Performance funding has been a popular form of funding colleges and universities for several decades. Often the purpose is to make universities more efficient (Miao, 2012). Missouri has had two separate models of performance funding in play, a decade apart. In this research both performance funding models are examined, including a 10- year period…

This case study explores professional academic advisors' perceived usefulness of a fully implemented academic early alert technology at a four-year, public, flagship university in the Midwest. Academic early alert technology has increasingly become more common at colleges and universities during the past two decades, followed by an increasing…

The Parent PLUS loan covers the financial gap of a student's educational expenses after other forms of financial assistance. Depending on the unmet need, the PLUS loan amount borrowed can be tens of thousands of dollars for a single academic year. In this research article, I provide results from evaluating financial aid offers at Missouri public,…

This case study used qualitative research methods to examine the role faculty play in the application of a general education policy mandate in the state of Missouri. Senate bill 997 required that general education be transferable between all public colleges and universities in the state. To aid in this endeavor, a committee made of faculty…

This dissertation contains chapters that explore higher education policy issues related to student outcomes. In the first chapter, I examine the results of a controlled randomized trial of a brief, inexpensive phone call outreach to a sample of Pell eligible students at the University of Missouri intended to increase FAFSA filing, on-time FAFSA…

In recent years violent crimes on several university campuses have been highlighted by mass media, drawing national attention to the issue of campus crime. Not all college campuses, however, experience the same level of crime. While community colleges serve roughly half of all undergraduates in the U.S., statistically these public institutions…

This study explores the lived experiences of six African American female administrators in Missouri public higher educational institutions. The Black Feminist Thought theory as espoused by Patricia Collins is the framework with which this research examines their leadership. The conceptual lens of race, gender, and class offers an opportunity to…