Understanding the suitability of multilevel modeling in the context of institutional research (IR) may ease the doubts of some IR professionals. However, the need for training on how to conduct and report multilevel modeling analysis remains. A major roadblock hindering the proliferation of multilevel modeling in IR is the perception that…

Research on the validity of psychosocial factors (PSFs) and other noncognitive predictors of college outcomes has largely ignored the practical benefits implied by the validity. We summarize evidence of the validity of PSF measures as predictors of college outcomes and then explain how this validity directly translates into improved identification…

The NEAIR 2010 Conference Proceedings is a compilation of papers presented at the Saratoga Springs, New York conference. Papers in this document include: (1) Collaboration Between Student Affairs and Institutional Research: A Model for the Successful Assessment of Students' College Experience (Michael N. Christakis and Joel D. Bloom); (2) Direct…

A procedure for smoothing proportions of a double-entry expectancy table is described. The product is a nomograph from which can be read expectancies from combinations of values of two predictor variables. Use of the procedure in admission of first-year college students, based on students' high school class rank and standardized test composite…

Because change is fundamental to education and the measurement of change assesses the quality and effectiveness of postsecondary education, this study examined three methods of measuring change: (1) gain scores; (2) residual scores; and (3) repeated measures. Data for the study was obtained from transcripts of 722 graduating seniors at the…

A study compared three methods for measuring college student growth and development in the course of a college education: (1) gain scores; (2) residual scores; and (3) repeated measures. Analyses indicated that all three are seriously flawed, although repeated measures offer the greatest potential for adequately representing student change.…

A model of student persistence that considers the role of student finances and student financial aid was investigated in 1980, with a focus on federal campus-based aid. Linear Structural Relations (LISREL), a more versatile technique than traditional path analysis, accounted for 42 percent of the variance in the persistence of 343 new freshmen…

Data from the College Entrance Examination Board's Comparative Guidance and Placement (CGP) Program were used in these two studies of students at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC). In the first study, 1971 fall quarter performance in specific courses and in all courses was compared to CGP performance. The conclusions indicate that: (1) CGP…

Relationships among variables that may predict medical school graduates who will be licensed, will practice primary care medicine, and will select Ohio and southwestern Ohio as the location of their practice were evaluated with the 1980 initial graduating class of the Wright State University School of Medicine, Ohio. The following statistical…

In response to the increasing importance of student performance in required classes, research was conducted to compare two prediction procedures, linear modeling using multiple regression and nonlinear modeling using AID3. Performance in the first college math course (College Mathematics, Calculus, or Business Calculus Matrices) was the dependent…

Traditional predictor variables of SAT scores and high school grades seldom account for more than 16 percent of the variance in student performance in college and graduate school, and they account for even less in decisions of students to leave school. Three studies are presented that added nonintellective variables to the traditional combination…

Cumulative grade-point averages (GPAs) of all two- and four-year public and private college transfers who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the academic year 1974-75 were compared with those of native students after controlling for academic aptitude through a multivariate analysis of covariance procedure. No…

Tinto's retention model provided the theoretical framework for the design of a comprehensive student-retention study at an urban, public 4-year college. The study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to obtain a broad understanding of the many salient factors that contribute to student persistence over a 4-year period. Institutional data…

This paper briefly reviews the literature on the common factors in effective college student retention programs, then presents a study assessing the impact of the institution's mission effectiveness as distinct from other determinants of student retention. The assessment of retention predictors and the effects of the school's mission were…

The purpose of the investigation was to examine the longitudinal trends in graduate course grades, controlling for selected academic and personal characteristics of students. Stepwise multiple regression was used to analyze 138 separate courses. The study population consisted of 7,002 graduate students who had attempted 25 or more quarter hours as…