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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.

This is a case study of terminated sex discrimination complaints filed with the Office for Civil Rights against public institutions of higher education in Florida. Included are the perceived effects of complaint action on the grievant and the aggrieved institution, collegial relationships, as well as, stratagems employed by the grievant to protest inequality. Sources of information were the Office for Civil Rights, Letters of Findings, and participants' responses to a questionnaire and an interview. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0962. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to analyze three groups of policy-makers from the western counties of the state of Florida concerning four components of rural community education. The groups were; superintendents of education, county commissioners and school board members. The survey determined total population attitudes and group differences in terms of selective activities relating to interagency cooperation, citizen involvement, use of public school facilities and broad-based programming. Knowledge of community education information held by policy-makers was also examined. / Methodology. One hundred and fifty four questionnaires were mailed to policy-makers located in the fourteen western rural counties of the state of Florida. Seventy two responses were returned for a response rate of forty seven percent. Five categories of response were profiled: disagree, slightly disagree, no opinion, slightly agree and agree. Responses were assigned a number weight from one to five with higher numbers assigned to responses indicating more favorability. Total population and group attitudes were determined in relation to activities associated with the four components. / Findings. Policy-makers' attitudes regarding activities associated with interagency cooperation, citizen involvement, use of public school facilities and broad-based programming were mixed. County commissioners were much less supportive of the components than were superintendents and school board members. Superintendents were the most supportive. Policy-makers agreed that the rural public schools were meeting the educational needs of children and adults in their communities. Policy-makers rated their knowledge of community education information as medium or high. The majority had received information about community education from national, state or local sources. / There was a significant difference at the .05 level of confidence for group differences in thirteen of the twenty three activities associated with the components of community education. / Conclusions. Superintendents and school board members were much more supportive than county commissioners regarding those activities associated with the four components of community education. County commissioners disagreed with the proposition of sharing resources with community agencies for the purpose of addressing social problems. Clear neutrality concerning use of referral services and opposition to resource sharing expressed by the county commissioners could indicate weak understanding of agency capability to adequately deliver the prescribed services under mutual agency sponsorship. Sharing of educational facilities to enhance delivery of social services to the rural population did not find favor with the county commissioners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0961. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

The purpose of this study was to survey the perceptions and preferences of mental health personnel from which guidelines could be derived for staff development planners within community mental health centers. The study involved the administration of a forty item questionnaire to a large community mental health center. The items were designed to elicit staff perceptions and preferences regarding staff development issues and activities. After analyzing the data, conclusions were drawn and guidelines formulated. / Conclusions. The principle conclusions developed in the study were: (1) Items involving decisional participation were critical ones. (2) Respondents, regardless of job rank, perceived staff development to be of great importance, but did not think the organization really backed it. (3) Respondents preferred not to enter into intimate training roles with each other. (4) Promotion was perceived as unrelated to inservice training. (5) Time and location of inservice activities were very important to the respondents. / Guidelines. Selected guidelines developed in the study were: (1) Staff must be involved in all stages from planning to outcome evaluation. (2) The entire staff would not have to be surveyed to determine perceptions and preferences. Job position or classification within the study organization did not significantly influence perception of needs items. (3) Flexibility and variation in the scheduling of staff development events must accommodate different work schedules and unit missions. (4) Organizational commitment with appropriate personnel policies must be present for realistic backup of the staff development program. (5) The perceived needs and interests of staff must be reflected in the design and composition of inservice education and training efforts. (6) Staff will view with caution any effort that would diminish their control and ownership of staff development planning. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-06, Section: A, page: 2527. / Thesis (Educat.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

The purpose of this research was to use three models for assessing the continuing education needs of persons engaged in environmental occupations in the state of Florida to see if they would yield similar results. / The models selected for study provided three different logistical approaches to assessing needs. They were: (1) Social Indicators (SI) model which utilizes the efforts of the planner in analyzing needs based upon available literature and community factors, (2) Community Forum/Key Informant (KI) model which is characterized by personal contact as its primary focus with interaction between the researcher and practitioners, and (3) Gamma Needs Assessment (GNA) model which is a formal process utilizing random sampling and rank-order techniques. The three models were used to assess the continuing education needs of water well drillers in Florida as a representative group of environmental practitioners. / An analysis of the results of the three models was conducted in two ways: (1) a subjective analysis based on logistical considerations and operational elements, and (2) a statistical analysis of the results. / The application of three models to an environmental occupation yielded lists of educational training needs which could be used to initiate training programs. / Recommendations were made for additional research in environmental occupations utilizing these and other needs assessment models. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0691. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The thesis of this study was that variances in the popularity on college and university campuses of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), are related to the presence and/or absence of American society's fears of imminent danger from without or within the country. To determine the validity of this thesis, the relationship between the fluctuations in ROTC enrollment in four-year colleges and universities in the First ROTC Region and changing attitudes toward the programs as expressed in popular magazines was explored. The ROTC programs studied were limited to the Army units (AROTC) in the First Region, including Maine to Puerto Rico. Popular magazines were limited to Time and U.S. News and World Report. Two periods of war (Korea, 1950-53; Vietnam, 1969-72) and two periods of peace (post-Korea, 1954-57; and post-Vietnam, 1974-77) were the time frames selected. / A content analysis technique was utilized by a team of three professionals. All pertinent articles in the magazines under scrutiny were read, analyzed and categorized as pro-, neutral or anti-ROTC. Reasons (stated or apparent) for attitudinal stance, photographs, other illustrations and authors (where given) were tallied for each article. Percentages were computed for all articles and all categories. / Enrollment figures for colleges and universities having Army ROTC programs and for the campus military units themselves were collected. Percentages of students enrolled in AROTC were computed therefrom. Those percentages of students enrolled in AROTC during the periods selected and the percentages of articles favorable, neutral or unfavorable toward the Corps were used to determine the relationship between campus enrollment and societal attitudes. The resulting answers to questions posed in the study failed to show a definitive relationship between ROTC enrollment, as represented by the Army units, and societal attitudes as found in the two popular magazines during the periods considered. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-12, Section: A, page: 5041. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The purpose of this study was to chronicle the organizational development of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) as one form of consortium in post-secondary education. The historical-descriptive research method was used. The conceptual framework for the study derives from the organizational perspective posited by Deal and Rosaler (1975).('1) / Compared with the conditions set forth by Deal and Rosaler, the subsystems of FLETC rank as follows: (1) Goals, simplistic; (2) Formal structure, complex; (3) Technology, simplistic; (4) Informal norms and processes, simplistic; and (5) Environment, simplistic. Accordingly, FLETC is an atypical educational institution. / The study also found that FLETC was a highly cost-effective operation, savings to the Government amounting to approximately $19.5 million annually--derived principally from reduced per diem rates payable to trainees in residence and cost-avoidance from closing duplicative facilities elsewhere. Thirty-six Federal law enforcement agencies currently participate in FLETC's programs; over 9,000 students were graduated in Fiscal Year 1980. / Recommendations resulting from this study include: (1) Deal's and Rosaler's theory of organizational development should be validated in several educational systems and at different levels; (2) additional selected consortia should undergo analyses in order to determine additional ways in which to combat the rising cost of postsecondary education; (3) selected Peace Officer and Standards and Training (POST) programs should be evaluated in order to determine the efficacy of regionally consolidated training, including those conducted in consort with educational institutions; and (4) the history of the Treasury Law Enforcement School (TLES) / should be chronicled. ('1)Deal, T. E., & Rosaler, J. A. An organizational perspective on planning and problem solving in schools. Stanford, CA: Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching, 1975. (Monograph) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0381. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.