State policies toward higher education in the twenty-first century are likely to continue in the patterns already established, though conflicts may intensify. State officials will need to be more sensitive to how policies affect institutions. Institutional representatives must recognize the legitimacy and priority of state, societal, and system…

A study of 412 foreign graduate students investigated their (1) perceptions of the stressfulness of role demands and (2) abilities to cope with those demands. Results indicated students associated English language skills and cultural distance with stresses and language, academic, and problem-solving skills with coping capacity. Implications for…

A study investigated college students' (n=226) academic help-seeking behavior under task-involved and ego-involved classroom conditions, students' attributions for failure, and two types of help source (instrumental, in which the student finds his own solution, and executive, in which a solution is disclosed). Implications for classroom teaching…

Main features of the cyclical procedure used by the University of Geneva (Switzerland) to evaluate 75 teaching and research units (TRUs) over a 6-year cycle are that it covers teaching, research, and services simultaneously and combines self-evaluation, peer assessment, and use of a database on TRU resources and achievements. (Author/MSE)

A survey of respondents and nonrespondents to the Vocational Education Data System's follow-up survey of Massachusetts community college graduates was designed to measure response bias. The survey investigated employment patterns, wages, and degree of job relatedness. Results suggest original data was biased, if at all, toward underestimation, not…

The University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) uses self-study and peer review to enhance its required, periodic external quality assessments. Lessons learned include these: change must be tailored to the discipline; mutual trust, respect, understanding of the principles, and involvement among all parties is crucial to success; and management…

In higher education, facilities data are essential for long-term capital and financial planning and for testing assumptions underlying anticipated policy change. Executive information systems should incorporate life-cycle considerations (planning, construction, renovation, and management) and resource linkages (describing interrelationships of…

The evolution of the Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) effort to analyze institutional policies affecting high-risk students is chronicled from the early 1980s to the present, from the initial findings of program ineffectiveness to program improvement. Chronicle includes successes and limitations of several early-change strategies, and factors…

Ways in which specific pieces of scholarship can be useful to college and university administrators, planners, and policymakers are discussed. Five journal articles and portions of books on research universities, strategy-making for complex organizations, leadership, collegiality, and institutional research are examined in relation to how they…

The evolution of the student tracking system at Amarillo College, a Texas community college, is chronicled for three stages: (1) early efforts; (2) participation in the development of a consortium-based longitudinal student tracking project beginning in 1986; and (3) more recent developments. Tools and techniques used at each stage are discussed…

Development, structure, and uses of multi-institutional and statewide student databases at the state level are examined, based on results of a national survey of state higher education agencies. The issue of confidentiality is also discussed. Construction and uses of a multi-institutional system in Colorado are then described, and its advantages…

Within the last few years, American schools have moved toward routinely measuring the outcomes of their educational programs. Two national associations dealing with community colleges have also developed quantitative indicators to assess outcomes for two-year colleges. There are still colleges that make only minimal efforts at assessment, citing…

This volume contains 21 new and classic papers and readings on quality philosophies and concepts, first, as they have been applied in business and industry but primarily as they relate to and can be applied in higher education. The introduction is titled "The Quality Approach in Higher Education: Context and Concepts for Change" by Brent…

Based on data submitted in September 1994 to the Florida Community College System for its annual accountability report, this document compares accountability outcomes for Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) to the system as a whole. Highlighted findings include the following: (1) while 65% of the public high school graduates and 61% of new…

This volume presents five papers on higher education institutional research in Maryland, all of which were originally presented at annual meetings of the Maryland Association for Institutional Research from 1993 through 1995. The first paper is "A Day in the Life of an Institutional Researcher: Past, Present and Future" (Merill…