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In this paper, we employ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory to consider institutions' shifting goals, priorities, and constraints, and to explore the nature of change at colleges and universities in the United States. By exploiting annual changes in institutional budget decisions over a 29-year period, we seek to understand the extent to which institutions exhibit patterns of punctuated equilibrium, which are characterized by long periods of relative equilibrium (stasis) and of occasional extreme changes (punctuations). Broadly, we find that institutions of higher education allocate funds in a pattern characteristic of Punctuated Equilibrium, and that certain types of institutions are more likely than others to exhibit this pattern. Taken in whole, this paper calls into question a prevailing perspective on change in higher education — that change is slow-moving, moderate, and incremental. Instead, we posit that a framework of Punctuated Equilibrium may better describe how researchers and practitioners should consider institutional change within higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions of higher education are relying on philanthropy and fundraising at a greater level than ever before seen. This increased focus has led scholars to investigate various predictors regarding which alumni are likely to give and which are likely to give the most. To date, however, scholars have not yet examined the role of timing and when alumni give their first gift to their alma mater. Using discrete-time hazard modeling (DTHM), this paper seeks to re-center the current conversation surrounding educational philanthropy by exploring not simply who gives the most, but rather who gives and when. Using data of alumni from a predominantly White, private-research university in the United States (n = 3,404), we find that those alumni who were in cultural clubs, as well as Black and multi-racial alumni, are more likely to give their first gift at an earlier date than other alumni. Additionally, alumni that participated in fewer student activities while at school appear more likely to give their first gift sooner, while gender, income, and alumni activity participation show no significance in the model. This study upends some commonly held stereotypes of who are donors to higher education. We share implications for practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roughly 1 in 59 children in the United States is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a rate that has more than doubled during the last 10 years. As students with autism increasingly pursue higher education, college educators must understand these students' experiences and actively address issues that affect their college outcomes. This paper draws from interviews with autistic students who have had widely varying experiences and outcomes in higher education. Using an iterative analytic strategy that combined elements of grounded theory, multiple case study, and constant comparative approaches, researchers developed a series of propositions that were subsequently deconstructed and reconstituted as a conceptual model. The resultant conceptual model not only provides a descriptive portrait of how these students experienced interactions with their postsecondary institutions but also outlines specific ways in which tensions between the student and institution manifest as acute problems that students were often able to recognize, sometimes able to reframe, and occasionally able to resolve. The "3R" model can be used to help students and their institutions anticipate, address, and overcome challenges in ways that improve college experiences and outcomes for students on the autism spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elite higher education institutions work hard to secure diverse classes, and students seek out these institutions in part because they believe that diversity will enhance their own educational experiences. Institutional theories would predict that practices set by the elite institutions in the field would isomorphically trickle down, however, case studies of individual institutions indicate that higher education structures and cultures vary significantly across the spectrum of selectivity. Do all higher education institutions market their ethno-racial diversity to prospective students in the same ways as elite institutions? Are higher education institutions trying to send similar messages about their ethno-racial diversity or does this vary by selectivity level? This paper provides an examination of higher education at the organizational field level in order to answer questions that have previously been at the institutional level. Through analyzing the admissions webpages at 278 universities across the United States, we find that more selective institutions are more likely to represent their diversity, and more likely to engage in practices that emphasize their traditionally under-represented minority student populations than less selective institutions, though it is the less selective institutions that have higher populations of these students. We argue that variations in institutional habitus across selectivity help to explain these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a paper on the homosexual student population in higher education. Belief that most studies on the topic have been unable to deal with the students outside the traditional model of gay or straight; Binary nature of how sexual identity has been conceptualized; Need for inclusion of more diverse models; Methods, procedures and analysis of the study; Definition of 6 identities within the homosexual community in colleges; Distinguishing between the types; Possibility of many more classifications.