"The First-Year Seminar: Designing, Implementing, and Assessing Courses to Support Student Learning and Success," a five-volume series, is designed to assist educators who are interested in launching a first-year seminar or revamping an existing program. Each volume examines a different aspect of first-year seminar design or administration and…

The level of understanding about the topic of parents sufficient to handle patentable discoveries in the proper manner can readily be established at any institution, regardless of size, where there is an inclination. The possession of this understanding will allow the dissemination of important and valuable research findings by publication, by…

The authors define action or "on the job" research as a type of applied research undertaken by practitioners in order to solve practical problems and improve operations in the educational or institutional setting. Advantages and disadvantages of using action research are presented and procedures for conducting it outlined. Two tables list…

The Reality-Based Evaluation (RBE) Portfolio was produced to assist postsecondary educators in the conduct of local program evaluation efforts. The content of the portfolio is not subject-matter specific in order to be applicable to the widest variety of educational programs and projects. The rationale and model for program evaluation as it…

Intended to provide a systematic aid for planning and managing academic units (schools, colleges, departments, or divisions) within an institution, the Academic Unit Planning and Management (AUPM) manual consists of a multifaceted set of techniques and procedures that can be used by academic unit administrators. Data regarding academic unit…

Provides an overview of more than two decades of research on educational change and proposes guidelines and activities for school districts attempting to institutionalize law-related education. (JDH)

This paper generally describes the activities and processes of a task force at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois) charged with reviewing the college's tenure policies relative to present needs and long-range projections. It provides a series of suggestions of use to other community colleges who might undertake a self-study of tenure policy.…

An investigation was made of research and development needs among various academic and administrative divisions in New York City Community College. Although the primary aim of the investigation was to obtain information related to current research needs in the college, the study was also designed to accumulate information pertaining to the…

Techniques and procedures for conducting graduate follow-up surveys are summarized. Initial considerations include: survey objectives, standardization of questions, differentiating follow-ups from alumni campaigns, those who need the information, those who have responsibility for the survey, and various populations to be surveyed. Specific issues…

In order to develop a comprehensive professional development plan, college employees were asked in 1976 to complete a needs assessment questionnaire, which served as the basis for discussion among divisional officers and a development coordinator. Development goals and objectives were compiled, followed by identification of potential programs.…

The guidelines presented are intended to stimulate institutional self-assessment, evaluation, and possible policy actions by college and university presidents, chief academic officers, and other academic officers not responsible for day-to-day administration of sponsored research programs. Officers of nonprofit research organizations may also find…

The NCHEMS Information About Students (IAS) project has as one of its primary goals the development of procedures and materials to assist institutions of postsecondary education in conducting attrition studies. It was the intent of the IAS project to develop and pilot test a questionnaire and accompanying procedures that would help institutions…

The development and operation of a transactional system (defined as a routine method for carrying out certain processes) without computer support at Texas Southern University's Office of Institutional Research is described. The system was developed in 1975 primarily to improve the internal management of the office. It is a standard operating…

This document defines a wide range of measures of the outcomes (results or impacts) of postsecondary education institutions and their programs and suggests procedures for acquiring the data needed for each measure. The outcome measures described are ones identified by a survey of institutional and state-level decision makers as providing the…

Project FOLLOW-UP was conducted to develop, test, and validate a statewide management information system for follow-up of Texas public junior and community college students. This activities manual provides an overview of the resultant student information system (TEX-SIS) and its characteristics. Seven subsystems comprise SIS, each with its own…