The long-term financial viability of private higher education has been a topic of concern for some time, with experts predicting their decline. This concern has been exacerbated by declining enrollment, mounting deficits, and a wave of closures among small private institutions. Demographic changes, including declining high school graduate…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), there were 3,982 degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States in the 2019-2020 school year. Of these, 1,625 were public institutions and another 1,660 were private, nonprofit institutions (four-year and two-year schools). The private, nonprofit sector plays an…

This dissertation consists of three essays on market and mechanism design. In each essay, I utilize tools and knowledge from game theory, equilibrium theory, and mechanism design to explain agents' behavior and assess the market equilibrium structure in different allocation mechanisms, both with and without monetary transactions. The first two…

For-profit, online, higher education institutions have lower student retention rates than institutions in other categories. Higher education leaders are concerned with low retention as it adversely impacts financial and student outcomes. Grounded in Morgan and Hunt's relationship marketing theory, the purpose of this qualitative, exploratory,…

College enrollment rates have been on the decline over the past years, with more high school graduates choosing alternative pathways such as getting employed in an entry level job, pursuing a technical or trade training program, starting a small business, and entrepreneurship. This phenomenon may have been exacerbated by major events such as The…

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the context of neoliberal globalization currently face fierce competition and enormous financial burdens. To address financial distress and generate revenue, more and more HEIs embrace market-like strategies to attract international students, extending academic capitalism to global higher education. For…

Colleges are beginning to close in America. As time advances, the risk of further college closures or mergers in American higher education seems to be rising. But why? Why in a country where education is extolled as the foundation of the American Dream can institutions of higher education be at risk of going out of business? This study offers a…

Faculty members play a crucial role in higher education, contributing to knowledge dissemination and offering solutions to societal issues. However, policymakers often view higher education as an industry and overlook the consequences of funding cuts, neglecting the faculty's role in student success and institutional mission. Temporary faculty…

The discourse on cost of attendance (COA) at American colleges and universities is ambiguous and complex. The literature around COA labels it as the 'sticker price' to attend college but categorization in this manner often negates the true application and meaning of this term. COA also accounts for living allowances (or indirect costs) to help…

Postsecondary education (PE) is vital to meet the needs of the changing economy. The cost to attend PE continues to increase, which has elevated student loans. The ratio of debt to potential future income should be a factor considered when choosing to pursue PE. Bakersfield College (BC) and California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) are both…

Structural changes in European universities have been the subject of a significant body of research analyzing how governance is affected by external stakeholders such as states, markets, and other academic institutions, and the influence of internal stakeholders such as faculty and students. As state-imposed reforms interact with national…

Enrollment Management has been adopted by institutions of higher education as a strategy for managing enrollment to meet institutional goals, and it increasingly manifests as an administrative division that supports students. Many models of Enrollment Management exists, with the Divisional model being the most centralized; however, even within a…

The purpose of this single, descriptive case study was to gain new insight into how members of a successful higher education institution--Virtual U--are learning to adapt to the dynamic and ever-changing environment. This study examined one successful institution of higher education that has experienced exponential financial and student growth in…

Marketing strategy involves selecting a target market and determining the desired product positioning to attract the desired customers (Silk, 2006). Recently, community colleges have seen a decrease in student enrollment. In some cases, this was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic; in other cases budget constraints have posed challenges to…