In 1989, John S. and James L. Knight established the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. Although it has no regulatory authority or oversight responsibilities, the Knight Commission's periodic reports are widely read and taken into account by decision-making bodies. Beginning in 1991, the Knight Commission called for greater faculty…

This report presents findings from a study conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) on how well prepared today's community colleges are in moving toward the greater use of data and research to improve student success. Data for the study were drawn from two major sources: first, an e-mail survey of college administrators…

The theme of the 2001 annual conference of the Northeast Association for Institutional Research was Institutional Research: Leadership through Excellence. These proceedings represent the intellectual content and insights shared during the conference. The papers are: (1) The Rocky Road to Graduation: An Academic Career Flow Model for Tracking…

In order to ease the academic and social transition, to forge a solid foundation for the rest of the academic career, and to increase the likelihood that students will persist through the second year and beyond, curricula and cocurricular programs are designed to meet the needs of first-year students and facilitate learning and development.…

A study of applicants to the University of Illinois, Chicago, pharmacy school investigated 21 students' subjective motivations for seeking a professional degree. Students were identified as low or high academic performance and as exhibiting clinical, family, science, undecided, traditional community, and altruistic orientations. Implications of…

This report emphasizes the importance of two types of assessment: (1) authentic assessment, which encompasses a holistic or comprehensive view of student performance, and (2) assessment of institutional effectiveness, or outcomes assessment, which is a process of measuring how effectively a college executes its stated mission. While Hudson County…

Five studies were conducted to complement and supplement existing accreditation studies for Johnson County Community College (JCCC): (1) "Community Satisfaction with JCCC Programs and Services," (2) "Continuing Education Student Profile," (3) "JCCC Student Success at Four-Year Transfer Institutions," (4)…

A follow-up study of former architectural technology (ATE) students at Harper College was conducted to evaluate the program and to provide planning data. Students who had enrolled in three or more ATE courses between 1974 and spring 1977 provided a target population of 190 students to whom the survey instrument was mailed. After non-respondents…

The "Institutional Research Bulletin" is a collection of research summaries relating to Kapi'olani Community College (KCC) in Hawaii. Highlights from the 1998 volume (February-December) include: (1) spring 1998 enrollment summary, grouped by demographics and major; (2) patterns of complete withdrawal, 1997-98; (3) repetition and…

This study evaluated the European Community Course Credit Transfer System (ECTS), an experimental pilot project designed to evaluate possibilities of credit transfer within the European Community as a means of academic recognition. The ECTS program furthers student mobility within the Community by encouraging students to undertake a substantial…

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…

A study was conducted to measure the student outcomes of academic (university transfer) programs and identify the factors related to those outcomes. Six British Columbia (Canada) community colleges participated in the study by surveying 5,770 of their former students. The survey measured four student outcomes, and the analysis tested several…

Surveys were mailed to the 257 students who had enrolled in the first of the core courses in the architecture transfer program (ARC) at Harper College between 1969 and 1978. Of the target population, 18% had stopped at this point; 22% had enrolled in two ARC courses; 20% had enrolled in three ARC courses; 21% had met minimum requirements by taking…

A survey of 1,793 students at nine state universities found cheating was influenced by a number of characteristics of individuals, including age, sex, and grade point average, and contextual factors, including level of cheating among peers, peer disapproval of cheating, fraternity/sorority membership, and perceived severity of penalties for…

This study of fall 1973 entering freshmen (4,544) at San Jose City College (SJCC), duplicating and expanding on a previous study, was conducted to determine whether the college successfully prepares students for the job market or for transfer to four-year institutions. Data on a random sample of 450 students (221 day, 229 evening) were obtained…