This is a qualitative study of the perceived impacts of Success Challenge at Miami University and Cleveland State University, and Research Challenge at the University of Cincinnati. This study involved semi-structured interviews of 15 key executives and administrators as well as document review.
The Success Challenge was created in 1996 with the goal of increasing the level of baccalaureate degree attainment within the state. This challenge has two components that produce funding for public universities. The first is an “at-risk” component for students defined as financially at-risk; the second component is for timely degree completion, usually defined as four years. As background, the researcher found that even as Ohio increases its baccalaureate degree attainment levels, the state still falls below national averages in this area with only 11 states having a smaller proportion of their population with an earned baccalaureate degree. Respondents at Miami University and Cleveland State University valued the funds the institutions received from the state for Success Challenge, but could not directly link those funds to decisions made to improve at-risk graduation rates or time-to-degree rates.
Research Challenge was created in 1983 with the goal of increasing the amount of externally funded research secured by state universities. It was hoped that this increased research would help the state better transition into the knowledge economy. Executives, defined as respondents that work for the central administration of the university, at the University of Cincinnati felt that Research Challenge funds had made a significant impact upon the research initiatives of the university and could articulate how the university has created effective systems to leverage Research Challenge funds into externally funded research. Administrators, defined as respondents working at the college or department level, were less aware of the impact of Research Challenge upon the university’s research initiatives. While Ohio has made great gains in the amount of externally funded research occurring within the state since the creation of the Research Challenge in 1983, the state still lags significantly behind national averages for the amount of external funds secured for research by states.