The Problem with the UMBC "Cinderella Story"

Last week, college basketball fans witnessed a historic event. For the first time ever, a No. 16 seeded team upset a No. 1 seeded team. The University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers not only beat the University of Virginia Cavaliers--they beat them by 20 points. As often happens with upsets, the story of UMBC’s victory went viral on social media, especially during a time when many Americans are desperate for some good news. UMBC was quickly branded this year’s “Cinderella Story.”

Writing about the idea of a “Cinderella Story” for NPR, Linda Holmes notes: “Americans will call almost anything a Cinderella story that involves a good thing happening to someone nice. We slap that title on movies and books, but also on basketball games won by tiny schools full of scrawny nerds.” She goes on to suggest that most variations of the story include “a mistreated young woman, forced to do menial work, either cast out or unloved by her family. She has an opportunity to marry well and escape her situation, but she gets that chance only after being mistaken for a higher-status person.” In many ways, I think this latter description better fits UMBC and many institutions like it.

UMBC is an excellent university with a strong reputation, particularly in the mid-atlantic region. This reputation developed largely separate from athletics. Yet it took playing in the most competitive tournament in college basketball, and pulling off an almost miraculous feat, for people to suddenly wake up and see UMBC. In the words of Jerry Brewer of the Washington Post, “After a 74-54 win over Virginia, UMBC has America’s attention. It is ready to listen to every remarkable thing about the university.” This is wonderful for UMBC’s players, students, faculty, staff, and leadership. However, it reveals a major problem in this country: our long-term, systematic neglect of public regional universities. Although UMBC got its moment in the spotlight, hundreds of institutions will never get a shot at the big dance. And this big-time oversight has big-time consequences.

I have spent the last four years working at a public regional university, and I also happen to research them. Incidentally, my university’s basketball team fell to Virginia in the first round of last year’s tournament. So, I know a few things about public regional universities and being the underdog. Having spent 7 years working in higher education in Maryland, I was certainly familiar with UMBC before their big win. Let me tell you a few reasons why we should not only pay attention to public regional universities, but also better fund and reward them for their unique contributions to U.S. higher education, irrespective of what happens during March Madness.

First, public regional universities educate a significant number of Americans. One estimate shows that public regional universities enroll two-thirds of people attending public, four-year colleges and universities. Some people might understandably ask, “So what?” After all, bigger and more elite institutions also educate many students. The difference is that public regional universities educate a much larger proportion of low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation students than bigger and more elite institutions. Using the same estimate referenced above, public regional universities educate an astounding 85% of African American students, 74% of Hispanic/Latino students, and 70% of American Indian students attending public, four-year institutions. As one president I interviewed put it, public regional universities are “institutions of opportunity for the underserved.”

Second, public regional universities are affordable and efficient. Many Americans are worried about the price of college and how public institutions are stewarding taxpayer money. Public regional universities have had to figure out how to keep their prices low for a long time because of the types of students they serve. Raising tuition too high at public regional universities can have disastrous consequences for enrollment, retention, and persistence. Even though all public institutions have been affected by reductions in per-pupil state funding, there is reason to believe public regional universities have been disproportionately hurt by state disinvestment. Unlike bigger and more elite institutions, public regional universities can’t frequently rely on alternative revenue sources like major private gifts or overhead from federal grants to offset budget cuts. Instead, they have to figure out how to pursue excellence with insufficient resources. It shouldn’t be too surprising that research shows that many public regional universities are cost efficient.

Third, public regional universities are committed to high-quality teaching and student success. One persistent myth I have encountered in my research is that, based on metrics like retention and graduation rates, public regional universities are lower-quality compared to bigger and more elite institutions. My contention is that we shouldn’t give much weight to comparisons between public regional universities and institutions that enjoy phenomenally more resources and educate very different students. If we instead focus on what is actually happening at public regional universities, several features stand-out. Public regional universities are home to scholar-teachers who devote significant time to teaching and provide an unparalleled level of care to students. This type of personal attention to students, by the way, is particularly important for low-income, racially minoritized, and low-income students. It is worth noting that, as many other institutions figure out how to attract and educate the growing population of “non-traditional” students, public regional universities have been helping these student succeed for decades. We should start seeing public regional universities as thought leaders in serving these students.

Lastly, public regional universities are regionally-oriented, anchor social institutions, many of which serve economically depressed and rural areas. One president I interviewed called his university a “beacon of hope” in the region because it was the only organization hiring people during the Great Recession. If we were to remove public regional universities from the regions they serve, we would effectively eliminate a major employer, a major producer of well-educated employees, a major cultural institution, and a major source of hope in one fell swoop. And we shouldn’t shortchange this last point. As recent reporting has demonstrated, a public regional university is sometimes one of a few sites of opportunity in areas struggling with poverty and unemployment. My hypothetical scenario may sound extreme, but we should keep in mind that several states are experimenting with their systems of public regional universities, and some are considering closings and mergers.

Despite my “Debbie Downer” introduction, we should absolutely celebrate UMBC. Buy UMBC t-shirts. Donate to UMBC. However, if we wait for the next big game to pay attention to public regional universities, we continue a pattern of under-appreciating and under-investing in what I believe are the most important higher education institutions in this country. Aside from cheering on the Retrievers, here are a few things we can do to reverse this pattern.

One simple thing we can do is to scrutinize our language. Many people refer to public regional universities as “non-elite,” “non-selective,” or “non-flagship.” These labels often position public regional universities in negative relation to something we see as more valuable. I actually think we should throw the label “flagship” out the window. It wrongly suggests that there is one important institution in a state and a whole bunch of supporting institutions that don’t merit notice. I use the term public regional university, but others use regional comprehensive university.

If we are in a position to donate money to a college or university, I contend we ought to donate to public regional universities. As an employee of a public regional university, I’m biased, but I think the donation goes farther at our institutions. My undergraduate alma mater is a wealthy private college. I have the fondest memories of my time there, but they are financially in good shape. My donation makes more of a difference at a place like UNCW.

Journalists and researchers need to get over their infatuation with bigger and more elite institutions. Research on public regional universities is not nearly as developed as it should be, given the importance of these institutions. And much of it is quantitative in nature, which can be helpful, but doesn’t always tell the story of these institutions in a nuanced way. Journalists (and researchers) almost always discuss public regional universities from a deficit perspective, recycling a narrative of institutions in crisis, struggling to stay open, on the brink of extinction. Stop that. Take the enthusiasm that emerged from the UMBC victory and apply that appreciative lens to public regional universities broadly.

Finally, we should ask big questions about state funding formulas and other processes by which institutions receive public support. I’ve heard from many people at public regional universities that a disproportionate share of resources flows to bigger, more research-oriented universities. It’s possible that performance-based funding exacerbates these inequities. I struggle to argue for cutting funding to any public institution, but I’m more uncomfortable with the idea that public regional universities are not being funded at levels commensurate with their contributions.

Like Cinderella, many public regional universities are cast out, mistreated, and unloved unless they are given the chance to be viewed as something higher-status. UMBC got that chance, but it is just one institution among many. My hope is that we can view public regional universities as national treasures without having to rely on the magic of a major sports victory.

What I've Learned Advising Ed.D. Students

Although it wasn’t planned, I’ve recently written a series of posts based on my role co-coordinating an Ed.D. program. In previous posts, I speculated about the growth of Ed.D. programs and some things to consider when looking at Ed.D. programs. In this post, I share some insights I’ve learned advising/mentoring Ed.D. students. As is my custom, let me start with a caveat: I’m not an expert on this topic and have had to figure things out as I go, often through trial and error. I’m still learning and see this post as part of that process.

My lack of experience is part of the reason why I wanted to put my thoughts down. I had no training in advising/mentoring graduate students before I started in this role. My entire knowledge of advising/mentoring graduate students stemmed from my own experiences with advisors and the approaches that served me well. However, having been advised/mentored doesn’t automatically make me ready to effectively advise/mentor students. Moreover, I was a full-time Ph.D. student and my students are part-time Ed.D. students. The approaches that served me well don’t necessarily work well for my students. So, we’re talking about limited capacity here to do an important part of my job. What’s a junior faculty member to do? I jumped and tried not to mess up too badly.

As I mentioned, my experiences as a PhD student didn’t necessarily apply well to my Ed.D. students. I was a full-time Ph.D. with a part-time graduate assistantship. I had no children, and for several years lived within biking distance of campus. When I was working on my dissertation, I really had few distractions. My graduate assistantship was low-pressure enough that I could even write for a few hours per week while working that job. Honestly, my advisor didn’t have to push me too much. My Ed.D. students are working, typically more than 40 hours per week, in stressful jobs. Many of them have families and are juggling the expectations associated with work, classes, and loved ones. Some of them are putting in very long nights and giving up weekends to pursue their education. I have so, so much respect for my students and what they are doing. It is a small miracle each time one of them graduates. Nevertheless, the truth is that they need significant help to reach the finish line.

Here are some of the things I’ve done to help them get there. And many of these things help me, too, with time management and stress.

Group Advising Early in the Process

I still do individual advising with my students, but early in the process I bring students who are at the same general point together for a few group advising sessions. During these sessions, we talk about the nuts and bolts of the entire dissertation process, my approach to feedback, common pitfalls students face, the importance of communication, and other topics. Part of the idea is to bring students together and help them to see there are others they can lean on for help. I also try to remove some of the mystery in the process. Many students see the dissertation as this massive thing that has to be totally groundbreaking. These sessions can help right-size their ambitions and inject a dose of reality.

Tell Them What A Dissertation Is and How It Is Organized

During group advising sessions, I also break down the purpose and organization of each chapter of the dissertation. My approach isn’t to say that these are the magic ingredients of a dissertation that must be present and placed in this exact location. Rather, I stick to a few principles about what is generally included in a dissertation within our program, and I share a few examples. There is still room for students to shape the organization of the dissertation in ways that fit their project and goals. But I found early on that it’s unproductive to expect that my students know what a dissertation is and how it is organized. Telling them to simply go write and send me a draft is a recipe for disaster. So, I give them a bit of a blueprint. I know programs incorporate some of this information into a course. Ours does not in a systematic way, so this is my strategy.

Start Small and Build

This is a new thing I started doing, and I’ve been really happy with the results. Instead of having my students jump right into writing a chapter, I ask them to put together a 2-3 page statement of purpose with research questions. This helps to focus and give direction to subsequent parts of the dissertation. Many of my students have a decent idea of their project, yet when they started writing, they often danced around the purpose. As a result, they included a bunch of content that, while relevant, wasn’t necessary to the project. So, to help them save time, I start with the statement of purpose. After talking about the statement of purpose and agreeing on the research questions, I ask students to start outlining remaining sections of chapter 1. Next, I have them write the first 8-10 pages. Each of these pieces has a deadline, which I don’t police but use from time to time to nudge students. Starting small helps students to see that a dissertation is a big project, but it’s composed of many small, manageable parts that can be tackled in a systematic way, not dissimilar from work they would do in a course. Over time, they develop their own approaches and flow, without as much need for me to help them plan things out. At that point, the scaffolding can come down.

Help Them Protect Time

One of the main hurdles for my students is carving out time to write. They are sometimes their own worst enemies in this regard. After finishing courses, there is a false sense that they have space in their lives to add or change things. So, they take on new professional responsibilities, shifts jobs, and sometimes complicate their lives at a point in time when simplicity is highly valuable. I’ve had to learn as an advisor how to help my students navigate some of these decisions and help them to prioritize completing their dissertations. This means helping them understand how a new opportunity might interfere with their progress and sometimes helping them figure out how to talk with supervisors or supervisees about protecting their time. Ultimately, I can’t create their schedules or make them sit down and write. But I can provide support and gently remind them of why they decided to pursue this degree and how close they are to the finish line.

Advocacy, Empathy, and Tough Love

One of the hardest parts of advising/mentoring, for me, is recognizing that it’s not just a process. It’s a relationship, one that hopefully lasts a long time. My natural inclination is to want to treat everything like a problem that can be fixed with the right structure and systems. What I quickly learned--and this is probably true of all advising/mentoring relationships--is that my students needed more than just an explanation of steps to follow. They wanted to know that I am on their side, that I am as committed to their success as they are. They want someone who knows about them, their goals, their families, their professional joys and challenges. When I get busy, I can sometimes forget this and slip into a “business only” mindset, talking about edits to chapters, paperwork to file, and so forth. When I’m being a little more intentional, I ask a lot of questions, and the answers provide important context for problems and even possible solutions. But this doesn’t mean I sugarcoat things. If a student’s work has slipped, we talk about it. If a chapter isn’t ready, I send it back. Many of my students, by the time they reach the dissertation, are desperate, even zealous, to finish and get back to their pre-Ed.D. lives. One of the toughest, but most frequent, things I have to do as their advisor/mentor is be honest about their timeline.

Remember It’s Not My Project

The last thing--at least for this post--that I’ve had to internalize is that, despite working hard with students over many, many months, it’s their dissertation. This means I have to understand that they might do things differently than I would. There might be imperfections that I have to let go, even if they drive me a little crazy. I could certainly push to have a student edit and edit until their project aligns with my vision, but I’ve come to believe that’s not my purpose. Micromanaging a dissertation can lead to a never-ending spiral of passing drafts back and forth. I don’t think it’s good for students or advisors. At some point, as an advisor, I’ve learned to step away and let my students take the project where they want to take it.

I’ve had a crash-course in advising/mentoring over the past 4 years. I still feel like I have a ton to learn. If only there had been a course on this in my graduate program! Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have taken that course. But I do wish my field provided more venues for workshops and other professional development on this. It’s such a critical and difficult part of being a professor. It’s also really, really enjoyable, especially when it goes well. My hope is that some of these insights are useful to others, and I absolutely welcome conversation and tips!

So, You're Thinking about Getting an Ed.D.?

One of the things I love about my job is coordinating the higher education administration concentration of my department’s Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. My responsibilities include talking with prospective students about the program and answering their questions. In some cases, these conversations center on the nuts and bolts of our program--application deadlines, required courses, and so forth. Just as often, I step into the role of advisor and help students consider various points that I believe should inform their decision to apply. In this post, I’ll share a few of those considerations with the goal of helping others as they evaluate 1) whether they want to pursue an Ed.D., 2) when is the right time to begin, and 3) what type of program would best fit their goals and needs. To be clear, I won’t address the great “Ed.D. vs. Ph.D. Debate.” Although this is a worthwhile question, my advice in this post is for people who have already decided to go the Ed.D. route and plan to continue working while they complete the program.

Consideration #1: Timing

Perhaps the number one point I raise in conversations with prospective students is whether now is the right time for them to undertake a terminal degree. One thing to consider is where you are at professionally. Some people who are fresh out of a master’s degree see good reason to keep going while they are motivated. Although there is merit to this view, I suggest spending some time gaining professional experience and a sense of where you intend to go professionally before undertaking a terminal degree. Make certain that (higher) education is your long-term career before making a multi-year commitment to study it in-depth. The applied nature of many Ed.D. programs also means having some experience will benefit you during classroom discussions and as you consider dissertation projects. By ensuring you have sufficient professional experience, you can avoid the problem of being “over-educated but under-experienced” during the job search.

The other way timing should enter your decision-making revolves around other aspects of your life, like family, faith, or other obligations. If it’s the case that you are just barely balancing work and family responsibilities, or you anticipate a major life change soon (i.e., starting a family, making a big professional change, taking care of a loved one), now may not be the right time to start an Ed.D. program. I recognize that life happens, and it is impossible to predict what will happen two years from now. And there’s some truth to the idea that, like starting a family, there is no perfect time to start an Ed.D. program. But what I tell prospective students is if you’re barely keeping all your plates spinning, can you handle another couple of plates right now? To help create space in your life for an Ed.D., I suggest simplifying. Avoid taking on a major professional responsibility (assuming it is optional), such as organizing a conference. Talk with your family about ways in which you can carve out some time for your education.

Consideration #2: Goals

Many of the people with whom I talk about pursuing an Ed.D. hope the addition of those three letters after their name will propel their career forward. But as is true of any academic program, an Ed.D. is not a one-way ticket to your dream job. It may open doors, create new opportunities, and cultivate marketable skills, but it’s not a magic potion for promotion. Additionally, if your sole motivation is career advancement, I suggest that you reconsider whether an Ed.D. is right for you. Some of my students who only see an Ed.D. as a means to an end get overly focused on checking boxes, on finishing as fast as possible. In the process, they neglect to invest in all sorts of things that may ultimately benefit their career goals, such as building relationships with faculty members and peers.

At the end of the day, an Ed.D. is still--or should be--a rigorous academic program that will require that you have some basic scholarly interest in the field you are studying. It is this interest, more than anything, that will help you find joy in completing readings and writing papers. With an Ed.D., we’re talking about taking a significant number of courses and typically completing a major writing project. It will be hard at times, and it should be difficult. For these reasons, I typically tell prospective students that you need to have some rationale other than career advancement pulling you into an Ed.D. You have to be willing to see it as a journey whose meaning to you rises above the next job. Before applying, I suggest that you talk with the admissions coordinator of the program in which you are interested to see if you can sit in on a class. Pick up a recently published book about higher education and see if you can read it--without anyone forcing it.

Consideration #3: Program Structure

I recently wrote about the fact that there are a lot of Ed.D. programs these days. Because many of them are online, you might have a few options to weigh. I recommend that you try to gain a good understanding of the program structure before you apply. Some programs are entirely online and some are hybrid, with a mix of online and face-to-face instruction. The hybrid programs can also come in many shapes--the face-to-face instruction could happen in summer, on weekends, or on select weeknights. When you are considering the program structure, my best advice is not to prioritize convenience. Too often, I hear students complain about one thing or another not being sufficiently convenient for their busy working lives. My response is that an Ed.D. program isn’t supposed to be convenient or easy. Instead, you should identify a program structure that aligns with your learning style. If you learn best through regular interactions with people in the classroom, you ought to pursue a program that has plenty of face-to-face instruction or other forms of meaningful contact.

Program structure can influence all sorts of things beyond learning in the classroom. The ways in which a program structures various elements can affect how you interact with peers and the mentoring you receive from faculty members. Your peers can play an instrumental role in holding you accountable, keeping you motivated, and helping you to enjoy the process. Thus, you may want to look for signs that a program attempts to build community among students and encourages networking. For example, the program might be built around cohorts, which allows you to frequently learn alongside the same group of people as you advance through the program. And let me crystal clear: it takes a village to complete any terminal degree. You cannot do this alone! So, don’t just jump into a program that seemingly fits your schedule the best. It won’t matter that it was convenient if you don’t finish the program.

Consideration #4: Faculty Members

I mentioned above mentoring from faculty members. I’m a firm believer in the importance of program-specific, full-time faculty members. Let me explain that a bit. Some programs rely heavily upon part-time instructors to teach in their programs. There’s not necessarily a pedagogical problem with this, as part-time faculty can be outstanding educators with rich professional experiences. However, part-time faculty members may also have other jobs requiring their attention. I see great value in a program with a core group of full-time faculty members who were trained in the areas they are teaching/researching. In other words, if you are pursuing an Ed.D. in higher education administration, the faculty ought to include people who have advanced graduate training in higher education, are active in higher education professional/scholarly associations, and have experience advising higher education-related projects. Otherwise, you may start working on a dissertation, only to find that few faculty members in your program know much about the topic or how to best assist you.

Similarly, you might want to try and discern the faculty-student ratio. It’s no surprise that there is a market for people seeking an Ed.D., and many programs have not hesitated to grow enrollment quickly. Full disclosure, my own program did this a few years. The problem is that our faculty did not expand, or expand quickly enough, to meet the needs of students. And it’s fair to say that doctoral students, especially those who haven’t been in school in some time, have many needs to be successful. So, if it seems like a program is quite large with few faculty members, I advise asking about the advising model. Try your best to get a sense of whether the program promotes relationship-building with faculty to promote your success. Because word on the street is that there are many programs that are happy to take your tuition money without investing in essential resources.

Consideration #5: Cost

Speaking of resources, don’t forget to think about the cost. This often seems like something that gets glossed over by many prospective students. I don’t have to convince you that education isn’t really a lucrative career. Be cautious about financing your Ed.D. through loans with the assumption that you’ll get a promotion at the end of it to pay everything back. Keep in mind that, if you don’t finish (and there’s research showing that many doctoral students don’t), you will need to repay those loans. Many of my students, for various reasons, need to take time off or slow down their progress. Each additional semester comes with costs. Lastly, as is true with other levels of education, there are often additional costs with a terminal degree--books, travel, technology. Some programs include additional costs into tuition. It’s worth digging into what is and is not included with tuition and fees.

Concluding Thoughts

An Ed.D. is a big decision and investment of time and resources. My hope is that any of the programs you are considering provide you with all the information you need to make a good choice for you. Analyze all programs with a critical eye. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is (Finish Your Ed.D. in Two Years!) At the same time, I hope you ask some hard questions of yourself before jumping into anything. Make sure you are starting this journey for the right reasons and that you are setting yourself up to be successful.

If there are questions that I didn’t address in this post, feel free to get in touch with me. Maybe I can share my insights as part of a future post.