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One of the most compelling questions in higher education is why some students achieve and others do not. In this study, 1323 Virginia Tech students who completed the 1985 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) freshman survey were followed up over a four-year period in order to identify characteristics that explain differences in grades. Three major categories of characteristics were studied: institutional characteristics, student demographic characteristics, and student nontraditional characteristics. Forty characteristics were regressed on the final quality credit average (QCA) for each of the four undergraduate years. Separate regression analyses were run for the university as a whole, each of the seven undergraduate colleges, and three subject-area clusters within the College of Arts & Sciences. The outcome was a set of 44 profiles of significant characteristics related to grades. These profiles were intended as a useful reference for both faculty members and administrators. The multivariate regression analyses identified a number of institutional and student characteristics that explained approximately 25 percent of the variance in student grades at Virginia Tech. Institutional characteristics accounted for about 6 percent of the total variance in student grades. The strongest and most consistent characteristics were selectivity and weighted student credit hours productivity. Student demographic characteristics accounted for about 12 percent of the total variance in student grades. The strongest and most consistent demographic variables were high school rank and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. Five other demographic characteristics -- gender, age, parent income, parent education, and race -- were also significant factors in isolated cases. Student nontraditional factors accounted for about 7 percent of the variance in student grades. Generally, student behaviors exhibited a stronger relationship with student grades than student attitudes, values, or personality traits. Study behavior and writing skills seemed to have the strongest and most consistent relationship with grades. Other nontraditional factors, including athletic interest, fraternal interest, self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, locus of control, and leadership were also significantly related to grades in isolated cases. / Ed. D.

This dissertation is situated as the third work in a series on academic women. In 1964, Jessie Bernard published Academic Women, which provided a comprehensive assessment of the status of women in academia. Two decades later, in 1987, Angela Simeone offered insight into attempts to achieve equity for women in higher education in her book Academic Women: Workings Towards Equality. Now, at the next twenty-five year interval, this dissertation continues the scholarly engagement with questions about academic women. Drawing primarily on in-depth interviews with academic women (n = 35), this dissertation is more than a status update. The research presented here furthers the discussion by recognizing the limitations to the use of "academic women" as an all-encompassing category, and it offers a more nuanced approach to understanding their experiences in academia. Drawing on both the individual strategies of women and the organizational structure of the university this dissertation offers a new framework for assessing the various ways in which academic women navigate academic organizations. Additionally, lessons and practices are featured as recommendations and resources for both academic women and academic organizations. / Graduation date: 2013

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The present study investigated the nature of desegregation as observed by the use of space by the diverse racial groups at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg). The researcher observed and recorded participants as they used the Hexagon Cafeteria at the University. Observations and systematic recordings were conducted in the first week in term on Monday and Tuesday over four consecutive weeks. Participants were recorded as they sat at a table and when they left the table. Their race, gender, time and table number were captured, forming data for the final analysis. The study revealed that black students were the least represented race group, in number, and were the mostly segregated from the other racial groups. Perhaps this study would have yielded different results if there were a higher proportion of black students throughout the six-day observational period. Indian students were the majority at the Cafeteria in comparison to other racial groups. It seems that the Hexagon Cafeteria is a popular meeting place for most Indian students. It can also be speculated that the Hexagon Cafeteria appears to be an ideal meeting place for most female students as they outnumbered the male students throughout the six-day observational period. Despite persistent racial segregation, points of contact (integration) were observed between the three racial groups. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.