A project was undertaken in 1970-76 whose principal purpose was to study the prospects of two-way communication between an administrative authority (the office of the chancellor of the Swedish universities) and the general public (prospective students in the national plan for wider admissions). It grew out of criticism of a proposed national…

Goals of learning institutions in impairing knowledge and skills are analyzed. Role of the teacher is evaluated in relation to the articulatory goal. Teacher's productivity is considered in relation to a behavioral definition of learning. Six recommendations are made for facilitating the improvement of students' performance. (Author)

This document studies academic trends in terms of credits earned, grade-point average, and the ratio of credits earned to credits attempted. Data on which the study is based were collected for freshmen who entered in 1970 and 1971. For the 1970 freshmen, academic outcomes were described over the course of the first four semesters. For the 1971…

Data were collected about certain pre-open admissions characteristics of a College, which could serve as a basis for evaluating related post-open characteristics. The College and University Environment Scale was selected for the study, because it seemed to come closest to measuring the dimensions of college "climate" believed to be…

An alternative technique, cost-effectiveness analysis, is proposed as a more appropriate way of evaluating the Open University. A rudimentary application of the technique to the cost structure of OU indicates that it could result in a substantial reduction in OU's costs. (Author/LBH)

A key to the movement toward open access to higher education has been the growth of public community colleges, which are reexamining their priorities, resources, and missions. The need for "people's colleges" to reconcile their concern for quality with their commitment to open access is discussed. (MLW)

A study of persistence/dropout among open admissions college students found: (1) accurate predictions cannot be made for individual students at the time of matriculation; and (2) it is possible to predict that about 80 percent of future groups will fall in the persist category after two semesters, 51 percent after four semesters. (CMG)

This retrospective picture of college students over the past 30 years reflects what has been written about students in "Change" magazine between 1969 and 1999. Using the analogy of a museum gallery, the student portraits are grouped into five eras; each of which dominated the literature for approximately 10 years. The Gallery of Student Protest,…

Independent study and credit by examination leading to the baccalaureate degree may enable institutions to meet increasing costs, open enrollments, continuing education and other current challenges. (Editor/IR)

Ten specifications to serve as a framework in developing alternative instruction systems. (Editor)

With staff and faculty support, an urban community college's administration has reorganized the school's structure, turned around its negative public image, scrutinized and deemphasized its less productive courses, and revised its curriculum to more accurately serve student, community, and labor market needs. Developmental studies played a large…

A novel, liberal admissions procedure used for students over 25 at the University of New South Wales (Australia) is described and its effectiveness evaluated. Extensive interview and questionnaire data are reported on student motivation, expectation, and adjustment problems. Academic performance is shown to be consistently superior to traditional…

One faculty member's selective, subjective, and partial perceptions of counselling adult students in the Open University are offered. Consideration is given to problems of the counselee, skills, role conflicts, motivation, emotional adjustment, identity and personal development, and implications for the advisory service. (LBH)

Describes an open admissions program, a public university's nontraditional population, and their unique academic needs. Provides a political science briefing book assignment in which students research and write about one country. Claims the book is effective in helping students to organize and focus their thoughts and to improve their research and…

Describes Open Learning Australia (OLA), a national program that was developed to widen and facilitate access to undergraduate education by providing open admission. Highlights include other Australian distance education programs; services provided by OLA and those provided by participating universities; electronic support services; fees; and…