An optional summer explorientation program for new students at York College, Pennsylvania, is described, and a literature review and York College survey results are presented. The program is designed to orient students to campus life and provide exposure to campus facilities, faculty, administration, and other students. The literature suggests…

A model for projecting the flow of faculty as a result of various decisions related to tenture is presented. This model uses the proposition that future tenure proportions are determined by additions and departures from the tenured and untenured faculties. Its most basic assumption is that the rates of these additions and departures will remain…

Evaluative principles and organizational guidelines that large business organizations have found to be successful may be helpful in the organizational evaluation and possible adaptation of statewide systems of coordination in postsecondary education. (Author/PG)

The high school principal's impact on classroom learning activities is examined in this research report. The study, conducted in four Houston high schools, applied the model described in "CCBC Notebook," February 1980. This report offers a portion of the overall research, providing a summary of the patterns identified. The first segment…

This study seeks to determine whether variance in teaching effectiveness of faculty at a traditionally black college, as assessed by students, can be attributed to particular attitudes, experiences, and teaching behaviors of the faculty. A theoretical model derived from symbolic interaction theory is tested by path analysis. Data to test the model…

Presented is a budgetary decision model developed to aid the executive officers in arriving at tentative decisions on enrollment, tuition rates, increased compensation, and level of staffing as they affect the total institutional budget. The model utilizes a desk-top programmable calculator (in this case, a Burroughs Model C 3660). The model…

This paper describes an emerging model for a comprehensive staff and organizational development program as a continuous and integral activity of the college, and discusses the role of the office of institutional research in such programs. A comprehensive program includes instructional development (instructional evaluation, diagnosis,…

The complex and sensitive question of how to introduce new ideas and approaches into postsecondary education in ways that will facilitate their consideration and implementation is discussed. Assessment and the processes of change; changes in federal, state, institutional, and individual roles; and change models are described. (MLW)

The implications for researchers and administrators are considered if the organizational environment is interpreted as "enacted." Objective and enacted environments are differentiated and the ways are suggested for how administrators might identify what they need to do and how they do it, given the socially constructed organization in which they…

In the context of decision support systems (DSS) use, four perspectives on evaluating decisions (consensual, political, empirical, and rational) and four models of organizational effectiveness (human relations, open system, internal process, and rational goal) are examined for their implications for DSS implementation and evaluation. (MSE)

Institutional research is a practicing art, whose merits lie in its relevance to and influence on decision and policy making. A more positive attitude toward theory-related research would enhance its future development. (Author/MLW)

This study examined the impact of institutional culture on the change process within colleges and universities. It used an ethnographic approach and two tiered cultural frameworks to investigate comprehensive change at six institutions. The conceptual frameworks of culture used were Berquist's theory of institutional archetypes of culture and…

This study develops a framework for transformational change in institutions of higher education that is both theoretically and empirically grounded and is context based. It reports on six ethnographic case studies of six institutions over a four year period. The six institutions in the study and their change initiatives included one research…

Recent literature on academic program review or evaluation is reviewed, including case study reports of ways in which systematic reviews of programs have been designed and carried out at selected colleges. Attention is given to procedures that have been used or suggested for collecting information. (MLW)

What transpires when an institution of higher education is the defendant in a class action suit charging prejudicial treatment of a minority group is summarized. A demonstration of how the plaintiffs can use the institution's own data to establish a prima facie case for disparate treatment is presented. (Author/MLW)