The agencies surveyed influence faculty to improve their instruction through workshops, seminars, courses, newsletters, other publications, and individual consultations. Unfortunately, the agencies view their role as service-oriented and take a passive approach to instructional improvement. (Editor/PG)

Clark Kerr, the chairman of the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education, conducted a conference concerning their first major report. The council's main thrusts in this report are universal access and maintenance of the research capacity of the universities. (Author/PG)

The report on utilization of residence hall facilities consists of detailed data collected in the sixteenth annual survey which was conducted during the fall of 1989. The study includes all State-operated institutions which have residence hall facilities. A listing of these institutions, organized by institutional type, is provided but does not…

Possible future developments in artificial intelligence (AI) as well as its limitations are considered that have implications for institutional research in higher education, and especially decision making and decision support systems. It is noted that computer software programs have been developed that store knowledge and mimic the decision-making…

A guide to survey research is presented for both novice and experienced researchers. Steps of the survey research process are covered: (1) planning the survey to determine the purpose of the study, collecting background information, designing the sample, and making a time line for completing the project; (2) questionnaire design, including the…

The evolving profession of institutional research as it exists in 1985, historical antecedents, and ideas about possible futures are presented in two addresses, a panel discussion, and an awards program from the Association for Institutional Research's annual forum. In "Promoting Excellence: Pursuing the Challenge of Quality," Burton R.…

Three different uses of the term student development--humanism, complexity, and developmental stage theory--are reviewed. Two examples of the use of stage or hierarchal developmental theory for making changes in student personnel structures are described. (Author)

This study shows that environmental modification is a surprisingly intricate technique. This may account for its relatively low use and also for its more frequent use by MSW than non-MSW caseworkers. The findings indicate the need for further research on environmental modification. (Author)

Concludes that: (1) the biases inherent in the system of research support encourage analytical excesses; (2) major historical forces impinging on the postsecondary educational system will create strains; (3) previous research is of limited usefulness; and (4) large-scale sectoral models only provide the appearance of rationality to policy action.…

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH IN THE JUNIOR COLLEGES IS A RECENT DEVELOPMENT AND UNTIL THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE FOR JUNIOR COLLEGE INFORMATION, NO EFFECTIVE MEANS OF DISSEMINATING THE RESULTS OF THIS RESEARCH HAS BEEN AVAILABLE. CERTAIN GAPS EXIST IN TYPES OF RESEARCH, PROBLEMS STUDIED, AND FOCUS--(1) STUDIES OF STUDENTS COMMONLY…

JUNIOR COLLEGE RESEARCH IS TYPICALLY "INSTITUTIONAL" WITH APPLICABILITY ONLY TO THE SPECIFIC INSTITUTION. MOST REPORTS RECEIVED AT THE CLEARINGHOUSE DESCRIBE COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF POPULATIONS (ENTIRE CLASSES, STUDENT BODIES, ETC.) INVOLVING NO SAMPLING PROCESSES. DATA WERE COMMONLY COLLECTED THROUGH RECORDS SEARCHES AND PRESENTED IN…

This study uses natural data, primarily, to study patterns of news coverage of the United States Senate in major media of regional and national stature. The following questions are addressed: To what extent do institutional and structural aspects of the Senate (seniority, committee assignment, and senatorial staff size) affect the news potential…

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH IN THE JUNIOR COLLEGE WAS CONSIDERED IN THREE ASPECTS. FIRST, A DESCRIPTION OF THE EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AT MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LED TO 10 PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION--(1) A SMALL DIRECTORATE, (2) AN OVERVIEW OF ACADEMIC PROBLEMS, (3) ACCESS TO KEY FACULTY COMMITTEES, (4) COORDINATION OF…

THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE TO DEFINE INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, TO EXAMINE ITS PRACTICE IN CERTAIN COLLEGES, AND TO TEST THE HYPOTHESIS THAT IT DOES NOT INFLUENCE CURRICULUM CHANGE. THE DATA WERE OBTAINED THROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH PRESIDENTS, ACADEMIC DEANS, AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRMEN OF FIVE LARGE TEXAS PUBLIC JUNIOR COLLEGES AND DO NOT NECESSARILY…

Although there are many reports on the introduction of replicable media in junior college instruction, there is a lack of coordinated research on any particular form of instruction. This is a serious matter, for, without date on whether or not anyone has learned anything from one medium, the introduction of any other medium is necessarily based on…