A systems approach to college administration and planning is probably the most valuable tool available for coping with the complex problems facing institutions of higher education today. A system is defined as a set of interrelated elements, units, or subsystems that work together toward a common goal. If a college functions as a system, the…

Medical students, nursing students, and residents from the University of Florida College of Medicine live and work for several weeks in a rural county health center, providing a wide range of primary care and emergency medical services. Retrospective evaluations by participants are reported. (LBH)

The development and administration of a scientific literacy test designed to measure achievement of the objectives of the Science Curriculum Improvement Study (SCIS) project is described. Students who had completed the six year SCIS curricula were compared with those who had used other science materials. SCIS subjects scored significantly higher…

Differential effects on "Attitudes toward Disabled Persons" scores were determined for presentations by independent study, lecture, and film as instructional methodologies. Participants were trade and industrial teachers at a required workshop. Significant differences between pre- and post-intervention and among the three methodologies exists.…

Suggestions and materials are presented to help analyze the messages about human diversity delivered to young children in day care centers through books, materials, and the environment. Ideas for staff meetings, a newsletter handout for parents, and a book and materials checklist are provided. (BB)

Parents considering placing a disabled child in a residential facility should evaluate and choose a school by visiting at both "peak" and "off-peak" hours to learn about the physical surroundings, structured activities, the child-care staff, the teaching staff, the administration, and treatment plans. (CB)

The executive committee of a combined sixth-year Baccalaureate-M.S. degree program instituted the administration of exit interviews to gain systematic information about why students leave the program prematurely. The committee hoped to assess the school's admissions procedures, its educational policies, and its student support services. (MLW)

The use of standardized achievement tests as the primary criterion measures in the evaluation of basic skills programs has been criticized. In a comparative study of three types of tests, this article examines the major issue behind this criticism. (Author/JAZ)

Provides an overview of economic evaluation, focusing on goals, limitations and methods. Reviews three of the best-known examples of such programs. (Author/NH)

Presents results of survey based on sample of 500 U.S. academic libraries which was conducted during spring and summer of 1984 to gather descriptive data on current status of online searching and to predict future trends. Four broad categories are covered: availability; search service characteristics; evaluation; future trends. (31 references)…

A brief history of "Psychological Abstracts" describes the development of this index over its nearly 100-year history. The various concerns and problems of both the publisher and users of the psychological literature are reported, and present and future solutions are discussed. Appended is an 18-item annotated bibliography. (Author/EJS)

This article describes use of the InfoTrac system, a self-contained periodical reference system designed for in-library use that provides coverage of 900 general interest, business, management, and economic periodicals, at Indiana University (Bloomington). Discussion covers InfoTrac installation, InfoTrac and student interaction, system…

Provides an overview of the educational program of the Seychelles and focuses on an evaluation of the final phase (P7-P9) of the nine-year school program. Reports how findings from content analyses of materials, teacher and student interviews, and student test results were used to develop the new Seychelles Integrated Science program. (ML)

Physicians who completed residencies in internal medicine at major teaching hospitals in 1982 evaluated their residency training in ambulatory care. Their recommendations were similar to those reported in evaluation studies published over the past 25 years, indicating that training programs have not been successful in restructuring their…

This article describes two separate workshops offered to college faculty during the spring 1984 semester: one in online bibliographic searching, one in using computers to manage personal files of bibliographic references (examination of existing systems, types of software available). A telephone survey evaluation conducted 3 months after sessions…