scholarly journals Support and opposition in an attempted higher education merger

Author(s):  
Mats Persson ◽  
Magnus Frostenson

AbstractThe study explores an ultimately unsuccessful merger of three Norwegian public university colleges. It shows how social practices of support for and opposition to the merger were the effects of the intersection(s) between why the merger was necessary and how the proposed merger process was enacted. Support and opposition may change during the merger process, since participants move in and out of positions given how the process unfolds. We relate support and opposition to identity. A merger supports attractive identities if it is consonant with overarching normative ideals of higher education and experienced fairness during the merger process. The findings have implications for how we can better understand and explain why some merger initiatives lead to termination instead of a merger.

Author(s):  
Néstor Horacio Cecchi ◽  
◽  
Fabricio Oyarbide ◽  

For those of us who have been going through the public university for decades, a clear tendency in most of our institutions to rethink their senses, their missions, their functions, in sum: their must be. In these times and these contexts in which deep inequalities are made visible with absolute clarity, these tendencies to construct new meanings acquire a particular relevance. We understand that public universities in the exercise of their autonomy and as members of the State, must assume a leading role with a contribution that contributes to guaranteeing rights, in particular, of the subalternized sectors. This critical positioning is inescapable to consolidate the social commitment of our higher education institutios. This compelling transformative intention has a valuable background. In this sense, we warn that both in Argentina and in some of the countries of the Region, tendencies to consolidate, systematize, institutionalize processes of emancipatory articulation in their relations with the territory, organizations and social movements have been reproduced for some years, many of them, through curricularization processes in its different meanings. These experiences, dissimilar by the way, find the need to settle, to institutionalize themselves through various conformations that in some cases converge in Educational Social Practices or similar names, with different, unique formats, but with different meanings as well. That is why we propose to display, analyze, make visible some of the salient characteristics of these processes, the regulations, their singularities, similarities, the multiplicity of their feelings, in sum, their metaphors.


Author(s):  
Cinthya Salazar

Literature shows that undocumented students in the United States experience significant challenges to and through higher education. Only a few studies have uncovered the mechanisms that undocumented students use to persist in college; in particular, the role that family plays on their postsecondary success is understudied. In this qualitative study, I examine the role that family plays on undocumented students’ college aspirations and persistence. Findings from a sample of 16 undocumented students attending a four-year public university show that their families are the stimulus motivating them to pursue higher education, as well as the support system they can rely on to manage college barriers. However, the data also revealed that for a few participants, their families are a source of stress, resulting in additional challenges they must manage as they navigate higher education. I present these findings using participants’ vignettes and conclude with implications for higher education research and practice.


Author(s):  
Eugenia Harja

The public university education in Bacau, represented by “Vasile Alecsandri” University from Bacau has developed over the past two years not only in terms of student numbers, but as human and material resources available to them. After the number of students per teacher, public higher education from Bacau is situated on the second place after Iasi, the number of teachers representing 1% of the country. The structure by scientific degrees of teachers has improved in the last year, reaching over 36% professors and lecturers and 144 PhDs. Over 55% of the teachers are younger than 40 years. The material basis has improved both quantitatively and qualitatively by putting into use a new building, bringing an additional 27 classrooms and 11 seminar rooms and providing the conditions of modern higher education.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Dorius ◽  
David Tandberg ◽  
Bridgette Cram

This study leverages human capital theory to identify the correlates of expected returns on investment in higher education at the level of institutions. We leverage estimates of average ROI in post-secondary education among more than 400 baccalaureate degree conferring colleges and universities to understand the correlates of a relatively new metric of institutional ROI. Results indicate that a diverse undergraduate student body, high graduation rate, and public university status are strong, positive, and robustly associated with institutional ROI. The model accounts for more than 70% of inter-university variation in ROI, suggesting that the factors we have identified are among the most important correlates of institutional ROI. We discuss the policy implications of these findings for institutions of higher education in the context of institutional rankings and a rapidly evolving education landscape, giving special attention to student body characteristics colleges and universities.


Author(s):  
Amy J. Binder ◽  
Kate Wood

This chapter examines in more abstract terms how universities, in combination with the broader political culture, cultivate distinctive styles of conservatism among students. It reviews research in the fields of higher education studies, cultural sociology, political theory, and organization studies to capture some of the more general processes observed at Eastern Elite University and Western Flagship University. In particular, it considers how social and cultural capital gives rise to the particular dominant conservative styles of civilized discourse at Eastern Elite, provocation in the Western Public university system, and the submerged styles seen at these different campuses. The chapter concludes by arguing that the model developed for studying student conservatism on both campuses is general enough to be useful to scholars studying other aspects of students' lives other than politics.


Author(s):  
Marianne Robin Russo ◽  
Kristin Brittain

Reasons for public education are many; however, to crystalize and synthesize this, quite simply, public education is for the public good. The goal, or mission, of public education is to offer truth and enlightenment for students, including adult learners. Public education in the United States has undergone many changes over the course of the last 200 years, and now public education is under scrutiny and is facing a continual lack of funding from the states. It is due to these issues that public higher education is encouraging participatory corporate partnerships, or neo-partnerships, that will fund the university, but may expect a return on investment for private shareholders, or an expectation that curriculum will be contrived and controlled by the neo-partnerships. A theoretical framework of an academic mission and a business mission is explained, the impact of privatization within the K-12 model on public higher education, the comparison of traditional and neo-partnerships, the shift in public higher education towards privatization, a discussion of university boards, and the business model as the new frame for a public university. A public university will inevitably have to choose between a traditional academic mission that has served the nation for quite some time and the new business mission, which may have negative implications for students, academic freedom, tenure, and faculty-developed curriculum.


Author(s):  
Jarrad D. Plante ◽  
Amanda Kinzey ◽  
Brooke M. Renney

Research from one large public university highlights that on average, of the 10,000 students who graduate, 650 students, or 8% of participating graduates, indicate ‘volunteering' or ‘taking time off' as their immediate next step post-graduation. This creates a ‘service year' opportunity. A pilot study was conducted on the civic value of national service within a population of students who graduated from one large public university and participated in at least one national service program to understand the civic value of national service. The pre-, during-, and post-service year experiences are examined with respect to ethical dilemmas and best practices within higher education leadership. Action steps for ethical best practices created by institutional leadership will foster a connection for students and national service opportunities as a pathway from college to career.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan M. Ryan

This paper is a discussion and critical review of grading practices at a large flagship public university. In this paper, I examine the rights a student has when calling into question the authority and decision-making abilities of teachers in a classroom setting. Following my recent experience with a professor (noted at the beginning of this paper), I began to question the legitimacy of interactions between students and teachers. The paper examines the way in which the system of Higher Education lacks due process for students who wish to appeal to their teachers about their grades. Ultimately my goal is to help facilitate conversations about academic review, including how professors can use syllabi and grading matrixs to protect themselves and their students, and well as ensure that conflicts can be avoided.


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