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Increasing demands for accountability from both the public and the government have resulted in increasing pressure for higher education professionals to use data to support their choices. There is significant speculation that professionals at all levels of education lack the knowledge to implement data-driven decision making. However, empirical studies regarding whether or not professionals at four-year postsecondary institutions are utilizing data to guide programmatic and policy decisions are lacking. The purpose of this exploratory study was to explore the knowledge and habits of undergraduate admission professionals at four-year colleges and universities regarding their use of data in decision making. A survey instrument was disseminated and, the data collected from the instrument provided empirical information, which serves as the basis for a discussion about what specific knowledge admission professionals at four-year institutions possess and how they use data in their decision making. The instrument disseminated was designed specifically for this study. Therefore, before the research questions were addressed, Rasch analysis was utilized to evaluate the validity and reliability of the survey instrument. Data was then used to determine that undergraduate admission professionals perceived themselves as using data in their decision making. The results also indicated admission professionals feel confident in their ability to interpret and use data to in their decision making.

This study sought to determine the ways in which Texas public school districts differ in their calculation of Grade Point Average/Rank in Class (GPA/RIC), how district size affects weighting practices, and the effect of non-uniform calculation of GPA/RIC on admissions to college. Descriptive and non-parametric analysis techniques were used.

Although many colleges and universities use a wide range of criteria to evaluate and select admissions applicants, much of the variance in college student success remains unexplained. Thus, success in college, as defined by academic performance and student retention, may be related to other variables or combinations of variables beyond those traditionally used in college admissions (high school grade point average and standardized test scores). The current study investigated the predictive validity of a measure of motivational-developmental dimensions as a predictor of the academic achievement and persistence of college students as measured by cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention. These dimensions are based on social-cognitive (self-concept, self-set goals, causal attributions, and coping strategies) and developmental-constructivist (self-awareness and self-authorship) perspectives. Motivational-developmental constructs are under-explored in terms of the predictive potential derived from their use in evaluating admission applicants’ ability to succeed and persevere despite the academic and social challenges presented by postsecondary participation. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate new understandings to benefit the participating institution and other institutions of higher education that seek new methodologies for evaluating and selecting college admission applicants. This dissertation describes two studies conducted at a large, urban public university located in the Northeastern United States. Participants included 10,149 undergraduate students who enrolled as first-time freshmen for the Fall 2015 (Study 1) and Fall 2016 (Study 2) semesters. Prior to matriculation, participants applied for admission using one of two methods: standard admissions or test-optional admissions. Standard admission applicants submitted standardized test scores (e.g., SAT) whereas test-optional applicants responded to four short-answer essay questions, each of which measured a subset of the motivational-developmental dimensions examined in the current study. Trained readers evaluated the essays to produce a “test-optional essay rating score,” which served as the primary predictor variable in the current study. Quantitative analyses were conducted to investigate the predictive validity of the “test-optional essay rating score” and its relationship to cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention, which served as the outcome variables in the current study. The results revealed statistically significant group differences between test-optional applicants and standard applicants. Test-optional admission applicants are more likely to be female, of lower socioeconomic status, and ethnic minorities as compared to standard admission applicants. Given these group differences, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicted success across racial and gender subgroups. There was inconclusive evidence regarding whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicts cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention across student subgroups. The results revealed a weak correlation between the test-optional essay rating score and cumulative undergraduate grade point average (Study 1: r = .11, p < .01; Study 2: r = .07, p < .05) and retention (Study 1: r = .08, p < .05; Study 2: r = .10, p < .01), particularly in comparison to the relationship between these outcome variables and the criteria most commonly considered in college admissions (high school grade point average, SAT Verbal, SAT Quantitative, and SAT Writing). Despite these findings, the test-optional essay rating score contributed nominal value (R2 = .07) in predicting academic achievement and persistence beyond the explanation provided by traditional admissions criteria. Additionally, a ROC analysis determined that the test-optional essay rating score does not predict student retention in a way that is meaningfully different than chance and therefore is not an accurate binary classifier of retention. Further research should investigate the validity of other motivational-developmental dimensions and the fidelity of other methods for measuring them in an attempt to account for a greater proportion of variance in college student success. / Educational Leadership

In the United States, some states and higher education institutions allow undocumented students to pay in-state resident tuition at public colleges and universities. Yet, when undocumented youth apply and seek to qualify for in-state tuition, they find bureaucratic procedures and rules that may discourage them from applying at all, delay, or hamper their access to higher education. The study explores how such bureaucratic requirements impose learning, compliance, and psychological burdens on undocumented youth. Building upon administrative burdens scholarship and using qualitative and quantitative analyses of admissions applications at the institutional level, undocumented students reports' of their experiences, and surveys of college admissions officers, this study examines the admissions requirements and other factors that may shape the applications of undocumented students to colleges in the states providing ISRT benefits for undocumented youth. The findings suggest that undocumented youth navigate multifaceted institutional contexts across and within states, including requirements and rules at different organizational levels and interactions with admissions officers whose discretion may facilitate or obstruct access. Variations in ISRT requirements reflect states' patterns of immigration, demographics, political (sub) cultures, narratives about the deservingness, organizational factors as well as the discretion that college personnel has in applying the requirements. Findings suggest that factors associated with residency, notarized affidavits, tax forms, and lack of clear information and guidance from college personnel substantially increase burdens when undocumented youth seek to benefit from ISRT. Certainly, when states, institutions, and admissions officers establish and shape ISRT requirements, they implicitly influence the sense of belonging and membership of undocumented applicants and mediate intergovernmental tension surrounding legalization and inclusion of this population in society. / Doctor of Philosophy / Bureaucratic requirements and rules at some public colleges and universities in the United States may hamper the ability of undocumented immigrants to apply for admission and qualify for in-state resident tuition in the states and colleges that allow it. This study explores how such bureaucratic requirements impose learning, compliance, and psychological burdens on undocumented youth and the factors associated with such burdens. The study examines admissions applications in community colleges in the states where the benefit is available, interviews and surveys with undocumented youth as well as surveys of colleges admissions officers. The findings show that the administrative burdens that undocumented youth faces result from requirements and rules that overlap at different organizational levels, several policy interpretations, the intertwine between immigration and higher education policies, perceptions of such population's deservingness, and the discretion of admissions officers. Through these requirements, states and colleges shape the sense of belonging of immigrant youth and chart their legal and social inclusion.

This investigation studied the impact of male student involvement in selected school activities upon grade-point averages, rates of attendance and college entrance examination scores. The main purpose of this study was to provide data for state officials, school administrators, and school boards as they seek to make decisions concerning the activities program and its place in the educational system. The specific purpose was to determine if involvement in selected school activities had any relationship to the variables grade-point average, attendance, and scores on college entrance examinations. The study was carried out in four large Texas high schools with a total student population of 6,456. Male participants in seven major school activities were randomly selected. This process produced a total sample of 280 male students representing participation in seven activities in four high schools. Each activity was represented by a sample of forty male students. The conclusions were drawn that (1) there is a positive relationship between participation in the activities program by male students and attendance rate, grade-point average, and scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and (2) there was no negative relationship between participation in the activities program and the participants' ability to receive a high school education.

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Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / It is unknown if the Summer Seminar program, which gives rising high school seniors a six-day look at Naval Academy life, has resulted in a more successful midshipman. While not previously discussed in literature, there are an abundance of studies on civilian recruiting and orientation programs, as well as realistic job previews and expectation-lowering procedures. Based on this literature, it is theorized that Summer Seminar program participation will be positively correlated to increased graduation rates and increased academic cumulative quality point ratings, as well as increased military and physical performance. This hypothesis was tested using multiple hierarchical regressions on population data obtained from the Classes of 1997 through 2003. Success is defined using seven dependent variables organized by academic, military, and physical performance. The key independent variable is participation in the Summer Seminar program, while eleven other independent variables control for demographics, selection criteria, and proven indicators of success. Participation in the Summer Seminar program had a significant relation to increased graduation rates, increased academic cumulative quality point ratings, increased military cumulative quality point ratings, and increased physical readiness test scores. This study concludes that the Summer Seminar program makes a unique contribution to midshipman success at the Naval Academy. / Lieutenant, United States Navy