In "Alma Mater" We Trust? Exploring Attitudes toward Institutions and Alumni Giving

Autor/inn/en	Drezner, Noah D.; Pizmony-Levy, Oren; Anderson-Long, Maria
Titel	In "Alma Mater" We Trust? Exploring Attitudes toward Institutions and Alumni Giving
Quelle	In: Teachers College Record, 122 (2020) 9, (44 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0161-4681
Schlagwörter	Alumni; Private Financial Support; Attitudes; Trust (Psychology); Predictor Variables; Individual Characteristics; Measurement Techniques; Higher Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Private Investition; Attitude; Einstellung; Verhalten; Prädiktor; Personality characteristic; Personality traits; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Messtechnik; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen
Abstract	Background/Context: Government support for higher education has decreased over the past few decades. In turn, institutions are seeking alternative sources of funding and increasing reliance on alumni giving. Although trust is important to social institutions and nonprofits, we know little about the role of trust in alumni engagement. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: We empirically assess the association between trust and philanthropic giving. We aim to determine the effectiveness of using trust as a predictor for giving attitudes and behavior. More specifically, we seek to answer the following research questions: (1) To what extent does trust in alma mater vary across sociodemographic characteristics? (2) To what extent does trust in alma mater correlate with alumni engagement (self-reported behavior and attitudes) with philanthropic giving? and (3) Does the strength of the association between trust in alma mater and alumni engagement hold after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics? Population/Participants/Subjects: Data for this study came from the National Alumni Giving Experiment (NAGE) conducted in 2014 (n=1,553) (Drezner, 2018). The NAGE survey instrument was designed as a web-based, self-administered questionnaire, with attitudinal items developed based on previous research and common practices in public opinion research. Respondents were recruited and paid via Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The NAGE sample is comparable with the General Social Survey's (2012/2014) college educated sample (Smith, Davern, Freese, & Morgan, 2020). Research Design: We used a sequential mixed-methods research design (QUAN > qual). In the first stage, which is the main portion our study, we employed multivariate analysis to examine (a) socio-demographic variations in trust in alma mater, and (b) the correlations between trust and philanthropic giving. In the second stage, we coded and analyzed open-ended responses. We analyzed the quantitative and qualitative data > separately, but we connect the findings to produce a comprehensive analysis of the role of trust in philanthropic giving to higher education. Findings/Results: We found that alumni trust is a strong predictor of selfreported giving and attitudes, even after accounting for socio-demographic characteristics. Analysis of open-ended responses suggests that alumni develop (dis)trust based on public discourse on higher education and their personal perceptions and observations of their alma maters' institutional policies and spending. Conclusions/Recommendations: Trust is granted by individuals to others and to institutions. However, institutions cannot take trust for granted. Institutions of higher education must continually earn the trust of their constituents through creating transparent practices and educating students and alumni about funding, assuring them that they have measures in place to track and implement donor wishes. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Teachers College, Columbia University. P.O. Box 103, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3774; Fax: 212-678-6619; e-mail: tcr@tc.edu; Web site: http://www.tcrecord.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01