Since the end of World War II, the number of returning college students aged twenty-five years or older has increased so rapidly in American colleges and universities that college administrators, either through lack of interest and understanding or through failure to function as proactive change agents, have not kept pace with the needs of older student populations. In recent years, as enrollment among traditional younger students has declined, enrollment among mature returning students has grown to the extent that they presently constitute more than a third of all college and university students in the United States. As a result of findings obtained in the study, the following recommendations are offered for consideration; (1) institutions of higher learning should place major emphasis upon development of Services and Programs for Returning Students; (2) colleges and universities should give greater priority to orientation program(s) for returning students; (3) returning students should be given credit for life experience and independent learning; (4) financial resources for returning student services should be standardized as line items in the institution's budget; (5) existing programs should be evaluated in order to determine their effectiveness; and (6) a follow-up study should be conducted in five years to provide statistical data for trend analysis.

In the study of Training and Selection of Police Officers: Toward a Community Police Model the researcher relied on data gathered using questionnaires distributed in a broad geographical range and among a diverse but relevant respondent population. Samples were obtained from police officers, and candidate officers in training and citizens from the southeastern and northeastern sections of the United States. Overall accuracy of survey documents is believed to be high. Survey documents were tested using a Chronbach's alpha test for validity and were constructed around a Likert type scale for responses. Analysis of data was accomplished using a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Tukey post hoc test with a .05 level of significance. Outcomes suggested a relationship between more conservative belief patterns among police officers and their post secondary education levels. Additional possibilities were noted in the overall training systems related to the police respondents as in alignment with current needs for traditional policing but, not necessarily adequate for community policing needs. These views also proceeded along educational lines. In addition, outcomes of researched based secondary education models constructed during the research, and even European models for police selection and training may offer some solutions for police in the United States. Other valuable points found during the study were indicators that careful personnel selection and college education when found in predominance among members, seemed to positively alter the general working environment of one police agency involved in the study. / Political Practice / D.Litt. et Phil.(Police Science)

In the study of Training and Selection of Police Officers: Toward a Community Police Model the researcher relied on data gathered using questionnaires distributed in a broad geographical range and among a diverse but relevant respondent population. Samples were obtained from police officers, and candidate officers in training and citizens from the southeastern and northeastern sections of the United States. Overall accuracy of survey documents is believed to be high. Survey documents were tested using a Chronbach's alpha test for validity and were constructed around a Likert type scale for responses. Analysis of data was accomplished using a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Tukey post hoc test with a .05 level of significance. Outcomes suggested a relationship between more conservative belief patterns among police officers and their post secondary education levels. Additional possibilities were noted in the overall training systems related to the police respondents as in alignment with current needs for traditional policing but, not necessarily adequate for community policing needs. These views also proceeded along educational lines. In addition, outcomes of researched based secondary education models constructed during the research, and even European models for police selection and training may offer some solutions for police in the United States. Other valuable points found during the study were indicators that careful personnel selection and college education when found in predominance among members, seemed to positively alter the general working environment of one police agency involved in the study. / Political Practice / D.Litt. et Phil.(Police Science)