Pre-college programs designed to increase the intentions of minority students to attend college have become commonplace on many college campuses. Evaluation of such programs has focused on measuring the effectiveness of the delivery of services provided to students. At other times, evaluation of program effectiveness focused on measuring increases in individual skill development. Both of these components of evaluation are acceptable means of determining program effectiveness but have limitations because they may not address students intentions to attend college.This study as evaluation research was designed to investigate whether student participation in the Summer Scholars Residential Program resulted in changes in the intentions of the students toward participation in higher education. The population of the study was 184 minority junior high and senior high school students in Indiana who attended a week long Summer Scholars Residential Program 1992.Several methodologies were used to gather evidence regarding students' experiences in the program. One hundred and eighty four pre- and 164 post-questionnaire instruments were completed by students during four separate weeks of participation in the Scholars Program. A select number of 10 students maintained journals of their experiences. Finally, 21 students responded to interviews after one year to gather evidence on the long term effects from participation in the Scholars Program and to obtain more specific feedback from students.Comparisons were made between student responses on the pre-questionnaire and the post-questionnaire as one method of determining possible changes in students' intentions to pursue higher education before and after participating in the Scholars Program. Other comparisons were made of students intentions to enroll in specific courses in high school including pre-college courses. The evidence gathered showed that participation in the Scholars Summer Program did reinforce and increase students' intentions to attend college. In addition, the follow-up phone interviews showed that students changed their courses in high school from general to college preparatory. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes and perceptions of parents through an assessment of their feelings concerning parental notification polices. Participants in this study were selected from a sampling pool of parents that were members of parent associations at 64 college and university campuses throughout the country identified as having a parental notification policy.The project consisted of 5 parents from midwestern universities that were asked a variety of questions concerning: the child's collegiate development, benefits of parental notification, the role of the federal government, and financial dependence stipulations.The interpretation of qualitative data revealed that parents were in favor of parental notification policies and saw the implementation of these policies as a positive step by universities to utilize parental involvement in curbing student misconduct. / Department of Educational Studies

The problem of this study was whether differences exist between opinions news media members have toward higher education and the prediction of those opinions by college and university public relations directors. The purposes were to determine if such differences exist and to assess certain demographic factors' roles in journalists' opinions.