Examined divisiveness in votes for promotion and tenure in departments at a large research university. Findings suggest that the departments most likely to experience very split voting patterns are those with larger instructional loads for faculty, low levels of internal curricular specialization, and "soft" disciplinary paradigms. (EV)

Fit a statistical model to historical college enrollment data, testing whether the model could accurately predict enrollment out-of-sample, and used the results to segment admitted students into groups so that different recruitment and marketing interventions could be applied to encourage enrollment. (EV)

Analyzed self-reported experiences of undergraduates to identify characteristics associated with student engagement. Parental education and student academic preparation were positively associated with higher levels of engagement. Whites were generally less engaged, and men were more likely to be disengaged or highly engaged. Students at public and…

Compared elements of rational choice theory and integration theory on the basis of their power to explain variance in academic progress. Asserts that the concepts should be combined, and the distinction between social and academic integration abandoned. Empirical analysis showed that an extended model, comprising both integration and rational…

Examined the degree to which test scores reflect English proficiency using data on students whose native language was Spanish. They had taken the GRE, English proficiency tests, and the PAEG, a test in Spanish used for admission to graduate schools in Puerto Rico. Found that quantitative, analytical, and subject tests are more highly related to…

Developed and tested an Institutionalization Process Model which posits that regulative, normative, and cognitive institutionalization processes affect the diffusion of curricular and pedagogical reforms beyond faculty members directly involved in the effort. Data from seven engineering schools indicated varying importance of regulative,…

Examined the role of marriage, children, and aging parents on research productivity of a large national sample of college faculty. Found that factors affecting research productivity are nearly identical for men and women and that family-related variables exhibit little or no effects on productivity. (EV)

Examined the effectiveness of 4-year women-only and coeducational colleges in cultivating women students' intellectual development. Found no significant differences relative to critical thinking ability and analytical and problem-solving skills, but women-only colleges appeared to have a greater positive impact on development of intellectual…

Examined whether the use of student evaluations of teaching effectiveness has been a contributing factor to a trend of grade inflation in a mid-sized, public university in the Midwest. Found a predictive relationship between student ratings of teaching and expected grades and an encouragement over time of grade inflation. (EV)

Examined the organizational characteristics of 51 higher education institutions in relationship to student performance and growth. Findings included that the different 2-year and 4-year campus missions do exert significantly different influences on undergraduate GPA and self-reported intellectual growth, with students at 2-year institutions…

Examined how precollege experiences predispose students to democratic outcomes: ability to see the world from another perspective, beliefs that conflict enhances democracy, and views about social action's importance. Found that first-year females are more likely than males to report these values, and that race/ethnic or controversial discussions,…

Evaluated the usefulness of three approaches for predicting college grades: traditional regression models, high-school-effects models, and hierarchical linear models. Found that both the high-school-effects and the hierarchical linear models were more accurate predictors of freshman GPA than the traditional model, particularly for lower-ability…

Analyzed alumni survey data to examine the impact that academic departments have on student satisfaction and development. Controlling for individual characteristics, found that characteristics of departments such as faculty contact with students, research emphasis, and proportion of female undergraduates had a significant impact on satisfaction…

Applied the technique of artificial neural networks to predict which students were likely to apply to one research university. Compared the results to the traditional analysis tool, logistic regression modeling. Found that the addition of artificial intelligence models was a useful new tool for predicting student application behavior. (EV)

Examined use and interpretation of logistic regression in leading higher education journals. Found increasingly sophisticated use for a wide range of topics; however, there continued to be confusion over terminology. Sample sizes did not always achieve a desired level of stability in parameters estimated, and discussion of results in terms of…