"Promoting Successful Industry Academic Partnerships for Curriculum Dev" by Jennifer D. Gudapati

Publication Date

5-2024

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

2-29-2024

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy and Administration

Department Filter

Public Administration

Department

Public Policy and Administration

Supervisory Committee Chair

Shikhar Sarin, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Andrew Giacomazzi, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Lutana Haan, Ed.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Steve Davis, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Anthony Stanowski, DHA

Abstract

There is a widening gap between traditional higher education and the needs of the industry workforce. Higher education has lately been criticized for having too few voices playing a role in most curricula development, with the voices being used consisting largely of career academics (Nature Editorial, 2023). Both industry and academia have found a disconnect between academic training and preparedness to enter the labor market (Jackson et al., 2016). Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) and Stakeholder Theory (ST) have been offered as potential frameworks for guiding elements of policy or strategy development and implementation in this context. However, in this dissertation, using case study analysis, I show that when used alone, both MSF and ST principles, fail to yield desired outcomes in the development and implementation of policy and program design. I present and analyze two additional cases, through autoethnographic case analysis, which show how effective integration of MSF and ST can provide a policy process map for developing academic programs that leads to successfully addressing the gap between industry needs and curriculum development. This analysis proposes the following four themes to maximize success for this process: 1) garnering support from stakeholders with power, 2) jointly optimizing stakeholder values in program design, 3) identifying and addressing opposition early in the process, and 4) re-designing existing organizational processes to meet stakeholder needs. The findings of this dissertation suggest that for industry-partnered higher education program design, integration of Stakeholder Theory with the Multiple Streams Framework presents a comprehensive, practical, and interdisciplinary process map for ensuring success.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2170.boisestate

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