Higher Education ― Handbook of Theory and Research

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms of its conceptual and methodological rigor and sets forth an agenda for future research intended to advance knowledge on the chosen topic. The Handbook focuses on a comprehensive set of central areas of study in higher education that encompasses the salient dimensions of scholarly and policy inquiries undertaken in the international higher education community. Each annual volume contains chapters on such diverse topics as research on college students and faculty, organization and administration, curriculum and instruction, policy, diversity issues, economics and finance, history and philosophy, community colleges, advances in research methodology and more. The series is fortunate to have attracted annual contributions from distinguished scholars throughout the world. 

MICHAEL B. PAULSEN is Professor of Higher Education & Student Affairs at The University of Iowa. His primary areas of scholarly expertise are: (a) economics, finance and policy in higher education; and (b) teaching, learning and curriculum in higher education. Prior to his faculty appointment at The University of Iowa, he was a professor of higher education at the Universities of Illinois, Alabama and New Orleans. He is Series Editor of the annual volumes of the scholarly books series, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. He has also served for over twenty years on the editorial board of Research in Higher Education. He has over seventy publications—books, journal articles, and book chapters. In addition to his annual volumes of the Handbook, Professor Paulsen’s other books include Economics of Higher Education (w/R. Toutkoushian); The Finance of Higher Education (w/J. Smart); Applying Economics to Institutional Research (w/R. Toutkoushian); Taking Teaching Seriously (w/K. Feldman); Teaching and Learning in the College Classroom (w/K. Feldman); and College Choice. His work has been published in an array of professional journals, such as Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, Journal of College Student Development, Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, Journal of Education Finance, Economics of Education Review, Higher Education, Teaching in Higher Education, Journal of Faculty Development, and College Teaching. In 2015, Dr. Paulsen received the RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

LAURA W. PERNA is James S. Riepe Professor and Executive Director of the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Her research uses varied methodological approaches to identify how social structures, educational practices, and public policies promote and limit college access and success, particularly for groups that continue to be underrepresented in higher education. Her research has been published in books and monographs, as well as articles in such journals as American Educational Research Journal, Educational Policy, Educational Researcher, Journal of College Student Development, Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, Review of Higher Education, and Teachers College Record. She has served on the editorial boards of leading journals in the field, as well as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Vice President of the Postsecondary Division of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and chair of Penn’s Faculty Senate. She is a Fellow of the American Education Research Association, and recipient of ASHE’s Early Career Achievement Award, Penn’s Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award.