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Centers

Centers

 

Center for Higher Education

The Center for Higher Education was created to monitor and interpret the impact of major trends and legislation as they affect higher education.  The office also engages in research activities for other agencies that are concerned about higher education issues at the state, regional, and national levels.

Center Director: Dr. Marc Cutright

Mission

The Center for Higher Education at UNT is an integral part of the Program in Higher Education within the UNT Department of Counseling and Higher Education, and has been in near continuous operation since 1972. The mission of the Center for Higher Education, through its staff and Research Associates, under the guidance of its Advisory Board and the leadership of its Director,  is to provide professional development activities and consulting services to selected institutions of higher education (both domestic and international); to conduct grant funded research related to higher education policies, practices, finance, planning, leadership, student services, and partnerships; to disseminate research findings through books, journals and monographs; and to provide research, grant writing, assistantship, and internship opportunities for faculty and graduate students engaged in the study of higher education at the University of North Texas.  

The Center's specific research foci change periodically to reflect the interests and talents of its Research Associates, faculty, and graduate students and to meet the ever changing needs of the nation's higher education community and its various funding agencies and foundations. The Center's current foci are in the areas of minority student and faculty recruitment, retention, and graduation; impacts of college/university policies and practices on transfer student success; applications of technology in the delivery of student services in distributed learning environments; and standards for professional practice and professional certification in student affairs administration.

Goals

  • Solicit external support for conducting research related to its mission;
  • Sponsor and/or co-sponsor professional development activities that relate to its mission;
  • Contribute to the professional literature the findings from funded research;
  • Provide graduate research assistantships for higher education doctoral students from funded contracts & grants;
  • Provide for faculty/student research collaborations;
  • Provide consulting services to other higher education institutions and agencies; and
  • Provide for national and international partnerships and exchange programs between the UNT Center and those Centers located in Europe and at Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.

History

The Center for Higher Education has been in near continuous operation at UNT since 1972*. According to information collected by the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) in 1995, there are only 30 Centers/Institutes for Higher Education in the US plus five Centers located in European universities. American Universities with Center/Institutes for Higher Education other than UNT include the following:

Florida State University, Penn State University, SUNY/Albany, Univ. of Arizona, University of California/Berkley, University of California/Los Angeles, Univ. of Maryland-College Park, Stanford University, Univ. of Michigan, University of Georgia, University of Rochester, University of Arkansas, University of Oklahoma, Univ. of Toledo, University of Virginia, Indiana University, Iowa State Univ., Univ. of Texas at Austin, Univ. of Mississippi, University of Memphis, University of Florida, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Oregon, and  Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison.

The first director of the UNT Center for Higher Education was the late Dr. Dwane Kingery, former of Dean of the College of Education, Professor of Secondary Education, and Professor of Higher Education. Dr. Kingery directed the Center from 1972 until he went on modified service in 1992. During his tenure as director the Center established the Matthews Library collection of significant works in the field of higher education which has been continuously housed in the Center/Program in Higher Education offices since 1974 for use by graduate students in the higher education doctoral program. The Center also solicited from corporations based in the DFW Metroplex grants to fund UNT graduate student assistantships and other part-time work opportunities, and solicited funding for travel grants for doctoral students in the higher education program to attend professional conferences. Part of Dr. Kingery's COE assigned work load was to serve as director of the Center and the Center was housed in it's own office suite on the second floor of Matthews Hall. The Center also had a full-time secretary (to help maintain the library collection of over 1000 cataloged items) and had a small operating budget provided by the COE.

The second Center director was Dr. Barry Lumsden, Professor of Higher Education. He assumed this position upon the appointment of COE Dean  Dr. Paul Dixon in 1994 when the Center was re-­established to replace the terminated Center for Policy Studies in HE.* No reassigned work load time, office space, secretarial support, or operating budget was given to Dr. Lumsden when he assumed responsibility for the Center in 1994. The Center was directed to become self-supporting and the offices on the 2nd floor of Matthews Hall were converted to COE administrative offices and the library collection was sent to the Program in HE Offices for storage. Dr. Lumsden operated the Center out of his office in 119 Matthews Hall as "service" to the Program in HE and the COE. Under Dr. Lumsden's leadership the Center formed an Advisory Board (seven person Board of Directors) and invited selected faculty and doctoral graduate students in the higher education program to join the Center as non-paid Research Associates to submit  research grant proposals under the Center's sponsorship. Dr. Lumsden also allowed the Journal of Community College Research and Practice, of which he is the founding and current Editor, to be co-­sponsored by the Center to give it a vehicle to achieve recognition as a viable HE Center within academe. However, due  to lack of time, staff support, and financial resources from the COE the Center was unable to achieve the lofty goals Dr. Lumsden had set for the Center and he thus resigned his director's position in 1996.

The third director was Dr. Paul Dixon. He assumed the directorship of the Center after he resigned his position as Dean of the COE and became a faculty member in the Program in Higher Education. He served as director from spring 1996 thru fall 1998. During his tenure the Center began co-sponsoring the now annual HE Legal Conference coordinated through the General Counsel's Office. The Center also received a $500 grant from the COE Academy for Research and Professional Development as seed money to help operate the Center and Dr. Dixon was given reassigned time to direct the Center's activities.

Proceeds from the co-sponsored legal conferences provided the Center with its first operating capital since COE funding was withdrawn in 1992. Unfortunately, during this same period the Advisory Board became inactive and the number of Research Associates asked to work with the Center diminished. It was also during this period that the Center's second Sunset Review took place. That review resulted in the recommendation that the Center be terminated unless it was re-energized and re-directed. At the request of the COE Dean's Office the Center was granted a two year extension to re-establish its viability under the leadership of a new director.

By UNT having one of the oldest Centers for Higher Education in the country, the reputation of the UNT doctoral program is enhanced nationally, UNT is invited to attend the prestigious Center Director's Meeting at the annual ASHE Conference, and UNT receives, along with some of the nation's most respected research universities, a listing in the Higher Education Centers’ Directory of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

*  From 1992-94 the Center for HE was without a director and hence terminated by the Dean of the COE. However, in 1994 the Dean reauthorized the Center for Higher Education when the Center for Policy Studies in Higher Education was abandoned.

Strategic Plans

Mission

The Center for Higher Education at UNT is an integral part of the Program in Higher Education within the UNT Department of Counseling and Higher Education, and has been in near continuous operation since 1972.

The mission of the Center for Higher Education, through its staff and Research Associates, under the guidance of its Advisory Board and the leadership of its Director,  is to provide professional development activities and consulting services to selected institutions of higher education (both domestic and international), to conduct grant funded research related to higher education policies, practices, finance, planning, leadership, student services, and partnerships, to disseminate research findings through books, journals and monographs, and to provide research, assistantship, and internship opportunities for graduate students engaged in the study of higher education at the University of North Texas.

Planning Goals for 2003-2006

  • Continue to seek external funding sources to support it’s service, research, and publication activities and Graduate Assistants.
  • Continue to publish the College Student Services Journal of Research and Practice in co-sponsorship with TACUSPA.
  • Fully implement the Student Affairs Professional Certification Program and use the revenues generated to support other Center activities.
  • Continue to Co-sponsor, with the Division of Student Development, the annual Transfer Student Institute and seek external grant funding related to conducting research on transfer students in HE.
  • Explore additional professional development opportunities to sponsor and/or co-sponsor professional development activities in an attempt to meet the ever changing needs of college administrators and faculty.
  • Expand the number of Research Associates in order to Increase the number of grant applications submitted in the hope of increasing the probability of receiving additional external funding for the Center's various research  interests.
  • Continue consulting activities, both domestic and international, to advance the reputations of the UNT Center for HE  and staff , make more people aware of the Center’s capabilities for conducting HE research, and continue the service component of the Center’s Mission.

Action Plan 2005-2006

  • Hire GA for Center--Journal
  • Conduct research for any funded grant(s)
  • Publish Vol.3, Issue 1 of CSS Journal by Nov. 2005
  • Submit minimum of 2 grants on transfer students and/or certification
  • Co-sponsor Transfer Student Institute with Division of Std. Dev.
  • Publish Vol.3, Issue 2 of CSS Journal by May, 2006
  • Secure TACUSPA funding for another three years publication of the Journal
  • Continue Certification program—including beginning to process renewal applications
  • Hire additional GA to work on Certification Program
  • Request additional COE space to house Certification program and GA

Action Plan 2004-2005

  • Hire GA for Center
  • Publish Vol. 2, Issue 1 of the CSS Journal by Nov. 2004
  • Begin solicitation of applications for Std. Affairs Certification and  process first batch of applications
  • Co-sponsor Third Annual Transfer Student Institute with Division of Student Development
  • Submit minimum of two research grants seeking funding for research on transfer students and/or student affairs professional certification
  • Publish Vol. 2, Issue 2 of the CSS Journal by May 2005
  • Update Center for HE web pages
  • Sell ‘profession’ adds for the CSS Journal to off-set Center share of publication expenses
  • Continue to sell Std. Affairs Certifications to eligible applicants

Action Plan 2003-2004

  • Select the articles for the first issue of the CSS Journal, secure printing bids, and finalize budget with TACUSPA for Journal publication
  • Print and Distribute Vol. 1, Issue 1 of Journal by Nov. 2003
  • Hire 20 hr./week GA to assist with Journal, update HE web site, and create Journal Web site
  • Create Journal web page by Dec. 2003
  • Co-sponsor the Transfer Student Institute with the Division of Std. Development in Jan 2004
  • Create Certification Program web page as part of HE Center web site
  • Publish Vol.1, Issue 2 of Journal by May 2004
  • Revise Center for HE web page by May 2004

Planning Summary

Through these initiatives it is hoped that the UNT Center for Higher Education will be able to establish its niche in the ‘Study of Higher Education’ among the nation’s 30 Centers/Institutes of Higher Education and 5 international Centers and can generate annually upwards of $50,000 in externally funded research contracts and fees for service/consulting. These funds will be utilized to fund research projects, publications, graduate research assistant stipends, professional travel to HE meetings to present research results, and part-­time clerical staff to support the work of the Center's activities.

Transfer Student Institute

What Is It?

It is a national resource that addresses the transitional needs of transfer students from both the 2-year and 4-year  perspectives. It's mission is to provide practitioners and faculty with current research on transfer students and best practice models for their successful transition.