Background/Context: Several studies have investigated state political and economic factors that explain differences in levels of state appropriations for colleges and universities. Few studies have considered how stakeholder beliefs or taken-forgranted assumptions about various institutions may impact budgeting decisions for specific campuses. A…

This article features a case study from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a large, public, urban, research university, in which challenges in administering financial aid for study abroad early in the COVID-19 pandemic led the Education Abroad and Student Financial Services teams to revisit practices and protocols. This article describes…

This dissertation examines changes to the publicness of American research universities from the mid-20th to the early 21st century. The changes are discerned by analyzing salient higher education public policies, contemporary pressures affecting research universities, and a "Research University Publicness Dashboard," which contains…

Evaluators play a central role in assessments of researchers' performance for reward, but the nature of their role and influence is not well understood. Ongoing reliance on evaluator judgement is typically justified as a need for referees in contests for reward, because quantitative performance measures alone can be subject to distortion. Yet, if…

The purpose of this study was to examine ways in which the 2007 New Jersey transfer law mandating "seamless transfer" between public two- and four-year colleges has been implemented at three community colleges and the state's flagship research university and the forces that have contributed to and limited the extent to which the law has…

University tuition fees and student debt have risen in part due to rapid expansion of university administration compensation. This study provides a novel methodology for detecting inappropriate executive compensation within universities. The usefulness of academic ideas is openly ranked using the h-index. By comparing the ratio of academic…

This ethnographic case study explores intercultural and ethnographic engagement by undergraduate Hong Kong students enrolled in an Intercultural Communication course at a public research university. Ethnographic projects originated from virtual exchanges with undergraduates in a professional writing course at a private research institution on the…

The evolution of a research university can take many paths. Described here is a case study of the synergy between the establishment and growth of a primarily graduate school and the commitment to developing a research university, all with the assistance of a separately incorporated non-profit research administration entity. The result has been a…

The phenomenon of globalization has a significant impact on higher education, but the lack of a clear roadmap for how senior university officials should create and implement global engagement strategies and for how these approaches support (or impede) an organizational culture that fosters globalization remains a gap in knowledge in higher…

In an extension of educational attainment research, this exploratory mixed- methods case study examines the influence of institutional policies on the behavior of five cohorts (n = 925) of traditional first time, full time (FTFT) freshmen--called "Last Mile" students--at one urban research university located in the Pacific Northwest.…

This paper examines innovations in strategic faculty hiring emphasizing interdisciplinarity at two major public research universities in the USA. The research investigated how and why the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison chose to pursue interdisciplinary faculty recruitment, how it was structured, and how it…

Implementing an incentives-based budget system at a large public research university significantly redirected internal funds while producing notable organizational and financial surprises. For example, units did not increase their "hoarding" of students, contrary to some expectations. The findings point to several issues for further…

This study sought to understand the roles and characteristics of individuals identified as effective academic deans at public research universities. The study used an inductive grounded theory approach guided by a broad conceptual framework and was guided by the broad constructs of quality/culture, teamwork/governance, and analysis/knowledge. In…

A study investigated attitudinal, demographic, involvement, and philanthropic characteristics of a university's alumni donors (n=210) and nondonors (n=161). Analysis revealed predictors of nondonors versus donors with 65 percent accuracy, and high donors versus low donors with 87 percent accuracy. Implications for fund raising are discussed.…

A discussion of the controversial proposed National Institutes of Health/Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration guidelines for policies on conflict of interest are assessed in relation to the University of California's experience with research policies and peer review practice in regulating potential conflict-of-interest situations.…