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A Field of Striving or Equity? Regional Public Universities and College Access
Author(s) -
Warshaw Jarrett B.,
DeMonbrun Matt,
McNaughtan Jon
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new directions for higher education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1536-0741
pISSN - 0271-0560
DOI - 10.1002/he.20365
Subject(s) - prestige , equity (law) , higher education , elite , public relations , perspective (graphical) , scholarship , hierarchy , sociology , political science , economic growth , economics , philosophy , linguistics , artificial intelligence , politics , computer science , law
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.