This study was conducted using cluster analysis as well as discriminant analysis to empirically identify types of faculty based on their patterns of performance of scholarship reflective of one or more of Boyer's four domains of scholarship. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

In this article, I assert that the work of colleges and universities forms a social action system. I array the critical positions represented in this issue according to the four functional imperatives of social action systems: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and pattern maintenance. I discuss the role of normative structures for these…

If one understands the normative structure of a given peer group, one can begin to understand the type of influence that group has on the behavior of its members. Despite the centrality of norms to understanding student peer groups, little or no research has focused on the empirical delineation of normative structures of college students. Thus,…

Examined the influence of faculty active-learning practices on student departure decisions in the context of Tinto's Theory of College Student Departure. Path analysis results of three surveys of 718 first-time, full-time, first-year students at a highly selective private research university found that active learning exerts statistically reliable…

A study investigated the influence of academic discipline (biology, mathematics, psychology, history), gender, age, highest degree earned, and administrative experience on the espousal of community college teaching norms held by 265 community college faculty. Results indicate gender, discipline, and professional experience exert statistically…

A study asked college faculty (n=253) to evaluate six recommendations for college instructional improvement drawn from the literature. Recommendations addressed student-teacher contact, systematic advisement, feedback on student performance, faculty knowledge of students, classroom egalitarianism and tolerance, and demonstrated concern for…

Traditional approaches to defining academic quality (reputational, resources, and outcomes or value-added) are criticized as not providing useful information. An alternative perspective is offered, focusing on fundamental course-level academic processes and defining the quality of such processes as the level of understanding of course content…

A random selection of course examinations, classified by Bloom's cognitive taxonomy, revealed a pattern of differences between the questions asked at more selective liberal arts colleges and those asked at less selective ones. A framework for describing academic rigor and standards that is based on these findings is presented. (Author/MLW)

A study investigated the relationship between undergraduate admissions selectivity at 40 research universities and academic rigor of course examination questions, as determined by the level of understanding required. Results suggest that more selective institutions do not provide more academically rigorous instruction than less selective ones.…

A survey of 138 chemistry, physics, psychology, and sociology department heads investigated the relationship between the administrator's graduate school department quality and the formality of sanctioning of colleagues for violating each of the four norms of science. The results and implications for professional socialization within disciplines…

A survey of 334 biochemists identified 5 patterns of attitudes and beliefs about taking action for scientific misconduct: (1) reputational harm, (2) sanction criteria, (3) whistleblower stigmatization, (4) professional etiquette, and (5) ideological desensitization. Influences of intraprofessional status, departmental cohesion, institutional…

A discussion of misconduct in scientific research looks at the roles of several segments of the scientific community (federal government, universities, scholarly journals, and individual scientists) in exercising control of misconduct. Limitations of their roles and overall implications for policy are examined. (MSE)