Universities and colleges

This study operationalized Bekkers and Wiepking's (2007, 2011) eight theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving, examining them within the context of alumni donor behavior at a selected public university in the southern region of the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine if the theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving represent distinct psychometric dimensions, and whether they are correlated with one another or essentially independent. A survey with 24 original items was created for this study, and completed by 178 alumni association member donors and non-member donors from the selected university. The study found support for six factors that are relatively independent of one another, contributing meaningfully to the overall multidimensional construct. The found factors were labeled efficacy, solicitation, reputation, values, altruism, and awareness of need as they fit reasonably well according to their original names. No differences were found between the mean response scores for alumni association member donors and non-member donors across the six dimensions. These results are beneficial for university fundraisers, alumni relations professionals, researchers in the field of philanthropy, and methodologists interested in developing instruments that measure the motivations for private giving.

The Chief Research Administrator (CRA), also known as the Vice President, Vice Provost, or Vice Chancellor for Research, plays a key role in the research university. It is a position of power and not only affects the mission of the institution, but also controls a very large and vital percentage of external funding. The lack of information on how to prepare for the position makes it difficult to plan a career path for those who aspire to the position. This study was designed to obtain information to define the persona and career path(s) of the CRA at research universities in the United States. Survey data related to career pathways resulted in the emergence of four main pathways; Faculty/Academic, Administrative, Private Industry, and a Combination of the first three pathways. The results indicated that the most highly cited pathway to the position of the CRA was the Faculty/Academic (83%). The least traveled pathway to the position of CRA was found to be Administrative, that is, beginning at the lowest levels of a research office or administrative position and progressing through the ranks of the research office.

This study explores the strategic thinking and strategic planning efforts in a department, college and university in the southeastern United States. The goal of the study was to identify elements of strategic planning processes that meet the unique organizational features and complexities of a higher education institution. The study employed a holistic, multi-case study approach, wherein three single case studies were conducted with one unit of analysis. The findings in each case were then compared and contrasted to provide more evidence and confidence in the findings. The findings are framed by two constructs : strategic planning and strategic thinking. The conceptual framework for the study identified the distinction between the systematic nature of strategic planning and the more integrated perspective of strategic thinking. Traditional business based strategic planning model uses an analytical process, logic, linear thinking and a calculating process to develop a plan. Strategi c thinking places a premium on synthesis, systems thinking and a social cognitive process that results in an integrated perspective of the organization. The resluts of this study indicate that the use of the Strategic Thinking Protocolà is suitable for higher education organizations to create a learning environment, to implement creative and emergent strategies, that result in the organization's positioning and responses to a rapidly changing environment. The strategic thinking process in both the department and college cases were found to be effective in altering the attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors of the participants. The integration of the plan is an ongoing process with strong beginnings in both the department and college cases.

The purpose of this single site case study was to identify how four advising teams in a medium-sized public university adapt to the changes presented to them and what role leadership and culture play in that adaptation. This was accomplished through analysis of advisor and administrator interviews, office and meeting observations, and reviews of documents relating to advising and university changes in curriculum and systems. The study was guided by team culture and the five core adaptation strategies described by Eckel and Kezar (2003). The study indicates that although part of the same institution, each advising team has a unique culture and approach to doing their work. In turn each team has a different approach to their adaptation to the change that affects them. The study began with an examination of how and if the advising teams use the five core adaptation strategies described by Eckel and Kezar (2003). It was found that these adaptation strategies were not utilized because they require authority and the advisors do not have the organizational control necessary to use these strategies. However, the study revealed that the advising teams adapt to their environment through coping mechanisms depending on the type of adaptation. It was also found that the responses the advising teams have to particular change events depends on when they find out about the change as well as the culture and leadership of the teams. Consequently, their resilience to changes is a result of their ability to either absorb the change or alter their system quickly in reaction to the change. Implications are presented for universities and the advising teams in addition to recommendations for future study.

This study examined the relationship between selected student and institutional characteristics and the retention rates of first-time, degree seeking, full-time and parttime, freshman student cohorts in public community colleges in Florida. Based on data obtained from the Integrated Post-Secondary Data System on selected student and institutional variables for three years beginning fall 2005, 2006 and 2007, retention rates were analyzed for the years beginning fall 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. This quantitative non-experimental descriptive study relied on multiple regression to analyze aggregated data on eight predictor variables to determine their impact student retention rates. A moderating variable (institutional size) was used to determine its influence on the relationship between the predictor variables and the criterion variable. The results suggest that gender and age were positively related to student retention rate at the parttime level, academic support expenses were negatively related to student retention rates at the part-time and full-time levels, and institutional size moderated the relationship between certain predictor variables and retention rates at small institutions.

This study focused on the capital costs of the community college baccalaureate (CCB) institutions established in the Florida College System (FCS) from 2001 to 2010. This period spanned the entire history to date of the Florida CCB. The data analyzed included selected institutional, financial, and baccalaureate characteristics of the Florida CCBs and for comparison included corresponding institutional and financial characteristics for the non-CCB institutions in the FCS. The data analysis investigated the relationships between these characteristics and the baccalaureate capital costs reported by Florida's CCB colleges. From these relationships, the historic average of the baccalaureate start-up capital cost was derived. In addition, the total baccalaureate capital cost for the system and for each Florida CCB college was also determined. As part of the process of conducting this study, a number of additional relationships between CCB and non-CCB institutions were explored, reported, and described.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the pre-disaster planning processes and practices used by Florida's community college administrators as of December 2008. FEMA's Building a Disaster Resistant University (DRU) model was the conceptual lens for this study. A mixed methods research design included 15 surveys completed by Florida community college business officers and six semi-structured interviews with staff most involved in pre-disaster planning. Data were compared to DRU guidelines to establish whether processes and practices were congruent with the DRU. Six quantitative findings were reported in this study. First, 5 of 14 (35.7%) survey respondents appointed a project manager ; second, 14 of 15 respondents (93.3%) conducted a risk assessment ; third, 13 of 15 (87%) respondents reported contacting 2 to14 stakeholders; fourth, 14 of 15 (93.3%) survey respondents conducted an inventory of buildings and infrastructure assets; fifth, majority of survey respondents ( 87.7%) reported they identified mitigation goals and objectives; sixth, 8 of 14 (57.1%) respondents' president formally adopted the pre-disaster mitigation plan.