Many institutions of higher education develop assessment systems to demonstrate evidence of value added and to meet accreditation requirements. The sustainability of such assessment systems is usually dependant on creating a culture of assessment, which entails establishing shared values and principles and implementing practices designed to meet…

Perceived social support and organizational trust have gained importance in organizational life along with the human relationship among organizations. While social support concept has been accepted as the support obtained from individual's surroundings, organizational trust is defined as the result of consistent behaviors based on mutual respect…

Surveys of sign language programs in institutions of higher education in the United States, conducted in 1994 and 2004, are compared to reveal changes over time. Data are presented concerning the institutional environment of programs, program administrators, and instructors. Institutions examined in 2004 were on average 5 years older than those…

To determine critical deficiencies in institutional reform related to accreditation, data from surveys conducted by the Accreditation Council for Facilities for the Mentally Retarded were analyzed. Identified were critical standards with which significant proportions of the facilities surveyed did not comply, formulated was an…

Changes in the composition of colleges and universities during the 1970s and the changes in the subpopulation of institutions with a high commitment to liberal arts education were studied. The effect these changes had on the diversity of the population and subpopulation is described. (MLW)

A study was done to determine the extent to which effectiveness among a nationally representative sample of two-year colleges differs in terms of their dominant type of organizational culture. The study was based on a survey of 1,332 faculty and administrators in 30 colleges. Of these, 662 usable responses were received. Analysis yielded the…

Examined 600 student and 300 faculty perceptions of the environment at the University of Wyoming as it relates to student retention and attrition. Results suggest that perceptions of persistors and subsequent dropouts differ less than expected. (TE)

The behaviors and subsequent situations of two sets of colleges that experienced severe financial difficulties in the mid-1970s were examined. One set made a dramatic recovery; the other set did not. The more resilient group pursued a combination of adaptive and interpretive strategies. (MLW)

In order to determine the preferences and perceptions of Native Alaska students attending Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) boarding schools, a survey instrument was devised to reveal the BIA student's background; future plans; and his projected feelings relative to school facilities, personnel, curricula, and interpersonal relationships. Respondents…

In this study, 76 faculty (48 tenured, 28 nontenured) at 5 private universities were interviewed and asked to rate seven questions on tenure and then comment on their ratings. Faculty were at small and medium-sized colleges and universities in Southern California and represented the fields of sociology, history, biology, and business. The faculty…

The environment within which an organization must operate is expected to influence its administrative and program characteristics. Since public schools operate in more complex and conflicting environments than do private schools, it is predicted that they will exhibit greater administrative complexity and less curricular coherence. These…

This volume is one of several which describe the characteristics, quality, and costs of services to severely handicapped children and youth in 100 providers across the nation. This volume includes the development of data collection instruments and a mail survey of potential providers of services to severely handicapped children and youth. The…

This study reports on a multi-faceted assessment effort for diversity underway at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The four major elements of this project include: (1) archival research of the institution's history of segregation and desegregation; (2) a report on the status of women and minority faculty, staff, and students;…

The report compares results of surveys in 1972 and 1974 to determine the perceptions and attitudes of army personnel toward race problems and the army's equal opportunity programs. It was hypothesized that racial attitudes of blacks and whites would have changed in a positive direction during the two year period. Data were collected using the…

The second enclosure to the study of attrition at the five federal service academies reviews 87 related studies, about half of all those done by, for, or about the academies in the last 10 years. One general observation is that relationships have been established between attrition and student characteristics, whereas the same is not true in…