Past higher education fund-raising studies examining alumni giving across several institutions have had two main limitations. First, the multitude of independent variables used in these studies has made it difficult to determine whether past studies have discovered many different factors that influence levels of alumni gift revenue, or whether they have discovered a few common factors that have been represented by different sets of variables in each study. Second, past studies have failed to adequately describe causal mechanisms through which variables significantly related to gift revenue influence levels of gift revenue. The current study addresses the aforementioned limitations in creating an aggregate model of donor behavior for law school alumni. The study examines alumni giving at 41 ABA-approved law schools. The results indicate that four basic factors account for most (87 percent) of the variance in amounts of alumni annual fund revenue among different law schools. The four factors, listed in order of importance and shown with the variables that load highly on each factor, are the following: Factor l--"Institutional Quality" (variables are average LSAT scores of accepted law students; reputation of law school among professors at other law schools; reputation of law school's graduates among judges and practicing lawyers; average starting salaries of new graduates of the law school; total number of volumes in law library; number of volumes in law library divided by FTE enrollment;). Factor 2--"Institutional Size" (variables are: FTE law school enrollment; number of living law school alumni; number of FTE law faculty; total number of law school advancement staff people). Factor 3--"Relative Advancement Effort" (variables are: number of law school advancement staff people divided by number of living law school alumni; number of law school reunion classes solicited for special gifts each year). Factor 4--"Institutional Age" (variables are: age of law school; age of law school's parent institution). Differences between the factor structures for public and private law schools are examined. The study suggests possible causal mechanisms through which these four factors influence the amount of alumni gift revenue raised by each law school.

The Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico maintains a tribal scholarship program to assist students in their pursuit of higher education. This research was initiated to assess from the graduates' perspective how effectively the tribe utilized its subsidized academic capital. The purpose of the study was to identify obstacles, incentives, distractions, or alternative opportunities that Laguna college graduates encountered on their academic paths that influenced their perceptions about working for the tribe. Several challenges were identified that if addressed could profoundly benefit the tribe by increasing the retention of tribal graduates for the professional roles for which they were academically trained. A mixed methods research design was employed to examine why graduates educated with considerable assistance from their tribe were not working for their tribe in the capacity for which they earned degrees. Within this study, both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to gather, report, and interpret the data. The combined use of a survey as the quantitative method and interviews as the qualitative method provided a balanced view of the perceptions of the Laguna graduates. An analysis of both sets of data indicated that several significant rifts existed between the arenas of tribal professional employment opportunities, college level academic attainment, and the existing secondary school system. Conversely, notions of tribal student loyalty and an intense desire to contribute to community were confirmed. Based on the findings, it was recommended that several critical decisions regarding the future of the Pueblo's higher education priorities be made. Further, it was recommended that the tribe increase their efforts to capitalize on the intrinsic community connectedness demonstrated by the Laguna graduates.

This study used qualitative research, particularly life history analysis, to determine the personal pathways of success for Latino students who chose to enter a health science center for graduate study and who graduated. By giving voice to individual success stories of Latino students, some of the influences on the life pathways of these graduates were determined. For the purposes of this study, success was defined as graduation from a health science center with either a doctor of philosophy, doctor of public health or doctor of osteopathic medicine degree. Four research subjects agreed to participate in this study from a possible 11 students from the graduating class of 2004-2005 at this health science center. Data were gathered through multiple in-depth interviews of the students themselves over a period of no more than one month for each participant. Data were analyzed using the mind mapping technique and Padilla's unfolding matrix. Findings indicate that each participant traveled a different pathway to achieve educational success although similarities did exist across participants. The influences of family background, cultural background, educational background and personal perceptions and goals did affect the pathways of these four Latino graduates. While three of four participants indicated that family was the most important influence on their academic success, all participants related the importance of family to their success, although their definitions of family seemed to vary and included the concepts of education, culture, and personal perceptions and goals. The concepts of family support of education and a culture of education within the family unit emerged as similar themes among study participants. Other similarities among participants were a high academic self-concept, a strong internal locus of control, the ability to create academic community, and a positive view of potentially negative situations. Individual themes emerged from the narratives within each category for each participant. The impact of previous studies on student success, using undergraduate models, was reviewed, and one influence was found among the study participants that had not been used in previous models - health. Implications of findings from this study for educational policy, programs, and practice are discussed.

The purposes of this study were to determine the employment status of North Texas State University clothing and textiles majors who graduated between 1969 and 1978 and to provide a measurement of their job satisfaction. The data were gathered through two mailed questionnaires, a general one developed by the researcher, and the Job Descriptive Index, a standardized job satisfaction index. Graduates in clothing and textiles tended to seek and obtain employment related to their major field of study, and they are generally satisfied with their jobs. Factors tested statistically in this study included age, marital status, parental status, salary, tenure, and organization size. No significant differences in job satisfaction or employment tatus were evident relative to any of these factors.

"The problem of this study was to determine the relationship of the professional preparation and teaching experiences of women graduates of North Texas State University with a major in health, physical education, and recreation during the college sessions of 1954-1966."--5.

Using resiliency theory as a lens, this qualitative study explored the educational journey and post-graduation experiences of 5 (2 females and 3 males) undocumented Latino college graduates (ULCGs). All participants completed a college degree from a U.S. four-year institution located in a state with an active in-state resident tuition (ISRT) policy. Pseudonyms were used to protect the identity of study participants since a viable path to permanent U.S. residency for undocumented students and/or graduates is currently unavailable. Participants shared their journeys through two 90-minute interviews conducted via Skype, follow-up questions conducted via e-mail, and journal entries collected via e-mail. Consistent with existing literature, findings revealed that participants experienced numerous cultural, academic, legal, and personal barriers, but were relentless in reaching their goals. Contrary to most existing literature, participants in this study enjoyed significant academic capital, aspirational capital, and followed a different and unique decision-making rationale. Findings are presented in five individual portraits and one collective portrait. Individual portraits illustrate participants' struggles, key turning points, and their life decisions. The collective portrait addresses four themes that emerged from the data, including 1) life barriers, 2) reflections of resiliency, 3) decision time, and 4) college education interpretation.

The purpose of this study was to examine the practicing characteristics of graduates of a college of medicine with a rural primary care mission, including influences on graduates' specialty choices and practice locations. Secondary data analyses were conducted on student records and AMA Physician Masterfile data. Fewer graduates were practicing primary care than had entered primary care training. Graduates who attended internal medicine residency training were less likely to be practicing primary care medicine than those who attended other primary care programs. Women and rural track graduates were significantly more likely to practice primary care than were men and generalist track graduates, respectively. Primary care physicians (PCPs) were practicing in more rural locales than non-PCPs. Family physicians tended to practice in the most rural locales. FMDRL_ID: 4822

My dissertation consists of three essays on the Korean labor market. The first essay studies how the extensive provision of maternity leave and childcare leave in Korea affects the employment and wages of young women. This reform is expected to increase the labor supply and decrease the labor demand for young women. As a result, the mean wage of young women should fall. But the direction of the change in their employment probability is hard to infer because it depends on the relative magnitudes of the shifts of the labor supply and demand curves. A difference-in-difference-in-differences model having older women, older men, and young men simultaneously as the control group suggests that neither the employment nor the hourly wages of young women are affected. The second essay explores why married men have higher hourly earnings and employment propensity than otherwise comparable single men. In a fixed effects regression, which controls for the selection of more productive men into marriage, married men do not experience faster growth in earnings and employment rate before marriage. Rather, when marriage takes place, the earnings of married men start increasing relative to those of single men. Also, that South Korean men have a greater earnings growth after marriage than U.S. men is consistent with the national difference in the degree of specialization within married households. Married men are more likely to work than single men only for the first few years of marriage, and single men outperform married men afterwards. The final essay studies why gender differences in earnings and earnings growth exist among new Korean college graduates before women take time off of work for marriage and motherhood. I find that women do not face an initial earnings gap after graduating college compared to men who finished military service. The lower earnings that women receive can be entirely explained by the difference in age at graduation between men and women. However, women's earnings grow slower than those of men who finished military service. This is partly because a greater percentage of women graduate from colleges of education, which provide slower earnings growth than other types of colleges. Most of the gender difference in earnings growth remains unexplained. / text

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Technology Degree in Library and Information Studies in the Department of Information and Corporate Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2008. / This study investigated the job functions of university and university of technology graduates and diplomates in the staff structures of special libraries and engineering firms in KwaZulu-Natal. The objective of the study was to draw on possible trends and best practices in the latter for the Library and Information Services (LIS) work environment, as engineering like LIS draws its personnel from both traditional universities and universities of technology (UoT). Hence, the main target population for the study was university and UoT graduates and diplomates in special libraries and engineering firms in KZN. Graduates and diplomates were chosen for inclusion in the study using a census because of the smallness of the staff complements in these organizations. Two sets of self-administered questionnaires were distributed, one to graduates/diplomates and the other to employers in the selected organizations. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings of the study revealed inconsistencies with the National Diploma: Library and Information Studies (ND: LIS) where these diplomates occupy paraprofessional as well as professional positions in special libraries whilst engineering graduates and diplomates tend to occupy job titles according to their highest academic qualifications. In both special libraries as well as in the engineering environment there is much task overlap and downshifting of job functions between paraprofessional and professional university and UoT graduates and diplomates. This study has revealed a valuable best practice from the engineering discipline for the LIS profession, which is that of professional registration. Professional registration of engineering staff with the Engineering Council of South Africa is a statutory requirement in the engineering profession and allows for the growth and development of those in the profession. It is recommended that the LIS profession, and the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) specifically, investigate a mechanism for professional registration of library and information workers.

Tinto’s (1993) Theory of Individual Departure from Institutions of Higher Education conceptualized the decision making process students navigate when committing to institutions of higher education and persisting to graduation. Transfer students are gaining the attention of administrators and policy-makers because of the high level of transfer activity in higher education. Many of these students face a uniquely difficult transition when moving from one institutional environment to another. The phenomenon, known as transfer shock, is the overall integration and adaptation difficultly that transfer students face (Hills, 1965). Since previous institution cumulative grade point average (GPA) is a criterion used in transfer admissions decisions, it was studied. Six-year graduation totals were also observed in the study because they indicates student commitment to their institution and goals toward graduation. The purpose of this study was to examine Ball State University entering transfer students and how to predict post-transfer GPA and six-year graduation based on previous institution cumulative grade point average, age, sex, previous institution type, and BSU college. Regression analysis was used to make predictive models for post-transfer GPA and six-year graduation using the observed variables (i.e., previous institution cumulative GPA, age, sex, previous institution type, and BSU college). The sample consisted of 1,857 entering transfer students at Ball State University, a state-assisted, residential university with high research activity in Muncie, Indiana. Previous institution cumulative GPA averaged 2.994 while the average post-transfer GPA was 1.681. Nearly 60% of the sample achieved six-year graduation. The results of the revised model for predicting post-transfer GPA found only previous institution cumulative GPA, age, previous institution type, and whether or not the student was in CAST to be statistically significant predictors. The model used to predict six-year graduation found previous institution type, age, sex, previous institution type, and three of the BSU colleges (CAST, CCIM, and TC) to be statistically significant predictors. When applied to the data, the six-year graduation prediction model correctly predicted six-year graduation at a rate of 79.6% and had an overall correct prediction percentage of 63.6% of the time. Suggestions for practice and recommendations for future research were included. / Department of Educational Studies