Drawing largely from institutional research prepared at Harcum Junior College (HJC), a private all-female two-year college in Pennsylvania, this report contrasts private junior college students with community college students in terms of their attitudes and values, reasons for attending college, rates of and reasons for attrition, and evaluations…

This paper describes the guidance program at Harcum Junior College and its incorporation into the educational programming activities at the institution. Various functions of the guidance services are described including test interpretation, individual and group counseling, and career planning. The importance of the influence of faculty and…

This essay reviews the current status of private independent junior colleges in the United States. Several studies and innovative programs are cited. Because private junior colleges face shrinking enrollments and diminished funding for instruction, services, and activities, they must now stress cost-effectiveness and practical financial management…

The 31 documents included in this compilation of Harcum Junior College institutional research inquiries are designed to assess existing college goals and practices and provide suggestions for new programs. The documents, grouped under eight subject rubrics, reflect some of the current concerns of private women's two-year colleges: (1) alumnae…

Assuming that the holding power of a junior college is one of the significant indices of its effectiveness, this paper reviews descriptive and inferential data on student attrition. Included are dropout statistics, reported reasons for leaving college, and personality characteristics of dropouts versus persisters. Comparisons between numbers of…

The responses of some 30 two-year colleges in the northeastern United States to a 13-item questionnaire survey relating to percentage of responses for various types of mail questionnaires are summarized. Results of the survey show that maximum returns might be anticipated from a forced-choice questionnaire among identified administrators, with…

By helping to concentrate the efforts of all organizational units on institutional goals, by establishing research-based information systems, and by learning to allocate scarce resources efficiently, institutional researchers can offer numerous benefits for the management and operation of 2-year colleges. A comprehensive institutional research…

Two surveys of the 51 faculty members and the 427 students of Harcum Junior College, made to ascertain their values and perceptions as indicated on the Rokeach Value Survey and The Staff Survey (faculty only), were made and results are compared with those of the faculties and students of three California public community colleges. The results…

Forty institutional research reports on a wide variety of subjects of concern to Harcum Junior College, a private two-year college for women, are compiled in this document. Topics of the reports include: student/guidance counselor perceptions of school objectives; library utilization; grades and grading practices; student opinions,…

Data from six questionnaire studies are reported. "Reasons Why Harcum Is Recommended," gives the percentage of Harcum students and faculty, and of high school counselors who recommend Harcum for each of ten reasons on the questionnaire. In "The Students View Harcum," student responses to ten possible reasons for attending, to what is right, and to…

Two library use studies at Harcum Junior College are included in this document. The first report presents records gathered during four representative two-week, non-examination periods from 1967 to 1974, which show that a daily average of 19% of the students used the library. In 1974, however, average daily library use was 28%, almost double that…

Answers to a 19-item questionnaire by 102 graduates of Harcum Junior College in 1974, evaluating the programs of the college, are provided in this report. The questionnaire data showed that the college was rated by these graduates as offering "quality" educational opportunities. (DB)

Junior college self-appraisal techniques should involve research and should be conducted within the academic, vocational, and adult education programs of the college. This report considers appraisal of specific areas, such as admissions, counseling and student personnel services, placement in classes, and program planning and evaluation. Sixteen…

This survey of the faculty at Harcum Junior College (Pennsylvania) gives some insight into their values, their perceptions of the college environment, and their unique role within that environment. These characteristics are compared with data collected on faculty and students at three diverse California community colleges. Some of the traits…

Data on selection criteria for admission to small (under 1000 students) junior colleges were examined. Questionnaires were sent to 375 small colleges, of whom 275 responded (139 public, 48 private, and 86 church-related). Nine criteria were used for admissions selection: (1) high school record, (2) other standard test scores, (3) principal's or…