Explored first- to second-semester persistence of first-time, full-time freshmen (n=411) at a public four-year institution, focusing upon Tinto's concept of separation. The dimensions of (1) support and (2) rejection of attitudes and values were found to influence persistence in a statistically significant way. (DB)

Academic disciplines with soft paradigmatic development have greater affinity for practices designed to improve undergraduate education than do hard paradigmatic disciplines. A study extends this hypothesis to the seven principles of good practice, garnering empirical support for four principles: encouragement of faculty-student contact;…

A study used theory elaboration to help revise Tinto's interactionalist theory of individual student departure from college to include the effects of organizational attributes on student withdrawal. Results provide strong support for including concepts from organizational theory and suggest future research should use theory elaboration to look for…

Quality of a faculty member's graduate department origin and its relationship to test construction was examined. Findings indicated a tendency for faculty holding advanced degrees from higher quality graduate departments to ask more synthesis questions. (Author/MLW)

The influence of student problems, which are often cited by students as reasons for withdrawal, is compared with the influence of constructs derived from Tinto's student attrition model. The findings suggest that data from post-hoc attrition studies should be used cautiously. (Author/MLW)

Norms of undergraduate teaching behavior were examined in a survey of 302 biology, history, mathematics, and psychology faculty in 2 institution types, research universities and comprehensive colleges. The study investigated the perceived impropriety of specific planning, in-class, interpersonal, curricular, and testing practices. The survey…

A study applying anomie theory to behavior of college faculty, especially as alienation from the academic reward system results in deviation from professional norms of communality, disinterestedness, universalism, and organized skepticism, is reported. Implications for use of norms as interpretive devices, ambivalence of academics toward norms,…

A study using national data investigated extension of the social control theory of deviance to deviance from the four Mertonian norms of science among faculty in seven disciplines. Results suggest social control in the academic profession lies primarily in the community of the academic disciplines rather than with personal controls. (Author/MSE)

A study to determine whether faculty conformity to the four norms of science identified by Merton are integrating mechanisms or whether they are forces of fragmentation is discussed. The four norms are identified: universalism, communality, disinterestedness, and organized skepticism. (Author/MLW)

A multi-institutional study of 263 first-time college freshmen investigated the effects on students' social and academic integration of having expectations for college remain unmet. Results are discussed in terms of implications for enrollment management and the linkage of theories concerning college choice and student departure. (Author/MSE)

A study of 250 new teaching assistants and 122 tenure-track faculty investigated their endorsement of 4 norms defining appropriate and inappropriate teaching behavior: (1) interpersonal disregard; (2) particularistic grading; (3) moral turpitude; and (4) inadequate planning. Both groups accorded the norms similar levels of impropriety. Questions…