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This study examined second-term and second-year retention of freshmen (n=6,054) and nonfreshman transfer students (n=2,733) from DePaul University, a large, urban, private institution. The predictor variables included both achievement and noncognitive measures collected at DePaul and on the ACT Assessment. Two questions formed the basis for this research: Do variables that predict retention for freshmen (transfer and first time) maintain their validity for predicting retention for nonfreshman transfer students? Do the noncognitive data collected on the ACT Assessment enhance the institution's ability to predict retention? To identify variables that predict second-term and second-year retention, logistic regression models were developed separately for freshmen and nonfreshman transfer students. The results supported the use of both institutional and ACT Assessment achievement and noncognitive measures to predict retention. Moreover, variables that predicted retention for freshmen generally predicted retention for transfer students. An appendix is included. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

Conducting institutional research on a complex issue such as retention provides the opportunity to use the method of comparative analysis through which numerous independent comparisons can provide the institution with a more complete picture of an issue. Researchers have done different types of comparative analysis at one university over the last several years, including analyses that were: (1) internal; (2) external; (3) entry/intent comparisons; and (4) demographic comparisons. Each of these comparisons provides a unique perspective on the retention and success of students at the institution, along with unique challenges and problems. The paper discusses these perspectives and challenges as they have limited the effectiveness of the analyses. Such comparative analyses are simple, can be done repeatedly, and can draw on existing groups, but they are limited in that they do not help understand student attrition and are sometimes limited by group size. (Contains 8 figures and 25 references.) (Author/SLD)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a variety of academic intervention programs designed to improve the success of "at risk" students at one university. Most programs were designed to either help students in a particular course (such as calculus or chemistry) or in a particular major. The performance benchmark used to assess program effectiveness was Spring 1997 semester grade point average in comparison with predicted grades based on a linear regression statistical model. Analysis indicated that the 13 academic intervention programs were generally effective in improving student performance as measured by the Spring semester GPA. Among four programs which appeared to be particularly effective were a program for forestry students and a program for students taking chemistry. Two programs, one for African-American students and one for at-risk biology majors, appeared to have a slight detrimental effect on spring grades. Further analysis suggested that the positive results for the effectiveness of the intervention programs seemed to be driven largely by the results for those students who participated in more than one program. (Contains 18 references.) (DB)

This paper examines the many facets of administrative information management on the college or university campus. It is argued that, depending on the situation, an effective information manager can adopt the outlook of an architect/designer, data administrator, editor, analyst, reporter, planner, broker, collaborator, interpreter, or marketer. These roles are discussed in the context of an information management model that begins with the campus office or department that supplies the raw data and moves from data base development and administration to the production of analyses and subsequent presentation of these analyses to the customer (the president, deans, committees, governing board, or legislature) who ultimately uses the information in implementing a policy or strategic decision. This model is discussed in relation to Sheehan's (1977) Three-Hat Theory (which focuses on the roles of decision maker, intermediary, and technician), and extends his theory by positing numerous personae who are integral to effective institutional research. One of these many faces--the evaluator--transcends Sheehan's three hats and suggests a further linkage with the Plan-Do-Check-Act sequence as detailed by McLaughlin and Snyder (1993). (Contains 18 references.) (MDM)

Most research on success in first-semester retention of college freshmen has looked either at performance in specific courses or at performance in a given course across all colleges. In the fall of 1997, Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) implemented a new academic eligibility policy, which defined success as earning an average grade of C or better. This report presents results from the second stage of a study that extended previous research by examining additional high school data, such as the number of courses in a specific area of study and grade point average in those courses, and results from the preceding year's freshman class. The study examined the value of detailed high school information, the effects of advising, and the relationship between actual performance and overall difficulty of students' schedules. The results indicate that performance prediction can be improved by using detailed high school information; that prediction of performance needs to be supported by operational processes; and fully understanding the outcome of the advising system depends on recording its results. (Contains 13 references.) (CH)

This paper describes a methodology for helping institutional research assess its roles and its effectiveness in supporting decision-making at all institutional levels. The paper discusses how to meet this goal by planning, doing, checking, and acting. Planning requires the understanding of the roles of the data custodian, the broker, and the information user. Doing involves performing these roles through five sequential steps. Checking requires understanding and overcoming barriers to effectiveness. Acting involves using strategies to integrate and interpret information in order to enhance its value to the institution. Individual sections of the paper define the term institutional research, establish the framework of the model, and discuss management of the various institutional research functions. Recommendations and suggestions for overcoming barriers are discussed. A table listing barriers to effective institutional research is appended. (Contains 15 references.) (CH)

This paper discusses the role of institutional researchers in changing attitudes within institutions of higher education on the importance of efforts to improve student retention. It describes activities undertaken at Virginia Tech to determine why students voluntarily withdraw from the university in the context of changing attitudes within the university. Kubler-Ross's five stages on death and dying are used as a model for attitude change at the institutional level. The five stages are: denial, hostility, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Suggestions are made concerning how to assist the institution in moving through the five stages from denial to acceptance. These principles are illustrated with summaries of three studies at Virginia Tech: (1) a pilot study to obtain basic information on withdrawing students; (2) follow-up surveys of students who left after one year or less; and (3) a program of 18 specific projects to foster student success. Several challenges for institutional research are identified, including the role played in persuading individuals and stakeholders that student retention should be viewed as a strategic activity. Appendices provide additional detail on the surveys conducted at Virginia Tech and on the student success projects. (Contains 26 references.) (LEE)

Considerations in conducting a study of salary equity for administrative faculty are addressed. The focus is whether there is a systematic difference in salary of administrative faculty based on race, sex, or age after all legitimate factors are removed. After defining the study population, attention is directed to the study model and research variables and measures. The analysis involved 254 full-time, permanent faculty, excluding college deans, athletics faculty, extension agents, and those with a rank of vice-president or higher. The multi-stage, single equation regression model is explained. The hierarchical position of each administrative faculty position was ranked, as were the supervisory responsibility and budgetary authority of each position. Additional study variables included the regional market value of each position, the individual's highest degree, the number of years in the position, professional experience, and individual performance in the position. Using these variables, the university-wide model explained 77 percent of the variance in salaries. Value issues that arise regarding salary equity studies are identified, and the importance of gaining support of high-level administrators for conducting such studies is emphasized. (Contains 15 references.) (SW)

This paper describes the application of a Total Quality Management strategy called Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) to the projects and activities of an institutional research office at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. PDCA is a cycle designed to facilitate incremental continual improvement through change. The specific steps are defined as follows: (1) plan an event, including establishing the measures of success or quality as well as determining the process to be followed; (2) do the event on a small stage; (3) check the effects of the event; and (4) act on what is learned. This approach is applied at three levels, the office or strategic level, the project or management level, and the activity or operating level. For each stage of the cycle the application at each level of the office is detailed. A conclusion notes that applying the PDCA cycle has allowed the inistitutional research office staff to improve skills in relevant ways and to improve the office products. The approach is action oriented and has served to bring the office and its customers together and to anticipate the future. Included are 14 references. (JB)

The Information Exchange Procedures (IEP), which were developed through a project sponsored by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, are briefly described, and the application of the IEP in Virginia is examined. The IEP were designed to enhance the institution's ability to identify alternatives in the allocation of resources and related management functions. The procedures for IEP consist of merging three categories of data: course enrollments, faculty activities, and financial expenditures. In the mid-1970s Virginia adopted the IEP costing procedures (with some modifications) to provide information on modified direct cost. A study was conducted to evaluate the stability and consistency of IEP unit costs and productivity ratios for two major research universities for 1978-1979 and 1980-1981. It was assumed that figures for comparable activities at similar universities would have consistency and similarity over time. Two indices were obtained: direct cost per student credit hour and student credit hours generated per full-time equivalent faculty position. The assumption of comparability was found to be less valid than stability over time, since errors over institutions were larger than errors over time. This finding casts doubt on the reliability of comparing IEP indices across research universities. (SW)

The way that department heads interpret the effort required by college faculty to teach classes was studied with a national sample of 491 department heads in 25 major U.S. universities. Based on the responses of department heads, a model was developed to relate the effort required to teach a class to the level, size, instructional mode, and discipline of the class. As a validation measure, the model was applied to faculty responses to a typical faculty activity form. The relationship of effort to the variables was investigated by developing linear models. All of the variables were found to make a difference in the amount of effort required to teach a class. In the perceptions of the department heads, as enrollment increases, effort increases but at a decreasing rate. Additionally, as the anticipated effort to teach a class or a group of classes increases, the time spent increases but at a decreasing rate. The relative time spent on a class by an individual with more than one class is proportional to the relative effort to teach the class. It is argued that evaluation of faculty resources should be based on effort required rather than on time devoted to given tasks. (SW)

A theoretical taxonomy of student outcomes based on the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems' (NCHEMS) structure was investigated using survey responses from 1,833 alumni of a comprehensive state university. The alumni spanned 45 class years and four major curricular types: applied science, business, engineering, and qualitative studies. Alumni were asked to comment on 16 possible educational outcomes extracted from the writings of Oscar Lenning and Howard Bowen. The loadings of the 16 outcomes were subjected to a varimax rotation. The following six factors were retained that supported the work by NCHEMS: personal growth, job skills, cultural awareness, general knowledge, academic skills, and human relations skills. The findings tend to track the taxonomy proposed by Lenning except for the splitting of his category of the social/cultural/personal area into the three dimensions of personal growth, cultural awareness, and human relations. The findings do not support Lenning's more refined four-digit taxonomy that has five dimensions and groups items into two-digit subcategories within each dimension (a procedure similar to the structure of the Higher Education General Information Survey). It was found that outcomes of the university have changed in a smooth continuous fashion over the 40 years. Additionally, different curricula have produced different outcomes, a finding that adds some support to the viewpoint that certain types of people self-select into specific career fields. (SW)

The implementation and results of the Virginia Student Transition Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Tech) are described. The objective of the 5-week summer program is to facilitate the enrollment and retention of black college students with slightly lower than average aptitude scores through the development of academic and personal skills. During the 1983 summer program at Tech, 42 students were enrolled, and the 1984 program enrolled 52 students. Selection criteria included Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, high school rank, family economic condition, and high school grade point average. Program objectives were to: (1) develop increased knowledge in English, mathematics, biology or chemistry, writing, and reading; (2) develop skills in interpersonal interactions with peers, faculty, and administrators; (3) develop self-confidence and self-awareness; (4) gain knowledge of the complex university structure, its rules, regulations, and policies; and (5) learn successful study methods and time management. The selection of faculty and staff, credit, stipends, opening and closing ceremonies, and program evaluation are briefly discussed. Data on participant responses to attitude surveys administered before and after the summer program are included. (SW)

Changes in the academic and social self-concept and the civic and business orientations of students who attended different types of institutions were studied longitudinally. Data were obtained from a Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey of 4,621 freshmen entering college in 1971 and a followup of those students graduating in 1980. Based on multivariate analysis of covariance, including separate analyses for males and females, it was found that different types of institutions have a differential effect on the developmental patterns of college graduates, and males more than females were affected by the type of postsecondary institution. Analyses suggest that male graduates of major research universities exhibit less growth in terms of academic and social self-concept and community orientation than their peers at the four other types of postsecondary institutions, while female graduates of comprehensive colleges and universities and general liberal arts colleges exhibit less growth in business orientation than those attending other types of postsecondary institutions. Descriptions are included of the five types of postsecondary institutions: doctoral-granting universities, major research universities, comprehensive colleges/universities, selective liberal arts colleges, and general liberal arts colleges. (SW)

The effect of administrative service responsibilities of chemistry department chairs on their scholarly careers as scientists was studied. The relationship between selected personal and work environment characteristics and productivity was compared for department chairs and their full-time faculty peers. A total of 67 chemists who had served as chairs of departments between 1966 and 1973 but who had not served in this capacity for a 6-year period preceding and following were studied. Each was compared with a peer with the same academic rank and specialty area, in the same academic department. Four publication productivity measures were assessed: single-authored, senior-authored, junior-authored, and total publications. The number of Ph.D. students sponsored (i.e., graduated) was also assessed as a productivity measure. Five measures of personal and work environment characteristics were obtained for all 134 chemists. Regression analysis indicated few differences between the two groups, except during the chair interval, during which reduced publication productivity occurred. The productivity of department chairs on all four publication measures was related to department size. (SW)

The potential use of High School Faculty Ratings for admission purposes is investigated. The ratings include the evaluations of a candidate on 10 traits and three overall characteristics. The rating forms are given to a mathematics, English, and physical education teacher, a counselor or high school principal, and one other faculty member by the applicant, prior to his evaluation by USMA admissions officers. The sample of applicants studied included 697 candidates to the Class of 1972, 542 of whom were admitted. The 10 traits were combined into four for each of the five raters by factor analysis. Integer weights for raters were developed for each trait and then for the combined traits to best predict Fourth Class Aptitude for the Service and Fourth Class Grade Point Average. It was found that combinations of the ratings had significant validity for predicting both Fourth Class ASR and GPA. This was especially true with ASR for the group of cadets having ratings from at least a mathematics teacher, an English teacher, and a physical education teacher or coach. (Author/LBH)

Concerns about published comparisons of colleges and universities are organized into a framework to guide further research. A systematic method for addressing specific issues about the guides is presented, and the environment in which the guides are used is examined. Research needed to assure that the guides make a valued contribution and are fair to various stakeholders is noted. (MSE)