by Kathryn Dover

Presbyterian College graduate Seth Cooper’s capstone research on college and faculty compensation earned first place at the Southeast Decision Sciences Institute’s 52^nd annual conference in Wilmington, N.C., last spring.

Cooper won first place in the undergraduate paper competition held at the conference, which was one of three separate competitions based on those in undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. programs. The competitions attracted more than 200 college and university faculty and students from 90 schools.

Seth Cooper ’23

His paper, “Examination of the Effects of Faculty Compensation and Level of Experience on Student Outcomes at 4-Year Southern Colleges and Universities,” discussed the impact instructional staff wages and professors’ experience have on various student outcomes metrics.

According to Cooper’s advisor, Vance Professor of Business Administration Dr. Suzie Smith, his research identified which faculty characteristics most strongly influenced student retention, graduation rates, and earnings after college at 401 SACSCOC-accredited four-year colleges and universities.

“Over a period of six months, Seth combed the literature to discover past research, immersed himself in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and College Scorecard datasets, derived new variables from the existing values, and systematically completed his empirical analysis,” Smith said. “His compelling findings could influence future administrative policies.”

“Since the cost of higher education is going up at rapid rates, prioritizing the parts of the budget that impact key outcomes the most is essential,” Cooper said. “The goal for these institutions is to increase the return on investment and get more prospective students to enroll. My research sought to determine how faculty compensation affected this as it typically accounts for the highest proportion of instruction-related expenses.”

In addition, Cooper researched how faculty experience connects with institutional expenses.

“In an effort to cut costs, many schools are beginning to rely on less experienced and part-time faculty rather than trying to retain the faculty they already have or bringing in more experienced ones,” he said. “What this can lead to, in my opinion, is an education experience that leaves students dissatisfied.”

For his project, Cooper conducted a thorough literature review of existing research to form a theoretical foundation for his study and gathered publicly available government data that contained various institution-level metrics. He then focused on schools accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Finally, he conducted a statistical analysis of the data to conclude his findings and their implications.

In Wilmington, Cooper presented his paper to a panel of undergraduate and graduate students and faculty from various colleges across the Southeast. A panel of faculty judges read the papers and chose winners for first, second, and third place for each competition. On the final day of the conference, winners were recognized with a certificate and a small financial award.

“Seth’s research stood out because of its empirical rigor,” said Dr. Tobin Turner, associate professor of economics and business administration. “His investigation into the determinants of student satisfaction in college went far beyond what you typically see from an undergraduate student. Several times – and for good reason – professors from other universities mistook him for a graduate student. Seth is a poised and confident presenter, coupled with a person who is diligently, empirically prepared for his presentations!”

 “I felt honored when I won,” Cooper said. “While I was confident in the quality of my work, it was a competitive competition and the other presentations I was able to attend were also very high-quality work.”

“While my name is on the paper, I could not have done it without the support of my family, the incredible guidance of Dr. Suzie Smith, my faculty mentor, and God who has blessed me with the opportunities I have today.”

In addition to Smith and Turner, Dr. Kurt Gleichauf, and Ben Loftis Stone ’23 attended the conference with Cooper. Stone, who received his degree in business administration with concentrations in accounting and data analytics this spring, also presented his research relating to his capstone, which was based around Major League Baseball.

Cooper has already begun his professional career as a data analyst with AFL, a telecommunications service provider headquartered in Duncan, S.C. He plans to earn a Ph.D. in data analytics or a related field in the future.

“His sharp quantitative mind, intellectual curiosity, and optimistic spirit will make him an outstanding college professor one day,” Smith said.