Why Universities Need Institutional Researchers and Institutional Researchers Need Faculty Members More Than Both Realize

This paper provides an overview of research that I have conducted during my career using data sets collected by offices of institutional research. Many of the examples discussed in the paper deal with graduate education. The paper illustrates how valuable the data collection efforts by these offices are to academic researchers interested in helping to formulate institutional, state and national higher education policies. It concludes with suggestions for how the usefulness of institutional researchers to colleges and universities can be improved and stresses that institutional researchers and administrators would be wise to involve more faculty members in research that aids in institutional decision making and the formulation of public policy towards higher education.     

The Role of Senior Public Relations Administrators in Institutional Decision Making: Are They at the Table?

ABSTRACT

The literature in higher education public relations affirms that senior public relations administrators should be involved in institutional decision making at colleges and universities. However, public relations professionals are often stereotyped more as information processors and manipulators than as key members of an institution's senior management team. This study examines the role of senior public relations administrators in institutional decision making at the 14 universities in Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education (SSHE). Based on the findings of this study, it may be concluded that SSHE senior public relations administrators are often not included in efforts to resolve important issues and influence institutional decisions.     

Applying the Varieties of Capitalism Approach to Higher Education: comparing the internationalisation of German and British universities

In recent years, the global market for higher education has expanded rapidly, while internationalisation strategies have been developed at university, national and European levels to increase the competitiveness of higher education institutions. This article asks how institutional settings prevailing in national models of capitalism motivate distinct national approaches with regard to the internationalisation, globalisation, and Europeanisation of higher education systems. While the university is defined as an organisational actor embedded in the higher education system, the higher education system itself represents an institutional subsystem within the national model of capitalism. An analytical framework is then developed on the basis of the Varieties of Capitalism approach to compare the internationalisation of German and British universities. Findings indicate that the relations between the various actors involved in the internationalisation of universities are based largely on market coordination in the British case. In contrast, this process in Germany relies more on strategic interactions between the various organisational actors in higher education. The development paths in the internationalisation of universities are found to be influenced by and reflect the specific mode of coordination in the respective higher education system and the national model of capitalism more generally. This comparative case study shows that recent conceptions of path dependence as well as conceptual tools developed in the Varieties of Capitalism literature, such as institutional complementarity and comparative institutional advantage, may be fruitfully applied to research on institutional change in higher education systems.     

美国高等教育发展进程中的院校研究

“院校研究”是流行于美国高等教育领域的一个重要术语。美国高等教育发展进程中的每一次重大变化都对院校研究实践产生了直接或间接的影响。院校研究在美国的产生和发展源于来自高等学校内部和外部两个方面的驱动力。高等学校基于改进院校管理的需要是院校研究得以产生的内在动力，而政府和社会公众对于高等教育质量和效益的关注所施加于高等学校的压力，则是推进美国院校研究大规模、制度化开展的根本原因。几十年来，院校研究的功能和领域不断扩展，为美国高等学校改进管理决策、提高办学效益、履行说明责任、赢得外部支持发挥了应有的作用。     

Justice through higher education: Revisiting White Paper 3 of 1997

Interrogating the White Paper 3 of 1997 which upholds academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability, I make the case for justice through higher education using public accountability. I argue that the higher education system in South Africa is capable of fulfilling such a role in the context of extreme injustices but not without a critical engagement of the extent and causes of these injustices and an understanding of their implications for academic curricula, practices and deeply embedded conceptions of knowledge. A redefinition of higher education institutions' public accountability in terms of responsibility to their ‘institutional locale’ or community (the populations whose needs they should be meeting) can be an effective ‘proactive tool’ with which higher education can redress social injustices. This requires an interrogation of the social, political and economic conditions of possibility that either inhibit or aid educational desire and attainment. An investigation of this nature entails a rigorous reappraisal of all three of the key principles within which higher education systems operate—academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability—if they are to guard against the continued perpetuation of epistemic and social injustices.     

Establishing international branch campuses: a framework for assessing opportunities and risks

At the start of 2016, there were 230 international branch campuses operating worldwide, but of the campuses that were established since the mid-1990s, around 10 per cent have failed. The purpose of this article is to propose a framework that the strategic decision makers in higher education institutions can refer to when evaluating opportunities to develop branch campuses in foreign countries. The framework derives from empirical evidence that was the product of a rigorous search of the literature and other secondary sources, and it has drawn upon business management theories such as institutional theory, Porter’s industry-based view, and Barney’s resource-based view. Thematic analysis was used to identify the following themes, or influencing factors, in the data: environmental, industry, and organisational. The framework provides higher education managers with an analytical tool to guide a process of systematic data collection and analysis, which includes reflection on institutional objectives, resources, and competencies. It is likely that the systematic, data-driven approach promoted by the framework will in future reduce the number of international branch campus failures.     

从高等教育哲学到院校哲学——寻找面向院校实践的哲学指导

中国的高等院校目前呈现出院校定位模糊、追求单一、质量不高等特征。造成这种状况的原因之一在于院校缺乏明确的哲学思想来指导,高等教育哲学的研究现状对此难辞其咎。为此,建议将高等教育哲学做整体高等教育哲学和院校哲学的区分,重视以院校为研究目标,为院校发展和实践提供哲学指导的院校哲学研究,以哲学流派为研究途径,建构院校哲学。     

The Role of Institutional Research in Higher Education: Enabling Researchers to Meet New Challenges

Based on a survey of 243 New England colleges and universities, this article is designed to contribute to an understanding of the current and projected roles of institutional research and to discuss the implications of these roles for the education and training of future institutional researchers. Results from this study reveal the strongest relationships between the institution's size and the scope of the institutional research function, the reporting relationship, and the size and the qualifications of the institutional research staff. Multivariate analysis identifies the size of the institutional staff and the qualifications of the institutional director as significant predictors of involvement in planning and policy studies. These data indicate the need to enhance the presence, qualifications, and level of activity of institutional researchers in order to enhance the contribution to institutional decision making particularly among small institutions. Recommendations are offered to achieve these goals and prepare the institutional research profession for the challenges confronting higher education now and in the 21st century.     

University student anonymity in the summative assessment of written work

This paper provides an overview of the issue of student anonymity in the summative assessment of student work in higher education. It considers both theoretical literature pertaining to bias in the evaluation of the work of others and the limited empirical work undertaken on this issue in higher education. It then describes the experience of three higher education institutions in their institutional consideration of student anonymity in assessment. It concludes with an attempt to integrate three perspectives from teaching and learning theory into the anonymity debate, which has largely been conceived in terms of institutional policy, and suggests that there is scope for much further teaching and learning research in the area.     

Effectiveness: Recent Discussions in the General,Higher Education and Australian Literature

Effectiveness is a topic of some interest in Australia at present. A knowledge of the literature would benefit researchers and evaluators who may wish to use effectiveness as a tool for analysis. It would also benefit policy makers involved in the management of higher education. Such knowledge could be applied to analyses of various levels of higher education: system, state, institutional or sub‐unit. The general literature, developing for half a century, is found to be complex and with many important points in dispute. In higher education, the use of effectiveness has been more recent and is at an immature stage of development. In Australia, there have been recent reports, largely at the system level, but in the main, there has been limited reference to the vast literature available. Effectiveness research is needed at all levels of higher education in order to clarify its meaning and use and prepare the way for the future development of helpful instruments and processes that might assist institutions or their sub‐units in assessing effectiveness.     

A conspicuous production theory of resource allocation in higher education

Despite well-founded predictions that the 1970's and 80's would be characterized by excess capacity in graduate education, new graduate programs have continued to appear and existing programs have expanded capacity. This paper proposes a utility maximization theory to explain the continuation of the growth process and describes the nature of the public policy which will be necessary to effect changes in resource allocation in higher education. The basic hypothesis of the theory presented in this paper is that utility maximization of decision makers in higher education is functionally related to minimization of the gap between desired and prevailing institutional status. In an operational sense, status depends on an institution's factor complement, i.e., the institution's instructional and research programs and the quality of faculty and other inputs used to operate these programs. This implies that factor complements provide utility to decision makers in addition to their actual contribution to the educational process. Recognition of this factor and the oligopolistically interdependent nature of the decision making process in higher education is essential for the formulation of effective public policy to induce necessary reallocation of resources to graduate programs.     

The challenge of internationalisation: A case study on Austrian universities

Abstract

The current interest in governmental assessment and accountability practices appears to result from: (1) an emerging view of higher education as an “industry” (2) concerns about efficient resource allocation; (3) a lack of trust and confidence between governmental and institutional officials; (4) a desire to reduce uncertainty in government/higher education relationships; (5) lack of confidence in institutional governance. Based on these concerns, governments increasingly are engaging in data‐based quality assessment processes. These processes appear to assume that: (1) faculty and administrators know how to improve quality but fail to do so; (2) government officials can assure the public interest in quality; (3) measures of quality can be identified and agreed upon; (4) improving quality requires strong bureaucratic coordination and control; (5) information systems can provide the evidence government officials need to address quality concerns. An examination of literature on organisation decision processes suggest these assumptions are inaccurate.     

Factors affecting the quality of transnational higher education in China: a qualitative content analysis on Chinese host universities’ self-appraisal reports

In response to the increasing literature on transnational higher education in host countries, this paper aims to identify prominent factors affecting the quality of transnational higher education in China, as perceived and reported by Chinese host universities. A qualitative data analysis was conducted on 122 self-appraisal reports on transnational higher education programmes submitted to China’s Ministry of Education in 2017 by 112 Chinese host universities. The analysis identified and examined relationships between four interrelated factors: low foreign language proficiency among students, shortage of a sustainable supply of highly qualified teachers, low quality of curriculum design and implementation and deficiencies in institutional regulations. The findings are discussed in the context of the literature, revealing two issues in transnational higher education in China: using local Chinese teachers to teach the imported foreign courses and outsourcing foreign language teaching. The paper concludes with some limitations of the study and implications for future research.     

Finding (More) Fruit on the Vines: Using Higher Education Research and Institutional Research to Guide Institutional Policies and Strategies (Part II)

This article is the second of a two-part series that examines the utility of higher education research to help guide campus-based interventions to enhance institutional effectiveness. This second article outlines programmatic efforts undertaken to enhance the quality of the first-year experience for new students. It also describes the impact of these interventions on the first-year student experience. The article closes with a summary of the lessons learned from these efforts and delineates a series of recommendations for higher education administrators interested in using the research literature to enhance institutional effectiveness.     

加强院校研究:高等学校改革和发展的必然要求

2 1世纪我国高等教育的总体环境正发生着三大变化 :市场化、大众化和国际化。随着高校办学自主权的扩大和多元化高等教育买方市场的形成 ,高等学校的改革和发展迫切需要科学的院校研究作指导。当前我国的院校研究应从建立院校研究信息资料系统 ,进行高校管理中实际问题的科学研究和培养院校研究人员等三方面着手进行     

Leaving College: A Gender Comparison in Male and Female-Dominated Programs

Women, on average, outnumber men and are more successful in higher education. A literature overview showed that these differences may be explained by gender differences in learner characteristics, by external factors and by institutional factors. This study aims to explain gender differences in higher education in more detail by focusing on one of the recent research findings in this area: the role of the numerical representation of men and women in course programs. What are gender differences in study success in male and female-dominated course programs, and what are gender differences in reasons for leaving these programs? The research questions were answered by analyzing Dutch census data and conducting a survey on students that have left college. Results showed that gender differences in retention scores and reasons for leaving were indeed related to the numerical representation of women and men in course programs. Leaving female-dominated programs seemed to be a different matter from leaving male-dominated programs.     

The role of rationality in university budgeting

Many organizational functions, such as institutional research, assume that organizations make decisions rationally. The assumption is largely unjustified by empirical accounts of actual decision making. Higher education institutions are usually seen as political, collegial, or anarchic in their decision patterns. This study tests the participants' claim that the budget decision making process at Stanford University during the 1970s was rational. Although the study tends to support the claim, the results are neither conclusive nor comprehensive. The study provides (1) a rigorous and replicable procedure for testing the rational model, (2) evidence that rational decision making is feasible in higher education, and (3) grounds for refusing to assume pure rationality without abandoning hope of any rationality.     

Extrabudgetary Funding and Institutional Relationships between Higher Education,Industry, and Social Partners

Close co-operation between higher education institutions and industry is the best instrument for the application of research and the use of R&D outcomes in economic processes. It is the basis for the development of new products, techniques, and services. Such co-operation helps to develop the economy and society, and, therefore, to enhance structural change in regions in which higher education institutions are located. At the same time, any income earned through this process (third-party funds) for a higher education institution means that the institutional budget provided by the state can be used to meet additional challenges. A second result deriving from this form of co-operation is higher quality teaching and learning at the given higher education institution, as well as the development of innovative course programmes for undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education.     

Sector differences in the role of institutional research in informing decision making and governance in higher education

The intent of the authors in preparing this paper is to compare and contrast the roles of Institutional Research in informing decision making and governance in higher education. Using a case study format the authors will provide an example of a research project conducted within each of the following sectors of United States higher education system: private 4-year not for profit, public major research institutions/private specialized institutions, and a pubic state university system. The first case study from the private sector will feature a mixed methodology study that used data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and student focus groups to explore student engagement at this institution and inform faculty development. The second case study will compare the use of data for decision making from the standpoint of large public research institutions and private specialized institutions. The third case study from a state university system focuses on recent initiatives in the public sector to inform the public, the institutions, the State, and the federal government using data from institutional research offices, student engagement surveys, and student learning assessments shared through consortia and national associations. These examples will be discussed within the structure of decision making and governance in higher education.     

英国院校研究发展与演变的逻辑:从“平等”到“质量”

与美国相比,院校研究在英国的发展是迟缓的。从历史渊源来看,英国早期的"院校研究"活动包括"校史研究"和"政府报告"。但其"真正意义上"的院校研究起源于英国政府决定推行高等教育大众化的政策过程(1963—1987)。在此期间,院校研究主要是促进"教育平等"的政策研究和大学内部教学法改进研究。20世纪80年代后期,英国政府与大学之间的关系发生了重大变化,"质量评估运动"和"问责"促成了院校研究在英国高校内部地位的确立。院校研究的旨趣也从关注"平等"转向"质量"。院校研究在英国发展的历程和经验,对于其他欧洲国家甚至对中国院校研究的推进,都具有启发和借鉴意义。