This paper describes a procedure for smoothing the proportions of a double-entry expectancy table which might be used in higher education admissions advising or other functions. The product of the smoothing procedure is a nomograph, a medium for displaying expectancies which provides pairs of individual values for two predictor variables rather…

A study used a multivariate approach to assessing college departmental excellence. Factor analysis identified three potentially useful factor clusters ("faculty research,""input," and "student") and seven indicators based on those clusters. Indicators combining faculty research and input and combining all three clusters were found to be the best…

Using discriminant analysis, a study examined (1) the extent to which the new Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ) accurately predicts student departure for a private, comprehensive university (n=1,978 students); (2) SACQ items distinguishing nonpersisters; (3) use with an incoming class; and (4) evidence linking the SACQ with…

A study investigated relationships between academic majors and six undergraduate student work values (authority, recognition, administrative responsibility, financial success, helping others, artistic creativity), using Holland's theory of occupational choice. Subjects were 18,137 students persisting at four-year institutions from 1985 to 1989.…

Background information needed to understand the literature on the impact of price on college attendance (i.e. price-response literature) is provided. After briefly introducing price theory and its use in demand studies in higher education, the major expository articles are reviewed, and major analytical methods used by researchers are examined.…

This paper presents a theoretical discussion of how students make educational behavior decisions including attending a given institution, transferring, or dropping out. The theory is seen to apply to students of all ages and both sexes with implications for all areas of postsecondary education. The theory holds that educational decisions are based…

A 3-institution study investigated the effectiveness of transfer of 1,786 Los Rios Community College students to the University of California at Davis and California State University at Sacramento, measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance before and after transfer. Need for remediation. before transfer was also examined.…

This case study of Southern Illinois University was conducted to determine the types of volunteers needed for an annual fund drive. Based on a random sample of 138 alumni donors who completed questionnaires, a donor profile was developed. Analysis of questionnaire responses found that only 48% reported being involved with extracurricular…

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 study examined institutional researchers' perceptions regarding their effectiveness in influencing institutional policy changes, the factors that make institutional researchers effective in the policy arena, and researchers perspectives regarding job-related rewards; challenges encountered in seeking to establish influential roles in decision…

Current admission criteria for graduate and professional programs are discussed, their validity in predicting graduate student success is examined, and a potentially more effective model for predicting the success of various student groups (women, minorities, older students) is outlined. Innovative admission criteria and procedures are also…

Topics concerning the adult learner that are relevant to institutional researchers are addressed in four articles: marketing, predicting success for adult students, enrollment projection, and follow-up studies of adult learners. In "Institutional Research in Support of Marketing the Adult Student," Lydia Jurand notes the importance of…

The relationship between student persistence and types of financial aid at a Jesuit comprehensive university was studied. Three freshmen cohorts (134 for 1989, 171 for 1990, and 131 for 1991) of 436 students were tracked through fall 1994. Attention was focused on nine financial aid variables, five additional noncategorical and six categorical…