The academic persistence of undergraduate students at Arizona State University was studied. Demographic and academic profiles were developed, and persistence rates were calculated for the overall population of 3,166 freshmen, and by gender and ethnicity. Additional demographic variables were residency status and age. The academic variables…

The development of moral judgment of students was studied in two types of college courses requiring readings, lectures, and discussions. In one of the courses, students gained exposure to or served disadvantaged people; they combined reflection on this experience in the light of readings and lectures. The other course was a more traditional…

These 16 institutional research monographs summarize major research efforts at South Oklahoma City Junior College (SOCJC) during fiscal year 1982. The research monographs cover: (1) current educational and employment activities of 1980 graduates of SOCJC; (2) national trends in finance, enrollments, programs, and faculty at two-year colleges; (3)…

Perceptions concerning part-time teaching by part-time faculty at a large metropolitan university were studied. The respondents were divided into two groups: those who wished to teach part-time (the willing) and those who were teaching part-time because of their inability to find full-time work (the reluctant). In addition to questionnaire…

Personal, job-related, and environmental factors that might account for academic mid-level administrators' general job satisfaction were studied with a sample of 260 administrators at a large research university. Attention was directed to: personal characteristics (sex, age, number of years employed at the university), perceived job…

As part of the Stanford Curriculum Study, information is provided on the university's approach to monitoring undergraduate education through research into student academic records. Trends in bachelor's degrees granted in the various departments from 1960-1961 to 1981-1982 at Stanford are charted and compared to national trends. Course enrollments…

The office of institutional research at West Virginia University, an intergral part of the university's office of planning, annually produces a fact book called "Statistical Profiles of West Virginia University." The book is used as a source of information for planning, and contains information on six topics: the university's mission; programs;…

The single but substantial economic dimension of Georgia State University's contribution to the Atlanta metropolitan area is examined in this research report. The purpose of the study was to identify successful estimating techniques developed by previous studies of the local spending impact of postsecondary educational institutions. Three direct…

This manual contains information for conducting regular student surveys at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Questionnaires, designed for new, returning, and former student populations, are presented together with the methods by which the instruments should be administered. Guidelines for data analysis and report writing are also outlined. The…

This paper defines a conceptual model for institutional research in the community college and identifies sources of information, programs, and services that provide data necessary for implementation of the model. The model contains four specific subsystems: goal setting, program development, program review, and cost effectiveness. Each subsystem…

Traditional predictor variables of SAT scores and high school grades seldom account for more than 16 percent of the variance in student performance in college and graduate school, and they account for even less in decisions of students to leave school. Three studies are presented that added nonintellective variables to the traditional combination…

A study made at the University of South Carolina compared the survival (persistence) rates of full-time black and white students who entered the university as freshmen during the fall semesters of 1973, 1974, and 1975. Survival is defined as the percentage of students in an entering class who return for a second or subsequent years' enrollment at…

The undergraduate student body in the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida was studied to determine if there were significant differences in the grade-point ratios (GPRs), withdrawals, and forgivenesses of students in several categories. (The foregiveness policy permits a student to repeat a course and have that grade computed…

Student withdrawal from the University of Iowa was studied using an exit survey. Students' reasons for leaving the university, their future plans, and possible interventions that would have assisted the student to remain in school were assessed, along with the validity of the survey. Although there was only 62 percent agreement between the exit…

A research-oriented project to improve the effectiveness of undergraduate education at the state University of Antwerp, Belgium, is described, and the higher education system and conditions in Belgium are noted. Attention was focused on the outcome-based paradigm, according to which the primary goal of instruction is to ensure that all students…