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This mixed methods study furthers understanding of how postsecondary institutions have responded to increased requirements to assess student learning adopted in 2005 by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE), an accrediting body within the regional accreditor the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). The quantitative phase of the study included a 37-question survey completed by 77 institutions who hold CIHE accreditation. The survey explored institutional characteristics, the practices institutions have in place to support assessment of student learning, and if these practices had changed since the adoption of assessment focused accreditation standards in 2005. Following a review of descriptive statistics, a Chi-Square analysis tested the association of five institutional characteristics (setting, non-profit status, institutional category, highest degree awarded, and enrollment size) against sets of survey questions related to assessment policy, structures, or support. Three distinct moderately strong relationships were found between institutional enrollment size and the existence of 1) a central assessment office, 2) an institutional policy for assessment, and 3) centralized assessment budgeting. The qualitative phase of the study included 10 in-depth interviews to explore institutional responses in detail and to understand the motivations behind the institutional responses. Analysis of the interview coding revealed four themes: perceived benefits (broader institutional benefit as motivating factor), legitimacy (approaches sought to reinforce legitimacy); institutional need (alignment with existing practices/structures); and stakeholder buy-in (ensuring continued relevance). The quantitative and qualitative phases of this study together raised four key findings. First, that institutions have responded to more formally assess student learning, particularly following a 2005 change in CIHE accreditation standards. Second, that institutional characteristics (such as public vs. private) are not the primary drivers of how institutions respond. Third, assessment support is strongly driven by unique institutional needs. Fourth, that assessment is becoming less about “assessment” and meeting external requirements, but is now frequently being positioned as a way to create broader value for an organization and inform strategy development. Considering these overall findings the study then presents potential implications for practice and discussion of future research possibilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and analyze career sponsorship of selected current women senior-level administrators in higher education to determine whether mentor/protege relationships occurred in their careers and whether the sponsorship was a factor in their career advancement. / Regionally accredited public and private institutions in the United States granting at a minimum the baccalaureate degree were chosen for inclusion in this study. During the 1978-1979 academic year, 1,644 individuals were employed as presidents at their institutions. Of this number 113 (6.8 percent) were women. During the same period, 6,774 individuals were employed as vice-presidents, of whom 521 (7.7 percent) were women. A Survey of Women Senior-Level Administrators (SWSLA) was developed and mailed to a sample of 245 of these women. Responses to the SWSLA were received from 179 individuals (73.1 percent). / The majority of the respondents ranged in age from 30 to 50 years and had become senior-level administrators during the same age span. The majority had been in higher education administration between five and twelve years and had spent one to four years in their current position, if not members of religious orders, and five to fourteen years if they were members of religious orders. / Over 70 percent of the presidents and 50 percent of the vice-presidents reported the highest degree earned was the doctorate. Two-thirds of the presidents and half of the vice-presidents who were not members of religious orders reported being married or having been married during their careers. The majority of the respondents were employed at private coeducational institutions with fewer than 2,500 students. / The respondents selected as the most important factors in the advancement of their careers being competent, possessing the appropriate academic credentials, and being in the right place at the right time. Having drive and determination and being sponsored were the next most frequently selected factors. / The respondents enumerated bosses, female professors and teachers, husbands, mothers, fathers, and female friends and colleagues as the persons who had most directly influenced their careers. / Encouragement, reinforcement of a sense of competence, guidance and advice, and role modeling were the most frequently mentioned types of assistance provided by the influential persons. Few mentors in the classic sense who nurtured, supported and taught the protege were described by the respondents. The types of assistance described appeared instead to fall along a continuum of advisory/support relationships. / Using guidelines describing a mentor as "a person who sponsors or grooms," nearly two-thirds of the women indicated the presence of mentors in their careers. The mentor was of help to more than half of the women in gaining their present positions. There was a high level of agreement among the women that having a mentor is helpful to a woman beginning a career in administration. / Over three-fourths of the women indicated that they had acted as a mentor in the past. Nearly all the women indicated that they would act as mentors in the future, expressing their support for women seeking careers in higher education administration. / The relationship between having had a mentor and the background variables of the respondents were tested by the chi-square distributions and none were found to be significant. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0961. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The problem of the study was to determine if there were differences in student retention related to financial aid packaging for Troy State University students classified as freshmen during the fall quarter of 1974-75. Data were collected from students' permanent record files maintained by the Troy State University. Statistical analyses of the study were performed using a census of 271 freshmen financial recipients to form one group and a systematic random sample of 271 nonrecipients of financial aid to form the second group. / The first group was used for testing the study intragroup interactions of financial aid packaging and personal characteristics as they related to retention. The second group was used to compare retention differences between recipients and nonrecipients of financial aid. / Stepwise multiple regression analysis was the basic statistical approach utilized to provide descriptive information, basic correlational data, regression analysis data, and regression equations. No significant statistical differences were found in retention at the p < .05 level between recipients and nonrecipients of financial aid using persistence to graduation as the retention criterion. Significant statistical differences were found in retention using length of time a student remained enrolled at the university, at the p < .05 level, between recipients and nonrecipients of financial aid. The interaction of the type of financial aid package awarded to a student and the student's academic ability, sex, age, ethnic origin, or family income did not explain a significant proportion of the variance in student retention at the p < .05 level. / It was concluded that students' educational opportunity is limited only by their ability to meet reasonable academic standards. Financial aid does permit a student to persist in college, but it could not be stated that persistence is the result of any particular type of financial aid package. The amount of award was the most important financial aid factor in retention. Grants have a positive effect on persistence. Work-study, as a form of financial aid, is less desirable than grants. Loans appear to be negatively related to persistence. It appears that grants should form the major proportion of any type of financial aid package. If additional financial aid is required, it would be preferable to consider work-study before loans. / The type of financial aid package is important in retention, but the primary reasons for its importance were beyond the scope of the study. Further research is needed with large regional data bases to measure positive retention effects, if there are positive effects. A need exists to isolate what student characteristics or forces substantially explain retention in relationship to financial aid. A study of the relationship between retention and the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant Program and College Work Study Program is especially warranted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0960. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.