This study compares the instructional, academic support, and student services needs of international and American students at Portland State University (PSU), Portland, Oregon. Variables measured include the perceived importance of university-related services, and the level of satisfaction with services received. A questionnaire with 26 background questions and 41 service-related items for ranking and discussion was mailed to 225 undergraduate international students and 225 undergraduate American students, with a response rate of 52%. Responses were tabulated to ascertain demographic profile of PSU students, importance of university services to international students at PSU, current level of satisfaction of international students in regards to university services received, importance of the various university services to U.S. students at PSU, current level of satisfaction of U.S. students in regards to these university services, if U.S. and international students at PSU differ in the importance they assign to university services, if U.S. and international students differ in their level of satisfaction with services at PSU, relationship between perceived importance and level of satisfaction for U.S. and international students, relationship between perceived importance and level of satisfaction for international students, perceived reasons for dissatisfaction concerning service quality for U.S. and international students, and any suggestions these students have for improving the quality of services. Respondents' descriptive characteristics were reported and tabulated as background information. Frequency distribution, the chi square test of significance, and means were calculated using responses to queries about the service-quality items, and responses of international and American students were compared. Major findings included that there are many areas of agreement between international and American students. However, significant differences were found: 2 "need" items under instruction, 5 "need" items under academic support, and 13 "need" items under student services. Focus group interviews were also conducted. Researchers can use this additional data to develop theories about answers given; university administrators could use this information to develop programs to ameliorate perceived problems, or make changes in the quality or delivery of existing student services.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect on culture-bound evaluation by the Intercultural Communication Workshop (ICW) at Portland State University. An increase in positive evaluation of an intercultural dyad was taken to indicate a decrease in culture-bound evaluation. Methodology consisted of an adaptation of Dawes' "Direct Estimation Techniques" which was utilized in creating the testing instrument. The results are inconclusive but suggest that the ICW training may be more effective in this dimension for the American students than for International students.

Over the past five years, increased enrollment in student teaching at Portland State University has forced the School of Education to consider its current guidelines and policies for admitting student teachers. School of Education funding and faculty time are being taxed to meet the demands placed on them by increasing enrollment. This study was undertaken to provide data to determine if and how enrollment in student teaching could be limited. To do this, the study examined the existing guidelines for screening and selecting student teachers. The aim of the design was to determine if any of the existing criteria used in screening correlated with the student’s success in student teaching. If the screening criteria did correlate with the student’s success it would be strictly defined. This would then aid in limiting the number of students accepted by the School of Education to student teach. If the screening criteria did not correlate, research could begin from that point. This research could be directed toward finding criteria that did correlate. The sample selected for this study was made up of 1,409 student teachers at Portland State University from Fall Term 1966 to Spring Term 1969. The qualifications for each of these student teachers, at the time of their screening, were gathered and correlated with the scores each student received for his student teaching experience. The scores used to measure the student’s success were taken from the ratings made by the University Supervisor, who was assigned to the student teacher. These scores were concerned with four areas of the student’s experience: first, the student’s knowledge of his subject matter field, second, the student’s teaching ability, third, the student’s ability to get along with students and colleagues, fourth, the student’s professional and ethical attitudes. The data was gathered by reviewing and compiling each student’s qualifications from records on file in the School of Education. This data was transferred from the file to a data sheet which was specially designed for this study. From the data sheets the findings were grouped and tested. The general conclusion of the study was that of the current criteria used in screening, none correlated at a statistically significant level with the student’s success score. A secondary conclusion was that of the three grade point averages used in screening, the cumulative average correlated at a higher level than the other two. The interview rating used did not correlate at a significant level with the success score. Also, the interview rating did not correlate significantly when used to indicate an unacceptable or outstanding score in student teaching. From the findings and conclusions several recommendations were made in the study. One was that, the screening criteria used by the School of Education be deleted. In its place, an open enrollment policy should be adopted by the School of Education. To ease the funding and time difficulties, it was recommended that the one to sixteen ratio currently used in supervision be increased. To do this it was suggested that the clustering plan, now being considered by the School of Education be adopted as a plan of action.

The School of Social Work at Portland State University has administered a Maternal and Child Health Training Project over the past ten years which has focused on two major objectives: 1) providing medically oriented social workers for the state of Oregon, and; 2) stimulating interest in maternal and child health in the field of social work. The purpose of the study was to obtain some data in order to evaluate the degree of success experienced in realizing these objectives. The study sought to determine where the 53 graduates who have been trained through the project are employed, what aspects of their jobs relate to medical social work generally and maternal and child health concerns specifically, and what components within the curriculum content that they experienced have been particularly helpful in carrying out their tasks while working in a medically related setting.

An examination of sociology student satisfaction levels is performed and an attempt is made to explain variations in degree program satisfaction. A comparison is made between current student and alumni regarding the coursework and experiences they feel should be offered in the undergraduate degree program in sociology at Portland State University (PSU). The study population consists of all PSU students who have obtained an undergraduate degree in sociology since the program's inception and all students currently attending PSU and majoring in sociology. The typical respondent is female (the ratio of females to males being higher for current students than for alumni) and is 39 years old. Close to half of the respondents have at least one parent with a college degree. Most current students work while attending school. Current students earn less than alumni (they are also more likely to work part-time). Around half of the alumni respondents stop their educational career with their undergraduate degree. The majority of those who continued beyond the undergraduate level do so in a field outside of sociology. Alumni are predominantly employed in white collar jobs involving computers and writing -- skills they rank as important attributes of a good department. The majority of current students are full-time seniors who transferred from another institution, and chose to attend college to gain personal knowledge and to prepare for employment. When asked about their goals, the majority of current students intend to find employment in the six months after graduation. Current students are more satisfied with the degree program than alumni respondents. Age is not related to a stronger vocational orientation. The level of financial hardship incurred by alumni to attend college is positively correlated with a vocational orientation. This was not the case for current students who show no relationship between the two variables. Degree program satisfaction is positively correlated with job satisfaction, but the relationship is weak. The more vocationally oriented students and alumni are more satisfied with the degree program. Finally, the more useful the student feels sociology is in their present job, the more satisfied they are with the program.

The purpose of this study was to examine the interrelationships between the School of Education and the rest of the university by means of the course demands placed by elementary education majors and graduate education students on other academic departments during the fall terms of 1972 and 1973. It also examined the course demands placed on the School of Education by other major groups for this period. The Induced Course Load Matrix (ICLM) was the vehicle used in this examination. The hypothesis tested were 1) that elementary education majors and graduate education students placed equal course demands on the other academic departments, 2) that other major groups place equal course demands on the School of Education, and 3), that course demands by these three groups were consistent over time. Results indicated that elementary education majors and graduate education students did not place equal demands on other academic departments. Elementary education majors place the greatest course demands, as might be expected, on departments where there are course requirements such as Psychology, English, General Science, Mathematics and Speech. However, this group also placed heavy course demands on the History Department even though there are no required courses. Graduate education students placed course demands on other academic departments similar to elementary education majors, especially in the Departments of Psychology, English and History.

The Counselor Education Program at Portland State University currently uses five admission criteria to determine the acceptance or rejection of applicants. These criteria include letters of reference, a panel interview, a writing sample, the applicant's undergraduate GPA (UGPA), and the applicant's score on either the MAT or the GRE. Scores on these measures are adjusted and combined to create a single total score upon which admission decisions are based. The present study attempts to evaluate the validity of these admission criteria in predicting success in the Counselor Education Program at Portland State University. For the purpose of this study, student success was defined in terms of both the GPA upon graduation from the program and ratings of student clinical counseling skills by program faculty. The subjects were graduates of the program who had been admitted between the years 1988 and 1991. Information collected for analysis included scores on the admission criteria and GPA upon graduation, age at admission, counseling specialization, and gender. A questionnaire was then developed which asked the program faculty to rate the students' clinical counseling skills. An analysis of the correlation between scores on the admission criteria and scores on the outcome criteria (graduate GPA and clinical skills score) was performed using the SPSS Statistical Package. Regression analysis showed that among the admission criteria only the MAT score significantly determined success on the outcome criteria. Gender was inversely predictive of graduate GPA (i.e., being female correlated with higher graduate GPA). Further research, using alternative measures of counseling skill, is indicated. These results suggest the need for such research, and for further evaluation of the current admission criteria.

This research explores the events and circumstances that lead to persistence and departure within the sociology master's program at Portland State University. It examines how individual and institutional characteristics interact and influence student decisions to dropout or continue in the master's program. It utilizes Vincent Tinto's (1993) theories of persistence and departure and his concepts of social and academic integration as they apply to sociology master's students. The purpose of the research was to describe how students became socially and academically integrated and how integration influenced patterns of persistence of departure. The aim also was to determine whether background variables such as undergraduate GPA, cumulative master's GPA, enrollment status, and career and educational goals influenced student outcomes.

This thesis tests the validity of three theories purporting to explain the attrition of stop outs -- why students interrupt their studies with the intent to return to school. Data were gathered at two schools, Portland State University and Reed College. Two theories, those of social class and involvement, were tested at each school as contending explanations of attrition by path analysis of parsimonious models derived by factor analysis. These theories were found to explain little of the variance of attendance pattern (less than 4.3 percent) at either school. No particular lines of causation could be demonstrated at either school. The third theory, that of career planning, asserts that students interrupt their studies to re-evaluate their course of action upon recognizing that chances of employment in their field are not good. This proposition was supported by the data at Portland State University.

The P.S.U. Educational Center is an attempt to facilitate the access of Portland's inner city residents to higher education. It is an attempt to overcome the bitterness, defeatism and mistrust that many of these people feel toward education. In its four year history the Center has grown rapidly. The number of people served by the Center per term has risen from 15 in 1969 to 1,300 in 1972. Course offerings have increased from 5 to nearly 30. The Center offers both college credit and other types of courses at nominal fees. An evaluation of the Center--based in part on a student survey conducted in January, 1972--indicates that while the Center has been 2 substantially effective in meeting its objectives it is also reaching a large number of people with advanced educational and occupational achievements than would normally be expected. But this is not an overwhelming trend. The Center is also reaching those of poverty backgrounds and limited education. Racially, the Center serves all ethnic groups. The actual count of students responding to an ethnic identification item on a questionnaire distributed during winter term, 1972 are: American Indian, 2, Oriental, 5, Negro/Black American, 146, Spanish Surnamed, 1, Caucasian, 87. The majority of those registering at the Center do so for the purpose of earning college credit. In conclusion this thesis makes recommendations for the additional funding of the Center, for changes in the policy of the State Board of Higher Education that would allow for the provision of salaried teaching personnel from the various departments within the University, for the commitment of such personnel to the Center, for larger and more adequate physical facilities for the Center, for the elimination of the G.E.D. program, for the stabilization of the fee arrangement, for a survey to determine if the center is doing its best to reach the people who could most benefit from its services, for the granting of legitimate status to the Ed Center, and for the institution by the Admissions office of P.S.U. of an active program to recruit students from the Center to the main campus of the University.