Browsing by Subject "Higher Education"

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AMS :: ATX October 2013 Blog Archive
(2013-10) Department of American Studies
AMS :: ATX is a blog dedicated to representing the many activities and interests of the department of American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Together with the department’s Twitter feed, this blog exists to serve the AMS and Austin communities by acting as a hub for up-to-date information on events and opportunities at UT and beyond.
AMS :: ATX September 2013 Blog Archive
(2013-09) Department of American Studies
AMS :: ATX is a blog dedicated to representing the many activities and interests of the department of American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Together with the department’s Twitter feed, this blog exists to serve the AMS and Austin communities by acting as a hub for up-to-date information on events and opportunities at UT and beyond.
The Causal Effect of Campus Residency on College Student Retention
(Association for the Study of Higher Education, 2011) Schudde, Lauren T
Despite theoretical evidence positing a positive relationship between campus residency and collegiate outcomes, prior research has not established a causal link. Utilizing propensity score matching and national longitudinal data, this study investigates whether living in university-owned housing impacts retention. The results suggest that the impact of living on campus is not negligible: the probability of remaining enrolled into the second year of college is 3.3 percentage points higher for on-campus residents than off-campus residents. Colleges should consider evaluating the impact of their campus housing programs on academic outcomes to inform important housing policy decisions
Development of a Student Tracking System for ACAN Participants
(Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources, 2012-01) Schexnayder, Deanna T.; Rodriguez, Patty; Cumpton, Greg
In partnership with E3 Alliance, the Ray Marshall Center (RMC) is participating in the Austin College Access Network (ACAN) college persistence project entitled “Staying Powers: Building College Persistence for our Most Challenged Students” The project’s goal is to conduct a program to enhance the collaboration of participating organizations in the Austin College Access Network to improve college persistence for the region’s low-income and first-generation students at several area colleges and universities. In particular, the program will help establish data capabilities and provide resources for engaging higher education partners to develop shared programming to improve retention. Under the project, RMC will: Participate in strategic planning with partners to develop a Central Texas Plan for College Persistence with identified strategies and associated activities and also create an identified protocol and system of tracking ACAN students in higher education. Work with ACAN partners to develop a tracking model for students and alumni of ACAN programs. Develop a matching cohort of Central Texas high school seniors to serve as a comparison group for evidence-based evaluation of ACAN programs outcomes to a cohort of like students not receiving support services and provide evidence-based evaluation of ACAN programs. Additionally, RMC will work with project partners to identify priority strategies and activities to help first generation and low-income college students succeed.
Everclear: Student Perspectives On Campus Sexual Assault
(2019-05) Jerwick, Sophie; Sonnenberg, Stephen
We know that campus sexual assault is a serious issue. The #MeToo movement, Baylor’s scandal(s), and the Columbia University student carrying the mattress she was raped on through campus, told us that. Current studies of campus sexual assault and rape are solely quantitative or hyper-specific in their focus on a small part of the student population. This study aims to describe campus sexual assault at the University of Texas at Austin from the student perspective. Conducting semi-structured, in-depth interviews with student participants, coupled with auto-ethnographic information from a student researcher produced a peer-observational study that asked honest, well-informed questions about student life in order to understand why campus sexual assault is an epidemic and what we can do to mitigate it. Students and adult administrators are not communicating, as the rate of sexual assault is high, and the rate of reporting to UT is rock-bottom-low. This study aims to mend that divide. We will discuss students’ perspectives on party culture, how they define consent, and how these social standards influence campus sexual assault. Students’ experiences of sexual assault will be analyzed, drawing connections between these stories and the environment where they took place. The aftermath of assault, including sexual health care, mental health, and trauma will be examined. We will explore what keeps the vast majority students from reporting their assault or telling anyone about it. Finally, I will give my conclusions and recommendations, outlining what all people, administrators, policymakers, students of all ages, and parents can do to affect change.
The evolving American research university and non-faculty professional work
(2012-12) Lee, Elida Teresa; Somers, Patricia (Patricia A.); Sharpe, Edwin Reese; Rose, Mary; Moore, John R; Betz, Kay
This exploratory study was a response to claims that non-faculty professionals at universities were the cause of administrative bloat. The purpose of the study was to build from the work of Rhoades (1998) and Kane (2007) to determine whether non-faculty professional employees at the University of Texas at Austin(UT Austin) performed core university work of research, teaching and/or public service. In the spring of 2012 a survey was sent out to 1036 UT Austin non-faculty professional employees. The survey results determined that a sizable number of non-faculty professional employees at UT Austin were performing or directly contributing to research, teaching and/or public service. In addition to the three areas of core work, it was determined that non-faculty professional employees at UT Austin had advanced degrees, published in peer-reviewed journals, had specialized skills and bodies of knowledge, applied for grants and engaged in entrepreneurial activities.
The Importance of Institutional Data Reporting Quality for Understanding Dev-Ed Math Enrollment and Outcomes
(Taylor & Francis, 2019-05) Schudde, Lauren; Meiselman, Akiva Yonah
Student placement test records, course enrollments, and other student-level data collected by community colleges are vital for evaluating the outcomes of students in developmental education (dev-ed) courses. Researchers and policymakers rely on this information to examine the impact of existing programs and assess ongoing reforms to dev-ed – the accuracy of state administrative data is critical to those tasks. In this study, we examine math placement records in a statewide administrative data set to understand how test records provided by colleges in the state aligned with student course enrollment patterns. We highlight systematic data reporting problems, where many students lacked test scores and test exemption records necessary for policymakers and researchers to determine if they enrolled in the appropriate coursework for their needs. We also found that a non-negligible proportion of students enrolled in dev-ed math – 10% – did not require remediation due to exemption status or passing placement test scores. We conclude with a discussion of the pressing need for accuracy in data reporting, as up-to-date, high-quality student-level data are essential to evaluate ongoing reforms to developmental education.
The Interplay of Family Income, Campus Residency, and Student Retention (What Practitioners Should Know about Cultural Mismatch)
(Association of College and University Housing Officers, 2016) Schudde, Lauren
Student from low-income families consistently trail behind their peers in retention and degree attainment. Research on college student experiences suggests that low-income students experience “cultural mismatch” at college—they feel that their backgrounds are at odds with the middle-class values dominant on campus (Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013; Stuber, 2011). Living on campus further embeds students into campus life, so how do campus residents from low-income families fare compared to their middle- and upper-income peers? This study examines variation in the effects of living on campus on student retention across family income. While living on campus improves retention on average (Schudde, 2011), results show that students from low-income families benefit less from living on campus than their peers. Implications for residential life programs, professionalization and training, and future research are also discussed.
Navigating Vertical Transfer Online: Access to and Usefulness of Transfer Information on Community College Websites
(Sage, 2019) Schudde, Lauren; Bradley, Dwuana; Absher, Caitlin
Objective: To transfer, students often must navigate complex and imperfect information about credit transfer, bureaucratic hurdles, and conflicting degree requirements. This study examined how administrators and transfer personnel think about institutional online transfer resources and examined community colleges’ online transfer information. Methods: For a sample of 20 Texas community colleges, we spoke to key transfer personnel about the information provided to students and reviewed college websites, assessing the ease of access and usefulness of online transfer information. We used a qualitative case study approach to triangulate findings from our data sources. Results: Approximately two-thirds of colleges in the sample fell below the highest standard on our rubric for either ease of access or usefulness, indicating room for improvement at most institutions. Many personnel recognized the strengths and limitations of their college’s online information, though several were ambivalent about the need for improving online information, arguing that online information is not as promising an intervention as face-to-face advising. Conclusions/Contributions: Our research illustrates the need for colleges to develop and update their online information intentionally, determining which information students need in order to transfer (including transfer guides for partner programs/colleges) and how students might search for that information, and ensuring that necessary transfer information is available and up-to-date. The framework provided by our website-review approach, coupled with a proposed rubric to assess ease of access and usefulness of transfer information, may guide institutions in their evaluation of their online transfer information.
On Second Chances and Stratification: How Sociologists Think About Community Colleges
(Sage, 2014-10) Schudde, Lauren; Goldrick-Rab, Sara
Community colleges increase college access – extending postsecondary educational opportunities to students who otherwise may not have access, but they also exhibit low rates of program completion and transfer to four-year colleges. Sociological research on community colleges focuses on the tension between increasing educational opportunity and failing to improve equity in college completion across key demographics, like race and socioeconomic status. This paper provides an overview of sociology’s approach to understanding community colleges. We describe sociological theories, examine the contributions they make to the field, and discuss the discipline’s recent debates regarding community colleges. We conclude by highlighting research areas for further progress and discussing the role sociology could play in transforming community colleges.
Pell Grants as Performance-Based Scholarships? An Examination of Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements in the Nation's Largest Need-Based Aid Program
(Springer, 2016-12) Schudde, Lauren; Scott-Clayton, Judith
The Federal Pell Grant Program is the nation’s largest need-based grant program. While students’ initial eligibility for the Pell is based on financial need, renewal is contingent on meeting minimum academic standards similar to those in models of performance-based scholarships, including a grade point average (GPA) requirement and ratio of credits completed compared to those attempted. In this study, we describe federal satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements and illustrate the policy’s implementation in a statewide community college system. Using state administrative data, we demonstrate that a substantial portion of Pell recipients are at risk for Pell ineligibility due to their failure to meet SAP GPA or credit completion requirements. We then leverage the GPA component of the policy to explore the impacts of failure to meet standards on early college persistence and achievement, earning a credential, and transferring to a four-year college using two methodological approaches: regression discontinuity (RD) and difference-in-differences (DD). Our results across the two approaches are mixed, with the RD providing null estimates and the DD indicating some statistically significant impacts, including a negative effect on early college persistence. We conclude by discussing the implications for future research.
Seekers of sacred knowledge : Zaytuna College and the education of American Muslims
(2014-05) Kashani, Maryam; Visweswaran, Kamala; Merabet, Sofian, 1972-; Campbell, Craig; Azam, Hina; Hirschkind, Charles; Siu, Lok
In a time when “traditional” Islam and Islamic education are seen as incommensurable with American society and ideals, American Muslims are mobilizing traditions of Islamic scholarship within liberal arts institutional frameworks to articulate and establish the future possibilities of Islam and being Muslim in North America. This research shows how the Islamic discursive tradition is being critically engaged by the scholars and students of Zaytuna College to craft an “American Islam” based on a shared moral and ethical system that draws from and is relevant to the heterogeneous experiences of diverse Muslims and their material circumstances. Based on eighteen months of ethnographic research at Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, and in the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area, this study’s methodological approach is grounded in participant-observation, interviews, and visual ethnography.
Sexual Violence and College Masculinities within the U.S. Higher Education System, with an Emphasis on the University of Texas at Austin
(2016) Zhang, Amy; Gonzalez-Lopez, Gloria
Sexual violence is one of the most prevalent crimes that occurs on college campuses, even taking into consideration underreported cases due to negative stigmas around reporting. Even on large campuses like the University of Texas at Austin with ample prevention programs and resources for survivors, a culture of sexual violence has quietly perpetuated, allowing for nearly 20 percent of female undergraduates to experience penetrative assault during their time on campus, despite University statistics that say otherwise. Overall, a contributing factor to this statistic may be the perpetuation of negative, hegemonic masculinities. Accordingly, this thesis seeks to answer the following: What do we know about the cultures of masculinity that exist at UT-Austin, and in what ways do all-male organizations promote cultures of masculinity that prompt the risk of sexual assault and interpersonal violence? Firstly, I will give an overview of the history of sexual violence at UT-Austin before analyzing 2015 statistics to get a summary of the state of sexual violence on campus, according to survivors and bystanders. Following this, I will examine masculinities as they are seen through men's social groups on campus, overall assessing West Campus culture and potential strategies for improvement. Thirdly, I will look at existing prevention and intervention programs, offering solutions for improvement. Lastly, I will use a case study of a homicide that occurred on campus to illustrate how UT-Austin responded to heightened concerns about campus safety.
Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Engagement Experiences with Faculty and Peers at Community Colleges
(Association for the Study of Higher Education, 2019) Schudde, Lauren
This study uses nationally representative longitudinal data and propensity score modeling to evaluate the effects of first-year engagement experiences at community college—including social and academic contact with faculty and participation in study groups and clubs—on achievement, persistence, degree attainment, and vertical transfer. Speaking with faculty about academic matters improved short- and long-term outcomes, while engaging in study groups and clubs improved early outcomes, with less sizeable long-term impacts. The findings highlight the need for continued inquiry into community college engagement using longitudinal data with detailed engagement and outcome measures to determine best practices for student success.
Stephen F. Austin University: An Anchor Institution in Deep East Texas, PRP 222
(LBJ School of Public Affairs, 2022) Pedigo, Steven; Calderon, Irving; Campbell, Sarah; Chung, Amanda; Cooley, Jordan; Cramer, Ryan; Fernandez, Chris
Beyond its big skies, natural beauty, and small-town feel, Deep East Texas is home to Stephen F. Austin University (SFA), a Tier 1 higher education institution. SFA is positioned as a strong talent and innovation hub for a region that is ready for an economic development plan that considers the changing regional dynamics and prioritizes regional collaboration, employment, talent retention, business attraction, industry innovation, and quality of life. The Deep East Texas (DET) region is experiencing the same challenges that many rural regions face today: a high poverty rate, low labor participation rates, lackluster job creation, insufficient industry diversification, brain drain (talent leaving the region for urban cities), and a lack of social inclusion. Deep East Texas looks to SFA, the regional public university, to be an active participant in addressing these trends and moving the economy toward resilience. In 2021, the Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation (CARRI) was established to act as a bridge between the university and the community to address region-wide problems and further encourage collaboration. To fulfill its mission of supporting academic programs and boosting regional economic development, SFA partnered with the LBJ School of Public Affairs to build a plan that incorporates the strengths of the region and the potential of CARRI.
Understanding Variation in Estimates of Diversionary Effects of Community College Entrance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
(Sage Publishing, 2019-07) Schudde, Lauren; Brown, Raymond S.
Decades of research have estimated the effect of entering a community college on bachelor’s degree attainment. In this study, we examined the influence of methodological choices, including sample restrictions and identification strategies, on estimated effects from studies published between 1970 and 2017. After systematically reviewing the literature, we leveraged meta-analysis to assess average estimates and examine the role of moderators. In our preferred model, entering a community college was associated with a 23-percentage-point decrease in the probability of baccalaureate attainment, on average, compared with entering a four-year college. The size of effects appeared to grow over the past three decades, though this coincides with substantial shifts in the college-going population. Methodological choices, particularly how researchers define the treatment group, explain some variation in estimates across studies. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for future inquiry and for policy.
The University of Texas Permian Basin: Pathways to Energizing the Basin, PRP 223
(LBJ School of Public Affairs, 2022) Pedigo, Steven; Anderson, Timothy; Denney, Joseph; Gray, Ashlin; Oliver, Austin; Rudolph, Mary; Shaholli, Ardian; Venn, Maddie
The University of Texas Permian Basin has initiated concrete steps to continue to grow as a hub and connector for the region's engagement, enrichment, and innovation. The recommendations in this report, formulated as the culmination of research into the Midland-Odessa region, focus on continued investment into several key areas that the university and region have already begun as UTPB steps into its role as an anchor. Scaling these burgeoning initiatives is a crucial step to enhancing the stability and equity of the region—as a University of Texas System school that can command prestige and with an array of resources unique to the Basin, UTPB is poised to lead these crucial developments. In making these specific recommendations, the proposed goals were to position UTPB as a community hub and connector, to accelerate the Permian Basin's innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem, and to facilitate a regional "Grow Your Own" educational and training pipeline. After describing the recommended elements for accomplishing each of these goals, the report includes some key performance indicators that the university can use to assess progress.