The affordability of a degree from a public university is the subject of much heated debate in the halls of many state governments. The taxpayer, as well as the individual paying tuition, is asking the question: What is the return on investment for the millions of dollars used to support public higher education? The taxpayer views public universities as bloated, inefficient, staffed with overpaid faculty, prioritizing athletics over academics, and unable to control costs. The recent graduate is asking: Was obtaining a degree worth the thousands of dollars of debt only to find no job upon graduation? Furthermore, local governments under pressure to meet balanced budgets are asking local non-profits, including universities, who pay no local taxes to help with expenses for such items as fire protection. Public universities are asked to be competitive and control costs, but are not given the autonomy to increase tuition or to close a branch campus to cut costs because state legislators hear from their constituent that rising tuition is making the degree cost prohibitive or closing a branch campus would be a disaster to a local economy. This study aims to help expand the knowledge base for higher education administrators who are seeking to enhance revenue streams, policy makers who are implementing performance based funding for public higher education, and researchers who are seeking to better understand predictors of alumni giving and the impact of the online program graduate may have on philanthropy. Online education is growing at a rapid pace in the United States. According to the 2012 Survey of Online Learning conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group in collaboration with the Sloan Consortium found students taking at least online course now exceeds 6.7 million and this is an increase of over 570,000 from the year prior (Sloan Constortium, 2013). Further the survey results found thirty-two percent of higher education students now take at least one course online and seventy-seven percent of academic leaders found learning outcomes coming from online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face classes. This study examined predictors of alumni donor behavior of graduates of the traditional and online MBA programs from a public research university. Logistic regression was used to analyze the variables of student experience and alumni experience. The study is grounded in the organizational identity theoretical framework and a questionnaire was mailed to collect the data for the study. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]