The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 2 - 78

Kevin R. McClure * James M. DeVita * Andrew J. Ryder

terviews, observations conducted during tours
of on- and off-campus facilities, and extensive
review of existing documents and artifacts.
The ability to deeply immerse in each campus
justified, in part, the decision to assign one
member of the research team to each institution, as this approach allowed for intimate

The ability to deeply immerse
in each campus justified, in
part, the decision to assign one
member of the research team to
each institution, as this approach
allowed for intimate knowledge
of the partnership to develop.

knowledge of the partnership to develop. The
primary form of data collection was in-depth
interviews with individuals who have specialized knowledge of PPPs, including housing
department staff, business affairs and finance
staff, upper-level university administrators,
and personnel representing private development companies. Interviews were conducted
individually by members of the research team
and lasted 30 to 90 minutes each. We utilized
a semi-structured interview protocol that included questions about the following aspects
of PPPs in higher education: (a) partnership
management, including contracts, budget,
and staff involved, (b) relationship between
78

and effects of PPPs on meeting institutional
and departmental goals, and (c) challenges
and opportunities associated with PPPs. The
team conducted a total of 29 interviews across
the three sites; between six and 13 at each site.
Most interviews were conducted with campus
stakeholders (n = 27) compared to private developers (n = 2).
All data were analyzed using a constant
comparative method where data were repeatedly reviewed to develop and refine codes and
themes that represent our findings (Glaser
& Strauss, 1999). During the first phase of
analysis, each member of the research team
independently coded the data from its respective site using an open coding process that
yielded unique codes for each site (Creswell,
2014). During the second phase of analysis,
we met to discuss our individual analyses and
examine codes across sites. Through a series
of discussions, we refined our initial codes and
identified themes that represent the nature of
the PPP relationship at each of our sites. Prior
to the final phase of analysis, each member of
the research team developed analytical memos
that provided an in-depth description of each
site. We expanded these memos into the institutional profiles below, which were used in the
final phase of analysis to identify lessons for
practice.

INSTITUTIONAL PROFILES
Atlantic State University
Institutional context. Atlantic State University is a public, research-extensive institution
in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
In fiscal year 2015, 26% of the university's
budget came from state funds, down from 40%
in 1988. Whereas other institutions increased

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 2

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