Gives an overview of the Ball State University (Indiana) academic assessment program, from its origins through present and future efforts. Several current assessment activities are described--university-wide, in general education, and discipline-specific. Areas of strength in the program and challenges to conducting successful assessment are…

A conceptual framework is offered for understanding the role of program review in college, particularly a community college. Such a framework should account for the following institutional factors: purpose of the review, stakeholder involvement, leadership support for review, organizational communication, degree of organizational centralization,…

The limited research available and the observations and experiences of college admissions officers suggest that college guidebooks and ratings have a small to negligible impact on the college choices of most students. However, many families buy the guides, and their publication is likely to continue. It is important that institutions provide…

Institutions of higher education are looked to by society as the training grounds and gatekeepers for college-trained workers. However, despite a long history of being viewed by many as unresponsive to labor force needs, the academy has not found ways of effectively meeting these demands, nor articulating why it is that they have difficulty doing…

Questions posed about the practicality of postsecondary education have led many institutions to survey the graduates themselves. The Southern Regional Education Board report cites studies conducted by the University of North Carolina and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The surveys concern the age of graduates, the type and amount of…

In a time of urgent need for cooperation among educational institutions, the community college may have a unique opportunity to serve as a bridge or means of communication, hence an agent in coordination. The articles presented here focus on coordination and cooperation: mechanisms for cooperation among higher education associations; ways of…

Precepts posited in defense of federal intervention (financial support, social injustice, moral responsibility, etc.) are articulated, and general costs of compliance are enumerated. The impact of specific legislation and suggestions for reducing compliance costs are also addressed, along with a prognosis for the future. (Author/LBH)

Institutional research at the University of California at Berkeley on graduate student attrition is discussed, focusing on when students in a given discipline are likely to leave a program and factors to which departments attribute attrition. Recommendations for increasing retention are offered, including institutional policies and strategies,…

A study examined the relationship between faculty research productivity and the importance faculty attach to the undergraduate education goal of knowledge breadth and to faculty accessibility to students. Differences between "hard" and "soft" disciplines were also assessed. Results indicate that there is no correlation between productivity and…

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 article recommends that each college or university develop a management database about its human assets. A handbook has been designed to aid in the creation of such a database and includes explanation of basic concepts (faculty as individuals, the notion of human assets, and definitions of effort, workload, output, productivity); basic data…

The self-study process at St. Edward's University (Texas) is described. Features examined include its five focal areas (technology, knowledge explosion, experiential learning, multiculturalism, and values), involvement of both the campus and external communities in the self-study, and the vision of a redesigned university that resulted from the…

The Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) has conducted two surveys, one of students and faculty and one of faculty only, to evaluate courses and investigate teacher attitudes about the institution's conditions for teaching and research. Results of the studies are presented, and their relevance for institutional decision making is discussed.…

The design of a University of Hartford (Connecticut) decision-support information system for college advancement programs is detailed, specific research and management applications are examined, and the analyses and reports generated by the system are discussed. Early collaboration between institutional researchers and advancement and alumni…

Traces the historical development of technical literacy through the establishment of technical institutes in the United States. Relates the development of technical learning to the emerging industrial economy. Explains that instruction required literacy and fundamental mathematical skills. Notes scientific literacy was popularized by magazines…