While the educational structure seems to meet the needs of most students, a small but significant minority does not see the need to complete high school. To improve the identification of potential dropouts and describe the differences between dropouts and persisters, 536 Kentucky high school students and dropouts were studied. An unexpected…

The roles of organizational slack, flexibility, and variety are considered with respect to the incidence of growth, stability, and decline in college and university enrollments and revenues from 1975 to 1979. Slack refers to the resources possessed by an organization beyond those needed for the most efficient possible level of operation.…

This study was designed to formulate a predictive equation to identify community college biology students (N=420) who most probably would not succeed in science courses. A College Biology Student Survey (developed for the study), Nelson Denny Reading Test (Form-F), College Guidance Placement (CGP) Arithmetic Test, and An Inventory of Piaget's…

The development of two instruments useful in evaluating supervisory behavior is described in this paper. Form 1 of the Supervisory Behavior Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) is an ordinal-type scale originally composed of eight sub-scales and 132 triads of items. Each item is composed of a very directive statement, a collaborative statement, and a…

The use of certain variables in predicting the probability of persistence to graduation for students majoring in business or nonbusiness was examined at Western State College of Colorado. The study sample consisted of 131 students from the 1977-78 graduating class, of whom 52 were nonbusiness majors and 79 were business majors. Predictions of…

Midlife transition is a potentially problematic time for all women, but especially for those who are unmarried, relatively less well-educated, and who do not reside in urban areas. Some studies suggest that unmarried women have more difficulty in identity formation and acceptance of their role by society. Married women whose children are nearly…

Research has suggested that both teacher expectations and student expectations can affect the individuals' own attitudes and behavior, as well as the behavior of those with whom they are interacting. The joint effects of teachers' expectations about students and students' expectations about teachers on the performance and attitudes of both…

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…

As part of an update of studies for predicting fall semester grade point averages (GPA) of freshmen at Indiana University, 4,260 freshmen entering the Bloomington campus in the fall of 1980 were assessed. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and/or relative high school rank (RHSR) were used to predict first semester GPAs. Three sets of equations…

Ways in which the external financial disclosures by universities may evaluate institutional economic viability are demonstrated. It is argued that the evaluation should take into account the effect of inflation and activity level. The evaluation model requires several years' information about revenues (general operating fund), the impact of…

By showing how the addition of three universities to the State University System of Florida affected enrollment projections for the six older universities, a tool was developed that may be of use for enrollment projections in other settings, when the system changes. County population and K-12 school enrollment project reasonably well the…

The relationship between parents' attitudes, and elementary school children's attitudes toward self and toward school were examined in two age groups: first graders who were studied through grade 3, and fourth graders who were studied through grade 6. Five tests were administered to the children: Attitude Toward School, Piers-Harris Children's…

The application of multiple linear regression to the problem of identifying appropriate criterion variables and predicting enrollment in college courses during a period of major rapid decline was studied. Data were gathered on course enrollments for 1972-78 at Kent State University, and five independent variables were selected to determine the…

A procedure to relate funding decisions and project evaluations in an annual grant program for vocational education administered by a state education department (SED) is described. Objectives of the study included developing a set of predictor variables for funding decisions, and outcome variables for evaluating decisions; determining consensus…

Faculty interviews were used at Kansas State University to identify 24 environmental, student, and faculty variables that were believed to moderate student ratings of teaching effectiveness. The relationship of these variables to criteria derived from the Instructional Development and Effectiveness Assessment (IDEA) System of KSU was examined.…