Student Success, Research Preeminence, and Unintended Consequences at Public Metropolitan Research Universities

Abstract

This article extends a line of research on intentional change at public metropolitan research universities that aims to improve undergraduate student success (as measured by graduation and retention rates) while improving access (as measured by Pell and minority rates). Some of the issues that have emerged from this line of research involve the dynamics of various competing goals, such as (a) student success and student access and (b) student success with access and research preeminence. This article uses performance data to examine the challenges of improving success with access and research preeminence, simultaneously, at public metropolitan research universities. A case study offers an illustration of the challenges and clarifies the unintended consequences.