Work, family and graduate school can be a lot to juggle, and Northwest Missouri State University’s Dr. Claudia Araceli Hernández recently received a competitive Academic Partnerships Research Grant to explore how time constraints impact classroom engagement and prevent academic achievement.

“Understanding their struggles so we can try to modify or adapt to them is the best way for them to learn and get the best results so at the end they will be learning and achieving the good grades they need,” said Araceli Hernández, an assistant professor of management in Northwest's Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business, said.

Her research proposal, “Engagement as antecedent of academic achievement and the moderating role of work-family-school conflict for online graduate students,” came from a desire to help graduate students perform at their best and learn in an accommodating environment.

“There’s some research about the best practices and how to do it, but we have to really understand our students and what we can do to deliver the best method for them to learn,” Araceli Hernández said.

The grant awarded Araceli Hernández with $7,000 to put toward her research and provide incentives for study participants. Academic Partnerships, which partners with Northwest to provide online programs, also will provide a travel stipend of up to $2,200 after her research is completed and accepted for presentation at a national conference organized by a professional society.

Araceli Hernández joined the Northwest faculty in 2016. She holds a Master of Business Administration and doctorate degree in international business from University of Texas at El Paso. She also earned a licentiate in industrial relations from Tecnológico de Chihuahua. Her academic interests include diversity and inclusion, engagement in organizations and education and organizational climate.