A Field of Striving or Equity? Regional Public Universities and College Access

Abstract

AbstractMany regional public universities (RPUs) provide college access to diverse groups of undergraduate students and face pressures to pursue prestige in the academic hierarchy. Prior research posits that RPUs will strive for prestige because of status‐ and resource‐based rewards that flow from increasing their admissions selectivity, research‐intensity, and wealth. As this dominant perspective suggests, RPUs may erode historic missions of democratizing educational opportunity to emulate their more elite peers to improve their external ratings and rankings. This chapter draws on multiple indicators of equity to examine whether institutional enrollment data align with, or diverge from, the prestige‐seeking assumptions about these institutions. Descriptive profiles indicate that most RPUs in this analysis have increased over time their enrollment of low‐income and racially diverse groups of students. We discuss implications for adopting a more flexible perspective on RPUs to account for equity‐based orientations in the sector and to inform responsive practices.