The purpose of this study was to survey various constituent groups in the Harper College service area to determine their perceptions about Harper, college goal preferences, and other specific data to provide a general framework for long-range planning. Eight constituent groups consisting of the Board, faculty, students, staff, the community at…

In order to measure the demand for an office design course among interior design graduates of Harper College and to determine the design skill needs of area employers, two studies were undertaken. An initial mail survey, a second mailing, and a series of telephone calls yielded a 75% response rate from the program's 88 graduates. Of the…

This paper briefly reviews the learning outcome aspects of seven recent follow-up studies completed for seven different transfer discipline areas at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois). It notes an increasing interest by the field of institutional research in evaluating how students learn. Faculty in the fields of psychology, English,…

In order to evaluate long-term benefits to students, William Rainey Harper College conducted five- and three-year followup studies of all 1970 and 1972 alumni. The population was defined as students who had accumulated 48 or more credit hours or had received a degree. In all, 385 1970 alumni, and 1,154 1972 alumni were surveyed by mail or…

In 1988, a survey was conducted to determine the feasibility of offering a new degree credit program in Small Business Management at William Rainey Harper College, in Illinois. All 3,170 former students who had taken a non-credit seminar in the Small Business Department in Continuing Education were surveyed regarding their interest in small…

A follow-up study of former architectural technology (ATE) students at Harper College was conducted to evaluate the program and to provide planning data. Students who had enrolled in three or more ATE courses between 1974 and spring 1977 provided a target population of 190 students to whom the survey instrument was mailed. After non-respondents…

In order to provide information for the 1989-90 program review at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) and to fulfill American Bar Association accreditation guidelines, a long-term, follow-up study was conducted of all Legal Tech program alumni who graduated between 1984 and 1988. A telephone survey generated usable responses from 106 (73%) of the…

A survey was conducted to determine the availability of internship opportunities for fashion design students at Harper College and to measure the value of Harper design graduates to their employers. A sample of 279 manufacturers, contacts, and retail stores employing fashion designers were identified in the Chicago metropolitan area and after two…

As part of a self-evaluation of admissions policies, William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) surveyed the general and specific admissions requirements of 18 comparable community colleges. The survey instrument requested information on general admissions requirements for full- and part-time students; additional requirements for specialized programs;…

Surveys were mailed to the 257 students who had enrolled in the first of the core courses in the architecture transfer program (ARC) at Harper College between 1969 and 1978. Of the target population, 18% had stopped at this point; 22% had enrolled in two ARC courses; 20% had enrolled in three ARC courses; 21% had met minimum requirements by taking…

A study was conducted to evaluate the career programs at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) (Illinois) through a local follow-up of WRHC career alumni. Alumni who earned 48 or more credit hours during the 1991-92 year in a career major were surveyed. After two mailings and a telephone follow-up, a 73% response rate was achieved. Study findings,…

A survey was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC), Palatine, Ill., to determine reasons why 13% of the students who applied to the college for fall 1982 did not register for classes. A sample of 200 of the 838 fall 1982 no-shows was selected for telephone interviews. Survey findings, based on a 79.5% response rate, included the…

Part of William Rainey Harper College's (WRHC's) evaluation of its career programs, this report summarizes two career alumni follow-up studies conducted by WRHC in 1976 and 1978 and two statewide studies conducted by the Illinois Community College Board--a longitudinal study of 1974-entering, career, community college students and a follow-up of…

In spring 1985, the Office of Student Outreach at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Illinois initiated a study to determine the effectiveness of their responses to telephone and mail inquiries for information about the college. A survey was mailed to a sample of 420 inquirers, asking about their information needs, their evaluation and use of…

The office of institutional research can play a key role in creating a college's marketing plan. Designing survey instruments and evaluations to support new program development, employer-based education, and recruiting concepts are areas where institutional research can make important contributions (Author/MLW)