The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions
Elite university admissions are administered by a range of organizational actors depending on national and institutional contexts. While the outcomes of high-stakes elite university admissions have been studied extensively, the opaque admissions selection process remains undertheorized and understo...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Professions and Professionalism |
| Online Access: | https://journals.oslomet.no/index.php/pp/article/view/4691 |
| _version_ | 1797732558810644480 |
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| author | Anna Mountford-Zimdars Jeffrey K. Grim |
| author_facet | Anna Mountford-Zimdars Jeffrey K. Grim |
| author_sort | Anna Mountford-Zimdars |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Elite university admissions are administered by a range of organizational actors depending on national and institutional contexts. While the outcomes of high-stakes elite university admissions have been studied extensively, the opaque admissions selection process remains undertheorized and understood. Using theories of professions and systems theory to examine unique qualitative interview data from admissions selectors in both the U.S. and England, this paper sheds light on the opaque decision-making of elite university admissions shaped by professional contexts and organizational dynamics. We find that the self-regulated profession of professors and the less autonomous professional staff selectors influence the decision-making processes of elite university admissions. Understanding elite university admissions based on the macro/meso-context of professions and their organizational system structure offers a theoretically original approach for future research and the potential to create more equitable admissions processes through new change strategies.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:15:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0357076652b74669bf9b066dd5e6c32e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1893-1049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:15:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Professions and Professionalism |
| spelling | doaj.art-0357076652b74669bf9b066dd5e6c32e2023-08-30T13:38:28ZengOslo and Akershus University College of Applied SciencesProfessions and Professionalism1893-10492023-08-0112310.7577/pp.4691The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University AdmissionsAnna Mountford-Zimdars0Jeffrey K. Grim 1University of ExeterGeorge Mason University Elite university admissions are administered by a range of organizational actors depending on national and institutional contexts. While the outcomes of high-stakes elite university admissions have been studied extensively, the opaque admissions selection process remains undertheorized and understood. Using theories of professions and systems theory to examine unique qualitative interview data from admissions selectors in both the U.S. and England, this paper sheds light on the opaque decision-making of elite university admissions shaped by professional contexts and organizational dynamics. We find that the self-regulated profession of professors and the less autonomous professional staff selectors influence the decision-making processes of elite university admissions. Understanding elite university admissions based on the macro/meso-context of professions and their organizational system structure offers a theoretically original approach for future research and the potential to create more equitable admissions processes through new change strategies. https://journals.oslomet.no/index.php/pp/article/view/4691 |
| spellingShingle | Anna Mountford-Zimdars Jeffrey K. Grim The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions Professions and Professionalism |
| title | The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions |
| title_full | The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions |
| title_fullStr | The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions |
| title_short | The Power of Professors and Professionals: How Professions Shape Organizational Systems in Elite University Admissions |
| title_sort | power of professors and professionals how professions shape organizational systems in elite university admissions |
| url | https://journals.oslomet.no/index.php/pp/article/view/4691 |
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