Higher education has long been seen as a vehicle for social mobility for individuals and an engine for national advancement. Yet, over the years, as governments worldwide have faced competing priorities and declining revenues due to economic challenges, funding for post-secondary institutions has been negatively impacted. For example, in the…

This qualitative instrumental multicase study described and explored dual enrollment policies in three states: Colorado, Indiana, and Virginia. Student outcomes from dual enrollment participation are positive, yet access to these programs is uneven within and across states. Colorado, Indiana, and Virginia have similar educational governance…

Through a landscape analysis and content analysis, this study investigated informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education funding and evaluation policies. The primary objectives of this study were to identify informal STEM education funding organizations, and to examine funding priorities and evaluation policies…

Performance funding has become a popular policy structure for public higher education institutions across the United States. The implications on budget and student success are considerable. This study examines performance funding through the perspective of chief executive officers (CEOs) at public community colleges in a southern state. Utilizing…

Performance funding policies are politically popular, however research on performance funding has shown that these policies are ineffective and can have unintended negative consequences, particularly for lower-resourced institutions and underserved students. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Montana University System performance…

The primary goal of threat assessment is to prevent individuals who are on a pathway to violence. Threat assessment entails a three-step process beginning with identifying a concern, assessing the risk and managing the posed threat (Vossekuil, United States. Department of Education, & United States. Secret Service, 2002). A southeastern public…

This dissertation consists of three papers. In each paper, I use applied econometric methods to study the interaction between immigration policy and the postsecondary policy. The findings offer insights about how immigration policy can influence the education outcomes of undocumented individuals. In my first paper, I explore the effect on…

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies that closely link higher education funding to performance metrics are common in the United States. Similar to other performance management systems, evidence suggests PBF policies have unintended impacts, such as cream-skimming. More specifically, evidence shows the fiscal incentives of PBF encourage…

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine if there were differences in perception among Indiana public school principals on the federal requirements of ESSA in the three policy areas of accountability, school improvement, and fiscal reporting that differ from current state requirements. This study surveyed all traditional…

State funding for higher education is one of the most pressing issues facing both institutions and policymakers in 2022. Colorado has seen significant declines in the amount of state funding per student over the past two decades, resulting in increases in student burdens for tuition. Policy discourse analysis through a poststructural and…

Adequacy of funding for public institutions of higher education in the United States is significantly important to an array of stakeholders, including, state legislative bodies, decision-makers in the arena of higher education, and notably, consumers of higher education. State allocation of resources for higher education demonstrates variability,…

As part of the national agenda of accountability, state governments established performance funding policy to hold public institutions accountable for their performance. Accountability allows state policymakers to incentivize institutions to address state demands of increasing graduation rates in return for performance allocations. Although the…

This dissertation utilizes performance-based funding for higher education in Europe as the mechanism through which to interrogate broader relationships between universities and their external resource environments. Structured as three distinct journal-length articles, I first explore the emergence of performance-based funding systems for higher…

In 2015, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) in collaboration with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) undertook an ambitious "60x30 TX" plan as a part of its implementation of House Bill 22, introduced by the 85th Texas House of Representatives to enhance public school accountability. The "60x30 TX" is a higher…

This dissertation presents evidence about implementing a free college policy on higher education's demand and supply. This analysis includes descriptive evidence about the impact of the policy on students and programs' behavior. It also develops and estimates a demand and supply model of higher education that provides a framework to analyze the…