Crystal Renée Chambers

Is there a Core Curriculum across Higher Education Doctoral Programs

Currently the study of higher education has been referred to as a multidisciplinary field. Consensus is continuing to evolve regarding both what is considered the appropriate coursework and the foundational knowledgebase of this field. The study of higher education is maturing and has the potential to transition from being seen as a field to being respected as an academic discipline. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the status of the core curriculum in higher education doctoral programs from the perspective of program directors with programs that required the completion of standardized coursework prior to beginning a dissertation. We used online survey analytic techniques to query program directors about their EdD and PhD programs in higher education, credit hours, and curricular content. Our study confirms previous work finding that there is common agreement in the subject matter areas of organization, leadership, administration, and history. What our work adds is that there is a growing consensus among higher education doctoral programs about the position of higher education law and finance in the curricular core. In addition, we find there is a growing interest in public policy and community colleges over time, with a majority of EdD programs including instruction in these areas. Nevertheless, majoritarian agreement does not meet at a level wherein consensus can be inferred, especially within PhD programs where requirements are more varied across programs. In addition, while there is an increasing trend in the inclusion of multiculturalism in higher education doctoral programming, multiculturalism is not currently part of higher education’s core. We conclude with research and practice implications for doctoral programs in higher education as a field of study.

Race, Class, Gender and Community College Persistence Among African American Women

This inquiry is an exploration of the educational trajectories of African American women community college students. We compare the persistence of African American women to African American men and to all women college students using the 1996/2001 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Survey and the 1993/2003 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Survey. We find that the propensity of African American women to enroll notwithstanding, African American women attending community colleges are less likely to graduate than their African American male peers and than their female peers. However, we also find that African American women who start at community colleges and complete a Bachelor degree are similar to African American men and all women who pursue graduate degrees. This implies that greater attention to the trajectories of African American women through the community college is warranted as the majority of those entering postsecondary education do so at the community college. Assisting these women in succeeding in community colleges and in transferring is critical because Bachelor degree attainment is key to ensuring equitable outcomes.

Teaching Ethics in Higher Education Using the Values – Issues – Action (VIA) Model

Ethics content within higher education graduate programs can help higher education students as emerging leaders become more thoughtful about the decision making process. The purpose of the present manuscript is to explore one vehicle through which current and future higher education leaders can actively contemplate their values and how their values influence their actions when faced with an ethical challenge. The Values – Issue – Action (VIA) Model for Ethical Decision Making is a tool for both classroom use and professional reflection through which one can reflect on their values (V) and how those values shape how they perceive issues (I), and in turn shape their actions (A). Implications for teaching, learning, and practice are discussed.

Rawlsian Justice and the Ayers Settlement.

In 2004 a near 30-year legal battle over higher education desegregation in Mississippi was settled with the state’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to receive US

Academic Achievement Among Black Sororities: Myth or Reality?

503 million over the course of 17 years. Nearly 65% of this funding is directed toward the recruitment and support of White students, with a significant share of endowment funding tied to the attainment and maintenance of 10% non-Black enrollments. To analyze the fairness of this settlement, I use the theoretical framework of justice as fairness and apply the tenets of Rawlsian theory. I find a mismatch between settlement terms and justice as fairness. Thus, as Rawls predicts, while the settlement is final, it fails to bring closure.