Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2016, Educational Administration (Education)

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has observed that the quality and focus of training offered by Nigerian universities in recent times are not in tune with the needs of the country. Studies have also reiterated the above problems as well as their causes. These include decline in real value of government budgetary allocations for higher education; compromised university autonomy; deterioration of physical structures; incessant student and faculty strikes as well as the lack of modern teaching, learning and research resources. It has thus become necessary for Nigerian universities to consider the possibility of collaborating with industries for research and innovation as one of the feasible means of boosting their access to teaching, research and learning resources. This non-experimental, quantitative research used a questionnaire survey to collect data from students and faculty of two publicly-supported Federal Universities in Nigeria with a view to examining the perceptions of the participants on the potential impact of university-industry collaborations on quality assurance in the universities. Collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Version 21 software to run appropriate statistical tests and to count, classify and explain the perceptions of all the participants with respect to each of the research questions. Findings show that university-industry collaborations in general hold good potential impact for quality assurance with regard to the facilitation of access to teaching and learning resources. With regard to higher education policy and practice, it is recommended that future studies be conducted with the aim of putting in place a modality for developing frameworks for a national scholar-practitioner policy on preparation, purpose and practice. Such a platform could encourage publicly-supported universities to partner with industry while at the same time meeting the challenges of carrying out collaborative action research and innovation ac (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Emmanuel Jean Francois Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: African Studies; Comparative; Education; Educational Leadership; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Public Administration; School Administration

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Public Affairs, Cleveland State University, 2008, Levin College of Urban Affairs

Universities are frequently assumed to be essential contributors to regional economic development although conclusive evidence that universities trigger economic growth within their region does not exist. This dissertation presents a model that characterizes the influence of university research on regional economic outcomes, changes of total regional employment and gross metropolitan product. The model controls for industry research activity and incorporates differences in regional industrial organization. The model compares the influence of university research and industry research on changes of regional employment and gross metropolitan product during the expansion (1998-2001) and contraction (2002-2004) phases of the business cycle and over the entire time period studied (1998-2004). In addition, the dissertation tests the impact of university size and reputation on regional economic outcomes in conjunction with industry research. The models are tested on the universe of metropolitan statistical areas. Lessons from the dissertation research are drawn to inform state and local technology-based development strategies.

Committee: Edward Hill Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Larry Ledebur Ph.D. (Committee Member); Luis Proenza Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jun Koo Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Economics; Higher Education; Urban Planning