Between 1994 and 2003, two related concerns were in the educational spotlight. The first concern was participation rates of low income students in higher education. The second was the apparent disparity in Internet usage by low income and other disadvantaged individuals, highlighted in the report Falling Through The Net (United States Department of Commerce, 2000). The purpose of this study is to identify the economic factors and demographic attributes that influence participation of low income students in online distance learning courses offered by a Mississippi community college. This study centers on the hypothesis that there is no statistically significant difference between low income and non low income student participation rates in online distance education courses and that the economic factors, other than income, between low income participates and non low income participants will be statistically similar. Survey data collected from analyzed through the use of logistical regression to determine the relationship of demographic and economic factors to the decision to enroll in future online courses. It was found that students who are older and married are less likely to choose to enroll in future online distance learning courses. Students with higher numbers of courses completed and who paid for college with personal funds are more likely to enroll in future online distance learning courses than those with fewer numbers of distance learning hours completed and those who experience less difficulty traveling to campus are less likely to choose to enroll in future distance learning courses.

La présente étude vise à examiner les facteurs qui déterminent la nomination de femmes au conseil d'administration et à explorer le lien entre la diversité du genre dans le conseil et la performance de l’entreprise. En utilisant des données sur la composition du conseil d'administration et la performance financière des sociétés appartenant à l'indice boursier SBF120 entre 2007 et 2012, nous trouvons que la nomination de femmes administrateurs est fortement associée aux caractéristiques du conseil et à la structure de propriété. En effet, la propriété managériale, la propriété institutionnelle, la propriété familiale, la taille du conseil, et l'indépendance du conseil sont tous fortement corrélés avec la représentation des femmes au sein du conseil d'administration d'une entreprise. En outre, nos résultats montrent que l’impact de la diversité du genre se manifeste dans deux directions contradictoires : elle affecte positivement la performance comptable et influence négativement la performance du marché. Apparemment, les administratrices sont l’objet d’une évaluation biaisée par le marché qui sous-estime leur présence dans les conseils d’administration. Ce qui est encore plus intéressant, c’est que nos analyses montrent une double nature de la représentation des femmes au sein des conseils d’administration des entreprises françaises cotées. Autrement dit, l'effet de la présence de femmes dans le conseil d’administration sur la performance de l’entreprise varie en fonction de l'affiliation des administratrices avec l’actionnaire majoritaire. / The current study aims at examining the factors that determine the appointment of women to the board of directors and at exploring the link between board gender diversity and financial performance. Using data on the board composition and the firm performance of companies belonging to the SBF120 stock market index between 2007 and 2012, we find evidence that the appointment of women directors is strongly associated with ownership structure and board characteristics. Indeed, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, family ownership, board size, and board independence are all strongly correlated with the representation of women directors on a firm's board. Furthermore, our results show that the impact of gender diversity manifests in conflicting directions, positively affecting accounting performance and negatively influencing market performance. Apparently, female directors are subject to a biased evaluation by the market, which undervalues their presence on boards. More surprisingly, our analyses show a twofold nature of female representation in the French market. That is, the effect of female directorship on firm performance varies with the affiliation of women on the board.