Michael Bastedo
Location
Room 1110
610 E. University Ave.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1259
Michael Bastedo is a professor in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, where he is also Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs in the Marsal Family School of Education, and affiliated faculty in Organizational Studies, Engineering Education, the Education Policy Initiative, and the International Institute. He is the founding director of the Michigan Admissions Collaboratory, a practice-to-research center designed to facilitate and promote college admissions research both in the U.S. and internationally.
Professor Bastedo was awarded the 2013 Early Career Award from the American Educational Research Association, for distinguished contribution to education research in the first decade after the Ph.D. He was the first scholar of higher education to win this award in its 30-year history. He was named an AERA Fellow in 2021, highlighting a distinguished and sustained career of research in the field. In 2023, he was elected to the National Academy of Education.
His current research is primarily focused on college admissions practices. His empirical research led to the creation of Landscape, which provides robust data on neighborhood and high school contexts to admissions offices and scholarship organizations across the U.S. By last count, over 270 admissions offices have adopted Landscape as part of their decision making process, leading to significant increases in the admission of low-income students and students from disadvantaged high schools at those colleges. This has been cited as one of the major efforts colleges can make to increase equity in the current legal environment.
He has been a Fulbright Scholar in the Netherlands, a Ford Foundation Global Policy Fellow at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, a policy fellow at the Bellagio Center in Italy, and a visiting scholar at Stanford and the Center de Sociologie des Organisations at the Institut d’Études Politiques (SciencesPo).
Courses
| Number | Course Name | Location | Days | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDUC 792 | Methods in Educational Research: Qualitative
Prerequisites: Doctoral standing or permission of instructor. |
|||
| EDUC 761 | Postsecondary Institutions as Complex Organizations
Prerequisites: Graduate Standing Examines colleges, universities, and other formal postsecondary educational institutions, as complex social organizations, through application of basic concepts of organization theory. Discussion focuses on individual, group, organizational, and interorganizational-level variables and approaches to analyzing colleges and universities as complex social organizations. |
Selected Publications
“Who Gets Their First Choice? Race, Gender, and Class Differences in Admissions Outcomes at Selective and Less-Selective Four-Year Colleges.”
Kim, Sooji and Michael N. Bastedo. 2025 (in press). “Who Gets Their First Choice? Race, Gender, and Class Differences in Admissions Outcomes at Selective and Less-Selective Four-Year Colleges.” AERA Open.
“How Well Do Contextualized Admissions Measures Predict College Success for Women, Minoritized, and Low-Income Students?”
Bastedo, Michael N., Mark Umbricht, Emma Bausch, Bo-Kyung Byun, and Yiping Bai. 2024 (in press). “How Well Do Contextualized Admissions Measures Predict College Success for Women, Minoritized, and Low-Income Students?” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
American Higher Education in the 21st Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges (5th edition)
Bastedo, Michael N., Patricia J. Gumport, and Philip G. Altbach (Eds.) 2023. American Higher Education in the 21st Century: Social, Political, and Economic Challenges (5th edition). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
“Contextualized High School Performance: Evidence to Inform Equitable Holistic, Test-Optional, and Test-Free Admissions Policies.”
Bastedo, Michael N., Mark Umbricht, Emma Bausch, Bo-Kyung Byun, and Yiping Bai. 2023. “Contextualized High School Performance: Evidence to Inform Equitable Holistic, Test-Optional, and Test-Free Admissions Policies.” AERA Open 9: 1-19.
“Admitting Students in Context: Field Experiments on Information Dashboards in College Admissions.”
Bastedo, Michael N., D’Wayne Bell, Jessica S. Howell, Julian Hsu, Michael Hurwitz, Greg Perfetto, and Meredith Welch. 2022 (in press). Journal of Higher Education.
“Contextualizing the SAT: Experimental Evidence on College Admissions Recommendations for Low-SES Applicants.”
Bastedo, Michael N., Kristen M. Glasener, K.C. Deane, and Nicholas A. Bowman. 2022. Educational Policy 36: 282-311.
Rethinking College Admissions: Research-Based Practice and Policy
Poon, OiYan and Michael N. Bastedo (Eds.). 2022. Rethinking College Admissions: Research-Based Practice and Policy. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
“What If We Leave It Up to Chance? Admissions Lotteries and Equitable Access at Selective Colleges.”
Baker, Dominique J., and Michael N. Bastedo. 2022. Educational Researcher 51(2): 134-145.
“A Study of the Use of Nonacademic Factors in Holistic Undergraduate Admissions Reviews.”
Hossler, Donald, Emily Chung, Jihye Kwon, Jerry Lucido, Jacob Docking, Nicholas A. Bowman, and Michael N. Bastedo. 2019. Journal of Higher Education 90: 833-859.
“What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Holistic Review? Selective College Admissions and Its Effects on Low-SES Students.”
Bastedo, Michael N., Nicholas A. Bowman, Kristen M. Glasener, and Jandi L. Kelly. 2018. Journal of Higher Education 89: 782-805.
“What Role May Admissions Office Diversity and Practices Play in Equitable Decisions?”
Bowman, Nicholas A. and Michael N. Bastedo. 2018. Research in Higher Education 59: 430-447.
“Improving Admission of Low-SES Students at Selective Colleges: Results from an Experimental Simulation.”
Bastedo, Michael N. and Nicholas A. Bowman. 2017. Educational Researcher 46(2): 67-77.
“Holistic Admissions after Affirmative Action: Does “Maximizing” the High School Curriculum Matter?”
Bastedo, Michael N., Joseph E. Howard, and Allyson Flaster. 2016. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 38: 389-409.
“Conceptual and Methodological Problems in Research on College Undermatch.”
Bastedo, Michael N. and Allyson Flaster. 2014. Educational Researcher 43: 93-99.
“Do Charismatic Presidents Influence College Applications and Alumni Donations? Organizational Identity and Performance in U.S. Higher Education.”
Bastedo, Michael N., Elias M. Samuels, and Molly Kleinman. 2014. Higher Education 68: 397-415.
“Why Are Women Underrepresented in Elite Colleges and Universities? A Non-Linear Decomposition Analysis.”
Bielby, Robert, Julie R. Posselt, Ozan Jaquette, and Michael N. Bastedo. 2014. Research in Higher Education 55(8): 735-760.
“Institutional Stratification and the Post-College Labor Market: Comparing Job Satisfaction and Prestige across Generations.”
Kim, Jeongeun, Jiyun Kim, Ozan Jaquette, and Michael N. Bastedo. 2014. Journal of Higher Education 85(6): 720-747.
"The Organization of Higher Education: Managing Colleges for a New Era."
Bastedo, Michael N. (Ed.). 2012. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
"Access without Equity: Longitudinal Analyses of Institutional Stratification by Race and Ethnicity, 1972-2004."
Posselt, Julie R., Ozan Jaquette, Robert Bielby, and Michael N. Bastedo. 2012. American Educational Research Journal 49: 1074-1111.
“Running in Place: Low-Income Students and the Dynamics of Higher Education Stratification.”
Bastedo, Michael N. and Ozan Jaquette. 2011. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 33: 318-339.
“College Rankings as an Interorganizational Dependency: Establishing the Foundation for Strategic and Institutional Accounts.”
Bastedo, Michael N. and Nicholas A. Bowman. 2011. Research in Higher Education 52: 3-23.
“Anchoring Effects on World University Rankings: Exploring Biases in Reputation Scores.”
Bowman, Nicholas A. and Michael N. Bastedo. 2011. Higher Education 61: 431-44.
“The U.S. News and World Report College Rankings: Modeling Institutional Effects on Organizational Reputation.”
Bastedo, Michael N. and Nicholas A. Bowman. 2010. American Journal of Education 116: 163-184.
“Conflicts, Commitments, and Cliques in the University: Moral Seduction as a Threat to Trustee Independence.”
Bastedo, Michael N. 2009. “Conflicts, Commitments, and Cliques in the University: Moral Seduction as a Threat to Trustee Independence.” American Educational Research Journal 46: 354-386.
“Convergent Institutional Logics in Public Higher Education: State Policymaking and Governing Board Activism.”
Bastedo, Michael N. 2009. Review of Higher Education 32: 209-234.
“Getting on the Front Page: Organizational Reputation, Status Signals, and the Impact of U.S. News and World Report Rankings on Student Decisions.”
Bowman, Nicholas A. and Michael N. Bastedo. 2009. Research in Higher Education 50: 415-436.
