Since 2001, U.S. states have mandated that principals in unsuccessful schools author a school improvement plan (SIP) using the rational model of planning. Research on their efficacy is sparse and evidence suggests that principals satisfice on these SIPs, producing work that is "good enough" to meet concerns for external legitimacy over…

Independent professional schools were a significant part of higher education in the United States until the rise of universities at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the overwhelming majority of professional schools are indeed affiliated with universities; however there are a growing number of professional schools in variety…

Public Master's granting universities have long been viewed as a sector "caught in the middle" between their much more prestigious research university counterparts and the more numerous community colleges. The little research that exists on this sector of institutions has suggested that the Master's university classification merely…

Scholars have argued that athletics are utilized by universities to advertise their school to all individuals (Collins, 2012; Dwyer, Eddy, Havard, & Braa, 2010; Toma & Cross, 1998; Washington & Ventresca, 2004; Weaver, 2010). Expectedly, university officials are willing to contribute resources in order to develop an effective athletics…

The decline in the number of liberal arts colleges since the mid-1950s has been precipitated by a number of factors, most prevalently the increase in larger comprehensive and research universities as well as the demand for job-ready degree programs. Since liberal arts colleges are largely tuition-driven, the lack of student interest has forced…

With the burgeoning of the Latina/o student population in postsecondary institutions, the federal government now designates institutions enrolling 25% or more undergraduate Latina/o students as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Enrolling over 50% of all Latina/o college students, HSIs are important contributors to the enrollment, persistence,…

This dissertation explores and explains the organizational responses of Mexican public state universities to an ambitious incentive-based policy created by the federal government in 2001: "The Integral Program for Institutional Strengthening" ("PIFI"). Drawing upon literature on organizational-environmental relationships and on…

Despite the importance of effective linkages between credit and noncredit divisions, significant barriers interfere with and detract from these units working well together. Community college leaders are challenged to manage these multiple and sometimes competing organizational identities in a complex and rapidly-changing educational landscape.…