Concern over student opinion questionnaires expressing widespread dissatisfaction with the basic science curriculum of the University of Texas Medical Branch prompted efforts to improve the curriculum. With the help of the University's Office of Research in Medical Education, improvements were made that increased student satisfaction and improved…

Analysis of data from two national longitudinal studies focused on college application behaviors of different racial ethnic groups. Results show significant group differences in preparation behaviors, in number of colleges applied to, and in attendance at first-choice institution. Institutions are urged to evaluate the potential effects of policy…

The Total Quality Management approach is used as a framework for a discussion of methodological issues related to diversity in higher education, including classification of race and ethnic information, data aggregation, and use of several key indicators (access to college, persistence, and student progress). (MSE)

This study uses iterative solution techniques to determine empirically optimal standards for student to faculty ratios by discipline and student level for a group of 11 public, research universities, all of whom were members of the Association of American Universities. One set of benchmark standards was based on four-variable solutions within…

This publication explores a general model for a comprehensive program comprising identification, recruitment, retention, and graduation of minority graduate students and includes examples of specific activities carried out by a variety of institutions in support of this model. The model and examples are based on a 1992 Council of Graduate Schools…

Principles for college outcomes assessment, as outlined in the literature, are reviewed. Drawing on the experience of the Virginia State Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) during a decade of state-mandated outcomes assessment, a number of salient issues are identified. Faculty and academic issues include these: faculty…

This study investigated apsects of state regulation of public research or doctoral universities in all states and territories of the United States. The study examined: (1) dimensions of state control and administrative flexibility, and changes occurring between 1983 and 1995; (2) the extent to which state regulation of public universities is a…

Prince George's Community College (PGCC), Maryland, utilizes a geo-demographic marketing model in which neighborhoods within the college's service area are grouped into natural socioeconomic "clusters." In an effort to track the outcomes of PGCC students 4 years after entrance and to compare outcomes by the different socioeconomic…

This paper describes the process by which Dallas County Community College District (Texas) developed and operationalized a student typology for assessing student outcomes. The purpose of the typology is to assist in identifying at risk students and increasing their chances of academic success while simultaneously allowing for the diversity of…

In an effort to determine the methods used to assess and document student achievement at two-year colleges within the Mid-Plains Technical Community College Area (MPTCCA) in Nebraska and to develop an effective assessment model for use within the MPTCCA, surveys were sent to 79 chief executive officers representing all public, two-year, technical…

In 1989, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges received a grant from the Ford Foundation to assist community colleges in defining their transfer rates and collecting data to support those definitions. The Center invited 240 community colleges with at least a 20% minority enrollment to participate in a Transfer Assembly. Interested…

This book presents a comprehensive model of how institutions adapt to improve the environments they provide African American, Hispanic, and American Indian students without relinquishing historical standards. The model is based on the experiences of ten institutions that have graduated higher numbers of minority students as compared to their…

A socioeconomic status (SES) variable was developed and tested as a way to help identify high risk college students at the Community College of Philadelphia. Each city zip code was placed into either the lower, middle, or upper category, and students were assigned a SES measure based on their resident zip code. Using city-wide census data, the…

New challenges facing the institutional research profession are covered in these 1986 conference proceedings of the North East Association for Institutional Research. Paper titles and authors include: "Institutional Research at Mercer County Community College: The Changing Role in the Eighties" (F. L. Edwards); "Course Placement and Academic…

This final report of the Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning (CAEL) project provides an overview of the major activities of CAEL's first three years. It includes a brief history of CAEL, a description of the developmental work, and selected important outcomes of the field research. The Operational Models Project (which involves the…