In this thesis the author has conscientiously attempted to portray in clear fashion the status of all V.P.I. graduates, post graduates, and those qualified to teach in vocational agriculture since 1918. The material collected, it is hoped, will serve as a source of information for professors at V.P.I. who have to do with guidance and placement. Furthermore, it is expected that the information contained herein, will show certain pertinent facts concerning the department of vocational education in question. Is the department efficient? Do its graduates secure jobs? Are salaries commensurate with time spent in securing degrees? Does the higher degree have any significance so far as increase in salary or steps in advancement are concerned? Have the V.P.I. graduates obtained positions of unusual responsibility and honor? Has service rendered by these graduates been hit or miss, or has it been constructive and definite over a long period of time? What has been the percentage of V.P.I. agricultural men who have entered occupations allied to farming? Are there any facts which indicate success n these allied occupations? Such questions as the above, and others, are answered in this thesis. In attempting to collect the information mentioned above the author has made use of the Alumni Office files; the records in offices of the various supervisors of Agricultural Education - Dr. W.S. Newman, State Board of Education, Richmond, Va.; Mr. D.J. Howard, Assistant State Supervisor, Winchester, Va.; Mr. T.V. Downing, District Supervisor, Ivor, Va.; Mr. J.O. Hoge, District Supervisor, Blacksburg, Va.; Mr. F.B. Cale, District Supervisor, Appomattox, Va.; department files; Alumni files; Registrar's office; Cormier's thesis and questionnaires. Grateful acknowledgment is made to these men as well as to Professors E.C. Magill, H.C. Groseclose, H.W. Sanders, and other school officials who have rendered valuable assistance in the arduous task of preparing this thesis. / Master of Science

This study assessed the quality of graduate professional training in Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) in terms of the perceptions of program alumni. The subjects of the investigation were 780 alumni who graduated from DTS between 1984 and 2000. The Christian Education program was assessed utilizing Daniel Stufflebeam's CIPP model and alumni data collected from a survey instrument. A response rate of 65% (N=504) was achieved. The research procedure employed a non-experimental design methodology for the quantitative component and open-ended questions for the qualitative component. Most results were statistically significant at the .05 alpha level utilizing chi-square goodness-of-fit tests.

The contributions that Black Americans made towards advancing their own educational institutions have often been overlooked. These men and women were quite instrumental in developing, organizing and determining the future direction of their own schools. From 1920 to 1950, a shift in attitudes and culture began to take shape at Black colleges and universities concerning more student autonomy and more alumni involvement. This shift in attitude was primarily due to Black students and alumni who rebelled against the paternalistic White power structure that existed at their schools. At the core of this conflict, stood frustrated students and alumni petitioning their predominately White Boards of Trustees/administration to recognize their status as institutional stakeholders. This dissertation focuses on alumni and student activism at three HBCUs, Lincoln University, Fisk University, and Hampton Institute, between 1920 and 1950. What will be examined in this study is the role that Black alumni and Black students played in waging a campaign against White administrators to bring about institutional change at these three schools. Additional points of inquiry are 1) Who were the institutional stakeholders and what were their goals, 2) How did alumni and student activism influence administrative change, and 3) What compromises were made at these three schools to address students and alumni concerns? There are no in-depth historical studies regarding student and alumni activism at HBCUs during this period in Black higher education. The absence in the literature is particularly unfortunate because the period between 1920 and 1950 was an important time in the development of historically Black colleges and universities. An examination of the protests on Lincoln's, Fisk's, and Hampton's campuses can help to illuminate some of the issues that HBCUs were wrestling with during the wave of campus unrest that swept the country between1920 and 1950.

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There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Career centers in higher education must create environments that serve the needs of students and alumni. Alumni not only are a served population, but also are beneficial to student career development, and serve dual purposes as clients and volunteers. One program frequently offered by career centers that engages alumni volunteers is an alumni mock interview program. While the alumni volunteers act as interviewers to share their insights and professional experience, they too are clients, so their learning must be considered. Existing mock interview program research primarily examines the student learning experience. This study addressed the research problem of the unknown learning experience of alumni mock interviewers. The purpose was to explore with a group of alumni volunteers their perceptions of their learning experience as interviewers within a mock interview program. To achieve this purpose, the researcher employed a qualitative, single-case study approach drawing upon the experiences of alumni mock interviewers within a particular setting. Data was collected from 43 participants providing questionnaire ratings and 25 subset participants completing critical incident written responses and interviews. Four major study findings emerged: (1) All described what they learned, with a majority learning the importance of creating a comfortable environment, delivering feedback, offering the program for students’ preparation, and understanding current students’ experiences; (2) All found aspects that contributed to their learning, with a majority describing having sample interview questions and staying in touch with students as helpful; (3) All found aspects that inhibited their learning, with a majority describing the lack of connection with fellow alumni mock interviewers and lack of industry knowledge of specific fields as hindering; (4) All described program design recommendations to foster alumni learning, with a majority recommending matching students with alumni based on industry and background, providing an opportunity to hear about alumni experiences, and offering advanced training to students. The principal recommendations of the study have implications for higher education career service professionals on how to design mock interview programs to engage alumni in lifelong learning by considering the sources of knowledge within the program and utilizing adult learning theory and learning from experience frameworks as guides.

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No description available.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the turnover in the teaching profession the first five years after certification. Special attention will be given to the problems that prompted the change of work.

Virginia Tech Engineering graduates of 1975 were surveyed to determine if salary differences existed between matched groups of co-op and non co-op graduates and to determine if selected variables were related to salaries. The average salary for co-ops was higher for both first and current positions (six years after graduation). These differences were significant at the .0545 level for first salary and at .0845 after six years. Several variables had significant relationships to salaries. Location for both groups, undergraduate major for non co-ops and type of employer for co-ops were related to first salary. Four variables were related to current salary: type of employer for co-ops and undergraduate major, job function and fathers' Socio-Economic Index for non co-ops. For most of these variables with significant relationships with salary, the significance levels were similar for both groups, and these probably had little effect on salary differences between groups. Co-ops probably had higher first salaries because of their co-op experience. Two variables with possible effects on salary differences were undergraduate major (which was related to current salary for non co-ops) and type of employer (which was related to current salary for co-ops). These two variables may have undetermined effects on salary differences between the groups. The effect of fathers' socio-economic attributes (educational level and occupational prestige) seems to increase with time, with closer relationships to current salaries than to first ones. / Master of Arts