Performance Perspectives on Undergraduate Student Success at Public Metropolitan Research Universities

Abstract

This study is part of a line of research that focuses on intentional, large-scale, and effective change in complex, dynamical, organizational systems. This research utilizes the behavior analytic perspective of organizational behavior management and connects multiple levels of analysis ranging from individual learning to cultural evolution. This study examined a national sample of public metropolitan research universities (N = 35) regarding their performance in sustained improvement in undergraduate student success with simultaneous improvement in access. The specific objective of the study was to examine university performance from a variety of perspectives, such as Excellence (variable sum) and Improvement (variable change). Data from the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System were analyzed over a nine year period, 2008–2016. This study built on an earlier case study of Florida International University, a public metropolitan research university. The objective of the study reported here was to select candidates for future case studies within this same line of research.