Issues pertaining to research on college reading and study skills programs are analyzed, based on a literature review. It is suggested that before educators can provide quality instruction, they need to differentiate practices that are conducive to learning. Evaluative criteria are needed to make such decisions, as well as to design and evaluate…

Possible impacts of changing information technology on the role of the institutional researcher, who serves as a decision support intermediary, are examined. Attention is directed to measurement, human information processing, and decision support technology. It is noted that management information systems are dependent on measurement for data…

This paper presents an overview of Florence Nightingale's statistical background and accomplishments; discusses Victorian statistics, Nightingale's education and statistical contributions; and concludes with implications for professors and students of educational research. Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the first woman elected as a fellow of…

Equity within U.S. higher education is examined in three parts: Practices, Principles, and Policies. Public/private problems, attendance variables, and public subsidies to higher education are included in the Practices section. Part 2, Principles, discusses the place of philosophy, meanings of equity, remedying discrimination, and equality of…

An affirmative action requirement for government contractors imposed in 1974 by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) of the U.S. Department of Labor is reviewed from the point of view of a government contractor, especially an institution of higher education. The eight factor analysis requirement is designed to provide the…

This brief paper is a response to a reanalysis (Krueger & Zhu, 2003) of a report (Mayer, Peterson, Myers, Tuttle, & Howell, 2002). The response is offered by two of the authors (Myers & Mayer) of the original report. The original report presented an evaluation of the impact of vouchers on students' reading and mathematics achievement…

Defines multicultural groups, discusses the evolution of multiculturalism, analyzes the "one-third myth," which says that America will be one-third minority by the year 2000, discusses statistical multicultural theories, and reviews laws and regulations that provide equality in jobs and education. Also examines multicultural trends in…

The state-of-the-art in 10 areas of institutional research is considered in this collection of 10 articles. Of concern are: student attrition and retention, academic program evaluation, financial issues and economic impacts of higher education, institutional self-study and regional accreditation, peer studies of institutions, statistical packages…

A format for isolating key components of the faculty flow process and communicating this information to interested audiences is described, and formal faculty flow models are reviewed. Many rational faculty flow models are based on the Markov-chain analytical framework; however, when funding and enrollments are uncertain, the complexity of faculty…

Some possible solutions to the shortage of faculty jobs are addressed in two papers. In "PhDs in Nonacademic Careers: Are There Good Jobs," Lewis C. Solmon evaluates the prospects for nonacademic jobs for humanists, scientists, engineers, and social scientists, based on three separate studies. Projections on the probable major of undergraduates…

Argues that radical left-wing academics faced little opposition in their attempts to dominate intellectual theory in political science. Maintains that this occurred because quantitative research so displaced intellectual theory as to render it irrelevant. Describes the predominant emphasis on statistical methodology and paints a bleak picture of…

Reports findings from a Shanghai (China) region survey assessing college faculty views on conditions and trends in Chinese education. Identifies professors' chief concerns: financial support, governmental action rather than propaganda, and sound policy formation. Related professors' understanding that educational reform is linked to national…

I see much to be pleased with in Dorans' interesting response to my article, "Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social-Class Bias: A Method for Reestimating SAT Scores." However, I need to deal with several unstated assumptions and errors that underlie his presentation. In the process of enumerating his covert assumptions, I will take up…

This study tested the amount of value added to critical and communication skills by the university experience using a strategy that compared the skills of entering and graduating students at York University (Ontario). The study involved, first, identifying skills that might be improved over the course of a university education; second, developing…

Argues that perception studies and ranking are lacking in validity and reliability because of small sample size, simplistic statistical analyses, and the evaluation of quality by educators. It is asserted that quality control is more valid when evaluated by the customers of education, i.e., the students. (11 references) (EA)