Higher education professionals often are tasked with providing evidence to stakeholders that programs, services, and practices implemented on their campuses contribute to student success. Furthermore, in the absence of a solid base of evidence related to effective practices, higher education researchers and practitioners are left questioning what…

The aim of this systematic review was to examine research studies which focus on effective student support practices and show evidence of credible assessment. To identify effective student support practices, and also to provide a contemporary picture of effective support practices at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, 24 studies which met the…

Since the last comprehensive museum survey was conducted in 1971-72, no current data has been gathered about the museum field. Because the field has not remained static it has become difficult to apply the 1971-72 survey findings to current museum situations. Because of this, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) was requested to…

Discusses a technique for estimating sample size that does not require an a priori definition of desired precision. Presents five modifications that make the method easier to use and reduce the probability of estimating a larger sample size than necessary. The technique can guide the design of environmental sampling programs. (Contains 31…

The governance options matrix is provided to offer a way for state and university policymakers to examine the functioning environments of specific university-owned public teaching hospitals. With it, they can consider the benefits and problems involved with different options for governance. The issues related to the environmental factors affecting…

Demands for more complete information on educational programs have emanated from national, state and local sources. Their focus is on the processes that are occurring in individual classrooms. The information that is collected to provide insight into educational programs is customarily summative in nature, answering, for example, questions…

A statewide survey of operative dentistry in North Carolina was conducted to provide an update of operative dentistry practice and to assist the operative department at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry in making informed curricular decisions. The results of the survey are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Electricity conservation programs were implemented in matched pairs of office-classroom-laboratory buildings and dormitories. The methodological problems of predicting consumption levels, interpreting why changes in consumption occurred, and estimating initial waste levels are discussed along with their implications for the conduct of behavioral…

Presents a general framework for designing sampling programs that ensure cost effectiveness, and managed errors kept within known and acceptable limits. (LZ)

A matrix model for the collection, management, and utilization of data was developed at Eastern Iowa Community College District, (Davenport, Iowa) for evaluating institutional effectiveness. The model was examined in relation to various assessment instruments and the evaluation of functional areas and programs. Surveys of six different target…

The Pell Grant Quality Control Study of 1982-83, the third stage of a contract with the Department of Education, was designed to identify program error rate, to measure the impact of increased validation activity, and to propose corrective actions to reduce the misallocation of program funds. A nationally representative sample of approximately…

Research shows that learning communities are an effective way to improve student performance and persistence, but the success of any particular implementation is not guaranteed. Each program should be evaluated with regard to the likelihood that better-prepared students tend to participate. The protocol used for evaluation at Indiana…

Suggestions, based on the experience of researchers at Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Associated Universities (ORAU), are offered on how evaluations in which true experimental designs are not possible can be designed for meaningful comparison. The ORAU conducts evaluation and assessment studies of educational programs intended to explore some aspect of the…

A study investigated the usefulness of a new ambulatory medicine clerkship design by randomly assigning students to it or to an existing traditional general medicine rotation, then comparing student performance on the licensing examination, a laboratory interpretation test, written work, and a problem-solving exam. Performances were the same…

A method of adjusting for bias due to nonresponse to an alumni survey is demonstrated, based upon analysis of data from both on-time and late respondents. The responses are opinions of 254 alumni regarding how they rate their recently completed program of study within a college of an urban university. As part of the university's curriculum review…