Campuses are experimenting with new ways to structure and organize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) work. Existing organizational structures tend to focus either on top-down or vertical ways of organizing DEI work (e.g. chief diversity officer positions) or more horizontally integrated designs such as DEI committees. These structures are…

Many policies in higher education are intended to improve college access and degree completion, yet often those policies fall short of their aims by making it difficult for prospective or current college students to access benefits for which they are eligible. Barriers that inhibit access to policy benefits, such as cumbersome paperwork, can weigh…

This article presents findings from a multiple-case study examining administrator choice in and use of institutional membership associations (IMAs) among Regional Comprehensive Universities (RCUs). The study's purpose was to understand what choice of IMAs revealed about status-seeking and mission-centeredness among RCU administrators. Also…

Despite occupying a central position in contemporary U.S. higher education discourse, empirical research on administrative costs is limited. The purpose of this study was to extend existing research on administrative spending in higher education by empirically examining whether recently shifting to research university status in the Carnegie…

Universities' endowment management practices have come under scrutiny by politicians and commentators who note that universities are tax-exempt, and do not want taxpayers subsidizing institutions only to have them accumulate wealth without advancing the public good. Defenders of university endowment policies argue that, to the contrary, managers…

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972--a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education--universities are responsible for both addressing and preventing sexual violence on their campuses. Despite the recent growth of Title IX offices, administrators, and policies aimed at preventing sexual violence on…

This article utilizes ethnographic and philosophical methods to consider the ethical dimensions of responding to student activists protesting racial and other forms of social inequality. I consider the case of State University, a public institution that experienced a conflict during the 2015-2016 school year provoked by national conversations…

By 2016, Hanban, a propaganda arm of the Chinese government, had successfully established Confucius Institutes (CIs) at 15% of the largest institutions of higher education, including some of the most prestigious institutions, and in almost every state across the United States. The authors describe in detail the extent of penetration by Hanban and…

In order to explain the rising cost of higher education, economist Howard Bowen in 1980 proposed his "famous law" of institutional finance. Bowen based his "revenue theory of cost" on a study of aggregate quantitative data extending from 1929 to 1979. Neither he nor subsequent economists asked whether or how that…

Performance funding policies allocate state appropriations to public institutions based in part on retention and completion outcomes, and equity metrics allocate additional funding for graduating historically underserved students. Through interviews of 52 college administrators and state policymakers, I explore campus responses to performance…

This study contrasts findings from two Delphi studies that investigated how women and men who are higher education academic administrators in educational leadership programs and colleges define and describe resiliency in their leadership. Using gender theories, both studies revealed a multidimensional gendering of leadership, a gendering more…

In this feminist, constructivist case study we explored how 28 classified, administrative, and faculty women's experiences working at one university for 25-40 years have changed. Participants ranged from 45- to 70-years-old at the time of their interview, with more than half older than 60, and 84% identified as White. Women with extended history…

This article reports on a study that examined whether the presence of a consolidated governing board for higher education conditions the impact various political factors have on state support for higher education. The existence of a consolidated governing board is shown to significantly alter the politics of the state higher education…

This study is a qualitative inquiry into the institutionalization of equitable policies for non-tenure-track faculty. Through the theoretical framework of institutionalization, we examine factors and strategies forwarding various policies and practices and the challenges that arise. The results highlight themes throughout the stages of…

This study presents research comparing faculty-held norms for academic deans' behavior to Mertonian norms of science. Findings indicate that while some elements of Mertonian norms hold true, it is not the best pattern of grouping faculty expectations for deans. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)