Individual Merit or Institutional Strategy? Examining the Merit Scholarship Practices at a Public Flagship University

This dissertation study examines the ways that a large, public flagship university uses automatic-consideration merit scholarships to meet the goals of the institution, particularly as they relate to enrollment, university prestige, nonresident-to-resident balancing, and funding. Employing a mixed-methods design, the author uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate (1) how university enrollment management leaders define and operationalize merit by way of the automatic merit scholarship policies that they develop and oversee to meet university goals; (2) how expanded models of merit scholarships have impacted student outcomes around enrollment, retention, and academic performance in the past at the university; and (3) how, given the findings, leaders at the university ought to think about and operationalize merit, and policy recommendations that might offer a more expanded recognition of merit while not neglecting the university's political and financial reality. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]