4-year Public Institutions Research Articles

Exploring Determinants of Institutional Stakeholder Responses to State Policies Targeting “Divisive Concepts” in the Southern United States

U.S. higher education is facing an ongoing assault via state legislation targeting divisive concepts, such as teaching critical race theory and initiatives supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion across campus. Although attacks to foundational aspects of postsecondary education in the U.S. are not new in the history of the sector, the current policy trend offers an opportunity to gain insights into how institutions and various stakeholders respond to these events and the ethical tensions these individuals may face. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examines publicly available statements and other responses by stakeholders of public 4-year institutions in the Southern United States, as defined by membership in the Southern Regional Education Board. This region of the country has become an epicenter for the introduction and adoption of these types of policies; the region also encompasses a diverse group of states politically and regarding institutional representation within public postsecondary sectors. Ultimately, this study seeks to understand how characteristics of higher education influence responses by institutional stakeholders in this regional context.

Incorporating core concepts into an undergraduate neuroscience program in a resource-restricted environment

Recently, community-derived core concepts for neuroscience higher education were developed and published. These core concepts can serve as a valuable resource to ensure that a neuroscience-based educational program is not only concept-focused but also addresses the call for reform of higher education, as noted in the vision and change report. The number of undergraduate neuroscience programs is expanding throughout the nation, but unfortunately, the existing blueprints to design and launch such programs do not incorporate these core concepts. Furthermore, unpacking these core concepts in a resource-limited setting is logistically challenging. We reflected on the coverage of these core concepts within our existing neuroscience minor at a medium-sized, primarily residential, high undergraduate, public 4-year institution. In addition to assessing the number of community-derived core concepts addressed in our courses, our reflection discusses strategies for addressing challenges associated with (1) a departmental home for the program, (2) a meaningful student experience with limited resources, and (3) growing and developing the program into a minor, or from a minor into a major. These strategies may provide a roadmap for other institutions to launch or grow their own neuroscience program.

Dynamic answer-dependent multiple-choice questions and holistic assessment analysis in high-enrollment courses.

Many 4-year public institutions face significant pedagogical challenges due to the high ratio of students to teaching team members. To address the issue, we developed a workflow using the programming language R as a method to rapidly grade multiple-choice questions, adjust for errors, and grade answer-dependent style multiple-choice questions, thus shifting the teaching teams' time commitment back to student interaction. We provide an example of answer-dependent style multiple-choice questions and demonstrate how the output allows for discrete analysis of questions based on various categories such as Fundamental Statements or Bloom's Taxonomy Levels. Additionally, we show how student demographics can be easily integrated to yield a holistic perspective on student performance in a course. The workflow offers dynamic grading opportunities for multiple-choice questions and versatility through its adaptability to assessment analyses. This approach to multiple-choice questions allows instructors to pinpoint factors affecting student performance and respond to changes to foster a healthy learning environment.

Examining Institutional-Level Factors and Campus Climate on Sexual Misconduct Reporting to Title IX Coordinators and in Annual Security Reports

ABSTRACT The present study examines the relationship between institutional-level factors and perceptions of campus climate and rates of sexual misconduct reporting to Title IX coordinators and in Annual Security reports. Data is drawn from public 4-year institutions of higher education (IHEs), community colleges, and independent IHEs in Maryland (n = 42) from 2018 to 2020. Regarding institutional level factors, higher residentiality, higher percentages of graduate students and students supported by Pell grants, and higher rates of alcohol and drug use violations were associated with higher rates of sexual misconduct reporting. On campus climate measures, only higher percentages of students reporting they know whom to contact to report sexual misconduct was associated with increased reporting. Implications for sexual misconduct prevention training and the integration of alcohol and drug use prevention into sexual misconduct prevention education are discussed. Directions for future research are also outlined.

State Postsecondary Boards as Policy Influencers During the Early Stages of COVID-19

In an era where many states’ postsecondary education governance dynamics are evolving, we set out to understand whether state-level governing boards with centralized governance functions affected institutions’ decisions to engage in in-person instruction during the fall of 2020, the first fall of the Covid-19 pandemic. We examined sociopolitical features related to the strength of governance functions of centralized state boards. The data alluded to linkages between Republican control and lower bachelor’s degree attainment linking (β = −.45) with weaker centralized governance. We also found a negative effect from increased centralized governance functions (β = −.12) to in-person instruction at public 4-year institutions for fall 2020. This paper gives a real-time opportunity to see if the characteristics of governing boards influence return to campus.

Intervening Opportunities between Home and College: Students’ Geographic Mobility by College Type

ABSTRACT This study compared the geographic mobility of community college students with that of students at other institutions of higher education. Using a sample of 7192 students at 39 institutions across the United States (13 community colleges, 14 public 4-year institutions, 12 private 4-year institutions), it employed the method of operationalizing geographic distance as the number of intervening opportunities between home and school. From normative life course theory, two main hypotheses were derived. Corroborating the first hypothesis, the catchment areas of the community colleges were found to be local and determined by proximity. Contrary to the second hypothesis, there was no interaction effect of gender and college type. Rather, women, on average, exhibited a lower degree of geographic mobility than did their male counterparts across all college types. Although there are certainly structural challenges inherent in the non-hegemonic life course strategy presented by community colleges, community colleges were found to fulfill their mission in terms of delivering an alternative to the hegemonic spatial element of expected geographic mobility in higher education.

Disparate Impacts of Performance Funding Research Incentives on Research Expenditures and State Appropriations

Performance-based funding (PBF) policies with research incentives have grown in popularity over the years despite little understanding regarding whether they actually work. This study leverages a novel national data set to examine the impact of PBF research incentives on the research expenditures and total state appropriations among public 4-year institutions, with a particular focus on minority-serving institutions. We find that PBF research incentives had no impact on the total amount or relative share of total research expenditures or the total amount of state appropriations allocated to treated institutions, regardless of minority-serving institution status. PBF policies that allowed institutions to self-select or opt into including research incentives as part of their PBF formula had a positive impact on the relative share of expenditures allocated to research and total state appropriations.

We Want You Back: Uncovering the Effects on In-Person Instructional Operations in Fall 2020.

Postsecondary institutions’ responses to COVID-19 are a topic of immediate relevance. Emergent research suggests that partisanship was more strongly linked to institutions offering in-person instruction for Fall 2020 than was COVID-19. Using data from the College Crisis Initiative and a multiple group structural equation modeling approach, we tested the relationships between our outcome of interest (in-person instruction in Fall 2020) and state and county sociopolitical features, state and county COVID-19 rates, and state revenue losses. Our full-sample model suggested that County Political Preferences had the strongest association with in-person instruction, followed by Pandemic Severity and State Sociopolitical Features. Because institutional sectors may be uniquely sensitive to these factors, we tested our models separately on 4-year public, 4-year private, and 2-year public and 2-year private institutions. State Sociopolitical Features were significantly related to in-person instruction for 4-year private and 2-year public institutions but were strongest for 4-year public institutions. For 4-year private and 2-year public institutions, County Political Preferences’ effect sizes were 2–3 times stronger than effects from State Sociopolitical Features. Pandemic Severity was significantly, negatively related to in-person instruction for 4-year private and 2-year public institutions–similar in magnitude to State Sociopolitical Features. Our analysis revealed that COVID-19 played a stronger role in determining in-person instruction in Fall 2020 than initial research using less sophisticated methods suggested—and while State Sociopolitical Features may have played a role in the decision, 4-year private and 2-year public institutions were more sensitive to county-level preferences.

Disproportionate Burden: Estimating the Cost of FAFSA Verification for Public Colleges and Universities

Verification is a federally mandated process that requires selected students to further attest that the information reported on their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is accurate and complete. In this brief, we estimate institutional costs of administrating the FAFSA verification mandate and consider variation in costs by institution type and sector. Using data from 2014, we estimate that compliance costs to institutions in that year totaled nearly US$500 million with the burden falling disproportionately on public institutions and community colleges, in particular. Specifically, we estimate that 22% of an average community college’s financial aid office operating budget is devoted to verification procedures, compared with 15% at public 4-year institutions. Our analysis is timely, given that rates of FAFSA verification have increased in recent years.

The Impact of No-Loan Policies on Student Economic Diversity at Public Colleges and Universities

To improve college access for low-income students, an increasing number of public colleges and universities have implemented no-loan policies, where student loans are replaced with institutional grant aid that does not require repayment. Using detailed income measures provided by Mobility Report Card data, this study examines the effect of no-loan policies on student economic diversity at public 4-year institutions. Using a difference-in-differences design and the synthetic control method, we found that the adoption of no-loan policies at public institutions increased enrollment shares of low-income students (bottom two family income quintiles). However, the increase was minimal for students from the lowest income quintile, particularly at the most selective institutions. Our findings suggest that although no-loan policies may help improve affordability at public colleges and universities, further efforts are needed to address underrepresentation of students from the lowest part of the income distribution.

Predicting the Academic Success of Minority Male Students in a Public 4-Year Institution in the USA

Several studies have shown that nationally, retention and graduation rates of minority male students in higher education remains comparatively low. While most studies focus on factors accounting for low academic performance and achievement, and low retention and graduation rates of minority students, this study investigated the factors that contribute to minority male students’ success in a 4-year public institution. One hundred sixty successful minority male students took the College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ). Using cumulative GPA (cGPA) as the criterion variable, three sets of explanatory variables (active learning index, cooperation among students, and college environment index) were regressed to determine the set of variables that best predict student success. The multiple linear regression result shows that the amount of time per week of studies toward academic work best predicts student success.

The Mentoring Experience: Perceptions of African American Nurse Leaders and Student Mentees.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of African American mentors and mentees about the mentorship experience and examine mentorship as a blueprint for success in a nursing school. Using a concurrent nested mixed-method, purposeful, and criterion-sampling technique, we surveyed participants from a 4-year public institution's mentorship program about the impact of the program and its effects on college progression. Four themes emerged from our analysis of the African American nursing students and the role of mentor-ship: challenges, desire for guidance, sharing of knowledge, and positive outcomes. On the basis of our findings, we developed a set of hypothetical practices involved in establishing mentorship programs and evaluated mentorship potential as a strategy to promote engagement and retention of African American undergraduate nursing students to increase diversity within the profession of nursing. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(1):25-28.].

Examining the Relationship Between Psychosocial and Academic Outcomes in Higher Education: A Descriptive Analysis

This article estimates the relationship between students’ psychosocial and academic outcomes during their first 3 years enrolled at public, 4-year institutions. Our sample comprises students from low-income backgrounds who applied for a competitive scholarship and enrolled at a 4-year public institution. We follow two cohorts of entering students throughout their first 3 years on campus. We observe their cumulative grade point average and persistence decisions each semester, and have annual measures of four psychosocial outcomes: mattering to campus, sense of belonging to campus, academic self-efficacy, and social self-efficacy. We find that psychosocial outcomes are moderately predictive of academic outcomes, with sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy emerging as most predictive of both cumulative grade point avaerage and persistence.

Patterns of Engagement Among Puerto Rican University Completers: Do Major and Gender Matter?

Researchers conducted a correlational study utilizing data from a public 4-year institution in Puerto Rico to understand differences in the levels and types of student engagement reported by graduating students, based on gender and major. Findings indicated that graduates from physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, and computing majors perceived a distinct engagement culture, with significantly higher emphasis on higher order learning and report writing, and lower institutional emphasis on providing academic and non-academic support.

Post-Secondary Institution Level and Control: Effect on Women’s Proportion of Entrepreneurship Degrees

This study examines the influence U.S. college/university level (2-year/4-year) and control (public/private) have on the female-awarded proportion of their entrepreneurship degrees and certificates (EDCs). It also examines trends over a decade, 2006-2016. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data on U.S. institutions awarding Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 52.07 (Entrepreneurship and Small Business degrees/certificates) in 2006, 2011, and/or 2016 is analyzed using ANOVA/ANCOVA/repeated measures methods. Surprisingly, even with the growing focus on female entrepreneurship, results did not show significant increases in the female-awarded proportion of EDCs over the ten years. Closer examination of 2016 data shows 2-year public institutions confer a significantly larger percentage of their EDCs to women compared to both 4-year public and private institutions providing evidence that institution level and control influence the proportion and suggesting that 4-year institutions may still be gendered in terms of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship education has been empirically shown to augment entrepreneurial human and social capital, which is of key importance in entrepreneurship, particularly high-growth potential female businesses. For this reason, these results have important implications for post-secondary institution leaders and entrepreneurship educators, and serves as a call to action to pro-actively assess their environments and curriculum for potential gender biases. Suggestions provided.

Addressing the Affordability Crisis for International Students

Affordability to study overseas has always been one of the biggest challenges for most aspiring international students. However, in a postrecession environment, this challenge has become more intense for a range of reasons, including budget cuts, demographic changes, economic shifts, and immigration policies. Many universities, especially in high-income countries, are at risk of pricing themselves out of reach to a large segment of international students.
 THE DEEPENING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
 Consider the case of the United States, where an increase in direct cost due to a combination of two factors—tuition fees escalation and currency devaluation—is a big blow to affordability. In 2018–2019, the average out-of-state tuition and fees and room and board at a public 4-year institution was $37,430 as compared to $32,762 in 2014–2015—an increase of 14% (College Board, 2018). At the same time, currencies in some of the key emerging countries have devalued against the U.S. dollar. For example, between August 2014 and August 2018, the Indian currency has depreciated by over 20%. The net effect is that for an Indian undergraduate student, the cost of attendance in 2018–2019 increased by at least 30% as compared to 2014–2015.
 In addition to increasing direct cost, lower availability of funding opportunities from universities and governments, as well as tighter immigration and visa policies for finding work opportunities, is making it harder to recover the cost of education. The trend of higher tuition fees for international students is not just in the United States and other leading English-speaking destinations. Even countries in continental Europe have started introducing tuition fees for international students. For example, Denmark (in 2006) and Sweden (in 2011) introduced tuition fees for international students from outside the European economic area (Marconi & Serra, 2017).
 
 THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR “VALUE FOR MONEY”
 The future competitiveness of higher education institutions and nations in attracting international students hinges on their ability to demonstrate “value for money,” could be defined as the “reasonableness of cost of something in view of its perceived quality”. In other words, the increase in the cost side of the equation demands that institutions and policymakers must do more to balance by offering more benefits in terms of better experiences on- and off-campus, especially in terms of career outcomes. Institutions must do more to reinvest part of the additional tuition fees back into enhancing outreach, offering scholarships, supporting student success, and widening access to students who may be unable to afford to study abroad.
 For many students who get priced out of reach to study in high-income countries, emerging destinations such as China offer new hope to gain global experience at an affordable price. A prime example of this scenario is the rise of students from low-income countries. For instance, in 2018, one out of six international students in China was from Africa (Ministry of Education, 2018). This potential of China as a destination for international students is not only because of affordability factors in leading destinations, but also because of proactive national policies in China such as the Belt and Road Initiative, and Double-First Class, which are mutually reinforcing each other.
 SHAPING THE RESEARCH AGENDA
 We are heading toward a future scenario where global learning experiences will be out of the reach of many aspiring international students. This is a wake-up call to action for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and leaders to focus on finding solutions to this affordability crisis, which threatens the future of international student mobility.
 The Journal of International Students plays an indispensable role in not only shaping the research agenda to raise awareness about the affordability crisis but also in providing evidence for potential solutions. On this important milestone of the 10th anniversary for the Journal, I encourage scholars to consider the role of affordability challenges and its various implications and dimensions. In conclusion, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to reflect and plan a future research agenda that ensures the sustainability of international student mobility and enhances the diversity and inclusion of international students.

Institutional Characteristics and Bachelor’s Degree Completion of Pell Grant Recipients

This study uses data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and Delta Cost Project to identify institutional predictors of bachelor’s degree completion rates for Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients at public and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions. Descriptive analyses show that Pell recipients are relatively concentrated in institutions with demographic and structural characteristics associated with lower completion rates, including lower SAT scores, enrollment, and residential intensity. Multivariate analyses show that controlling for demographic and structural characteristics explains the observed negative relationship between an institution’s representation of Pell Grant recipients and its completion rates for Pell recipients. At public 4-year institutions, per full-time equivalent expenditures on instruction and institutional grants are positively related to Pell completion rates, while net price for low-income students is negatively related, after controlling for demographic and structural characteristics.

An Analysis of Factors Affecting Dropout Risks of Nontraditional Students: Evidence from U.S. 4-Year Commuter Institutions

Utilizing event history analysis and multilevel models, this study explored dropout risks for first-time nontraditional students who started at public 4-year commuter institutions across a U.S. Midwest state. The study revealed that (a) the dropout hazard rate remained relatively high across college years and differed by gender, race, and family income; (b) individual characteristics such as socioeconomic backgrounds, academic performance and financial need were significant predictors for dropout, and (c) the differences in dropout were largely attributable to institutional structural and resource differences. These findings have important implications for policies and practices aiming to promote nontraditional student persistence to graduation.

Impact and Effects of Co-Requisite Mathematics Remediation

This paper reports on mathematics remediation efforts at a public 4-year institution. Specifically, it describes redesign efforts that led to the implementation of co-requisite mathematics remediation. Data on this program were collected and analyzed with respect to completion rates, length of time to earn college mathematics credit, and factors contributing to student success. Results include that, even with the co-requisite model, many students are still getting lost in the pipeline to earning college-level mathematics credit. Results also suggest high school GPA as being a significant factor between passing and non-passing students.

Opportunities for Self-Evaluation Increase Student Calibration in an Introductory Biology Course.

Accurate self-evaluation is critical for learning. Calibration describes the relationship between learners’ perception of their performance and their actual performance on a task. Here, we describe two studies aimed at assessing and improving student calibration in a first-semester introductory biology course at a 4-year public institution. Study 1 investigated students’ (n = 310) calibration (the difference between estimated and actual exam performance) across one semester. Students were significantly miscalibrated for the first exam: their predicted scores were, on average, significantly higher than their actual scores. The lowest-performing students had the most inaccurate estimates. Calibration improved with each exam. By the final exam, students underestimated their scores. We initiated a second study in the following semester to examine whether explicitly teaching students about self-evaluation strategies would improve their calibration and performance. Instruction in the experimental section (n = 290) focused on students’ tendency to overestimate their abilities and provided retrieval-practice opportunities. Students in the experimental section showed better calibration and performance on the first exam compared with students in a control section taught by a different instructor during the same semester (n = 251). These findings suggest that simple instructional strategies can increase students’ metacognitive awareness and improve their performance.