The idea that universities can be viewed as a generic form of professional organization is critically examined. Through study of six Brazilian universities, a framework applicable to other countries is developed. The concept of configuration illustrates university forms differing from traditional professional bureaucracy and shows their…

The influence of attending a women's college on early career attainments was assessed through a national sample of college students. When controlled for individual background and aspirations and for college selectivity and size, the net impact of attending a women's college on five measures of attainment was reduced to nonsignificance. (Author/MSE)

A study examined the social integration aspects of Tinto's model and conceptions of college student "rites of passage" through interviews with 25 freshmen. Findings generally support the model's propositions but indicate that postmatriculation experiences external to the institution are more important to social integration than the model suggests.…

A set of variables termed "bicultural adaptive strategies" was formulated and tested for predicting Black students' (n=171) levels of adjustment to a predominantly White university. Findings suggest that the incorporation of variables reflecting Black cultural frame of reference is fruitful in studying Black student adjustment and retention.…

More than other institutions, the university is expected to be responsive to an increasingly diverse and specialized society. The modern, liberal university can respond to these challenges by adopting a combination of weak professionalism and strong pluralism, as embodied in the University of Iowa's Program on the Rhetoric of Inquiry. (MSE)

Survey data are presented on major state policies affecting private higher education, addressing state spending on undergraduate student aid grants, state funding (besides student aid) to private colleges/universities, state policies toward tuition in public higher education, and involvement of the private sector in state planning. States are…

Analysis of a national survey (72 responses) and selected interviews of state departments of education (SDEs), found that SDEs play significant and increasing roles in fostering school/college collaborations, especially in the early years of a collaboration. Other findings indicated higher education is seen as playing a limited role in initiating…

This article offers a model of college student integration that emphasizes how students shape their college experiences by pursuing specific life tasks over others. A study of 311 first-year college students found that school persisters tended to focus more on academics during their first semester and social and personal needs during their second…

Advisors (n=596) of doctoral students at a large research university were surveyed about their perceptions of the characteristics, content, and purpose of the doctoral dissertation. Respondents indicated that the dissertation continues to play an essential role in doctoral education, although notable field-related differences were found in…

A survey of 314 male and female faculty in criminology and sociology found that faculty women are more likely than men to leave academic positions, and women who interrupt careers commonly do so for a job-seeking spouse. Women experience significant losses in tenure and earnings as a result of career disruptions. (MSE)

A study examined the relationship between student evaluations of teaching effectiveness, age of faculty, and timing of retirement among tenured faculty. Results suggest a significant but small impact of age, varying by discipline. Uncapping of mandatory retirement appears to raise no major concerns for dramatic deterioration in teaching…

A study examined student satisfactions and reports of their college academic experiences as outcomes of higher education, based on institutional data and data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Data were analyzed in terms of college characteristics, academic discipline, educational attainment, and student…

A study analyzed validity and reliability of grades and credits earned by college students in five departments, as indicators of student learning. Results indicate positive, strong correlation between faculty-assigned grades and student performance on external criterion measures. Validity of credits was not as clear. Strong and consistent evidence…

A comparative case study of 32 institutions of higher education indicated that 75 percent of newly appointed presidents, but only 25 percent of presidents with longer terms of office, enjoyed full faculty support. The tenure trajectories of exemplary, modal, and failed presidents are described, and presidents are encouraged to remain enthusiastic…

The history of Spelman Seminary (Georgia) for African-American females is reviewed as an example of education as an instrument of socialization for southern women to their prescribed roles. The discussion covers the missionary role, Georgia in the 1880s, the institutional mission, school founding, debate over classical versus industrial roles of…