Schools develop mission statements in part to communicate their purposes of schooling to internal and external audiences. The goal of this study is to employ text analytic techniques to analyze school mission statements. Focusing on Arizona and New Jersey's schools, we seek to understand: 1) what themes (topics) emerge from their mission…

This investigation provides a base-line measurement of the inspirational and pragmatic rhetoric in declarations of institutional vision at tribal community colleges. By comparing it to nontribal community colleges, this content analysis reveals the current state of utility of the mission and vision statements of tribal community colleges, their…

These authors, all teacher educators, researchers, and scholars, are immersed across issues related to social justice in teacher education. Here, they reflect on and synthesize what they have learned from the literature, their practice, and their research to discuss social justice imperatives for teacher education. For the past 7 years, the…

The purpose of the 1990 apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education entitled "Ex Corde Ecclesiae" (From the Heart of the Church) is to emphasize the dual relationship Catholic institutions have to the academic community as well as the Church. The concepts of Catholicism and university are not to be experienced as polarizing…

"The Quality Imperative" was approved by the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities in December 2009. This statement focuses on the core issue of educational quality. Both employers and educators know that the higher education quality shortfall is just as urgent as the attainment shortfall. Today's employers…

Whether and to what extent a college or university vision is embraced, transformed into action, and dispersed to the campus community by academic advisors is largely dependent on the rhetoric of the vision statement. Through a content analysis of a nation-wide sample of vision and mission statements from NACADA-membership institutions, we isolated…

A college or university's general approach to students and student support services, as reflected in its institutional vision, can serve to advocate the adoption of one type of advising structure, approach, and delivery system over another. A content analysis of a nationwide sample of institutional vision statements from NACADA-membership colleges…

A description of the kinds of educated humans to be cultivated at a particular institution can be found in the college or university vision statement. The extent that vision is reflected in the governing models of advising operations, known by personnel, and transformed into day-to-day activities was assessed through a NACADA membership survey.…

This dissertation provides historical insight into the design and implementation of one strategic plan of a public higher education system in an effort to inform future similar strategic planning processes. On July 1, 1994, the Board of Regents appointed Stephen R. Portch the ninth Chancellor of the University System of Georgia. The timing was…

Over the past decade, many government and policy documents have highlighted with greater urgency the need for lifelong learning. What do present mission statements of Canadian universities have to say regarding lifelong learning? In researching this question we analyzed the institutional mission statements of 58 Canadian universities to identify…