| Prior to the 1970s, female students were excluded from many higher education institutions based on sex, thereby ensuring the necessity of women's colleges. By 1972, however, most institutions in the United States changed their admissions policies and women increasingly began to choose coeducational institutions. Because of this, many women's colleges faced declining enrollments due to young women's decreased interest in single-sex education. To counter this problem, many women's colleges became coeducational while others closed their doors completely. As of 2005, approximately 68 women's colleges remain in operation, compared to 233 women's institutions in 1960.; Facing an uphill battle, many leaders at women's colleges began to embrace particular adaptive strategies to increase enrollment and ensure financial viability. For example, although most women's colleges have a liberal arts tradition and have been dedicated to the education of undergraduate students, some started to add majors outside the liberal arts core and/or added master's programs to attract more students. Others adopted adult degree programs for men and women or attempted to establish unique programs on their campuses. Finally, some changed their mission and embraced coeducation.; This study addressed various adaptive behaviors of three women's colleges at different stages of adaptation. One of these institutions has, for the most part, remained a traditional, liberal arts college for women. The second has kept the undergraduate women's residential college, but added various programs around the core to enhance viability. The last has recently become a coeducational institution.; At each institution, interviews were conducted with various constituents to determine the applicability of four propositions. The first proposition examined institutional culture and whether culture facilitated or constrained the implementation of adaptive strategies. The second proposition considered the feasibility of benchmarking and whether institutions looked to successful peer institutions for data and modeling when considering adaptive strategies. The third proposition scrutinized the allocation of resources in the creation and implementation of adaptive strategies, especially if coeducation was considered a last resort. Finally, the support or non-support of leaders within the institution was analyzed as a factor in implementing institutional goals.; The results of this study suggested that institutional history and culture can be both constraining and facilitating factors in the implementation of adaptive strategies. All institutions engaged in benchmarking, not necessarily with successful institutions but with institutions that had similar endowments, enrollments, and/or tuition rates. All three institutions engaged in strategic planning processes to create and implement adaptive strategies, regardless of whether coeducation was a last resort. Finally, collaborative leadership was influential during the strategic planning process at these institutions. |
