

@mastersthesis {6429,
	title = {Treading water: {A} state college{\textquoteright}s response to budget cuts},
	year = {1992},
	note = {9228403},
	school = {Harvard University},
	type = {phdEd.{D}.},
	address = {Ann Arbor},
	abstract = {This analytic paper examines how a state college in Massachusetts responded to dramatic declines in state support between 1988 and 1992. During this period, the state appropriation for the college dropped from \$15.2 to {\textbackslash}\$9.9 million, a decrease of almost half in real terms. The study characterizes the college{\textquoteright}s approach to declining resources as treading water. The college implemented a number of strategies{\textendash}such as raising student fees, across-the-board hiring freezes, and reductions in travel, professional development, energy use, equipment purchasing, and maintenance{\textendash}aimed at "staying afloat" and preserving existing programs and staff. The study explores the factors, constraints, and values that led college administrators to adopt a strategy of treading water. The critical role of state policies is also examined. Four rationales are identified that help explain the college{\textquoteright}s orientation to decline: institutional identity and aspirations as a comprehensive college, the perceived absence of slack resources, the desire to preserve morale, and the immediacy of the financial crisis. In examining the consequences of retrenchment and the college{\textquoteright}s responses to it, the study found that while stresses and strains were readily apparent, neither access nor the academic program were substantially compromised in the short term. However, the emotional and economic toll of the fiscal crisis on Bay State employees was severe. The study concludes by arguing that treading water fails to address the long-term implications of declining resources and offering lessons for other states and institutions. The thesis is based on a review of the literature and a single-site case study involving approximately 70 interviews with faculty, administrators, trustees, and students of the college as well as documented data collected from the institution and from the state-wide governing agency for public higher education.},
	keywords = {0277:School finance, 0514:School administration, 0745:Higher education, cutback management, Education, Higher education, School administration, School finance, state support},
	url = {http://search.proquest.com/docview/303992783?accountid=14270},
	author = {Layton, Daphne Niobe}
}
