A study used 1994-95 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data to estimate cost functions for postsecondary education institutions, focusing on how factors such as enrollment levels, location, research intensity, and faculty characteristics influence institutional costs. Many of these relationships have direct implications for reducing…

The British experience with nationwide research quality assessment exercises and newly-introduced measures to improve research program accountability is described. Consequences for institutions of higher education and for the system as a whole are examined, using the University of Glasgow (Scotland) as an example. Utility of performance indicators…

A study compared the accuracy of first-year college students' self-reported information about financial aid awards with actual data on the types and amounts of the awards. Students' reports of specific aid awards and amounts were often inaccurate, suggesting aid administrators could come to different conclusions when relying on different sources.…

The large number of middle-aged professors will soon cost significantly more to the university than an even distribution of ages. To respond to resulting problems of decreasing academic flexibility and increasing costs, universities will have to choose between retrenchment and creating attractive faculty career alternatives. (Author/MSE)

A study using discriminant analysis to correct bias in predicting faculty rank is reported. Findings concerning the relationship of prediction error and gender and suggestions for use of the results to study salary-bias problems are also discussed. (Author/MSE)

The relationships between job satisfaction and aspects of life at work and away from work were studied in 112 faculty members. Unlike the general population, academics appeared to experience a high degree of spillover between work and life away from work. (Author/MSE)

The origins of institutional research and its association with a planning function are reviewed. The role of values, politics, and social pressures in regard to the planning function are examined. Planning is likely to be more directed to attaining administrative and faculty aspirations than to meeting educational and social needs. (Author/MLW)

Methodology and results of a study of administrative costs and structures at Iowa State University are summarized. Indicators of administrative efficiency are examined, including those related to organization, costs, salaries, and intensity of administrative functions. Some comparisons with peer institutions or to other units within the same…

A survey of National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC) members found that, although many purported to be assessing undergraduate student outcomes, most had only recently begun and could not identify specific improvements resulting. However, most found the association's statement of principles on outcomes…

The role of institutional budgeting strategies in promoting institutional change is examined, looking specifically at two budget components (general-purpose lump sums and earmarked funds). Experiences of the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) with internal competition for reduced funds as a means for stimulating change are discussed. (MSE)

Methods used to measure college faculty salary compression (i.e., the extent to which new faculty salaries are approaching those of existing faculty at the same or higher rank) are presented. Administrator methods of addressing the issue of salary compression are also discussed, based on a survey of 10 college provosts. (Author/MSE)

A study classified 90 full-time tenure-track faculty in 1 university into 5 discrete types based on teaching, research, and service. Types include all-stars, teachers and good citizens, researchers, teachers, and uninvolved. This mix of types is seen as resulting from past administrative decisions and helps shape future decisions. (Author/MSE)

A study examined the extent to which social and academic integration and student educational objectives were predictive of persistence for 1,142 community college students. Student educational objectives discriminated most powerfully between persisters and nonpersisters. Academic and social integration and employment status were also significant…

Ways to improve data comparability among national college faculty surveys are discussed. The surveys and some of their attributes are identified. Faculty sizes are estimated and weights for faculty in selected disciplines and institutions calculated. Weights were designed specifically for surveys conducted in 1969, 1975, 1980, and 1988.…

Comparison of 825 first-generation college students and 1,860 traditional college students in 23 diverse institutions after completion of 1 year found first-generation students differed from others in both entering characteristics and college experiences. Although traditional students made greater net gains in reading, the groups gained similarly…