On September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike, a huge storm with tropical storm force or greater winds extending 275 miles from the eye, made landfall in Galveston, Texas submerging over 75% of the city. In response to this crisis, Texas A&M University at Galveston, a small ocean oriented satellite school of 2000 students, deployed a never-before-attempted business continuity plan, relocating 91% of the student body and campus operations 150 miles inland to the mother campus of Texas A&M University in nine days. As a result, Texas A&M University at Galveston successfully weathered the storm and enjoyed a record enrollment the following spring semester. This dissertation utilized a case study methodology to look at the approach/planning process that went into the plan, the deployment of the plan, and the learning that took place throughout the crisis. In addition, the case study was considered through the use of a performance management system, specifically the Quality Texas Foundation - Engagement Level Criteria based on the Malcom Baldrige Quality Management Criteria, to determine whether this criteria might be appropriate for assessing future crisis response in higher education. All Texas A&M University at Galveston crisis team members were interviewed using the criteria to guide the discussion. The study revealed that the approach taken by the Texas A&M University at Galveston crisis team members was very timely in that a number of significant changes were implemented in the plan only a year prior to Hurricane Ike, initiated in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita’s impact on other universities. Furthermore while the approach outlined a plan that guided the relocation effort, significant areas that were not directly related to the relocation of the students, such as plans for the workforce not directly involved in the relocation and community involvement, were not adequately addressed. In deployment of the plan, the development of guiding principles to further align the thousands of decisions that would take place proved critical. The study further identified that the crisis team members incorporated learning into the approach and deployment of the plan, and established a very comprehensive assessment process immediately after the crisis. The study also revealed a number of valuable lessons for practice for use by other institutions as they develop their own crisis management plans. Lastly, the Quality Texas Foundation - Engagement Level Criteria provided a solid platform for crisis management assessment in higher education, particularly in large scale disaster type crises.

<p> This qualitative research study examined how junior-level undergraduate students clarify their values in the environment of a leadership course. Previous research indicated the concept of values clarification is a dynamic process in which people come to understand what they individually view as important in their lives by placing a name or label to what one values (i.e., honesty, love, success, etc.). This process commonly occurs during the traditional college years and is a critical component of the undergraduate experience. A college student clarifying their values is an important first step in the overall values development process. To encourage development, educators must first understand this process. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding how students clarify their values in college, specifically in the context of leadership coursework. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the essence of the students' experience in their values clarification. Utilizing a phenomenological method involving interviews, thematic coding, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and data saturation; primary themes were formed explaining the experience of how students identify their values in college. Data for the study were collected over a semester-long period in the spring of 2012 from junior-level students who were currently enrolled in or had successfully completed a course in an undergraduate Leadership Certificate at a large, Research I institution in the southeastern United States. Findings from this research helped to explain the experience of how junior-level students clarify their values in their collegiate experience and inform the practice of character education and leadership curriculum development in colleges and universities.</p>

<p> In an attempt to raise the level of leadership competence and to increase the number of qualified candidates for leadership positions within post-secondary institutions, many colleges are supporting leadership development training for faculty and staff. This qualitative case study explores whether participating in a leadership development program resulted in career advancements that can fill leadership gaps. The study&rsquo;s framework, expectancy theory, suggests that individuals who participate in leadership development expect to become leaders. This exploratory case study sought to learn whether, upon completion of a comprehensive leadership development program, participants applied for, and assumed, leadership positions. The leadership program under study was attended by a cohort of 58 participants from a diverse set of 17 institutions across Canada. A purposeful sample of 12 individuals was drawn from this cohort and participated in structured interviews conducted by the researcher. Data were collected and coded to reveal their career progression. The results provided evidence that using leadership development programs to fill a leadership gap is productive, and that the effectiveness of this strategy is enhanced when institutions purposefully select and support participants through all stages of their leadership development. Participants who pursued leadership opportunities indicated the importance of institutional involvement in leadership development. Social change can be achieved by following the recommendations of this study as they illuminate participant expectations, beliefs, and values that help create effective leaders who are more capable of providing better learning environments for students.</p>

<p> Short-term, faculty-led education abroad programs are steadily becoming the leading experience for students to actively participate in an educational, overseas experience. As the number of these programs increase, so do the concerns for addressing safety within groups in a foreign country. This research identified student development theories related to study abroad, including examples of small group-learning strategies and successful community strategies as the foundations for creating community and a community contract as a strategy to mitigate risk during short-term faculty-led programs. Case study methodology was employed, and six emergent themes were identified through the triangulation of five interview participants; forty-five individual blogs from 11 participants; and 30 direct participant observations. Evidence ultimately showed that responsibility and safety were linked to the process of creating community and a community contract, which helped to mitigate risk while students participated in a short-term faculty-led education abroad experience.</p><p>

<p> Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to explore the leadership styles of enrollment management leaders in small, private, nonprofit colleges and universities in Southern California.</p><p> Methodology. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand the leadership styles of enrollment management leaders. The researcher interviewed 10 enrollment management leaders working at small, private, nonprofit colleges and universities in Southern California. Those who fit this classification for this study included: vice presidents and deans of enrollment management and the directors, deans, associate directors, and associate deans who report to the vice presidents and deans of enrollment management.</p><p> Findings. Eight relevant themes emerged through participants&rsquo; responses to questions about their leadership styles. These themes included trust, recognition of differences, pursuit of information, clear expectations, open communication, appreciation, hands-on leadership, and work-life balance. Situational leadership and servant leadership were the strongest leadership styles reflected amongst enrollment management leaders in this study.</p><p> Conclusions. Trust emerged as the most common theme of this study. All 10 enrollment management leaders expressed a desire for a partnership approach in working environments. It was evident that staff should feel the freedom to work independently but understand that the leader is available to them if needed. Recognizing that leading with one approach would not fit all individuals and situations was another common theme. Most leaders indicated that they needed to mold to the requirements of the individual they are leading. </p><p> Recommendations. The higher education market is changing as our population adjusts to increased tuition rates, birth rate declines, and an adjustment to what the college student looks like. It is important to be mindful that enrollment management personnel must market their colleges in creative and innovative ways. That innovation begins from the top of the enrollment management pyramid. Leadership impacts the way a college&rsquo;s enrollment management team operates. Understanding leadership styles of these leaders is imperative to the success of an institution&rsquo;s goals.</p><p>

<p> Over 300,000 Chinese students are studying in the U.S., making China the top country of international origin with 31.2 percent of all U.S. international students (IIE, 2015). In addition, 2015 saw a 10 percent increase in international students in the U.S., a statistic that underscores the assumption that globally mobile students regard the U.S. as a destination of choice (IIE, 2015). In the fall of 2015, 1,758 Chinese students were studying at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) (University of Pittsburgh Fact Book, 2016).</p><p> The number of Chinese alumni will increase as these matriculated students graduate from U.S. universities. However, Chinese alumni university philanthropy has lagged behind domestic and international alumni philanthropy (Zi, 2014). The need for private philanthropy is clear. Higher education in the United States is in a financial crisis. Decreased funding from state and federal governments combined with rising costs have led higher education institutions to enhance efforts to raise funds from private philanthropic sources (Pew Charitable Trust, 2015).</p><p> In order to develop a philanthropic relationship between Chinese students and their U.S. host institutions, it is necessary to understand their student experience. Very little is known about this population by university departments that regularly interact with Chinese students, including the Office of International Services (OIS) at Pitt. OIS works closely with all international students during their tenure at university and is responsible for securing a student&rsquo;s Optional Practical Training (OPT) following graduation. Institutional Advancement (IA), the fundraising arm of a university, also has a vested interest in better understanding Chinese students.</p><p> This study employs a mixed-methods research design that employs a survey with Likert-style and open-ended responses. It asks Pitt&rsquo;s Chinese alumni about their experiences as undergraduate or graduate students. The findings may help universities better serve Chinese students and develop strong alumni ties. The two key findings from this study found that predictors of Chinese students&rsquo; overall satisfaction and thus future engagement potential were (1) tied to students&rsquo; ability to gain work or career building skills through their classes, a university teaching experience, and/or internships, and (2) students&rsquo; satisfaction with their interaction with OIS is tied to the amount of time allocated to their appointments.</p><p>

<p> Colleges and universities, to remain viable social institutions, will need to serve a more diverse population of students and do this well (Bierda &amp; Chait, 2011). First, they must respond to the changing demographics of the nation. The minority population will most likely be in the majority by the next U.S. census (Humes, Jones, &amp; Ramirez, 2011). According to information from the U.S. Census in 2010, 308.7 million people reside in the United States (Humes et al., 2011). This is an increase of 9.7% since 2000, and this increase is attributed to the growing population of those who do not identify as White (Humes et al., 2011). With this change, there will be an increase in diverse students in our schools and postsecondary institutions. </p><p> While Christian colleges should have made more progress on diversity-related efforts, such as enrolling more diverse students and increasing faculty diversity, the fact is that most have not&mdash;many have failed to recognize how diversity benefits students and the institution. This starts with an awareness of diversity and diversity objectives. The problems are many, but one key element may be that they do not have a ready-made roadmap to follow to make diversity an explicit part of their mission and focus. This study will highlight two institutions within the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities that have made an explicit commitment to diversity. The study will focus on the processes employed and challenges faced by two universities that have been successful in establishing a commitment to diversity. </p><p> The study followed a qualitative approach, and interviews were conducted with participants from two different institutions. The focus of the interviews was on the diversity statement, the roles of leaders in the change process, and the obstacles the institutions faced in becoming a more diverse community. Impacts of the diversity statement on faculty, curriculum, and leadership were also analyzed. </p><p> The major themes in the findings of the study included: (a) the link between institutional mission and values in diversity efforts, (b) the roles leaders played in the change process, and (c) the role of diversity champions in creating change. The results offer recommendations to college presidents and chief diversity officers for how to create change in diversity efforts on campus.</p><p>

<p> When major transnational events occur, such as the 2015 economic crisis within Greece, the 2016 violent conflicts within Turkey, and the creation of political policies such as the 2017 President Trump Executive Orders on visa and immigration, the effects ripple throughout the field of international higher education. How higher education institutions take into consideration such external forces, ultimately, can affect their internationalization efforts, strategies, and successes. </p><p> This qualitative study explores what the external forces are that affect a university&rsquo;s internationalization strategies, specifically in inbound and outbound mobility programs. It further examined in what way these forces are affecting their strategies and how universities adapt to these forces. Using data from the <i>Open Doors: Reports on International Education Exchange</i> and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), three private universities were selected that demonstrate large internationalization, inbound and outbound mobility strategies: Boston University, Northeastern University, and the University of Southern California. Further, this study was grounded in Kim Cameron&rsquo;s (1983, 1984) strategic choice and adaptation frameworks as a theoretical foundation, as the survival of the institution in today&rsquo;s global age is dependent on how well the institution can adapt during times of change. </p><p> The findings in this study reveal common themes across the three institutions, which resulted in seven external forces, or the Internationalization Forces. These forces have positive and negative effects on universities, which are demonstrated and plotted on a coordinate plane resulting in four distinct quadrants: Beneficial, Stressful, Harmful, and Creative. Finally, each case demonstrated that they are adapting their strategies across Cameron&rsquo;s (1983, 1984) three domains: Defense, Offense, and Creation. </p><p> Overall, the study underscores the impact that the external world has on higher education. Understanding the volatility of the Internationalization Forces can further assist higher education institutions in the facilitation of their internationalization strategies.</p><p>

<p> The new spirit, which asked serious questions of American democracy in the 1960s, turned into the actions and deliberations of the 1970s. Within Alabama, tectonic shifts in culture, economics, and politics&mdash;but especially civil rights&mdash;underpinned much of the Alabama experience in the 1970s. How would a 33-year-old president of a flagship university in the Deep South respond? The ethos guiding the Mathews&rsquo; Administration was a product of his times, which sought, in the words of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the "dignity of man, and the destiny of democracy." Two questions dominate this period in University history: First, what large issues confronted the University of Alabama during the 1970s, and what philosophical bases formed President Mathews&rsquo; decision making in confronting them? Second, what policy and political shifts existed in Alabama in this era? As Mathews quietly pushed the University of Alabama forward from desegregation toward full integration, many external factors began to weigh on the presidency of the University. Once an office of high autonomy, the presidency shifted as increasing pressures changed the University&rsquo;s sense of identity and its relation within the state's political, economic, and social structures. Utilizing analytical essaying, this dissertation addresses the public flagship&rsquo;s role to the public it serves while also understanding the implications a wider environment can have on a university&rsquo;s mission. Ultimately asking whether this institution is a university <i>in</i> Alabama or the University <i>of</i> Alabama, Mathews saw education&mdash;more specifically the University's graduates and thus the University itself&mdash;as the best option toward improving the general welfare of Alabamians.</p><p>

abstract: The amount of time and effort that university researchers spend writing grants and executing grant administration responsibilities is one of the biggest challenges for science policy. This study aims to explore the complexity of the phenomenon of burdens in the administrative procedure for principal investigators (PIs) in sponsored research. The findings make a theoretical contribution to the study of burdens and red tape by closely examining the processes in which the burdens emerge, increase, and decrease; in doing so, this research will lay the groundwork for future studies of burdens and sponsored research systems. This study assumes that burdens are embedded in the social process, not merely in the number of required documentation or time spent on the procedure. The two overarching research questions are as follows: (1) What do researchers perceive or experience as a burden in grant proposal preparation and submission in sponsored research? (2) What are the possible factors or hypotheses to explain the generation, increase, and decrease of burdens? This single case study of a large research university examines the burdens faced by university researchers as they prepare and submit grant proposals. Primary data comes from semi-structured interviews with thirty-one PIs in science and engineering schools, and four interviews with research administration staff. Based on the interview data and theoretical arguments, this study illustrates the burdens in two categories: Burdens related to the proposal system, rules, and requirements; and burdens PIs experience with pre-award staff and relations. In addition, this study assesses each PI’s burden level in terms of the number of tasks in the proposal process, and the quality of the pre-award staff and services the PI experiences. This study further examines possible contributing factors and tentative hypotheses of burdens. In the discussion, this study develops theoretical arguments about the nature and consequences of burdens and fundamental issues in the grant system, and discuss prescriptions for PIs, universities, and sponsored research systems. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Science and Technology Policy 2018