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Online courses in higher education have a reputation for having a lower course completion or retention rate than face-to-face courses. Much of this reputation is based upon anecdotal evidence, is outdated, or is on a small scale, such as a comparison of individual courses or programs of instruction. A causal-comparative analysis was conducted among 11 large, high research public universities. The universities were compared to each other to determine if differences existed between online and face-to-face course completion; undergraduate and graduation online course completion was analyzed for differences as well. The findings suggested the magnitude of the differences between online and face-to-face completions rates was small or negligible. The area which showed a higher magnitude of difference was in the comparison between undergraduate and graduate online course completion; the practical significance could be worth considering for educational purposes.

The purposes of this study were (1) to describe and analyze the organization and content of nonprofit corporate curricula, (2) to describe and analyze the background and status of nonprofit corporate college faculty, and (3) to describe and analyze the demographics, educational background, and employment characteristics of students in nonprofit corporate colleges. Institutional demographics on student enrollment, number of graduates, admission policy, tuition cost, types of financial aid programs, student housing, and schedule of classes were gathered as well. Data were collected from survey instruments returned by 12 nonprofit corporate college administrators. The data were treated to produce frequencies and percentages. The study revealed that the majority of nonprofit corporate colleges are specialized institutions which primarily offer graduate degree programs. Faculty are most likely full-time, non-tenured employees. White males between the ages of 25 and 40 constitute an overwhelming majority of the student population. Two major findings unrelated to the purposes of the study were revealed during this investigation. They are (1) the term corporate college and the definition are sometimes misunderstood and (2) three corporate colleges identified last year have ceased operating as post-secondary degree-granting institutions.

The study focused on the student service related problems of culturally distinct groups of students attending a community college. The groups selected for the study were sixty international students and sixty English as a Second Language students. The researcher administered the Michigan International Student Problem Inventory, an instrument which has been widely used to indicate foreign students' problems. Combining the use of naturalistic research methodology, the researcher utilized an indepth interview to document the problems they were facing. Patterns and trends among the problems were analyzed and reported. The results indicated that many international students experienced concerns in the area of financial aid, had difficulties with some of the immigration regulations and work restrictions, and experienced forms of racial and social discrimination. The English as a Second Language students tended to experience most difficulties in the area of English language functioning but also experienced problems related to academic functioning and making friends. The student service areas most closely related to the international students' concerns were Financial Aids, Admissions, Placement, Counseling, and English Language Services. English as a Second Language students' problems were most closely related to the areas of English Language Services, Admissions, Counseling, and Academic Advisement. Recommendations generated by the study include the development of a new instrument to include topics generated by the students in the open-ended section of the questionnaire, a translation of the instrument into the major languages of the English as a Second Language population, and the need for future research on subgroups of the populations who indicated a greater number of problems than the others. Institutional recommendations are included which focus on how the college could address the problems which the students identified.

This paper determines relationships between three elements of the American policy process: legislature, agency, and administrative clientele. It concerns interrelationships between these elements and their affect to agency functions. A model is constructed; revealing the policy process, illustrating behavior patterns responsible for normal functioning and failure of policies and programs. The model develops through study of a single policy area. Supplemental data are provided from a survey. The paper concludes that the process is based on legislation-- causing activity in an agency or substantial change in programs; agency actions, seated in its own organizational objectives, and resultant to internal conflicts; and by clientele behavior, determined by agency actions or inactions. This model may help predicting policy outcomes, but only after similar but more comprehensive studies.

This study examined the way in which the top 100 "most wired" colleges and universities provide online student services. Named by a national publication in May 1998, these colleges and universities were chosen because of their technological infrastructure, courses offered online, public computers on campus, and online student services, among other aspects.