<p> This study explored the challenges minority students face in obtaining and understanding information when trying to apply for financial aid. One-to-one interviews, a focus group, and a review of documents were sources of data for the study. Themes emerging from the investigation were accessibility to financial aid information, dissemination of financial aid information, navigating the financial aid process, addressing institutional barriers to financial aid, and increase collaboration between high school and colleges/universities. Findings from the study included a need for earlier information to assist in navigating the financial aid process and a need for increased parental access to information. Recommendations for research include expanding the study to include quantitative research on the challenges facing minority students who apply for financial aid. Further research may be conducted on the community and non-profit organizations whose mission it is to help families navigate financial aid and college preparation.</p>

<p> The purpose for this dissertation is to explore how students who have borrowed to attend a large, urban community college develop their value proposition for postsecondary education. Nearly half of all students in the United States begin their postsecondary education at community colleges. In the aftermath of the Great Recession when unemployment rates were unusually high, enrollment at community colleges increased dramatically, especially amongst minority students. This study focuses on three central questions: how do community college students describe their demand for higher education? Secondly, how do these students describe the economic and social benefits of college? And thirdly, to what extent do students understand the costs of college and their sources of financial aid? The study modifies Perna's Multi-Level Conceptual Model of Student Enrollment based upon the findings derived from qualitative interviews with twenty, currently community college students during the 2012 fall semester to determine how community college students define their value proposition. This value proposition was found to be comprised of the student's demand for higher education through academic preparation, availability of financial resources and the student's aspirations. Additionally, the value proposition was comprised of the expected benefits as expressed in monetary and non-monetary expectations as well as cost considerations. These combined enrollment factors were used to determine what criteria formed the basis for the student's borrowing decision and the use of the loan proceeds. The student interviews were analyzed through the lens of the multi-level conceptual framework and an interview with the institution's lending officer was used to interpret the student responses. The choice to attend community college was found to be more circumstantial than deliberate. The increasingly nontraditional students who do enroll in these institutions often have to balance employment and family obligations in pursuit of their aspirations. While these students pursued college with the expectation of higher earnings upon completion, many had an altruistic purpose in serving others. Finally, there exists a significant knowledge gap with regard to financial literacy exists among students which is exacerbated by the complexity of the financial aid process and the limited institutional resources available to support the nontraditional students attending community colleges.</p>

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2839. Adviser: Kern Alexander. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-96) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p>The role of the chief financial officer (CFO) is critical to the effective leadership of U.S. four-year public colleges and universities. Self-awareness and the capacity to view situations simultaneously in multiple ways and from different perspectives are essential elements of CFO effectiveness and success in the higher education environment. </p><p> The relationship of the chief financial officer and the chief academic officer (CAO) is a key component of effective higher education leadership and a critical element of CFO success. Information about the self-perceptions of chief financial officers and perceptions of chief financial officers by chief academic officers will: (1) enhance CFO self-awareness and effectiveness, (2) broaden their ability to apply multi-frame thinking and formulate adaptive approaches, and (3) deepen their understanding of and appreciation for the CFO/CAO relationship. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to examine the predominant leadership orientations of CFOs at U.S. four-year public colleges and universities as self-perceived and as perceived by CAOs. </p><p> The study employed survey methodology to gather information about CFOs&rsquo; self-perception of their leadership orientations and the perception of CFOs&rsquo; leadership orientations by CAOs. Information on demographic characteristics was gathered to determine if they explained variations in the responses. The Bolman and Deal Leadership Orientation Questionnaires for SELF and OTHERS were employed to gather the information. </p><p> Three general findings emerged from the study. First, both CFOs and their CAO colleagues perceive that CFOs employ the structural frame as their predominant leadership orientation. Second, the demographic characteristics considered did not account for any significant difference in the responses received from either group. Third, there is no significant difference in how CFOs and CAOs perceive the CFO&rsquo;s predominant leadership orientation, the structural frame. </p>

<p> Debt for public colleges and universities has been increasing while financial resources, which provide the support to repay debt, have been declining. As debt increases in proportion to assets, the risk profile of a college or university increases. This study examined the relationships between financial variables and institutional characteristics that relate to long-term debt and leverage of U.S. four-year public colleges and universities during a period of economic downturn. Understanding these relationships is needed to determine factors that enable or constrain public higher education's ability to borrow funds to meet organizational goals. In addition, this study also explored long-term debt and leverage trends categorized by Carnegie classification and geographic region from 2005 to 2009. </p><p> The data for the study were obtained from IPEDS. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and OLS regression were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that both long-term debt and leverage of public institutions had increased from 2005 to 2009. However, leverage increased at a slower pace, which indicated that public universities were able to use existing assets to offset the increase in liabilities associated with the additional long-term debt. This study also found that differences existed in long-term debt by Carnegie classification. Doctoral/Research institutions had more long-term debt than Master's institutions, and Master's institutions had more long-term debt than Baccalaureate institutions. Although Master's institutions did not have the greatest amount of long-term debt, they had greater amounts of leverage than Doctoral/Research and Baccalaureate institutions in all fiscal years. Additionally, Master's and Doctoral/Research institutions located in the Northeast had mean leverage in all five years that exceeded recommended thresholds. </p><p> The variable with the strongest relationship with long-term debt was property, plant, and equipment. Approximately 65.9% of the variance in long-term debt was explained by property, plant, and equipment. In comparison, the leverage model showed that geographic regions had the strongest relationship with leverage. Collectively, the West, Midwest, and Southeast regions accounted for 27.1% of the variance in leverage. The detailed results of the findings, conclusions, and recommendations are provided at the end of the study.</p>

<p> Fluctuations within the global economy have the capacity to affect the revenue streams of institutions of higher education, often necessitating discussions of financially-motivated mission shift within the context of governing boards. This study investigated the manner in which institutional cultural attitudes of governing board members differ when discussing such issues at religious institutions of higher education. These differences were studied within the unique context of the challenges raised by the interplay between organizational change and a culture defined, in part, by doctrinal formulations. Governing board members at five religious institutions of higher education were interviewed in a qualitative comparative case study regarding the board decision-making process. Structured interviews utilized the critical incident technique and the framework of resource dependence theory. The study revealed critical differences in the manner in which board members engaged the decision-making process in each of the aspects of resource dependence theory, as well as in the areas of institutional mission and finance. The local societal context of each institution was revealed to be a critical component in the board decision-making process relative to institutional mission, institutional finance, and financially-motivated mission shift.</p>

<p> Before 1998 a majority of English youth were supported to attend university. The government paid out "living grants" to students who enrolled in universities across the country. Some of the grants covered all living and school expenses outside tuition; others were not as generous. The subsequent story in England, however, is one of a society having been given a public good, like education, to then experience that security dwindling away in the form of new tuition and fees. This study analyzes the perceptions of former students who have been caught in the financial spiral and whether their own experience while at university and as recent alumni motivates their involvement with their university. Specific attention to the most recent tuition increases effective in 2012 and the changing nature of alumni relations services across three institutions illustrates how universities have reacted to their own awareness that students and young alumni may be expecting more from universities. A qualitative methodology including document analysis and interviews with three peer universities was conducted in efforts to study this phenomenon. Alumni engagement, however, is not a one-way street. Higher education institutions in England are aware of the notion of alumni as consumers and some are preparing proactively for addressing the needs and interests of their constituents. The quantity and quality of these interactions between the young alum and alma mater may be influenced by what is perceived today as a lifelong transaction. Success in building relationships with recent graduates faced with greater financial debt rests with the ability of the institution to provide relevance and value for students and young alumni alike.</p>