Active learning tools are critical in imparting real world experiences to the students within a classroom environment. This is important because graduates are expected to develop software that meets rigorous quality standards in functional and application domains with little to no training. However, there is a well-recognized need for the…

At state and institutional levels, leaders are discussing and enacting policy changes that could shape the future of higher education for decades-especially public higher education. But when citizens talk about the mission of higher education today, their conversations are different from those of policymakers. How do their values and concerns…

As important as cognitive outcomes are in assessing the educational merits of honors programs, the authors ask whether honors programs affect the values and social attitudes of their students differently than other students: in particular, whether honors students are more or less tolerant than other students and, if so, in what ways and why. There…

This project gathered information on the important components and features of distance education courseware identified by faculty teaching in the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance. Respondents indicated that they were most interested in features that helped with course management, allowed them to update and post course materials…

In this report, the authors describe results of a nationwide census of institutional repositories in U.S. academic institutions. The census is one of several activities of the MIRACLE Project, an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded research program based at the University of Michigan. The acronym MIRACLE means "Making…

The knowledge of and attitudes toward genetics of allopathic and osteopathic physicians of the Mid-Michigan area was studied. The type of degrees made no difference with respect to physicians' knowledge of genetics, while their specialties and years of graduation from medical school had a significant impact on their performances. (Author/MLW)

A study examined attitudes that discourage students from competing in rhetorical criticism forensic events. Subjects, 31 students at the Michigan Intercollegiate Speech Association state championship, completed a questionnaire. Results indicated that: (1) only 1 of the 11 subjects who had experience in competitive rhetorical criticism chose to…

This study surveyed the extent of Special Educational Opportunity Programs (SEOP) for disadvantaged students among higher education institutions in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, in an initial attempt to establish baseline data on the nature and range of SEOP activities. From the results of a questionnaire administered to both…

The results of a Michigan survey show that a wide range of salary, staffing, and support conditions exist in various school financial aid offices within the state. The data can be used as a backdrop against which individual campus aid administrators can assess the strengths and weaknesses of their own operations. (Author/LBH)

The State of Michigan Student Aid Agency and an advisory committee of practicing campus aid administrators developed a questionnaire to identify the current level of program awareness and perceived needs for further training that exist in Michigan campus aid communities. The questionnaire and an analysis of the survey are presented. (MLW)

WORK PRESSURES AMONG UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS INVOLVING QUANTITATIVE OVERLOAD AND QUALITATIVE OVERLOAD WERE STUDIED. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE STUDY INVESTIGATED (1) THE EFFECTS OF OVERLOAD AND WORKLOAD ON JOB SATISFACTION, TENSION, AND SELF-ESTEEM, (2) THE EFFECTS OF THESE STATES ON CERTAIN INDICATORS OF HEALTH, AND (3) HOW THESE EFFECTS VARY WITH…

In partial replication of a 1989 Ohio study, job satisfaction questionnaires were distributed in 1994 to support staff in 13 Michigan state academic libraries. Results indicated that, although staff are satisfied with supervision, coworkers, and benefits, there is dissatisfaction with opportunities for promotion, pay, and contingent rewards. These…

The "Access to Democracy" project has two broad goals. It is an effort to understand community beliefs, attitudes and conditions that shape educational outcomes for community youth, and it is a way to focus community discussions on efforts that support higher educational attainment for residents. This report focuses on the lessons…

In response to state legislation calling for a comprehensive report on the transferability of vocational courses from high school to community colleges and four-year institutions, questionnaires were sent to all of Michigan's 29 community colleges and 15 universities. The survey sent to universities focused on the extent to which a college…