Methods used to measure college faculty salary compression (i.e., the extent to which new faculty salaries are approaching those of existing faculty at the same or higher rank) are presented. Administrator methods of addressing the issue of salary compression are also discussed, based on a survey of 10 college provosts. (Author/MSE)

A 3-institution study investigated the effectiveness of transfer of 1,786 Los Rios Community College students to the University of California at Davis and California State University at Sacramento, measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance before and after transfer. Need for remediation. before transfer was also examined.…

The evolution of college and university planning is examined through a review of theory and a case study of DePaul University (Illinois). The discussion focuses on the evolving role for institutional research in strategic decision making and the new skills and knowledge researchers need to support strategic planning more effectively. (MSE)

This study investigated changes in publishing opportunities by college/university faculty between 1972 and 1988 in three disciplines: biology, philosophy, and English. Changes in amount of publishing space available and numbers of individuals competing for that space indicated inflation rates for all three fields (especially biology) requiring…

This study explored how logit, probit, and more traditional linear regression techniques compare in predicting college student retention, using data provided by registrars from a national sample of colleges and universities. Results showed little practical difference among the techniques, despite theoretical advantages offered by the first two.…

One university's use of faculty input into the process of distributing salary dollars specifically designated as "market adjustment monies" is reported. Results indicate that, the more opportunity faculty had to be involved in the salary adjustment process, the greater their satisfaction with its outcomes. (Author/MSE)

Data on over 4,000 full-time, tenure-track faculty in 4-year colleges and universities were analyzed for the relative importance of teaching, research, administration, and service in determining basic salary. Results showed dominance of the research-oriented salary structure regardless of institution type, professed mission, or discipline.…

A study at Tel Aviv University (Israel) demonstrated the utility of a faculty evaluation form on which the global "overall teaching performance" score can almost perfectly predict the mean of all teacher-attribute items for physics and chemistry faculty. However, for teaching assistants, a linear transformation is needed. (Author/MSE)

A study of 789 college faculty at 16 institutions of higher education found faculty reluctant to report students for academic dishonesty, even at institutions with strong honor codes. Most preferred that faculty, students, and administrators all be involved in handling incidents of cheating. Student attitudes, determined in an earlier study, are…

A Tel Aviv University (Israel) study applied qualitative methods to evaluate a model for improvement of university teaching. A departmental instruction specialist treats instructional quality issues comprehensively within a department. Two years of implementation in the physics department have resulted in increased instructional quality, faculty…

The design and results of a program to support writing and, by extension, research among new college faculty (n=16) are reported. The strategy emphasized six components of writing (motivation, imagination, fluency, control, audience, and resilience), and was found to help participants meet goals for improvement (more articles accepted in refereed…

This article argues that a factor often overestimated in studies of a university's impact on its community is the effect of inmigration of students and faculty. A case study is presented of the short-term migration impact of Northwestern University on Evanston, Illinois. The effect of local consumption patterns of migrants is also discussed. (MSE)

A study investigated the predictive relationship between initial student attitudes, college admissions test scores, years of high school mathematics taken, and subsequent achievement in introductory college chemistry. Subjects were 179 college freshmen. Results indicated noncognitive variables such as initial attitudes were significant predictors…

A study of satisfaction among approximately 600 international graduate students at 1 university focused on academic program, academic appointment, and nonacademic social relationships. Analysis revealed academic satisfaction was most strongly related to contact with U.S. students, language skills, and perceived discrimination. Social satisfaction…

Investigates high school students' perceptions and attitudes toward mathematics and science and their perceived reasons for not performing well in mathematics and science. Reports that boys have more favorable attitudes and that gender differences in attitudes increased as students progressed through high school, irrespective of school type and…