Institutional research at the University of California at Berkeley on graduate student attrition is discussed, focusing on when students in a given discipline are likely to leave a program and factors to which departments attribute attrition. Recommendations for increasing retention are offered, including institutional policies and strategies,…

A study examined the relationship between faculty research productivity and the importance faculty attach to the undergraduate education goal of knowledge breadth and to faculty accessibility to students. Differences between "hard" and "soft" disciplines were also assessed. Results indicate that there is no correlation between productivity and…

Two studies illustrate how omitting faculty rank as a predictor variable from gender equity studies of faculty salaries can lead to incorrect conclusions about gender discrimination. One uses hypothetical data constructed so there is no gender difference in salary, but omission of academic rank skews the results. The second uses data from a…

This article recommends that each college or university develop a management database about its human assets. A handbook has been designed to aid in the creation of such a database and includes explanation of basic concepts (faculty as individuals, the notion of human assets, and definitions of effort, workload, output, productivity); basic data…

The self-study process at St. Edward's University (Texas) is described. Features examined include its five focal areas (technology, knowledge explosion, experiential learning, multiculturalism, and values), involvement of both the campus and external communities in the self-study, and the vision of a redesigned university that resulted from the…

The Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) has conducted two surveys, one of students and faculty and one of faculty only, to evaluate courses and investigate teacher attitudes about the institution's conditions for teaching and research. Results of the studies are presented, and their relevance for institutional decision making is discussed.…

The design of a University of Hartford (Connecticut) decision-support information system for college advancement programs is detailed, specific research and management applications are examined, and the analyses and reports generated by the system are discussed. Early collaboration between institutional researchers and advancement and alumni…

Traces the historical development of technical literacy through the establishment of technical institutes in the United States. Relates the development of technical learning to the emerging industrial economy. Explains that instruction required literacy and fundamental mathematical skills. Notes scientific literacy was popularized by magazines…

A faculty (n=347) survey at a research-oriented public university identified four major sources of faculty support: off-campus personal relationships; colleagues within the academic unit; professional support outside the academic unit; and an ethnic/minority network, on and off campus. Differences related to gender and rank were investigated.…

A draft code of ethics for college and university institutional researchers and related activities, prepared by the Committee on Standards and Ethics of the Association for Institutional Research, is presented. It addresses issues of individual training and competence, responsibility, confidentiality, relationships within institution and…

Discusses student tracking system development in terms of purposes, audience, organizational issues, and data utilization. Considers benefits (e.g., facilitates reporting behavioral outcomes, and illuminates the complementary/conflicting nature of college services) and costs (e.g., direct costs for computer programing, postage, printing, etc., and…

Some organizations are having difficulty with the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. Problems appear to come from reliance on prepackaged TQM programs, large-scale, diffuse implementation, mass training programs, measurement paralysis, overemphasis on tools, process selection, outmoded reward structures, and simplistic views of change and…

Discusses common themes in the limited research on Appalachian institutions of higher education: interinstitutional links and links between institutions and the broader community. Reviews trends that offer research opportunities (the impact of K-12 reforms on higher education, effects of information technology on higher education, student…

Assessment can be viewed as innovation to be adopted by the people in an institution. It is up to leaders in higher-education institutions to identify early-adopter and majority groups of faculty in schools, colleges, and departments and work with them to adapt assessment to local conditions in a way that overcomes any perceived disadvantages.…

Assessment can have a profound transformational impact on a college or university, but for this to occur, such core values as improvement of student learning through collection of performance-related data must be integrated into the institutional culture. At Truman State University (Missouri), an initially modest commitment to improving student…