Three basic designs for studying college student attrition are described and the comparative assets and liabilities of each are discussed. It is noted that administrators faced with declining enrollments and costs for students not completing degree programs are likely to call for attrition studies, yet methodological inadequacies exist in many…

Findings of research conducted by Richard B. Freeman and J. Herbert Hollomon concerning the benefits of higher education are disputed. The variations in data choice and use are discussed that seem to explain differences in the findings of Freeman and a completely separate study conducted by the author. Freeman reported that the rate of return on…

Faculty salary differentials were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Data were used on all full-time academic faculty at a state university, a relatively small land grant institution. A model was developed using rank, time in current rank, highest degree, administrative position, and academic department as independent variables. The effect…

Construction of a theoretical measure of educational output is attempted in this paper. The effort begins by specifying the purpose for which this measure is intended: centralized allocation, according to the equimarginal principle, of limited resources to alternative units producing education. It then specifies a simple and narrow goal that…

Utilizing selected responses from the 1969 University Study Census (USC), perceptions of 488 black undergraduates enrolled at the University of Maryland in Fall, 1969 were obtained and evaluated. The degree to which these students perceived the students-university communication structure as being good or bad was determined. Results indicate that…

Responses of 22,550 University of Maryland undergraduates to the University Student Census (USC) for the 1969-70 school year are summarized. Results indicated that 34 percent live in residence halls, 29 percent live at home, and 18 percent live in apartments. Students more often chose to attend the University because of its geographic location and…

A survey of the manpower who staff learning centers of the State University of Nebraska (SUN) is reported. Four learning centers in different geographical locations in the state--Scottsbluff, Kearney, Lincoln, and Omaha--are available to learners who enroll in SUN courses, or wish consultation and advice on educational opportunities to meet their…

The University of Mid-America's (UMA) goals and plans are reviewed in this evaluation planning paper. Several issues effecting the overall shape of external evaluation activities over a five-year period are described. Focus in this report is on UMA's philosophical orientation and future plans, the rationale for the open learning approach, UMA open…

Literature pertinent to the evaluation of faculty development programs is reviewed and data are presented from several studies conducted at Kansas State University and Wichita State University. These data were consistent with those previously reported in that faculty participants consistently expressed satisfaction with development services. In…

A follow-up study of former architectural technology (ATE) students at Harper College was conducted to evaluate the program and to provide planning data. Students who had enrolled in three or more ATE courses between 1974 and spring 1977 provided a target population of 190 students to whom the survey instrument was mailed. After non-respondents…

Data supplied by four-year Illinois colleges to which Harper College students transferred were used to evaluate the progress of Harper students and compare their progress with that of transfer students from other colleges and of native students. In a 1973 study of transfer students, Harper transfers accumulated a 2.86 grade point average (GPA)…

A survey of 35 two-year colleges with exemplary institutional planning systems was conducted to determine the present status of institutional planning and to develop a conceptually sound planning process model. The 35 colleges were asked to complete a survey instrument focusing on over 250 variables; 32 colleges responded. Survey results indicated…

Results of a 1979 telephone survey of undergraduate leavers and persisters and the University of California, Berkeley campus are presented. One hundred and fifty new freshmen and new junior transfer students entering in the fall quarter of 1977 who were not enrolled by winter quarter 1979 or had not graduated were surveyed and compared to 56…

Because of the decline of farm population and family farms, the increase in energy-intensivity, and concentration process in agriculture, a rising tide of criticism has focused on the land grant system and its role in encouraging scientific applications supporting these trends. A study was conducted to develop a strategy that would change…

Full-time freshmen at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) were compared with their counterparts at public four-year colleges, predominantly black four-year colleges, and four-year colleges with low selectivity. Similarities and dissimilarities of the groups were measured for the following areas: options of high school preparation,…