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The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that led to the incorporation of English as an organized discipline at the College of William and Mary.;In order to assess reasons for the unprecedented consideration given the study of English in 1888, it was necessary to examine the English-related studies in the predominantly classical curriculum at William and Mary during the nineteenth century. An attempt was made to determine first why English was not recognized as a subject in the curriculum before the College was closed in 1881 and then why English was established as a discipline when the College was reopened in 1888. It was concluded that a systemized study of English did not develop at the College of William and Mary before 1888 because the study of English as a distinct and separate language was perceived neither as a necessary part of the traditional curriculum nor as a curricular offering which would improve the financial health of the institution.;It was hypothesized that a professorship of English was established and a systemized study of English was inaugurated at the College of William and Mary in 1888 because the Commonwealth of Virginia appropriated funds for a program of teacher education at the College.;The data support the hypothesis that English became an organized field of study in 1888 primarily because the College developed a program of teacher education, which required a study of the English language, in order to secure financial support from the Commonwealth of Virginia.;Further study is needed to examine: (1) whether English remained primarily a servant to practical studies, (2) the role and emphasis on English in current programs of teacher education, and (3) the pattern of development and relative emphasis on English-related studies in the twentieth-century curricula of American colleges.

The problem statement for this study asks which characteristics of the community college environment are the best discriminators between faculty who currently use computers in instruction and those who do not. Specific research questions ask whether the environmental context of the faculty or individual faculty attributes are better discriminators between computer uses and nonusers.;The target population was the full-time faculty employed in the Virginia Community College System. A sample of faculty in 15 colleges was selected in which approximately half had used computers in their instruction. The sample was mailed a questionnaire designed and pilot tested to measure variables which could be used by discriminant analysis to discriminate between computer users and nonusers.;In the useable sample of 446 faculty, 212 were computer users and 234 were not. Conservatively, only 15% of the VCCS faculty had used computers instructionally but the percentage was higher in the smaller schools. The discriminant analysis revealed 9 variables which when taken as a group would correctly classify 70% of cases (75% of the computer users). These 9 variables in the order of entry into the discriminant function were: (1) opportunity to preview software; (2) noninstructional academic computer use; (3) ownership of a microcomputer; (4) adequacy of available software; (5) level of training; (6) community college teaching experience; (7) verbal versus quantitative orientation; (8) compatability of software with hardware; and (9) presence of opinion leaders. Variables 6 and 9 made a negative contribution to the function. When the analysis was run on the largest individual college sample, a slightly different set of variables were included leading to the possibility that the diffusion of computer innovations might be somewhat different at each college than the overall results indicate.;In answer to the research questions posed, 4 environmental context and 5 faculty attributes were found to be discriminating variables. The 2 kinds of variables are almost equally important but more faculty attribute variables entered at lower steps in the function. Based on these results, 5 recommendations are made that could increase the rate of computer adoption by faculty: (1) insure that hardware is compatable with available software; (2) provide opportunities to preview software; (3) encourage noninstructional computer use; (4) increase and encourage opportunities for training; (5) understand that faculty are innovative and have positive computer attitudes.

This study was directed toward the discovery of a grounded theory that identifies the conditions and processes which facilitate effective implementation of federal mandates in institutions of higher education. The constant comparative method, an inductive approach to generating theory, was used to study the implementation of Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972 and the accompanying regulations and policy interpretations for elimination of sex discrimination in athletics.;The research population included public colleges and universities in Virginia. From this population, a sample of four comparison groups (institutions) was selected through application of a mathematical formula which defined each institution in terms of a numerical Change Index. The Change Index formula measured the degree of progress toward Title IX compliance in athletics at each institution over a five year period, 1974 - 1979. In-depth investigations at each of the four colleges focused on the discovery, development and verification of theory.;The design of the study included three phases of research. Each phase employed different data gathering techniques, and each had its own purpose for obtaining various types of data. In Phase I, an informal telephone interview was used for defining the population. Phase II consisted of telephone interviews for collecting data necessary for delimiting the sample and for examining preliminary findings. Personal interviews at four sample institutions provided the primary source of data in Phase III. These open-ended interviews were used to guide data collection and analysis throughout the investigative process.;A theory of prescribed academic change was developed which expands on existing models of educational change. The theory specifically addresses federal mandates and identifies conditions which facilitate the implementation process. In brief, the implementation of mandated change occurs in four consecutive stages: (1) Infusion; (2) Preparation and Policy Formation; (3) Trial and Transition; and (4) Policy Execution. The rate and degree of institutional progress through the four stages are dependent upon three major categories of variables, including: (1) Administrative Organization; (2) Attributes of Key Personnel; and (3) Intervention. A complex and multi-directional set of relationships exists between stages and categories and among the variables within each category. When the combination and influence of the three major variables within an institution facilitate progress through the four stages of implementation, a mandate will be implemented effectively.;The theory of prescribed academic change views implementation of federal mandates as occurring through both planned and unplanned processes. The conclusions regarding the means by which administrative leaders exert power to influence institutional response to a mandate, the description and explanation of the change process in terms of institutional sub-systems, and the role of organizational politics are unique to the theory. Further, the identification of intervention as a precipitant to the effective implementation of prescribed change is critical in explaining why mandates are implemented effectively in some institutions and not in others.

The purpose of this research was the development of an explicit methodology for determining whether or not an individual Virginia community college accounting program is congruent with community needs, as reflected by the perceptions of program graduates and local employers. Thomas Nelson Community College and its service area were chosen as the site for testing the instruments and the evaluation processes developed.;Based upon the data collected in the test area, it was concluded that: (1) The Model, as revised based upon a metaevaluation, might serve as a process for the collection and evaluation of appropriate data. However, the limitations associated with the use of mailed questionnaires tend to vitiate its usefulness; (2) A Curriculum Competency Selection Paradigm, developed for this study, may prove useful in selecting competencies for inclusion in a vocationally-oriented curriculum; (3) The accounting-related competency data collected in this survey, along with the data collected in similar previous studies, may provide a useful set of criteria for determining accounting curriculum content; (4) Accounting program participants possess marketable skills, obtained through training in the community college program, as evidenced by their employment in a wide variety of positions and organizations. General accounting tasks are the function most frequently performed; (5) The accounting program content need not be differentiated for either type or size of organization; (6) A cooperative (internship) program should be considered as an integral part of the accounting program; (7) A relatively large number of accounting program graduates pursue continuing education; and (8) The Virginia Peninsula Vocational Education Council should be used to the fullest extent as a medium for the exchange of vocationally oriented information.;Further study of the following topics as related to the community college accounting curriculum may be appropriate: (1) investigation to determine any changes in accounting program requirements; (2) the effect of the microprocessor on the requirements associated with accounting positions: (3) the extent bookkeeping machines (other than EDP equipment) are used by graduates; (4) the most effective proportion of the accounting curriculum to be devoted to electives; (5) the reasons for the relatively high proportion of graduates participating in continuing education; and (6) an assessment of the VCCS program evaluation objectives.

The purpose of this study was two-fold: to design, implement, and evaluate a program for training faculty advisors, and to analyze in conjunction with the training program whether certain variables were having any impact upon the subject institution's advising system.;An Advisor Training Program was developed and given to a randomly selected group of faculty advisors. The effects of the program were measured by objective post-tests given to both experimental and control group of advisors. The participants also completed a free-response questionnaire on the program. The effects of the program along with those of the other independent variables of advisee's curriculum group, status (full- or part-time), attendance (day or night), length of advising sessions, and advisor load were measured by administering the Advising Satisfaction Questionnaire to advisees. The effects that the variables of curriculum group and attendance were having upon advisees' visiting patterns to assigned advisors were also examined.;The research led to the following findings: the Advisor Training Program increased the knowledge of the trainees, and was rated successful by them; however, advisees of these trained advisors were subsequently no more satisfied with their advisement than were students advised by the untrained advisors; the longer the advising sessions were, the more satisfied the students; advisee satisfaction was affected by the varying patterns of teacher-student contact characteristic of different curricula; full-time and part-timea students were equally satisfied with their advisement; combined, the variables examined accounted for only 16% of the variance in the scores measuring student satisfaction; the variables of both time of attendance and curriculum affected the patterns in which advisees visited their assigned advisors; students advised by a counselor or administrator were less satisfied than were those advised by the faculty.;It was concluded that the Advisor Training Program should be repeated as necessary and be evaluated by not only surveying student satisfaction but also by using other dependent measures such as grade-point averages and retention rates, that there appears to be a problem in certain curricula with both the quality of advising and the availability of advisors, and that there is also a problem with having students advised by counselors or administrators rather than by their assigned faculty advisors.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a change in the student-faculty ratio used in Virginia's budgetary formula for its public institutions had any impact on (1) the level of instructional costs per student unit as well as any predictors that explained its variance, (2) the level of institutional complexity, and (3) the level of financial stability. It was designed to determine if two educational sectors differed in their responses to revenue distress conditions.;HEGIS financial and salary data were compiled for all public institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. They were analyzed together as well as by two sectors: (1) senior-level institutions and (2) community colleges. Pooled time-series cross-sectional multiple regression analysis was used to examine dependent variables' changes after the budgetary adjustments. Stepwise multiple regression was chosen to identify significant predictors of per unit costs. Institutional financial stability levels by year were assessed from a composite score based upon a series of financial and nonfinancial indicators.;No significant difference in per unit costs was found after the budgetary adjustment. The significant predictors of this dependent variable for all institutions were: (1) the instructional expenditure proportion, (2) the staffing ratio, (3) the level of institutional complexity, (4) the amount of educational and general revenues, (5) the number of programs, (6) the interaction of time and sector, and (7) the interaction of time and complexity. In addition, four predictors interacted with time in the senior-level institutions sector. These institutions did not immediately reduce their complexity levels but most were able to preserve their stability despite the type of response to revenue distress.;It was concluded that institutions could not immediately reduce their per unit costs after a budget formula adjustment. Fixed costs and institutional inertia delayed effective responses. Much of the decrease in per unit costs was achieved through salary distress rather than a reallocation of resources among programs which could lead to impaired educational quality.;Further study is needed to evaluate the long-range effect on institutional financial stability and on the achievement of valued objectives from institutions' responses to revenue distress before developing other policy changes.

This study analyzed the impact the Upward Bound program at Virginia Union University had on students' freshman year performance. The population selected for the study were those students who participated in Virginia Union University's Upward Bound program during the academic years 1984-85 through 1993-94 and entered Virginia Union University after completing the program.;The Upward Bound participants were compared to a comparable control group of non-Upward Bound students. The two groups were measured on the following variables: need for remedial math, need for remedial English, placement on academic probation, drop-out rate, average freshman GPA, average (for credit) math grade, and average (for credit) English grade.;The findings were mixed. Upward Bound had a statistically significant positive effect on students' English (for credit) performance. Conversely, a statistically significant negative effect was found regarding Upward Bound's effect on participants need for remedial math and freshman (for credit) math performance. The findings on the variables remedial English, academic probation, drop-out rates, and freshman GPA were not statistically significant.

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