Football teams draw the largest crowds of any American collegiate sport, and with them, both positive and negative attention for colleges and universities. Nearly 50 colleges have added the sport recently, but little research has examined the institutional effects of adding a team. Some of these institutions are regional research universities…

A number of studies over decades have examined determinants of educational expectations. However, even among the subset of quantitative studies, there is considerable variation in the methods used to operationally define and analyze expectations. Using a systematic literature review and several regression methods to analyze Latino students'…

The purpose of this article is to provide higher education researchers with an illustrative example of meta-analysis utilizing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). This article demonstrates the step-by-step process of meta-analysis using a recently-published study examining the effects of curricular and co-curricular diversity activities on racial…

This methodological note illustrates how a commonly used calculation of the Delta-p statistic is inappropriate for categorical independent variables, and this note provides users of logistic regression with a revised calculation of the Delta-p statistic that is more meaningful when studying the differences in the predicted probability of an…

Faculty have long incorporated students into interdisciplinary research projects to meet increasingly common demands for collaborative research by federal funding agencies. Despite the critical role of experiential learning in building student research skills and capacity, few have explored social interaction mechanisms used to facilitate student…

In most multi-campus studies of college impact that have been conducted over the past four decades, investigators have relied on ordinary least squares (OLS) regression as the analytic method of choice. Recently, however, some investigators have advocated the use of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), a method specifically designed for analyses…

Most institutions of higher education allow students to drop or add courses in the first 2-3 weeks of each term (D&A). Arguing that course cancellation is not merely an administrative issue involving enrollment trends but represents complex decision making processes taken by students, this study investigated antecedents and correlates of course…

The increasing importance of constructivism in higher education has brought about a shift in pedagogy from a focus on the teacher to a focus on the student. This has important implications for teaching and assessment. A student-centred pedagogy implies a different role for the teacher. What exactly does student-centred teaching require from…

Summarizes a set of data designed to cast light on the comparative performance of the academic departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the production of graduate degrees and focuses on the methodology involved in developing statistical reports useful for such purposes. (Editor)

The effects of method of reproduction, status of researcher, and personalization of signature on the initial rate of return of mail questionnaires were investigated, using a one-page combination cover letter and questionnaire mailed to 600 professors at the University of Maryland, College Park. (Editor)

The structure and process of college institutional research is compared with three different ways in which science is conceptualized. It is concluded that, although institutional research has much in common with science, it is distinct because the dynamic nature of institutional research prevents development of a cohesive body of knowledge.…

A study attempted to clarify and extend the Biglan model, which uses faculty and departmental characteristics to classify intellectual disciplines, by applying it to previously unclassified disciplines. The model is found to be valid and useful for studying academic diversity in the higher education system based on current faculty data. (MSE)

Despite criticism because the author refuses to provide information about his methodology, "The Gourman Report" is used as an authoritative reference by prospective students and researchers in higher education. Deans, university librarians, and offices of institutional research were asked if they shared information with Gourman and they…

The appropriateness of using academic departments as a level of analysis of organizational administration is examined. Factors analyzed include homogeneity of faculty responses to measures of organizational structure, environmental uncertainty, and task routineness. Results were mixed, demonstrating the importance of empirically testing rather…

Questionnaire return rates were examined under these conditions: (1) a large random sample; (2) no follow-up procedures; (3) same mailout procedures and instructions; (4) no incentives; (5) type of questionnaire; (6) appropriate lengths; and (7) daily tally of returns. A difference in the rate of return was found. (Author/MLW)