Shay Barrett

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Abstract

The transition from high school to college can be a difficult time for students. Utilizing a service dog can make that experience more complex (Hadley, 2018). College is an important time in a young adult’s life as they develop independence and their identity (Chickering, 1969). This study recognizes the role that universities and colleges play in the development of students who utilize service dogs, as such the purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of service dog utilizing undergraduate students who attend in-person classes on campus at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC) and to examine how these experiences have influenced the student’s perception of attending face-to-face classes on a college campus. This study used two open-ended questions to outline the research: What are the lived experiences of service dog utilizing students that attend classes at TAMUC and how have those experiences influenced the service dog utilizing students that attend TAMUC thoughts and beliefs about attending in person classes on a college campus? Qualitative methodology was used to address the questions of this research. Specifically, this study used a phenomenological approach for data collection and analysis. Utilizing convenience and snowball sampling techniques, this study’s participants were identified and after the researcher obtained consent, this study’s participants participated in two 45-90 minute in person interviews in an effort to identify the essence of the experience. After hand-coding the data, four themes were identified. These themes include: Experiences with Faculty and Staff, Interactions with Other Students, Classroom and Facility Design, and Service Dog Considerations. This study not only brought to light strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that exist for service dog utilizing students but also to university faculty, staff and other student peers including experiences with faulty and staff, interactions with student peers, classroom layout, desk design, safety in labs, and campus housing.

Advisor

Maggie R. Pfeiffer Salem

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