Using generalized difference-in-difference and synthetic control modeling, this study estimates the influence of the community-college baccalaureate (CCB) on institutional finance over time and by intensity. Leveraging data spanning 19 years (1999-2017), I find no impact on overall revenue but suggestive evidence of upfront costs and slight…

In this paper, we employ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory to consider institutions' shifting goals, priorities, and constraints, and to explore the nature of change at colleges and universities in the United States. By exploiting annual changes in institutional budget decisions over a 29-year period, we seek to understand the extent to which…

More than resource allocations, evaluations of funding applications have become central instances for status bestowal in academia. Much attention in past literature has been devoted to grasping the status consequences of prominent funding evaluations. But little attention has been paid to understanding how the status-bestowing momentum of such…

In "The Tyranny of Merit," Michael Sandel argues that the American society is not meritocratic, that belief that it is causes various social harms, and that some of those harms -- in particular, the costs to social solidarity -- would be caused even if society actually were meritocratic. He also explores the way that the structure of…

This paper asks whether improving the quality of public schools can be an effective long-run crime-prevention strategy in the U.S. Specifically, we examine the effect of school quality improvements early in children's lives on the likelihood that they are arrested as adults. We exploit quasi-experimental variation in school quality due to…

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the biggest disruption to EU countries' societies and economies, including their education systems, since World War II. Responding to the crisis has forced national governments to increase their spending to keep the economy and public services afloat. This situation has brought about significant opportunities as…

The Michigan Legislature passed legislation in October 2021 to create the Student Opportunity Scholarship Program, which would give thousands of families across the state more spending power to help meet their children's educational needs. This report unpacks this proposed education savings account program and analyzes its potential fiscal impacts.

This study provided Radford University with an opportunity to better understand the motivating behaviors of faculty and staff while distinguishing the strategies that influence their interest in giving or choosing not to give. In this study, I used a mixed-methods approach for data collection to answer my research questions and to inform the…

Although the community college's original intent was to fulfill a mission dedicated to offering a low-cost, high-quality education to its community, fulfilling its mission is has become more difficult based on ever-increasing financial stresses being placed upon it by various constituent groups. As such, a growing piece of the community college…

The changing financing model for public institutions of higher education has brought into focus the importance of alumni fundraising and the factors that increase the likelihood of giving. Recognizing these dynamics, higher education leaders are increasingly implementing what are known as high-impact practices into the student experience with the…

Performance funding has been a popular form of funding colleges and universities for several decades. Often the purpose is to make universities more efficient (Miao, 2012). Missouri has had two separate models of performance funding in play, a decade apart. In this research both performance funding models are examined, including a 10- year period…

The year 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of implementation of New Jersey's court-ordered, full-day, high-quality preschool program in the state's 31 high-poverty, urban, "Abbott" districts. As the state continues to expand the program beyond these districts, it is imperative to examine whether Abbott Preschool is effectively meeting the…

California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) received a six-year grant, "Providing Aid for STEM Success" (PASS), from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in March 2024 to offer scholarships and tailored support to academically talented, low-income students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). In its inaugural…

Opponents of education choice recycle the same false prophesies of doom without regard to the evidence or the size and scope of the proposals. For decades, the most common objection to education choice policies has been that they will "destroy public education." According to the critics, choice policies will induce the parents most…

The rapid expansion of neo-liberal regimes has effectively transformed how students -- their role and purpose -- are understood in society. Scholars, especially in the Anglophone North, have shown how dominant policy narratives tend to position students as consumers. More recent studies have begun to explore students' views of this construction.…