of a therapeutic lens when SLBs are faced with some of the most difficult situations for which they were not equipped or trained.

Extensive studies and literature have taken place with other front-line workers such as police officers, teachers, and social workers (Lipsky, 1980; Maynard-Moody & Musheno, 2000, 2003). However, there have been limited studies on front-line workers in a public higher education setting (example: Bell and Smith, 2022), particularly when they are experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Front line workers in public higher education have never been surveyed since the start of the pandemic on how and why they helped psychologically at-risk students during the pandemic. This included advisors, financial aid counselors, career coaches, and registrar staff who work in a student success network. A “student success network” is a hand-picked team of advisors, faculty, tutors, and other support staff whose goal is to help students through the online communication system, Navigate. The research design chosen for this study was a mixed method organizational case study (Yin, 2003).

Theories from Cooper’s (2012) The Responsible Administrator, Lipsky’s (1980) Street-Level Bureaucracy, Maynard-Moody & Musheno’s (2003) Cops, Teachers, Counselors: Stories from the Front Lines of Public Service, Szasz’ (2001) The Therapeutic State, Foucault’s (1965) Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, and Waldo’s (1980) Ethical Obligations of a Public Administrator were used as the theoretical perspective to ground the data that emerged from the study to respond to three research questions.

Download

Share

COinS