Organizational Contexts and University Performance Outcomes: The Limited Role of Purposive Action in the Management of Institutional Status

Institutional researchers and decision makers have long been interested in the management of university status. To this end, the present inquiry examines the stability of various university performance indicators representing size, student aptitude, faculty scholarship, graduate programs, and ratings. Although these various institutional attributes are associated with status, changes in their characteristics are not found to be associated with changes in status. Instead, institutional status is found to be quite stable over time, largely predicated on past status levels. These findings offer a forum within which to discuss university status for the purpose of managing institutional change.