Using estimated enrollment demand functions and readily available data on size, quality, and costs, a model, designed to assist policy-makers in identifying overbuilt institutions and programs that should be closed is described. This study is a case application of an optimatization model to two community colleges in northern Minnesota. (Author/MLW)

A test of the Biglan model of faculty subcultures using measures of research output and tests of the model controlling for the effects of faculty socialization are described. The Biglan model is found to be valid, and the distinctiveness of the Biglan groups appears to increase with the socialization of faculty into subject areas. (Author/MLW)

Coefficient estimates from a model of faculty retirement decision making are used to simulate the impact of financial incentives for early retirement. The results suggest that plans can be designed to induce relatively large numbers of faculty members to retire prior to the mandatory retirement age. (Author/MLW)

The validity of the Biglan clusters, guides in classifying or categorizing academic departments among a wide range of colleges and universities, is discussed. Evidence supports the validity by showing how faculty salaries and instructional staffing patterns differ among departments along the dimensions described by Biglan. (Author/MLW)

The utility of raw gain analysis for validation of college placement tests is demonstrated with scores from the Descriptive Test of Mathematics Skills. Gains during one semester for students in various freshman level mathematics courses were evaluated. Results suggest that gain analysis is a useful tool for placement test validation. (Author/MLW)

The 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act establishes the mandatory retirement age at 70. The implications for higher education are discussed, a steady-state model is examined, and an alternative is offered. (Author/MLW)

A number of citation studies have supported the view that the "graying" of the academic profession will have no impact on the quality of work produced in various scientific disciplines. This conclusion is challenged and it is argued that citations may not indicate the most innovative and creative work. (Author/MLW)

The performance of 43 library work groups was assessed by means of supervisor's ratings. Characteristics of the groups' tasks, membership, leadership, structure, and process were measured by averaging their members' responses to factor of the Work Group Survey. The implications for both organization theorists and change agents are discussed.…

The extent to which styles of research could account for academic ideologies among academic researchers in sociology, psychology, political science, and education are discussed. The hypothesis maintains that researchers who favor styles of research that compete successfully are likely to take a conservative attitude toward student and faculty…

The consistency of ratings between different sections of a course taught in a given semester by the same instructor is examined, and the performance of global and attribute-type instructor rating items are compared. Five samples of physics instructors were rated by their students. (Author/MLW)

Multiple group discriminant analysis was employed to determine the utility of preenrollment traits and academic performance in identifying freshman students who persisted, stopped out, or withdrew early. After first-quarter academic performance, relatively clear distinctions can be made between students who persist and those who do not.…

What transpires when an institution of higher education is the defendant in a class action suit charging prejudicial treatment of a minority group is summarized. A demonstration of how the plaintiffs can use the institution's own data to establish a prima facie case for disparate treatment is presented. (Author/MLW)

Two aspects of the administrator evaluation process--internal institutional politics and quality--as a dimension of both the evaluation process itself and the performance of administrators are discussed. A case study of administrator evaluation at the University of Toledo is described. (Author/MLW)

The applicability of catastrophe theory to research in higher education is considered. The controversy surrounding the use of catastrophe theory as a tool for research in the behavioral and social sciences is reviewed, and several problems which appear in the literature are presented in a theoretical framework. (Author/MLW)

Several hierarchical and sequential reduction options are discussed. The institutional shrinkage process implemented at the University of Michigan is described, including across-the-board cuts, reduction of nonacademic programs, long-range faculty reduction procedures, and program discontinuance. (Author/MLW)