The purpose of this study is to understand how strategy and strategic decision-making have contributed to financial strength at those small, private, non-profit, less-selective, tuition-dependent institutions with small endowments that have established financial stability. Interviews were conducted of participants at three institutions, including…

This multiple-case study sought to understand how senior student affairs officers engaged in crisis leadership and decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic's first year. Five themes emerged from the research: (a) influence of institutional structure and culture on decisions, (b) uniqueness of COVID crisis decision making, (c) engagement and…

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the reasons for small private college participation in intercollegiate athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dissertation also provides context to institutional staff members' decision-making processes and experiences charged with overseeing athletics participation. Finally, the dissertation…

The popular image of college football is that of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I programs whose nationally known student athletes participate in televised bowl games before being drafted by the National Football League (sometimes entering the draft before finishing college). The salaries of Division I team coaches can…

The percentage of full-time college students decreased by 7% in the United States between 2010 and 2018. Modern university leaders confront difficult decisions regarding their institutions' future because of financial challenges related to reduced tuition revenue. Grounded in the theory of diffusion of innovations and the balanced scorecard, the…

To continue to meet the changing needs of students and the evolving higher education environment, further exploration into the viability of an online career development course was needed. The purpose of this post-positivist, quantitative, quasi-experimental design study was to examine the effectiveness of an online career development course versus…

Although several ethical decision-making methods exist, there is a dearth of research evaluating their use and effectiveness. This study examined graduate student papers by both art therapy and counseling students that applied either the DO ART model (developed for art therapists) or the ABCDE worksheet (for general mental health usage) to case…

The purpose of this study was to gain essence of understanding of the phenomena of the influence of culture on the change process at small, private colleges. Research questions included cultural characteristics of a campus, the impact of policy and procedure on shaping culture, the role of leadership in shaping culture, and contextual conditions…

Research on college student retention has been conducted for over four decades. However, the majority of this research focuses on first-year college students, with very few studies focusing on the retention of college seniors. While only a small percentage of college seniors withdraw from their universities, the impact of not obtaining a…

First-generation college students, students whose parents have not earned a four-year degree, are not new to higher education, but their increasing presence at private, four-year institutions requires careful attention from administration and faculty. The rising costs of higher education combined with the nation's recent economic decline have made…

This study explored whether financial leaders and institutional governing boards use financial indicators as a tool to inform decision making, solely as a compliance measurement tool, or not at all. The purpose of this qualitative study was two-fold to: (a) identify the use of financial indicators in strategic decision making, and (b) investigate…

A simple, flexible approach of planning for small colleges is presented after which action can be patterned. Alternative methods are described for carrying out the important activities found in most processes designed to generate a long-range institutional plan. A rationale for planning is offered along with a discussion of what planning can do…

The behaviors and subsequent situations of two sets of colleges that experienced severe financial difficulties in the mid-1970s were examined. One set made a dramatic recovery; the other set did not. The more resilient group pursued a combination of adaptive and interpretive strategies. (MLW)

A survey of one college's freshman and transfer students was used to test a five-component model of college choice behavior. It looked at the relationships between students' perceived decision influences (recruitment strategies) and student gender, residency status, and religious affiliation. (MSE)

Bradford College (Massachusetts), a small liberal arts college, used creative planning to revitalize the institution despite fiscal constraints. Decisions and actions since 1981 are reviewed in terms of first steps (revitalizing faculty affairs), finding a new president, reorganizing the curriculum, planning noncurricular changes, and developing…