A Field of Striving or Equity? Regional Public Universities and College Access

Abstract

Many regional public universities (RPUs) provide college access to diverse groups of undergraduate students and face pressures to pursue prestige in the academic hierarchy. Prior research posits that RPUs will strive for prestige because of status-and resource-based rewards that flow from increasing their admissions selectivity, research-intensity, and wealth. As this dominant perspective suggests, RPUs may erode historic missions of democratizing educational opportunity to emulate their more elite peers to improve their external ratings and rankings. This chapter draws on multiple indicators of equity to examine whether institutional enrollment data align with, or diverge from, the prestige-seeking assumptions about these institutions. Descriptive profiles indicate that most RPUs in this analysis have increased over time their enrollment of low-income and racially diverse groups of students. We discuss implications for adopting a more flexible perspective on RPUs to account for equity-based orientations in the sector and to inform responsive practices.

Suppressing racial diversity for prestige? The conflicting imperatives of public master’s institutions.

“…An increase in the percentage of enrolled federal Pell Grant recipients (a proxy for low-income students) was associated with small upticks in enrollment share of URM students and in the diversity index score. This relationship is consistent with prior research highlighting mission-driven PMIs that serve local, historically marginalized students (Fryar, 2015;McClure, 2018;Oprhan, 2018Oprhan, , 2020Warshaw et al, 2020Warshaw et al, , 2021. We also found that an increase in international student enrollment was associated with a decrease in URM enrollment share and an increase in the diversity index score.…”

“…PMIs are thus "comprehensive" in offering undergraduate and masters' programs, as well as some doctoral degrees, in areas matching local workforce needs. As such, they enhance access and social mobility for underrepresented minoritized (URM) students and provide critical boons to equity in higher education and society as a whole (Chetty et al, 2017;de Alva, 2019;McClure, 2018;Warshaw et al, 2020Warshaw et al, , 2021.…”

“…Yet newer studies have found that, on average, PMIs continue to expand college access for racially diverse groups of students, as well as for low-income students, first-generation college students, parttime and adult learners, and military veterans (McClure, 2018;Orphan, 2018Orphan, , 2020Warshaw et al, 2020Warshaw et al, , 2021. Institutions in the sector also feature supportive teaching practices (Campbell et al, 2019;Henderson, 2007), innovative approaches to student success (Orphan, 2020), unique cost efficiencies (Titus et al, 2017), deep regional stewardship (Orphan, 2018), and robust socioeconomic gains for graduates (Chetty et al, 2017;de Alva, 2019).…”

Institutional Striving and Gender Equity in Faculty Salaries and Employment

“…While governments and universities often emphasize the potential benefits of enhancing research prestige, striving often involves trade-offs (O'Meara, 2007), and can lead to unintended consequences pertaining to institutional mission, quality, and equity (Ryan, 2019;Warshaw et al, 2020). In particular, because the productivity of faculty plays a central role in determining the institutional prestige of universities, it is likely that striving will push institutions to recruit and retain scholars with the highest level of status and reputation.…”