A social analysis of policy discourse on undergraduate education, through four reform reports, suggests that the ideas embedded in the reports are framed by the conception of the elite liberal arts college as the collegiate ideal, and value and advantage some social groups more than others. (Author/MSE)

A longitudinal study of 2100 high school students indicates a "window of opportunity" opens for individuals entering higher education immediately after high school. Students delaying college entry are less likely to attain a bachelor's degree. The finding is critical for students without characteristics to mediate the disadvantage of stopping out.…

Problems generated by higher education institutional efforts to constrain faculty's instructional autonomy are evaluated. Given traditional administrative noninvolvement, such efforts can offend faculty expectations, leading to claims against the institution stemming from poor evaluations. Academic freedom values are examined as a heuristic for…

A study developed and tested a model that examines the relative powers of support and work stress indicators in explaining faculty research productivity. Empirical examination indicates the model is most influential in physics, least in education, and that different indicators are significant in determining publication in hard and soft sciences.…

Theories of intergroup attitudes suggest that the period of relative calm on college campuses was only superficial. Theories are supported by a study of a "quiet" predominantly White liberal arts college. Findings indicate significant differences between Blacks and Whites on a variety of measures of interracial attitudes and interaction patterns.…

Analyzing supply and demand side evidence since the 1970s, this study concludes that the increased presence of women in the academic profession has been most marked in fields abandoned and off-track positions historically avoided by academic men, which has profoundly affected the nature of the academy itself. (Author)

This study identifies four patterns of how college presidents (N=32) interpret their own leadership roles and defines them in terms of a president's target of attention, mode of action, and relatedness to college life. It concludes that the presidency is not a singular, objective event but a subjective construction that may be experienced in…

By historical precedent and state legislation, community colleges are and will continue to be open-door colleges. They are properly viewed as the means of providing educational opportunity for all, including the low achiever. The open-door policy, however, will be valid only if students can achieve their goals. Their success will determine whether…

A study of two colleges examined how the president's communicative behavior affects organizational life, viewed from a social constructivist perspective. It is concluded that the president can inadvertently create hard times even in good financial circumstances and abate them during serious financial decline. (Author/MSE)

An approach to college faculty development applies fundamental principles of writing to improvement of the writing of college faculty. A series of rules for writing are presented in six categories: motivation; imagination; fluency; control; audience; and resilience. The rules focus more on efficiencies and economies of writing than content or…

A study of the validity of student ratings of college faculty focused on the relationship of student outcomes to faculty ratings. Subjects were students of 36 full-time instructors; outcome measures included subject matter knowledge, student self-ratings, and measures of short- and long-term motivation (interest in the subject matter). Results…

Survey data from 1,069 students in a small private college were used to assess why students offer comments or raise questions in class. Results indicate that class traits and student traits explained the most variance; neither professors' gender nor professors' interpersonal style played a central role in class participation. (Author/MSE)

The meaning and dimensions of the construct of scholarship are explored, using a four-function paradigm as an analytic framework for deducing four basic categories of scholarship (teaching, service, research and graduate training, academic citizenship). The paradigm helps explain the nature and functions of college faculty work. Comparisons are…

Drawing on national and longitudinal survey data, a study of 3,249 students from coeducational colleges and 387 from women-only colleges found that women-only colleges had a positive impact on academic ability and social self-confidence. Students did not differ by school type in preparation for graduate or professional schools, but coed students…

In an effort to recruit and retain Hispanic students in higher education, some policymakers are advocating a program using Hispanic faculty as role models. It is argued that, as currently conceived, such programs cannot be successful, and that the ideological and structural factors in academe that relegate Hispanic faculty to second-class status…