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theses

Social equity, often understood to be the third pillar of public administration, relies on the values of fairness and equality in the delivery of public services. Nevertheless, these are intangible features that are often more difficult to measure than efficiency and effectiveness. The higher education system in the U.S. is an ideal area to examine the equitable delivery of a public service, especially given its importance in a knowledge economy and the persistent race gap in education access and achievement. Therefore, this study looks at the use of performance information by administrators of men of color initiatives in U.S. colleges and universities as a way to address equity concerns and outcomes. This study began by using a qualitative research design consisting of semi-structured interviews in the first phase, followed by a quantitative research design consisting of a survey in the second phase. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data in the first phase, followed by exploratory factor analysis and bivariate correlation in the second phase of data analysis. Men of color diversity programs were stratified into Ivy League institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), university systems, community colleges, and senior colleges. There were six senior college administrators, three community college administrators, four HBCU administrators, one Ivy League administrator, and one university system administrator interviewed, resulting in a total of 15 administrators. Once the initial qualitative phase of the data collection was completed, an online survey was developed based in part on the interview findings, and sent to a list of 140 men of color initiative administrators nationwide. The response rate for the survey was 45%. The quantitative results provide unique and original data on the program design, number of students participating, structural/institutional barriers, and outcomes of men of color initiatives across the US. Interestingly, the results from the qualitative phase of the study indicates that equity is not generally measured, exposure to informal mentoring shaped how administrators designed their programs, representativeness is critical to ensuring diversity, and institutional commitment is necessary for men of color initiatives to succeed. While the results from the quantitative phase confirms these findings, it also emphasizes that mentoring is the most widely used service or activity for men of color initiatives, retention rates, and graduation rates are the two most widely collected data points; equity, efficiency, and effectiveness outcomes can co-exist without tension. Overall, this study has provided deeper insight into the challenges of including equity into the practice of performance measurement and management.

ETD_8051

Ph.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Jermaine Wright

doi:10.7282/T38G8PN7

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.