Trust is an essential pillar of higher education that facilitates positive student experiences and well-being and has been linked to enrollment, retention, and continued involvement after graduation (Ghosh et al., 2001; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 1998). Understanding student trust in higher education institutions (HEI) is an important task, and research on trust in various contexts positions vulnerability as a critical concept (Mayer et al., 1995). In most situations where individuals engage with more powerful entities, students look to their HEI to make decisions that reduce the likelihood and severity of various potential injuries (Smith & Freyd, 2013). Trust is generally understood to exist when these individuals, more or less consciously, recognize their vulnerability and feel willing to accept it. Unpacking how students come to understand their vulnerability to their HEI and why they are willing, unwilling, or unsure of their willingness to accept their vulnerabilities is important as it may provide insight into a general understanding of trust in the context of institutional victimization.The present dissertation addresses this by qualitatively asking 1) how do students come to understand their vulnerabilities in their relationship with their HEI? and 2) how do students become willing, unwilling, or unsure of their willingness to accept the risk of being harmed by their HEI? Findings from Study One suggest that students experience varying types of trust in their relationship with their HEI, where their vulnerability exists on a continuum from generally unaware to a broader understanding of vulnerability. In Study Two, findings suggest that students experienced distrust in their relationships with their HEI rooted in the students' negative experiences, devalued perceptions, and cultural vulnerability. Furthermore, findings from Study Three suggest that students were unsure of their willingness to accept vulnerability due to engaging in self-protection, varying levels of engagement with the HEI, and the adverse history℗ of the HEI. The last chapter integrates all three studies to explain an improved understanding of student vulnerabilities that can better shape efforts to build, maintain, and repair trust relationships within HEIs.℗
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