Brad Weiner
University of Colorado, Boulder, Administration, Department Member
- Enrollment Projection Methodology, Financial Aid, Economics of Education, Research Methodology, Philanthropy, Comparative & International Education, and 11 moreHigher Education, College Administration and Policy, Internationalization, Higher Education, Globalization, Organizational Behavior, Distance Education, China, Community Engagement & Participation, Brazil, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, and Higher Education Managementedit
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. May 2014. Major: Educational Policy and Administration. Advisor: David Weerts. 1 computer file (PDF); xii, 248 pages.
Research Interests:
This paper examines the tension between profit and prestige maximizing behavior that occurs when universities change athletic conferences. The researcher compared 60 academic, demographic, and financial measures for NCAA Division I... more
This paper examines the tension between profit and prestige maximizing behavior that occurs when universities change athletic conferences. The researcher compared 60 academic, demographic, and financial measures for NCAA Division I institutions and conferences that changed membership in 2010. Membership changes involve a bi-directional agreement between current conference members and newly invited institutions. This reciprocal requirement creates a maximizing-satisficing paradox which forces conferences members to sacrifice peer group prestige for financial gain or athletic success.
Research Interests:
Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without... more
Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). In a recent review of research on gendered performance disparities in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, Eddy and Brownell (2016) describe a confused research landscape: Some courses favor men, some favor women, and some show little bias. Their review calls specifically for systematic measurement of performance gaps across an array of disciplines and institutions, all accounting for prior academic performance, in the hope that emergent patterns might inform our understanding of " the relative contributions of different factors to performance and/or persistence in STEM. " In this study, we answer this call, analyzing data on more than a million student enrollments in hundreds of courses drawn from five research-intensive public universities in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. We find evidence of statistically significant, persistent gendered performance differences (GPDs) in some large, introductory courses, differences that are also materially significant. In particular, men earned relatively higher grades than women in biology, chemistry, physics, accounting, and economics lecture courses, even after accounting for the influence of some measures of prior academic achievements Significant gendered performance differences are signals of systemic inequity in higher education. Understanding of these inequities has been hampered by the local nature of prior studies; consistent measures of performance disparity across many disciplines and institutions have not been available. Here, we report the first wide-ranging, multi-institution measures of gendered performance difference, examining more than a million student enrollments in hundreds of courses at five universities. After controlling for factors that relate to academic performance using optimal matching, we identify patterns of gen-dered performance difference that are consistent across these universities. Biology, chemistry, physics, accounting, and economics lecture courses regularly exhibit gendered performance differences that are statistically and materially significant, whereas lab courses in the same subjects do not. These results reinforce the importance of broad investigation of performance disparities across higher education. They also help focus equity research on the structure and evaluative schemes of these lecture courses.
Research Interests:
Low-income and working-class students face many challenges related to the costs and affordability of higher education; yet, little is known about the financial decisions made by these groups of students while they are enrolled in... more
Low-income and working-class students face many challenges related
to the costs and affordability of higher education; yet, little is known
about the financial decisions made by these groups of students while
they are enrolled in higher education and how their decisions might
differ from middle/upper-class students. Using data from students
enrolled at six large, public research universities in 2012, researchers
examined 16 different financial decisions of undergraduate students.
Results suggest that low-income and working-class students are more
likely to make decisions that could negatively impact their immedi-
ate academic experience, serve as disruptive barriers to success, delay
or prolong graduation, or lead to increased debt upon graduation.
to the costs and affordability of higher education; yet, little is known
about the financial decisions made by these groups of students while
they are enrolled in higher education and how their decisions might
differ from middle/upper-class students. Using data from students
enrolled at six large, public research universities in 2012, researchers
examined 16 different financial decisions of undergraduate students.
Results suggest that low-income and working-class students are more
likely to make decisions that could negatively impact their immedi-
ate academic experience, serve as disruptive barriers to success, delay
or prolong graduation, or lead to increased debt upon graduation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Recent economic concerns have been associated with high unemployment rates and consequent challenges for state and federal governments in generating tax revenues. As a result, public expenditures for various services have come under... more
Recent economic concerns have been associated with high unemployment rates and consequent challenges for state and federal governments in generating tax revenues. As a result, public expenditures for various services
have come under increased scrutiny
have come under increased scrutiny
Research Interests:
This mixed-methods experimental study examined the effect of service learning in a distance education technical writing course. Quantitative analysis of data found evidence for a positive relationship between participation in service... more
This mixed-methods experimental study examined the effect of service learning in a distance education technical writing course. Quantitative analysis of data found evidence for a positive relationship between participation in service learning and technical writing learning outcomes. Additionally, qualitative analysis suggests that service learning in online technical writing courses helps students to make connections to the “real world,” encourages students to connect with their audience(s) and develop a sense of purpose for writing tasks, connects students to future employment, and develops deep learning with course materials. It is hypothesized that these factors support the development of learning outcomes in distance education students.
Research Interests: Distance Education, Higher Education, Community Engagement & Participation, Service Learning, Technical Writing, and 7 moreExperiential Learning (Active Learning), John Dewey, Online and Distance Education, Learning And Teaching In Higher Education, Experimental Design, Service Learning in Higher Education, and Public Engagement
This paper examines the differences between foreign university liaison offices in China and attempts to classify different types of offices using interview data collected in 2010. We found that all liaison offices had responsibilities for... more
This paper examines the differences between foreign university liaison offices in China and attempts to classify different types of offices using interview data collected in 2010. We found that all liaison offices had responsibilities for institutional advancement functions like student recruitment while a smaller number were charged with enhancing the international components of core university functions of research, teaching, and community engagement. The researchers also concluded that offices with primarily profit-driven motivations are less likely than those with broader internationalization agendas to expand their responsibilities over time.
Research Interests:
This paper examines the tension between profit and prestige maximizing behavior that occurs when universities change athletic conferences. The researcher compared 60 academic, demographic, and financial measures for NCAA Division I... more
This paper examines the tension between profit and prestige maximizing behavior that occurs
when universities change athletic conferences. The researcher compared 60 academic, demographic, and financial measures for NCAA Division I institutions and conferences that changed membership in 2010. Membership changes involve a bi-directional agreement between current conference members and newly invited institutions. This reciprocal requirement creates
a maximizing-satisficing paradox which forces conferences members to sacrifice peer group prestige for financial gain or athletic success.
when universities change athletic conferences. The researcher compared 60 academic, demographic, and financial measures for NCAA Division I institutions and conferences that changed membership in 2010. Membership changes involve a bi-directional agreement between current conference members and newly invited institutions. This reciprocal requirement creates
a maximizing-satisficing paradox which forces conferences members to sacrifice peer group prestige for financial gain or athletic success.
Research Interests:
Low-income and working-class students face many challenges related to the costs and affordability of higher education; yet, little is known about the financial decisions made by low-income and working-class students while they are... more
Low-income and working-class students face many challenges related to the costs and affordability of higher education; yet, little is known about the financial decisions made by low-income and working-class students while they are currently enrolled in higher education and how those decisions might differ from financial decisions made by their middle/upper-class peers. Researchers examined 16 different financial actions and decisions of undergraduate students from five social class backgrounds using data from students enrolled at six large, public research universities in 2012. Results suggest that low-income and working-class students are more likely to make decisions that could negatively impact their immediate academic experience, serve as disruptive barriers to success, delay or prolong graduation, or lead to increased debt upon graduation.