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This paper uses critical archival analysis, paired with textual analysis of grant descriptions, to understand how nine foundations — all with endowments derived from the student loan industry — have motivated their college completion work and the relationship between these commitments and grantmaking over time (2000–2019). Mobilizing concepts of theorization and racialized change work (RCW) to analyze the relationship between funders' deployed racial frames and their theory of change, this paper offers three primary contributions: 1) A methodological approach to analyzing philanthropic or intermediary-led reform campaigns (e.g. the college completion agenda) as a form of theorization — a core mechanism of institutional change and diffusion — inclusive of funders' racial projects; 2) Insights on the qualitative, causal pathway by which one foundation created organization-specific interest convergence that facilitated engagement in RCW, and 3) Evidence demonstrating how race-evasive theorizations, even if efficacious mechanisms for change, fail to deinstitutionalize a core mechanism of racialization: investment in deficit-minded, individual-level projects. These insights speak not only to the material differences between race-evasive and race-conscious theorizations, but also organizational pathways toward durable race-conscious commitments in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has chronicled the experiences of Black students transitioning into college and best practices for supporting Black students as they move through the collegiate context. The collegiate context is nested in white supremacy, and a microcosm of white culture. Thus, this study is rooted in the assumption that racism experienced within college is a reflection of its permanence, and sets the stage for the importance of examining Black students’ sense of self-love. In this paper, we utilize critical frameworks to examine how seven Black students conceptualize self-love within anti-Black environments. An analysis of testimonies and interviews generated by participants produced several considerations on the praxis of self-love in and beyond the educational context. Specifically, findings point to the ways Black students conceptualize self-love as affirmations of the Black being, manifesting as presence, knowing, feeling, seeing, doing, and regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

States have adopted a variety of policies to encourage universities to expand research production, with the hope of supporting economic growth and competitiveness. This paper considers whether a state-level initiative succeeded in influencing university-based research outputs among regional public universities. We test whether the Texas Research Incentive Program increased research production at a set of state universities as measured by total research spending, federally-funded research spending, the number of scholarly publications, and the share of publications published in high impact factor journals. Using a novel dataset and difference-in-differences analytic strategy, we found that TRIP adoption was associated with a 19%-25% increase in research expenditures at emerging research universities in Texas relative to a matched set of comparable universities. However, TRIP did not influence federally-funded research expenditures or journal publication outputs. We also show that federally-funded research expenditures influence publication outputs — both in amount and quality — and that number of full-time faculty influences both federal research expenditures and publication outputs. We discuss contributions to the literature on regional public universities, loose coupling, and research production, as well as implications for policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In U.S. 4-year postsecondary institutions, predominant institutional logics — the embedded assumptions that guide organizational action — have traditionally focused on prestige seeking via acquisition of resources, reputation, and research capabilities. This focus can hinder the design and implementation of teaching approaches and structures that support equitable student experiences and outcomes, particularly for minoritized students. This study examined the institutional logics guiding the organizational behavior of four broadly accessible Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) computer science departments. All were participating in a multi-institutional network of HSIs designed to advance science equity efforts and postsecondary attainment for Latinx students in the discipline. A multiple case study of these four departments included 63 interviews with faculty and administrators, 69 observations of departmental activities, and extensive participant-observations of the network before, during, and after site visits. Data analysis revealed three themes — inclusivity, talent development, and cultural responsiveness — that indicate how departmental personnel employ institutional logics alternative to prestige-seeking institutional logics. The paper discusses the implications of these alternative institutional logics, characterized as opportunity-centered logics, to effect equity-focused institutional transformation, strengthening of HSIs’ capacities to serve Latinx and minoritized students, and inclusive efforts in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the developmental trajectories of students' self-authored worldview commitments over four years of college and the reasons they offered for making associated developmental gains. Through a longitudinal, mixed methods approach, we unearthed four distinctive developmental trajectories of a nationally-representative cohort of 9,470 students enrolled across 122 institutions. We found that provocative encounters with worldview diversity — those that appropriately challenged students to examine their own religious commitments — served as catalysts for growth during college. The varied contexts of those provocative encounters, both inside and outside the college classroom, are highlighted in students' own words. Implications for research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis assesses the predictive validity of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) across outcome variables, including grade point average, for graduate students. In addition to aggregate effects, this paper also assessed changes in observed effects over time as related to increasing diversity in the graduate student population and as a function of gender and racial/ethnic composition of study samples. Framed using a lens of critical whiteness, this analysis examined n = 1,659 individual effects across k = 201 studies. Overall, 62.3% of reported effects were nonsignificant (i.e. no predictive value of GRE scores on student outcomes). Further, the magnitude of observed predictive relationships decreased significantly over time. The aggregate mean effect across all studies and outcomes was small, significant, and positive: GRE score predicted 3.24% of variance across measured outcomes, 4% of variance in overall GPA, and 2.56% of variance in first-year graduate GPA. Sample composition effects by race/ethnicity were notable under some conditions, but nonsignificant, with increasing proportions of people of Color within a study sample associated with poorer predictive validity for GPA. Likewise, the magnitude of negative effects where lower GRE scores predicted stronger student outcomes showed increasing trends from 0.16% of variance for all-white samples to 7.3% for samples comprised entirely of people of Color. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]