The purpose of this study was to both identify and analyze those major political factors which had a significant impact on the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College. The study was also designed to record a significant period in the history of a two-year branch college and to provide insight into the political nature and developments of a changing Southside Virginia.;It was hypothesized that the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College was based largely on decisions of a political nature rather than on sound academic planning. Further, the effective use of politics enabled the institution to survive many of the crises it faced during the period 1958 to 1972.;The historical method of research was used in writing about the establishment and growth of Richard Bland College. This method allowed for the examination of primary source documents, the obtaining of oral testimony from participants and observers, and the scrutiny of relationships among people, places, and events.;It was concluded that politics permeated every major decision that was related to the establishment and growth of the institution. The role played by local, state, and national political figures and the rivalry that existed among local political sub-divisions materially affected Richard Bland College during the period being considered. Decisions of a political nature which related to nearby public and private colleges also affected Richard Bland.;Further research into the post 1971 period is needed to analyze the changing social nature of Southside Virginia and to determine the effect of neighboring colleges on the future of Richard Bland. The future viability of the institution might be studied in light of state and national educational decisions.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which institutional saga and charter influence the formulation of institutional operating strategy and the degree to which the resultant strategy utilizes the concept of the marketing mix in an attempt to achieve institutional objectives.;Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia was chosen as the subject of the study for several reasons. First, as a private institution, it was assumed that Lynchburg College would exercise more discretion in the allocation of institutional resources to its marketing efforts than would a public institution. Second, Lynchburg College offered an opportunity to examine an institution that, while sound academically, fiscally and administratively, is not well known beyond the region it serves. Third, Lynchburg College experienced administrative transition at the same time the institution recognized the problems it faced as a result of rising costs and declining enrollment. Thus the College offered a unique opportunity to observe the response of a new administration to existing and anticipated institutional problems.;It was hypothesized that (1) the marketing practices of Lynchburg College would conform to marketing practice as prescribed by the concept of the marketing mix and (2) that institutional strategy developed on the basis of the marketing mix would be influenced by institutional saga and charter.;It was concluded that institutional saga and charter were exercising a definite influence on the choice of institutional strategy. The study was not able to establish the degree to which strategy as developed by Lynchburg College conformed to the concept of the marketing mix.;Further study is needed to establish the extent to which a concept such as the marketing mix serves as a basis for developing institutional strategy.

The purpose of the research was to model student choice behavior in order to gain a better understanding of the choices students made (a public four-year college, a private four-year college, or a public community college) and the variables which influenced those choices. The probability of selecting any one educational option was assumed to be a function of variables which reflected costs, income, and tastes and preferences. A logistic form of the demand equation was used which measured the effects of the independent variables on the likelihood that an educational option was chosen.;The study used a cross-sectional design, studying enrollment demand for 1985. The unit of analysis was the local political jurisdiction, either a Virginia city or county.;Financial burden (the ratio of tuition and required fees to median income) was found to have significant positive effects on the probability of choosing a private four-year college, and significant negative effects on the probability of selecting a community college. Local wage rates and unemployment rates were found to be significantly and positively related to choosing the community college option. The local educational completion rate for adults proved to be significantly and positively related to the probability that either a four-year private or the four-year public college was chosen.;The coefficient of determination was highest for the public four-year college option. The community college option, however, had the greatest number of statistically significant independent variables, and appeared to be most in harmony with human capital theory.;Future research can be directed in three areas. First, the effects of the independent variables on full and part-time students should be examined separately, to explore the degree to which the ability of part-time students to work and attend college influences their choices. Second, additional research is needed to confirm and explore why the probability of selecting a private college increases as financial burden increases, and to what extent this is due to substitution of public colleges for private colleges at lower levels of financial burden. Third, future research should explore and refine the concept of the educational options open to the students, perhaps initially by characterizing college options along institutional selectivity and price dimensions. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Preparing for Life as a University Student (PLUS) transition program on student achievement, persistence, and integration. The mixed design study was conducted at a highly selective, coeducational, mid-sized university. Three cohort groups were combined as the treatment group and compared statistically to a closely matched sample of non-PLUS students. Focus groups with PLUS participants were also held.;Two research questions investigated whether there was a significant difference in academic achievement and persistence between PLUS participants and non-PLUS students after the first and second semesters. The remaining three research questions addressed PLUS participants' perceptions of the impacts of PLUS on integration patterns and of the impact of integration on academic achievement and persistence. Statistical analyses showed that there was a significant difference in mean GPAs after the second semester and a significant difference between mean numbers of credits earned after the first and second semesters. Analysis of focus group responses showed that participation in PLUS positively impacted academic and social integration. Furthermore, responses indicated that integration positively impacted achievement and participants' will to persist.;The results suggest that there are advantages to taking the course in PLUS. The results also suggest that strong peer and student-faculty relationships are crucial to student success. Recommendations are made for further studies that analyze achievement and persistence rates beyond the first two semesters of matriculation. The researcher also suggests that future research designs should include comparative analyses of various summer transition programs.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an interaction between pacing and cognitive style upon student achievement and attitude in a basic mathematics college course. It was hypothesized that student characteristics and alternative teaching methods interact to produce differential effects on academic achievement, withdrawal rate, pacing rate, and attitude. A Posttest Only 2 x 2 factorial design was used in this study with teaching method (instructor-paced and self-paced) as one variable and cognitive style (field-dependent and field-independent) as the other.;The original sample consisted of 318 prospective students who were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The 34 most field-independent and the 34 most field-dependent students were identified and assigned at random to two classes on the basis of 17 field-independent and 17 field-dependent students per class.;All procedures except the pacing procedures were identical for the two groups. Students in both groups used self-instructional modules that focused on five to ten well-defined behavioral objectives. Self-paced students proceeded at their own rate; whereas, instructor-paced students took module quizzes according to a course calendar covering the 12-week experimental period.;At the end of the experimental period, each student was posttested in achievement, as measured by the California Achievement Test (Mathematics, Level 19, Form C), and attitude, as measured by the Aiken Revised Math Attitude Scale. Differences in achievement and attitude were tested by means of the chi square statistic. All results were reported at the .05 level.;The findings support Witkin's theory of cognitive style. A major implication of this study is that instruction should be individualized in such a way that field-dependent students are matched with instructor-pacing and field-independent students are matched with self-pacing instructional modes.

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The purpose of this study was to identify factors contributing to success, nonsuccess and, withdrawal of open admissions students at Virginia State University. The primary objective was to develop a means for predicting academic outcomes at the time of matriculation for each student in the open admissions program.;The students studied were entering freshmen who were underprepared to enter college. Ex post facto data used as predictors consisted of SAT scores, high school achievement, placement tests scores, and measures on student commitment, socioeconomic status, and student expectations regarding college life.;Using a total of 32 predictors and the criterion categories of successful persisters, unsuccessful persisters, and unsuccessful withdrawals, four separate discriminant analyses were performed on two freshmen groups. The objectives of these analyses were to determine the extent and manner in which the criterion categories could be differentiated by the predictors and to identify dimensions associated with the differentiated outcomes. Another purpose was to provide a means for properly classifying individual students in future freshman classes given the data required for the predictors.;The hypotheses tested emphasized the primacy of academic variables, and differences between males and females in both performance and persistence outcomes. The theoretical framework for the study consisted of Atkinson's model regarding performance and Tinto's theory of dropouts.;The results revealed a lack of uniformity among the groups analyzed and little evidence of discrimination. The primary predictor, anticipation of needing extra time to complete degree requirements, was nonacademic, but it was only a limited indication of the student's expected degree of academic integration at college. The secondary predictor, reading ability, was only supportive in predictions. The results regarding prediction of performance did not conform to the majority of the findings in the literature nor to Atkinson's model. The results on dropout, including actual outcomes, appear to be consistent with outcomes that could be expected from Tinto's theory.;It was concluded that accurate predictions on open admissions outcomes for individual students could not be made at the time of matriculation. However, predictions of group outcomes could be made on the basis of actual outcomes determined in the study.

This study concerned job attitudes of faculty in higher education. The need-satisfaction model of job attitudes served as a conceptual framework. The purposes of the study we to: (1) examine the need-satisfaction and job-satisfaction linkage in the need-satisfaction model and (2) determine the effects of two job characteristics and eight personal characteristics on need fulfillment of faculty. The job variables were academic discipline and type of employing institution. The personal variables were age, length of teaching experience, level of education, locus of control, pay, rank, sex, and tenure status.;The sample consisted of full-time teaching faculty from three types of higher educational institutions in Virginia: doctorate-granting university; four-year liberal arts college; and two-year college. Faculty represented four areas: humanities; natural sciences and mathematics; social sciences; and professional and applied fields. Faculty possessed four ranks: instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor.;Data were collected through interviews. Need fulfillment was measured using a shortened form of the Maslow Satisfaction Items on Schneider (Schneider and Alderfer, 1973). This instrument determined need fulfillment on five subscales: security, social, esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization. Job satisfaction was measured using a questionnaire based on the Job Descriptive Index of Smith, Kendall, and Hulin (1969). This instrument determined job satisfaction on five subscales: work, supervision, pay, promotion, and co-workers. Locus of control was determined using the Rotter (1966) Internal-External Scale. Job and personal variables were reported on a demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the statistical techniques of bivariate correlation, canonical correlation, multivariate analysis of variance, Duncan Multiple Range Test, and linear and multiple regression analyses.;A strong positive correlation existed between need fulfillment and job satisfaction. Thus, the significant relationship posited by the need-satisfaction model of job attitudes was supported.;There was a significant relationship between locus of control and need fulfillment. Faculty with internal orientations, i.e., those who believe that outcomes depend more on one's own actions than on luck, chance, fate, or influence of powerful others, showed higher need fulfillment scores than faculty with external locus of control. By the need-satisfaction model, faculty showing internality have higher job satisfaction than faculty with external feelings.;Total need fulfillment and autonomy need fulfillment were significantly related to institutional type. On overall need fulfillment, faculty in the two-year college showed the lowest scores; faculty in the doctorate-granting university showed the highest scores. On autonomy need fulfillment, faculty in the two-year college showed a significantly lower mean score than faculty in the other institutions.;Academic discipline significantly affected only one dimension of need fulfillment esteem. Faculty in the natural sciences and mathematics showed lower scores than faculty in the humanities, social sciences, and professional and applied fields.;The expected effects of age, length of teaching experience, level of education, pay, and rank on need fulfillment were not found. Possession of tenure did, however, affect need fulfillment. Faculty with job security had higher overall need fulfillment and higher security need fulfillment than faculty without tenure.