Rate My Professor Amanda Simpfenderfer

Dr. Amanda Simpfenderfer serves as an Assistant Professor in the Higher Education program within the School of Education at the College of William and Mary, a position she has held since August 2022. A critical quantitative scholar, she investigates how educational systems perpetuate inequality, with a focus on the relationship between higher education and post-graduate outcomes, organizational structures that hinder student success, and the application of quantitative methods to promote equity and justice. Her research draws from extensive experience in student and academic affairs across higher education institutions. Prior to her current role, she was Director of Assessment, Data, and Accreditation at the University of Vermont's College of Education and Social Services from 2019 to 2022, where she taught quantitative methods courses in the doctoral program and student affairs courses in the Higher Education program. Additional positions include Director of Career Management and Outreach & Employer Relations Coordinator at the University of Vermont's Grossman School of Business, Office of Institutional Research Intern at the University of Vermont, Compliance Officer and Faculty Development Assistant at Seattle Colleges, and Student Activities Counselor at the University of Washington. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Vermont in 2022, M.S. in College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University in 2011, and B.S. in Business Marketing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2009.

Dr. Simpfenderfer's publications include 'The Role of Higher Education in Intergenerational Mobility: An Exploration Using Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling' in Research in Higher Education (2024), 'Campus Climate Perceptions among Queer and Trans* Students Living on Campus: Using Structural Equation Modeling to Explore Queer and Trans* Students’ Residential Experiences' in The Review of Higher Education (2020, co-authored with Robles, Drummond, Garvey, Haslam, Dews, and Weaver), 'Reconceptualizing the Role of Higher Education in Intergenerational Mobility' in Literature Reviews in Education and Human Services (2022), and 'Higher Education: Path or Barrier to Opportunity' in Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs (2020). She co-edited a special edition of Educational Studies focused on Queer Quantitative Methods. Her contributions are recognized through the ASHE/Ascendium Fellowship (2022) for the Streamlining Key Learner Transitions Research Team and the Herman W. Meyers Excellence in Doctoral Policy Research Award (2022). Dr. Simpfenderfer has presented at conferences including the Association for the Study of Higher Education, American Educational Research Association, and American College Personnel Association, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of College Student Development, and teaches quantitative research methods courses such as EDUC 663 and EDUC 665 at William & Mary.