Higher education scholars often investigate the policy mechanisms of external accountability, but rarely explore institutional mechanisms of internal accountability. This chapter, which reports select findings from an in-depth case study of institutional budgeting at an American public research university, examines an underexplored mechanism of…

Despite the lack of comprehensive federal legislation for undocumented students, activists catalyzed the passage of the New York State Dream Act in 2019. Yet, numerous barriers remain for undocumented students pursuing higher education. We provide a case example of UndocuAlly Trainings facilitated at a campus center in the State University of New…

This case study examines institutional communication of purpose to stakeholders through Facebook during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that the institution attempted to reduce the negative impacts of the pandemic on campus life and student experiences while using the pandemic as an opportunity to re-iterate the importance of its…

A dominant narrative exists that all regional public universities (RPUs) are striving for prestige and, if given the chance, would readily abandon their missions of facilitating educational access for marginalized students and increase admissions selectivity to privilege elite students. As a result of this dominant narrative, RPUs are largely…

In this manuscript, we offer a brief understanding of the educational experiences of gang-impacted students in K-12 and postsecondary education. Using evidence-based and interconnected support systems that account for the multifaceted needs of gang-impacted students, such as basic needs, mental health, workforce development, technology, and other…

Recent reporting and research have claimed that some regional public universities are vulnerable, fragile, and endangered. However, much of what we know about the financial conditions of RPUs is limited to cases of financial crisis that capture national attention yet fail to fully represent the sector. The purpose of this chapter is to more deeply…

Teaching quality is a crucial, yet under-valued, component of a quality institution. This study draws upon a multi-institutional study of college teaching, the College Educational Quality (CEQ) study to examine the teaching practices and the culture of support for teaching at one Regional Public University that was included in the broader CEQ…

Rural students graduate from high school at higher rates but go to college at lower rate than their urban and suburban peers. To take on the educational attainment challenge for rural students, we need to know more about postsecondary encouragement programs. This study examined a pilot postsecondary encouragement program in 11 rural high schools…

This chapter describes the evolution of a regional public university president's communication strategy from being a fact-driven presenter to becoming the university's principal storyteller by integrating institutional data and metrics with meaningful stories from students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The case describes a "crisis of…

Internationalization is a core activity of universities today, and one in which academic staff play a crucial role. A decade of research into academic staff engagement in internationalization of the curriculum (IoC) has highlighted the importance of in-depth qualitative case studies in which researchers collect detailed information over a…

This chapter presents four central themes that are distilled from the volume. First, regional public universities (RPUs) are mission-centered as access- and teaching-oriented and civically engaged institutions. Second, no matter how RPUs are sampled and classified, they are at the center of college access and equity. Third, RPUs deploy lean…

This chapter describes an intentionally designed comprehensive sophomore experiences for students at The Ohio State University.

Regional public universities play a critical role in providing postsecondary education access in rural communities. This chapter explores that role by considering the distribution of these institutions across geographic areas and how that shapes the postsecondary options available to rural students. Federal data are used to demonstrate disparities…

This chapter describes the types of organizations that have been established in recent years to enhance the experience and engagement of retirees from higher education institutions. Using the University of Southern California as an example, it also introduces a range of strategies institutions can employ to ease the transition into retirement.

Many regional public universities (RPUs) provide college access to diverse groups of undergraduate students and face pressures to pursue prestige in the academic hierarchy. Prior research posits that RPUs will strive for prestige because of status- and resource-based rewards that flow from increasing their admissions selectivity,…