INTRODUCTION

 

Measuring Up was created four years ago so states for the first time could assess and compare performance in higher education within a national context. The report cards have been developed as a tool for improvement in policy and performance. There are six categories explored in Measuring Up: preparation, participation, affordability, completion, benefits and learning. This project will examine four of those categories.

This research project was designed by Dr. Joshua B. Powers, Assistant Professor & Coordinator of the Ph.D. program in Higher Education Leadership at Indiana State University. This program is in the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education. Dr. Powers assigned this project to the Cohort 7 Ph.D. students in the ELAF 760 course on Resource Management in Higher Education in fall semester of 2004. This cohort of 11 students will complete 45 credit hours together in a Ph.D. program in higher education administration over a two-year period, culminating in April 2005. Upon completion of their preliminary exams in summer of 2005, each must write a dissertation as a final requirement for the doctorate degree in higher education administration. The cohort is comprised of higher education professionals in public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Indiana, Kentucky and Maryland.

The 11 students in Cohort 7 were split into four groups and each assigned one of the measure categories listed above. You will see their names at the head of the category pages and this is their research. Dr. Powers charged them to examine the Measuring Up 2004 website and then "mine the data" to uncover those states that are hidden gems in the categories of: preparation, participation, affordability and completion.

This website is a culmination of the research papers and powerpoints of the 11 members of Cohort 7, that I then compiled as a special project for Dr. Powers.

I would like to thank Dr. Powers for his guidance in this instructional exercise that broadened our views on national higher education and the forces at work within the individual states to bring significant changes to reach their goals and improve their standings among the other states in this nation.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Jill De Maria, Director of Publications and Web Production, for the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, who extended premission for me to use graphics and recreate the State Grade Table from the original Measuring Up 2004 report.

I would also like to thank Teresa Vazquez, Webmaster and Instructional Technologist at Ivy Tech State College in Fort Wayne, Indiana for her technical expertise in establishing the framework and enhancements of this website.

Finally, I thank the future doctors in Cohort 7. It has been an incredible experience working with you the past two years. See you at the top!

I hope you enjoy this interactive website as much as we enjoyed learning about and discovering the jewel states in higher education across the country. Please email me and share your thoughts on this project at jmilenti@ivytech.edu.

 

John Milentis
Cohort 7 Ph.D. Student
ELAF Program
Indiana State University