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The Compliance Conundrum| Addressing Student-centered Compliance Systems at Small, Private, Tuition-dependent Institutions

<p> Intensified competition, declining numbers, budgetary constraints, and increased prices indicate that higher education is in the midst of a major evolution. Particularly, small, private, tuition-dependent institutions are struggling nationwide, and if they are unable to find ways to increase their revenue, increased mergers and closures will result. Additionally, both local and federal government have called for increased accountability, and amplified governmental regulations have resulted in high-stake consequences for noncompliance. </p><p> The law infiltrates every policy and department within an institution. Laws have been passed, and regulations have been promulgated by both the federal and state government, resulting in the expansion of the legal requirements institutions have to face. Although hundreds of laws and statutes impact higher education, this study will focus on the over 35 statutes and more than 60 enabling regulations that impact student affairs. Institutions have been asked to ramp up reporting, step up prevention, mandate training, interpret regulations, and keep abreast of the amendments to the law. This increased demand has placed a significant constraint on student affairs divisions at small, private, tuition-dependent institutions and has made an already demanding circumstance more complex. </p><p> Responsible for student affairs divisions, chief student affairs officers (CSAOs) manage the compliance obligations that permeate their areas of responsibility. Chief student affairs officers must be aware of the legal and risk management issues that affect the functional areas for which they are responsible. Little research exists documenting how these increased regulations have impacted the work of CSAOs. This multisite case study collected data from three sites to gain an in-depth understanding of how small, private, tuition-dependent institutions are managing student-centered compliance. Additionally, this study looked at the role the CSAO plays in managing student-centered compliance. In addition to the CSAO, additional staff at each of the three institutions were interviewed if they were identified as having responsibility for compliance. When available, policy manuals, handbooks, and other documents were reviewed to assist in data triangulation. A clear understanding of how compliance impacts CSAOs will help inform future work in the field of student affairs.</p><p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10828818
Date05 September 2018
CreatorsLorenz, Heather L.
PublisherUniversity of Pennsylvania
Source SetsProQuest.com
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typethesis

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