Data on short-term (first-year) and long-term (four-year) retention in the University System of Georgia are presented. This report shows the first-year retention rates for all first-time, full-time freshmen students who entered a University System institution in the fall quarter of 1986. The aggregate 1-year rates for the system as a whole, for…

A study examined the phenomenon of burnout in social service agencies, approaching burnout as a symptom of organizational communication patterns rather than a characteristic inherent in or developed within a particular individual. Sixteen working teams (defined as three or more people in a person-oriented service, who are perceived as a team by…

Persistence and graduation rates of four types of undergraduate students at the University of California, Davis, (UC Davis) are examined: domestic students with fewer than 12.5 college transfer units, including both regularly admitted students and those admitted by special action; and domestic students admitted with at least 84 but less than 135…

A Multiphase Rolling Plan (MRP) implemented by the State University of New York to deal with declining percentages of state tax resources and projections for stabilized enrollments is described. For the preliminary budget cycle for fiscal year 1982-1983, academic and mission plans were linked to the annual budgeting process. Developed to ensure…

A joint research project between an office of institutional research and the education department at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) is described. The study focuses on factors that might affect the scores of NCCU students on the National Teacher's Examination (NTE). The project enabled the education department to begin counseling NCCU…

Ideas that have been developed in the decision support systems (DSS) literature that seem particularly relevant to institutional research, planning, and analysis (IRPA) are reviewed. In addition, a survey of practitioners in Canadian universities that provides new information on the rapidly changing current state of information technology,…

A set of weighting factors on student credit hour production by discipline was developed so that instructional productivity could be equitably compared across disparate disciplines and within disciplines. The new statistical methodology was applied to 3 years of teaching load data from 21 major public universities (the Southern University Group…

The inquiry pool represented by prospective college applicants who seek information from the institution and a marketing response that has been implemented at Boston College are considered. It is suggested that researchers may trace specific individuals from the inquiry stage through application to the final college choice. To benefit from an…

Recent research (1978-1982) on student evaluations of teaching is reviewed, including: influence of background variables pertaining to the student, the teacher, and the learning environment; the dimensions of the teaching being evaluated; the validity of students' evaluations; the "Doctor Fox" effect and its implications for validity; the…

An institution's innovative plan for staff utilization, which represented a forced coalition between the offices for institutional research and university advancement, is described. Funding cuts eliminated staff in both of these offices. An institutional research/planning staff team (team A) identified current skills and resources and determined…

Efforts to integrate the gathering of student outcome data with the long-range planning efforts of Xavier University, Louisiana, a traditionally black college, are described. Attention is directed to the need for measurement of key performance indicators as perceived by students. Rather than soliciting students' views, their participation in…

Preferences of students who take a Saturday class at the University of Wisconsin Center-Waukesha County were determined through a spring 1985 survey. Of the 185 Saturday students, 158 completed the survey. Findings include: the majority of the Saturday students are nontraditional-aged students, employed full time, and about two-thirds are women;…

A survey of nine black students who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in fall 1983 or summer 1984 was conducted. The graduates' current activities were identified, along with their reactions to their educational experience at the university. Five of the graduates were employed, and four were employed full-time. The…

This paper reviews a sample of follow-up studies conducted by community colleges to determine the employment experiences of occupational program graduates. Part I discusses the types of follow-up studies conducted, including institutional follow-up studies of graduates from individual vocational programs, of all vocational graduates, and of…

A guide to help colleges examine teaching and inquiry in the area of war, peace, conflict, and change is presented. The self-study of educational activities may be coordinated by the campus minister or a faculty member. The following broad areas of inquiry are identified, along with specific questions: international conflict, the U.S. role in…