Kimball begins this essay by comparing the start of the "golden age" of liberal arts education as the period between about 1950 and 1975 when American higher education's revenue and enrollments of colleges and universities grew enormously. During the subsequent silver age of academe, ending in the Great Recession of 2008-2009,…

The study's main objective was to provide a detailed description of math Assessment and Placement (A&P) policies in the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD). The study was focused on math because a larger proportion of students place into remedial math than remedial reading or English (Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010; Parsad,…

This study is a qualitative inquiry into the institutionalization of equitable policies for non-tenure-track faculty. Through the theoretical framework of institutionalization, we examine factors and strategies forwarding various policies and practices and the challenges that arise. The results highlight themes throughout the stages of…

This article reports on a study that examined whether the presence of a consolidated governing board for higher education conditions the impact various political factors have on state support for higher education. The existence of a consolidated governing board is shown to significantly alter the politics of the state higher education…

Our fixed-effects panel data analysis of state spending on higher education fills a near void of studies examining capital expenditures on higher education. In our study, we found that political characteristics (e.g., interest group activity, organizational structure, and formal powers) largely account for differences between general fund and…

This analysis, based on focus groups and a national survey, assesses scientists' subscription to the Mertonian norms of science and associated counternorms. It also supports extension of these norms to governance (as opposed to administration), as a norm of decision-making, and quality (as opposed to quantity), as an evaluative norm. (Contains 1…

In this article, I assert that the work of colleges and universities forms a social action system. I array the critical positions represented in this issue according to the four functional imperatives of social action systems: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and pattern maintenance. I discuss the role of normative structures for these…

This study investigates the changes in the structure of state-level governance for universities in Florida from 2000 to 2002, and examines three distinct narratives that explain the processes of and the reasons for the structural changes. The author presents three specific sets of literature which help set the framework for examining the recent…

Over the past several decades, state officials and various interest groups and civic organizations have increased their level of direct involvement in the affairs of public higher education. The increase in external attention toward the academy would likely be accompanied by the development of oversight mechanisms to ensure that societal…

A growing body of research indicates that the manner in which states govern higher education "matters." Thus, the restructuring of governance patterns may hold important implications for higher education policy, finance, and management. Somewhat more abstractly, shifting governance patterns afford researchers an excellent opportunity to test…

This study empirically examines the changing nature of linkages between 20 of the United States's most productive research universities and the corporate world by comparing the number and nature of simultaneous memberships on the boards of trustees of these institutions and the boards of directors of some of the nation's largest corporate entities…

In this study, quantitative and qualitative methods were used to identify factors that best explain variations in state appropriations for Carnegie Public Research I Universities during the late 1990s. A combination of cultural, political, and institutional factors emerged as critical elements accounting for differences in support including…

This study examines performance among public higher education boards, describing the results from a national study. The research questions that framed the study were: What are the elements of high performance/effectiveness in public higher education governing boards? How does performance among public higher education boards compare to the research…

In an effort to bring greater conceptual richness and analytical rigor to bear on the question of postsecondary policy innovation, this study builds on the work of Hearn and Griswold (1994) by analyzing the determinants of state policy innovation in the postsecondary arena over nearly a 20-year period. Specifically, the authors employ longitudinal…

Campuses across the country are being asked to respond to a host of challenges: technology, diverse and changing populations, competition, financial stress, and globalization to name a few. Yet, in most instances, campus decision-making mechanisms are not prepared to handle these increasingly complex issues. In addition, traditional conceptions of…