This study explored how institutions can empower minoritized graduate students by leveraging their existing forms of capital, shifting from a deficit view to an assets-based approach. Through qualitative case study methodology, data from interviews and documentation illustrated the vital role of institutional agents, such as faculty and staff,…

The study compared the Outcome Measures (OM) to the traditional Graduation Rates (GR) to ascertain if OM portrayed the performance of higher education institutions differently than GR and to determine which of the two metrics aligned better with accountability policy objectives. GR refers to the percentages of first-time, full-time students who…

While enrolling in a college for a degree is still considered to be more of the expectation than the rule in households across the United States it is facing public criticism regarding its overall cost versus long-term benefits. This has prompted researchers to reevaluate practices in higher education to determine ways in which post-secondary…

Colleges and universities have increasingly turned to fundraising as an opportunity to meet short- and long-term goals of the institution without increasing tuition and adding to the student loan burden. As a result, there is increased competition among institutions and non-profits to appeal to the motivations of donors to support their…

This study examined the lower enrollment of Black students in graduate programs compared to their enrollment in undergraduate programs. In today's climate with the recent Supreme Court case rulings and the enrollment cliff, recruiting Black students is both challenging and incredibly important. To address this problem, the study explored how a…

As a Student Conduct professional, I felt a tension between the espoused educational mission of our field and the daily functions of my role, which did not seem to have anything to do with education. Therefore, this dissertation investigates the purported educational mission of Student Conduct practice in higher education by building from the…

This study examined the experiences of accreditation professionals, specifically SACSCOC staff members, visiting committee members, and accreditation liaisons, who participated in virtual site visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Accountability pressures in higher education have placed scrutiny on the accreditation process, and little is known…

Understanding knowledge management is key to understanding organizational development and innovations. Inadequate knowledge-sharing practices in Nigerian educational institutions has impeded innovation and management development. The purpose of this qualitative modified Delphi study was to seek consensus among administrators from Nigerian…

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…

Numerous policies and reforms have been proposed and implemented to increase accountability and improve performance in higher education in the United States (U.S.), which has included an emphasis on the state's role in authorizing colleges and universities to operate and award degrees. The recent surge in peer-reviewed and grey literature has…

Back in 2015, the Board of Governors for the state of Florida implemented new funding policy within its public state university system, as a mechanism to hold institutions accountable to their performance. According to the performance-funding policy, lower performing institutions were at risk of losing state funding if university metrics were not…

Sexual violence on college and university campuses is a significant public health concern for educators in the context of postsecondary institutions across the United States. One of the populations on college campuses most at-risk of being victimized by sexual assault is women within a sorority (Mohler-Kuo et al., 2004). Partly in response to…

Performance-based funding (PBF) is an important component of many states' higher education funding policies. A majority of U.S. states hold their public colleges accountable through the establishment of PBF indicators designed to boost student success. Recent national pushes for college student success, like the College Completion Agenda and the…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how instructional designers in higher education in the United States described their experiences with collective affective emergent states (team cohesion and collective efficacy) when collaborating with faculty to design online courses. The foundation for the study was the…

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…