This article explores the process of becoming a feminist educator as the author employed feminist theory in her pedagogy for the first time. This self-study answered the research question: 'What would a feminist pedagogy look like in a music history classroom?' Throughout a ten-week undergraduate music history course, the author employed a…

This research examines the significance of higher education institutions (HEIs) as anchors in their host cities and their community engagement strategies between 1980 and 2020. By examining four case studies of urban-based universities that are members of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) across diverse geographical and…

This single case study uses the Advocacy Coalition Framework and Multiple Streams Framework to understand the ways higher education policy actors at the city-, state-, and system-level used information to build coalitions and change admission standards during the remediation debate at the City University of New York. By examining what information…

A method called multi-attribute utility analysis (MAUA) provides a decision-making framework that facilitates comparative analysis of multiple real-world decision alternatives with unique complex attributes. Utility analysis as a measure of effectiveness has been minimally used by educational researchers to date, despite clear relevance in complex…

Can verse mediate between the educational institution and the wider community of which it is a part? Utilising a case study of a specific taught module, this essay considers whether the performance of poetry as an experiential learning activity has a role to play in the emerging concept of the university as an anchor institution, a term that…

This reflection centres on how existing tensions in academic development work were magnified and challenged as competing imperatives sought to (re)define the roles of academic developers at a UK university during the pandemic in 2020. In a situation of heightened anxiety amongst all stakeholders, issues relating to professional agency, expertise,…

The author has 25 years of experience in higher education leadership, overseeing two campuses and two university systems. He has maintained a strong connection to the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), both philosophically and in practical terms. In this article, the author discusses his experience and feelings on social…

This study examines how students from rural areas in Bangladesh face particular challenges in adapting to university dormitories in urban areas. There has been an increase in the number of students migrating from rural areas of Bangladesh to the cities for pursuing higher studies. These students face numerous challenges to adapt themselves to a…

The concept of the anchor institution, and its subsequent mission, was first considered in the mid-1990s, a time during which the dominant academic culture of higher education was driven by the "public good regime." The decades since have seen the emergence of the public engagement knowledge regime, and the academic capitalist regime.…

Historically, colleges and universities have walled themselves off from their host communities. Community and government agencies, in turn, have often viewed colleges as islands, complaining about their tax-exempt status, physical encroachment, and noisy students. Although universities have spent millions of dollars to improve their relationships…

Since the restoration of the "Gaokao" (College Entrance Examination) in 1977 and the nationwide higher education expansion that started in 1998, millions of rural students have enrolled in urban universities. Though Chinese rural students' educational trajectories have received extensive attention, their subjective experiences in the…

This study aims to understand and explore the lived experiences of six college access practitioners who supported a pathway program for students at an urban research institution. None of the participants in the study no longer work in college access. At least four participants explicitly stated they left their job due to burnout. This research…

Upholding an equity-focused mission can be challenging for administrators, particularly in light of recently implemented policies that center funding based on student performance. Based on interviews with administrators across four universities in the same state, this work examines the ways in which performance-based funding (PBF) requirements are…

Modern urban and metropolitan universities are increasingly obliged to recognize their role as anchor institutions. These same institutions of higher education (IHEs) also have a responsibility to educate students to be responsible and participatory citizens in society. An increasing number of IHEs recognize these distinct commitments as central…

The literature on the transformation of higher education institutions into engaged institutions identifies the great potential this transformation can have on higher education's ability to address pressing social issues. However, engagement work frequently operates in White racialized spaces and within systems that perpetuate racial oppression. A…