The concept of student-institution fit is described and linked to a conceptual framework that emphasizes the interactive relationship between student and campus environment. Attention is also directed to how enrollment managers can utilize a systematic approach to optimize levels of fit between student and campus with a goal to recruiting and…

A model that accounts for high school students' college selection was tested. The ideal point preference model proposes that students prefer the college that most approximates their conception of the ideal college. Also assessed was the extent to which students' academic orientations (vocational, academic, collegiate, or nonconformist) affect…

The need to consider teaching evaluation criteria within the social structural and normative background within which college teaching takes place is discussed, along with the need to consider the substantive content of the criteria. In research-oriented American universities many feel that one cannot be promoted for teaching because institutional…

Lack of strategic planning by colleges and universities has inhibited higher education's ability to respond to the changing global environment. A majority of institutions plan from year to year, with crisis management becoming the norm. Because the external environment is evaluated infrequently, the institution does not have the broad view…

A model for the analysis of college closing is tested and illustrated using the existing literature of college closings. Since the literature on college closing provided little analysis or material upon which theory might be developed, attention was directed to the work that has been done on the somewhat parallel subject of the closing of…

A student engagement model is proposed to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the bond between student and college. The model focuses on a student's motivation for attending college, the tension that derives from conflicting motivations, and the social context of the student-college bond. The validity of the model was examined in a…

Describes the implementation of the Integrated Information Center at the University of Minnesota that was developed to evaluate a model for integrating information delivery in a networked campus environment. Organizational factors that shaped its development are discussed, including the lack of a campuswide information policy and a lack of…

This paper summarizes the first year of research at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, New York, to develop an alternative process for determining characteristics of graduates and leavers from the college, and to uncover attitudes of those students about their college experience. The paper summarizes findings to date, although the author…

At present, departments of communication do not have the same political status as other college departments, even though they provide more than their share of tuition revenue. To establish themselves as a viable political force, departments of communication must create an observable impact on the daily operating procedure of other academic…

Although much has been written in support of a student development role for the student affairs professional, research documentation is lacking on the contributions made by student affairs staff to the development of students. A simple research methodology, which could be easily replicated on college campuses, to begin providing these missing data…

The forms of evaluation of graduate-level education programs are discussed, and a process model of program evaluation which incorporates much student-generated information is presented. Graduate program reviews are generally designed either to provide information to departmental and institutional administrators regarding a program's strengths and…

A causal model of faculty research productivity was developed through a survey of the literature. Models of organizational behavior, organizational effectiveness, and motivation were synthesized into a causal model of productivity. Two general types of variables were assumed to affect individual research productivity: institutional variables and…

The impact on an organization's capacity to respond inevitably to changing needs of the many variables affecting the organization is considered, along with a framework for developing innovations, especially in a time when colleges are facing a period of contraction. A contingency approach to the management of innovation focuses on the influence of…

A conceptual model of undergraduate socialization is presented. The framework incorporates several elements of the models developed by Feldman (1972) and Hochbaum (1968), but combines these models in a different way and incorporates the more recent work of Astin (1978). Of particular concern is an examination of the complex covariation among (1)…

A causal model to explain student attrition was tested at a major midwestern land-grant university with a sample of 1,513 full-time, unmarried freshmen who were 21 years old or younger. The causal model was reduced from 23 to 10 variables: an intent variable, three attitudinal variables, and two each of organizational, personal, and environmental…