Policy and Performance in American Higher Education presents a new approach to understanding how public policy influences institutional performance, with practical insight for those charged with crafting and implementing higher education policy. Public institutions of higher learning are called upon by state governments to provide educational access and opportunity for students. Paradoxically, the education policies enacted by state legislatures are often complex and costly to implement, which can ultimately detract from that mission. Richard Richardson, Jr., and Mario Martinez evaluate the higher education systems of five states to explain how these policies are developed and how they affect the performance of individual institutions. The authors compare the higher education systems of New Mexico, California, South Dakota, New York, and New Jersey and describe the difficulty of enforcing state policies amid increasing demands for greater efficiency and accountability. In the process they identify the "rules in use"—rules that are central to the coherence and performance of higher education systems—that administrators apply to meet organizational goals within the constraints of changing, sometimes conflicting federal and state policies. Incorporating rich data from seven years of observations, interviews, and research, Richardson and Martinez offer a clear comparative framework for understanding state higher education.

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs)—specifically Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)—have carved out a unique niche in the nation, serving the needs of low-income, underrepresented students of color. Covering foundational topics relating to MSIs, chapter authors explore how salient issues across the landscape of higher education play out within the MSI context. Undergirded by national data and key literature, A Primer on Minority Serving Institutions provides graduate students, scholars, and researchers a full picture of the work and contributions of MSIs and urges them to think about MSIs as part of the larger higher education landscape.

American Higher Education in the Twenty-first century offers a comprehensive introduction to the central issues facing American colleges and universities. The contributors address major changes in higher education--including the rise of organized social movements, the problem of income inequality and stratification, the growth of for-profit and distance education, online education, community colleges, and teaching and learning-- will placing American higher education and its complex social and political context. --Cover.

Voting and elections may often be cited as the most entertaining aspect of political theatre, however, it is the arena of public policy that has the most direct impact on the lives of the citizenry. And as we have seen played out in recent debates over healthcare reform, policy changes can be dramatic, sweeping, and often hotly contested. Known for providing a trusted and comprehensive overview of the policy process, B. Guy Peters returns with the ninth edition of American Public Policy: Promise and Performance. Beyond walking students through the governmental structures and policy-making procedures, Peters efficiently covers a wide swath of policy areas, and then concludes with a look at both cost-benefit analysis and ethical analysis. Framed in context of the aftermath of the financial crisis and Great Recession, the ninth edition considers how policy has been impacted by persistent unemployment and growing income inequality. In addition, Peters discusses the strain on education budgets, increased oversight of financial activities, fiscal policies meant to stimulate the economy, and the political challenge of balancing the budget in light of increased public spending.

This book surveys the use of performance indicators of teaching, of reseach and of administration, and offers suggestions on how they might be developed and used.

A rigorous analysis of the impact—and implications—of performance funding for higher education. Seeking greater accountability in higher education, many states have adopted performance funding, tying state financial support of colleges and universities directly to institutional performance based on specific outcomes such as student retention, progression, and graduation. Now in place in over thirty states, performance funding for higher education has been endorsed by the US Department of Education and major funders like the Gates and Lumina foundations. Focusing on three states that are regarded as leaders in the movement—Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee—Performance Funding for Higher Education presents the findings of a three-year research study on its implementation and impacts. Written by leading authorities and drawing on extensive interviews with government officials and college and university staff members, this book describes the policy instruments states use to implement performance funding; explores the organizational processes colleges rely on to determine how to respond to performance funding; analyzes the influence of performance funding on institutional policies and programs; reviews the impacts of performance funding on student outcomes; examines the obstacles institutions encounter in responding to performance funding demands; investigates the unintended impacts of performance funding. The authors conclude that, while performance funding clearly grabs the attention of colleges and leads them to change their policies and practices, it also encounters major obstacles and has unintended impacts. Colleges subject to performance funding are hindered in posting good results by inappropriate performance measures, insufficient organizational infrastructure, and the commitment to enroll many students who are poorly prepared or not interested in degrees. These obstacles help explain why multivariate statistical studies have failed to date to find a significant impact of performance funding on student outcomes, and why colleges are tempted to resort to weakening academic quality and restricting the admission of less-prepared and less-advantaged students in order to improve their apparent performance. These findings have wide-ranging implications for policy and research. Ultimately, the authors recommend that states create new ways of helping colleges with many at-risk students, define performance indicators and measures better tailored to institutional missions, and improve the capacity of colleges to engage in organizational learning.

·What is the policy background to current interest in retention and student success? ·What causes students to leave institutions without completing their programmes? ·How can theory and research help institutions to encourage student success? Retention and completion rates are important measures of the performance of institutions and higher education systems. Understanding the causes of student non-completion is vital for an institution seeking to increase the chances of student success. The early chapters of this book discuss retention and student success from a public policy perspective. The later chapters concentrate on theory and research evidence, and on how these can inform institutional practices designed to enhance retention and success (particularly where students are enrolled from disadvantaged backgrounds). This book draws upon international experience, particularly from the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and the United States. Retention and Student Success in Higher Education is essential reading for lecturers, support staff, and senior managers in higher education institutions, and for those with a wider policy interest in these matters.

Over the past several decades, American society has experienced fundamental changes – from shifting relations between social groups and evolving language and behavior norms to the increasing value of a college degree. These transformations have polarized the nation's political climate and ignited a perpetual culture war. In a sequel to their award-winning collaboration Asymmetric Politics, Grossmann and Hopkins draw on an extensive variety of evidence to explore how these changes have affected both major parties. They show that the Democrats have become the home of highly-educated citizens with progressive social views who prefer credentialed experts to make policy decisions, while Republicans have become the populist champions of white voters without college degrees who increasingly distrust teachers, scientists, journalists, universities, non-profit organizations, and even corporations. The result of this new “diploma divide” between the parties is an increasingly complex world in which everything is about politics – and politics is about everything.

The foremost scholars in student affairs discuss issues facing the field today, approaches to those issues, and skills necessary to enact the approaches Professionals in student affairs administration need practical, timely, and applied information on the myriad issues they encounter in supporting the success of the students and the institutions they serve. In the Handbook of Student Affairs Administration, the top scholars in the field share the latest information, methods, and advice on addressing these issues. The book is sponsored by NASPA, the leading professional organization for student affairs in higher education. This fifth edition has been updated to reflect current and effective techniques in student affairs administration including new chapters on anti-oppressive frameworks and equity in praxis, access for students with disabilities, men and masculinities, support for students’ mental health and well-being, and student employment as learning-integrated work. There is also an emphasis throughout on adult learners, online learners, part-time students, and transfer students. Chapter authors of diverse gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, experiential background, and type of institution offer broader perspectives. Learn about the dominant organization and administration models in student affairs Stay up to date on core competencies and professional development models Discover research-based strategies for addressing both emerging and lasting issues in student affairs Instructor resources available The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration is a comprehensive and thoughtful resource, with expert insight on the issues facing student affairs. This is one handbook students and professionals in the field won’t want to go without.

After decades of national, state, and institutional initiatives to increase access to higher education, the college pipeline for American Indian and Alaska Native students remains largely unaddressed. As a result, little is known and even less is understood about the critical isues, conditions, and postsecondary transitions of this diverse group of students. Framed around the concept of tribal nation building, this monograph reviews the research on higher education for Indigenous peoples in the United States. It offers an analysis of what is currently known about postsecondary education among Indigenous students, Native communities, and tribal nations. Also offered is an overview of the concept of tribal nation building, with the suggestion that future research, policy, and practice center the ideas of nation building, sovereignty, Indigenous knowledge systems, and culturally responsive schooling.