This paper consists of results of a state survey and case studies of Minnesota and Massachusetts, two states with recent histories in implementing tuition formulas. Both case studies are discussed within the context of state fiscal conditions and appropriations. The survey revealed that 16 states are attempting to establish an enduring rationale…

Using Chester Barnard's acceptance theory of authority, this study of 125 secondary teachers and coaches explored relationships involving their "zones of indifference" or extent of response to orders by authority. Specific questions addressed were: (1) whether significant relationships existed between zones of indifference to…

This executive summary of the 1986 Survey of Microcomputers in Higher Education presents the highlights of each of the major areas covered by the survey: (1) general policy; (2) microcomputer availability; (3) microcomputer access; (4) microcomputer acquisition; (5) software availability; and (6) software support. The 211 survey respondents were…

The use of an integrated student information system (ISIS) to conduct institutional research at Trinity University is discussed. The types of data contained in the system, which has 59 files, include: student characteristics, recruitment, financial aid, registration, faculty load, and class scheduling. The data for students, faculty, departments,…

The practical application of federal employment discrimination policy as fashioned and implemented by regulations under the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is assessed in this report designed as a practitioner's guide. To comply with the regulations, each facility must perform various statistical analyses…

Describes organization and evaluation of 13 workshops at the University of Wisconsin-Madison providing professional development for clinical research support staff. Topics included ethics, protocol development, statistics, audits, and tips and tools for successful research. Evaluation indicated the workshops met educational goals but did not…

A survey of 162 students in several sections of a master of social work basic research methodology and statistics course, taught by different teachers, found that student performance did not differ across instructors, undergraduate grade point average was positively correlated with performance, and an undergraduate social service major was…

Methods used to measure college faculty salary compression (i.e., the extent to which new faculty salaries are approaching those of existing faculty at the same or higher rank) are presented. Administrator methods of addressing the issue of salary compression are also discussed, based on a survey of 10 college provosts. (Author/MSE)

An elementary mathematical model is used to analyze tuition and privatization policies for higher education institutions. One finding is that an appropriate tuition can increase the social income of alumni. Another salient finding is that some of the model's results are counterintuitive, suggesting its utility in decision making. Methodological…

This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

This paper focuses on the role that job analysis plays under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The most obvious use of job analysis data is in defining the essential functions of each job. The job analysis technique used should: list the functions of the job, define which functions are essential rather than marginal, and offer proof of…

A model of student persistence that considers the role of student finances and student financial aid was investigated in 1980, with a focus on federal campus-based aid. Linear Structural Relations (LISREL), a more versatile technique than traditional path analysis, accounted for 42 percent of the variance in the persistence of 343 new freshmen…

A study analyzed characteristics of 392 University of Dayton (Ohio) students borrowing through the Perkins Loan Program to discover their relative impact on loan default behavior, and developed a model to help predict individual potential defaulters. Financial aid policy recommendations aimed at reducing default costs at the institution are…

A study used correlational analysis and step-wise multiple regression to build mathematical models representing the dynamics of student evaluation of courses and teachers. The resulting models were very strong and were subsequently used to improve academic programs in Kuwait's Institute of Banking Studies. (Author/MSE)

The nation's 50 flagship universities serve disproportionately fewer low-income and minority students than in the past, according to this fifth report in the Education Trust's series on college results. Students in the entering and graduating classes at these schools look less and less like the state populations those universities were created to…