Higher Education Researchers Workgroup

The goal of this group is to bring together qualitative and quantitative higher education researchers working on issues at Berkeley, the University of California, the State of California or elsewhere for the mutual exchange of knowledge, ideas and issues through:
  • Acquainting one another with their respective research
  • Discussing our research strategies, data base use and data issues
  • Engaging with the questions raised by all of our work
  • Supporting each others’ work by providing feedback on substance and presentation
  • Creating an ongoing list of projects past and present for eventual posting on the CSHE website
Too often higher education data driven researchers on and off campus work alone and they are unfamiliar with the breadth of research even on the Berkeley campus. There also is not necessarily communication among qualitative and quantitative researchers although many researchers use both types of data. Additionally there often is a disciplinary divide. This group is intended to overcome these to the enrichment of all participants. All are welcome including international visiting scholars who may be working on higher education issues in their own country. 

Format

  • Monthly meetings for an hour and a half
  • At every meeting a check in with new and existing members about their project(s)
  • When possible prior to each meeting an abstract, proposal, raw summary, finished or draft piece should be circulated among the group
  • At the meeting the author informally presents a summary of his or her research questions and issues and does not necessarily make a formal presentation—this is research in progress
  • Depending on the consensus of the group pertinent articles by non-members could be circulated and discussed for the issues germane to the participants

Meeting Details

First Thursday of every month in person and on Zoom
Graduate students and postdocs are particularly encouraged to attend.

Contact

This workgroup is organized and chaired by CSHE Senior Researcher Emerita, Anne MacLachlan
For more information regarding this workgroup please contact Anne at maclach@berkeley.edu.

Past Presentations

July 7, 2023, Global Liberal Arts and New Institutions for 21st Century Higher Education

The recording for this talk is here

April 7, 2023, Pending Decisions on Affirmative Action

UCR School of Education Professor Uma Jayakumar(link is external) and William (Bill) Kidder, J.D. UCR Compliance & Civil Rights Investigator, discussed the pending supreme court decisions on Affirmative Action.

The two speakers led the organizing of the American social science scholars brief in SFFA v. University of North Carolina(link is external).

March 2023:  Academic Freedom within the University of California

Robert Carlen May, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Linguistics, Emeritus, UC Davis, together with CSHE Affiliate George Blumenthal, CSHE Director and Chancellor Emeritus, UC Santa Cruz, led a discussion on academic freedom within the University of California.

February 2023: "To Enjoy Equal Privilege Therein: The effort to restore minority admissions at the University of California after the repeal of affirmative action" 

Speaker Bio:

Saul Geiser is a research associate at the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from UC Berkeley and taught there before joining UC’s Office of the President in 1981. Geiser served as director of admissions research for the UC system after Californians voted to end affirmative action in 1996, and he helped redesign UC admissions policy. His work has focused on issues of equity and validity in college admissions, with the aim of identifying admissions criteria that have less adverse impact on low-income and minority applicants while remaining valid indicators of student preparedness for college. Geiser’s work has contributed to the development of a number of new admissions policies, including UC's policy on Eligibility in the Local Context, which guaranteed admission to the top four percent (and now top nine percent) of students in each California high school. His research was influential in the UC Regents’ decision in 2020 to phase out the SAT and ACT in university admissions.

Next Meeting

March 7, 2024

Speaker: Lærke Cecilie Anbert

Topic: “No one knows the ‘right language’, we are all constantly talking about it” Language work and social justice at UC Berkeley

Lærke Cecilie Anbert is a PhD Candidate from Aarhus University, Denmark. She holds an MSc in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen, and an MSc in Gender Studies from London School of Economics and Social Sciences. Currently she is researching social justice student activism at UC Berkeley, calls to diversity and inclusion at the university, and students' engagement to address past injustices at the campus and beyond.

Writing the History of the University from the Perspective of Graduate Women, 1870-1919

Writing the History of the University from the Perspective of Graduate Women, 1870-1919

The Role of Universities in Promoting Democracy

The Role of Universities in Promoting Democracy

Get Ready: Introducing the Millions of Adults Planning to Enroll in College

Get Ready: Introducing the Millions of Adults Planning to Enroll in College

Asymmetric Expectations: Faculty Research Roles Under California’s Master Plan for Higher Education

Asymmetric Expectations: Faculty Research Roles Under California’s Master Plan for Higher Education

Immigrant Age-at-Arrival, Social Capital, and College Enrollment

Immigrant Age-at-Arrival, Social Capital, and College Enrollment

Student Learning and Wellbeing during the Pandemic: Evidence from the SERU COVID-19 Survey

Student Learning and Wellbeing during the Pandemic: Evidence from the SERU COVID-19 Survey

The History and Evolution of UC's Faculty Code of Conduct, with William Kidder

Academic Freedom

Higher Education Researchers Workgroup: Academic Freedom

COVID-19 Impacts on Early Career Trajectories and Mobility of Doctoral Graduates in Aotearoa, NZ

COVID-19 Impacts on Early Career Trajectories and Mobility of Doctoral Graduates in Aotearoa, NZ

Can We Ever Forgive Joseph Le Conte?—The Challenge of Names on UC Berkeley's Buildings

Can we ever forgive Joseph Le Conte?—The Challenge of Names on UC Berkeley's Buildings