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A Proposed Typology of Regional Public Universities

Authors :
Cecilia M. Orphan
Mac Wetherbee
Becket C. Duncan
Source :
Research in Higher Education. 2024 65(6):1208-1242.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

Regional Public Universities (RPUs) advance public good missions to foster postsecondary access, student-centeredness, and regional wellbeing. Despite the important contributions that RPUs make to their regions and students, scholars and the media often view the sector as amorphous and undistinguished, or they define RPUs by what they are not (e.g., elite, selective, community colleges, etc.). This sequential mixed methods research study grounded in organizational ecology theory and involving content analysis and cluster analysis proposes a typology of RPUs. Specifically, five RPU types are proposed: accessible, midsized master's-degree granting RPUs; regionally focused Historically Black Colleges and Universities; rural-serving and CUNY RPUs; large, urban regional-serving RPUs; and Puerto Rican Hispanic-serving RPUs. This study significantly advances conceptual understanding about RPUs by disrupting deficit-based understandings about the sector being shapeless and amorphous by showing that the sector contains distinct institutional types that represent unique approaches to fulfilling the RPU public good mission. This typology is also among the first to document the institutional diversity of RPUs.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0361-0365 and 1573-188X
Volume :
65
Issue :
6
Database :
ERIC
Journal :
Research in Higher Education
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
EJ1436535
Document Type :
Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-024-09782-x