The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore how school administrators described their understanding of the decision-making process in the allocation of funds to urban elementary schools in New York. Twelve participants took part in online questionnaires followed by Zoom interviews. A convenience sample of principals were…

Unequal school funding is a phenomenon that promotes an educational structure where certain public schools receive higher financial support and resources while other schools receive lower levels. An important but overlooked dimension of the phenomenon is its potential effect on teacher job satisfaction in underfunded and well-funded schools. This…

This study focused on the allocation decisions that college and university leaders make with potentially transformational donations and their associated decision-making processes. A gift was defined as potentially transformational if it was: 1) unrestricted and 2) exceeded 25% of an organization's annual revenues or existing endowment. These types…

This dissertation consists of three essays on market and mechanism design. In each essay, I utilize tools and knowledge from game theory, equilibrium theory, and mechanism design to explain agents' behavior and assess the market equilibrium structure in different allocation mechanisms, both with and without monetary transactions. The first two…

In college athletics, there appears to be evidence of misalignment between stated commitments and institutional practices. Though institutions publicly promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), college athletic departments have failed to create large scale systemic change in the representation and retention of women and people of color.…

This study examined the perceptions of students related to determinants of service quality experienced within both academic and non-academic areas of their respective institutions. As competition increases among higher education institutions so does the need to implement organizational strategies comparable to that of industries outside academia.…

This dissertation explores the allocation patterns of the official development assistance (ODA) by the World Bank (WB) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in eighteen developing countries of Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and South Asia (SA) for the time-period, 1990-2015. Differing perspectives have been…

As a result of shifting market forces affecting institutions of higher education, implementation of enhanced resource management practices has become a strategic imperative for many colleges and universities. An increasing number of universities have adopted decentralized budgeting practices to enhance stewardship of resources and foster…

This dissertation comprises an examination of how school districts have allocated the resources they received as a result of the Illinois Evidenced-Based Funding (EBF) for Student Success law. The law was passed in 2017 with the rationale of providing additional resources to school districts based on evidenced-based approaches, with the vast…

The enactment of various federal mandates has increased accountability measures for schools and superintendents. The mandates aim to increase student achievement and learning. With the growing diversity of student populations in schools, districts are required to address the varied academic and non-academic needs of students. As the system leader…

Business school deans at public and private research universities today face particular fiscal challenges due to declining MBA enrollment, shifting student enrollment choices and changing international student enrollment trends. Social and political forces such as the COVID-19 pandemic and recent social justice movements also impacted college…

Amidst debates over book-banning and diversity legislation, this study investigated teachers' literature selection processes, emphasizing the impact of mandates on decision-making. Employing a mixed method design, the research analyzed quantitative survey data from 60 middle-grade teachers, revealing a stable emphasis on specific text…

This mixed-methods study investigated how school districts in Missouri allocate funds to schools and the extent to which current practices promote equitable distribution of resources to meet student needs, especially for historically under-resourced populations. The study surveyed a sample of school district superintendents and chief financial…

This qualitative study explored the pivotal role tutoring center professionals play in supporting historically marginalized students in California public universities. There was a focus on the intersection that social capital and equity have on the experiences of the professionals. This study sought to highlight the perspectives, challenges, and…

Public Higher Education (PHE) reflects a drastic reduction in funding to subsidize its day-to-day functioning, increasing dependence on tuition fees to be operational, the existence of outdated government funding policies, and the lack of a sustainable funding mechanism. Notwithstanding, the plethora of research attempting to understand different…