Alternative funding strategies and resources for the development of undergraduate insurance and risk management programs: Exploring the efficacy of a theoretical model

Abstract

Due to funding diminishment from traditional sources, many insurance and risk management undergraduate degree programs have turned to alternative funding resources in order to survive. This qualitative multi-case study interviewed key participants (college faculty, department chairs, and deans) in three insurance and risk management programs in order to identify the effects of systemic budget constraints and alternative public and/or private funding strategies and resources that were being utilized. Additionally, the collected data were analyzed to evaluate the appropriateness of Bess and Dee's Models of Organization - Environment Relations to an undergraduate insurance and risk management degree program. Their model incorporates organizational theories (resource dependency theory, contingency theory, institutional theory, population ecology theory, niche theory, and the random transformation model) to explicate policies and practices in higher education institutional organizations. Interview participants confirmed the effects of the funding decline, with the most significant impact being on faculty engagement. Alternative funding strategies were identified and categorized by the source of funds. An analysis of the majority of collected data indicated an alignment with contingency theory in all three programs. In exploring the efficacy of Bess and Dee's Models of Organization - Environment Relations (2012), this theoretical construct was evaluated for contextual appropriateness. This study proposed that this theoretical model may have value for consideration in evaluating an undergraduate insurance and risk management program's relationship with its external insurance stakeholders and donors.