Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Goodman, Norman | Feldman, Kenneth | Marrone, Catherine | London, Manuel.
Date
2016-12-01
Keywords
Sociology -- Higher education -- Organization theory
Department
Department of Sociology
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76806
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
This qualitative case study concentrates on the evolution of undergraduate education at Stony Brook University, with particular focus on the establishment and continuity of the Undergraduate College program. The Undergraduate Colleges represent the most broadly imagined undertaking in undergraduate education in Stony Brook’s history and, therefore, is a good case study for the exploration of the topic of institutionalizing change and programmatic persistence. The Undergraduate Colleges marked the first attempt to establish a formal introduction to Stony Brook as a research university to all incoming freshmen, involving both academic and student affairs components and, most importantly, faculty. Program architects contended that creating smaller active learning communities would enhance the quality of education by offering a more coherent, more clearly directed first year of college with greater academic guidance and faculty participation than is typical in large public universities. Research in the sociology of higher education and the sociology of organizations are used to examine factors that contribute to enduring institutional change. Comprehensive interviews with the team that established the program, current academic and student affairs staff, the Provost, and faculty who have taught the University’s freshman seminar provided the data to explore various factors leading to the persistence of this program, which was established in 2002. I conclude that there are three primary factors to change in undergraduate education in a research university: collaboration between academic and student affairs, leadership and allocation of resources, and the role of faculty and faculty culture. | This qualitative case study concentrates on the evolution of undergraduate education at Stony Brook University, with particular focus on the establishment and continuity of the Undergraduate College program. The Undergraduate Colleges represent the most broadly imagined undertaking in undergraduate education in Stony Brook’s history and, therefore, is a good case study for the exploration of the topic of institutionalizing change and programmatic persistence. The Undergraduate Colleges marked the first attempt to establish a formal introduction to Stony Brook as a research university to all incoming freshmen, involving both academic and student affairs components and, most importantly, faculty. Program architects contended that creating smaller active learning communities would enhance the quality of education by offering a more coherent, more clearly directed first year of college with greater academic guidance and faculty participation than is typical in large public universities. Research in the sociology of higher education and the sociology of organizations are used to examine factors that contribute to enduring institutional change. Comprehensive interviews with the team that established the program, current academic and student affairs staff, the Provost, and faculty who have taught the University’s freshman seminar provided the data to explore various factors leading to the persistence of this program, which was established in 2002. I conclude that there are three primary factors to change in undergraduate education in a research university: collaboration between academic and student affairs, leadership and allocation of resources, and the role of faculty and faculty culture. | 194 pages
Recommended Citation
Di Donato, Donna M., "Institutional Change in Undergraduate Education at a Research University: The Stony Brook Undergraduate Colleges" (2016). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2682.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2682