of Administrators and Student Outcomes in Higher Education?: An Answer From a Systematic Review of Research

ABSTRACT: Journal articles within the field of higher education that focus on college and university administrators, have for the most part, examined topics such as leadership, governance, and institutional effectiveness. Recently, internal and external critics have questioned the ability of college and universities to impact educational outcomes, more specifically student outcomes. In this regard, this study sought to examine how the work of administrators in higher education affects student outcomes. From a systematic review of 10 years of research studies on higher education that focus on administrators as a unit of analysis in higher education, the researchers found that the nexus between the work of administrators and student outcomes was nascent. KEY WORDS: administrative work; student outcomes; critical review. Most applications of administrative science1 to the study of higher education concentrate on issues such as leadership, governance, and institutional effectiveness (institutional outcomes) (Heck, Johnsrud, & Rosser, 2000). This body of literature has generally addressed the expe-riences of students as a secondary consideration. Institutional outcomes should not be viewed as the ultimate goal, but rather as a process by which the development of positive educational outcomes for students is achieved. While we have learned a great deal about how adminis-trative science can be used to help understand leadership, governance, Jerlando F. L. Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Higher and Postsecondary Education i