This study was directed toward building a theory of retrenchment. To understand better institutional behavior during decline, it seemed pertinent to determine whether a patterned sequence of institutional responses to fiscal stress existed. Previous studies suggested a pattern of responses but had not analyzed those actions over a long period of time. This study examined the responses, over a ten-year period, of twenty-three, four-year colleges and universities that were observed in A Report on the Financial Conditions Project (1981) by the American Council on Education and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. Data collection centered around five response categories--operations, programs, faculty and incentives, policy development, and severe responses. Analysis was a two-phase process: secondary analysis of the ACE/NACUBO report provided data for FYs 1975-78, and analysis of questionnaire results revealed institutional responses during FYs 1979-81 and 1982-84. Institutions were grouped by enrollment experience. It was hypothesized that more political, less reactive measures would be used in the early stages of stress, but that more reactive, traditionally rational actions would become commonplace and more acceptable once the need for change was apparent. In the aggregate, the study found a pattern of responses: More political operational and programmatic responses preceded the more traditionally rational responses. With time, rational actions associated with policy development and the faculty and incentives category increased. The severe responses, though small in number, were confined to the declining institutions. Disaggregated data showed that institutional behavior was individualistic. Contrary to what was anticipated, more rational decisions frequently were not associated with decline; growing/stable institutions often were more responsive than declining ones. The study found that, since 1978, faculty participation in planning and implementation of retrenchment strategies increased; such responses likely attempt to make the change more agreeable. Contrary to the literature, respondents indicated that innovative activity increased as the result of fiscal stress, and that faculty morale improved. Furthermore, there is an apparent relationship between decline and the appointment of new presidents.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a composite Research Activity Index (RAI) score could be developed for each major research university in the United States. Such an index if more valid and reliable than existing univariate rankings, would be a valuable instrument for the objective measurement and dissemination of research activity information. Composite RAI scores were developed for each major research university included in this study. The primary data sources were the National Science Foundation's University Science Statistics and the Association of Research Library's ARL index. Eleven variables were used to develop the RAI. They were average percentage change in research and development expenditures over four years; total research and development expenditures; total capital expenditures for scientific and engineering facilities and research equipment for research, development, and instruction; full-time scientists and engineer employed; part-time scientists and engineers employed; full-time graduate science students enrolled; part-time graduate science students enrolled; postdoctoral personnel; other non-faculty doctoral research staff/students; Phd's awarded per year; and the Association of Research Library's annual index. Principal component analysis was used to produce the RAI scores. The RAI was validated by examination for systematic bias, by analysis of each variable's contribution to the outcome, by comparison to the traditional research and development expenditures ranking, and by having the statistical methods reviewed by a noted statistician. Reliability was established by reviewing the stability of the data bases and variable's definitions over time, by reviewing their stability in previous studies, and by determining that like universities produced like RAI scores. This study demonstrates that an objective composite RAI can be developed from existing data and that the index is more valid and reliable than current, unitary research measures. The RAI has the potential for assisting national policy analyses and university management, strategic planning, and evaluation. The RAI allows for historical, longitudinal, and trend analysis; comparative analysis on a national, regional, state, or university basis; and the potential setting of objective, future research goals with subsequent evaluations based upon actual performance of RAI scores.

This thesis explores how church-founded liberal arts colleges--specifically fundamental/evangelical liberal arts colleges--stayed the drift toward secularization. It uses comparative case studies to examine the structures and beliefs which enabled "staying" schools to resist secularization. Social reproduction theories are used to explain both the reproduction of the dominant culture (secularization) and the reproduction of a subculture (fundamentalism/evangelicalism). Secularizing institutions conform to state incentives and so reproduce what the state sees as necessary for societal survival. Resisting institutions isolate themselves from the dominant culture by establishing boundaries which let in only what accords with the church and so reproduce a culture the church sees as necessary for the survival of evangelicalism/fundamentalism.

No description available.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1983. / Bibliography: leaves 153-160. / xvi, 176 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1934. / "Private edition, distributed by the University of Chicago libraries." Bibliography: p. 123-124.

This study is concerned with determining the role, responsibility, qualifications, and changing trends regarding the position of chief financial officer in higher education : institutions as perceived by presidents and chief financial officers. After a comprehensive review of the literature, a questionnaire was developed, validated, and sent to the presidents and chief financial officers of 100 private and 100 public institutions which had randomly been selected. One-hundred seven presidents and 117 chief financial officers returned the completed questionnaires which produced data upon which the findings of the study are based.

Within the last decade, continuous quality improvement (CQI) has been embraced by higher education management. An important component of the quality philosophy is to institute training for everyone: faculty, administrators, staff and students—in order to achieve a cultural transformation. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the implementation characteristics of CQI training programs and to determine whether or not and to what degree relationships exist between these characteristics and training program effectiveness, as perceived by selected individuals at two- and four-year colleges in the United States. A survey instrument was designed to elicit the perceptions of both the chief administrators and those quality professionals who are charged with the training process as they relate to specific implementation characteristics such as training content needed to convey the appropriate philosophy, program implementation processes, and the perceived effectiveness of the respondents' quality training program. A 21-item questionnaire was used to gather the data from a sample of 524 individuals at two- and four-year colleges in the United States. The dependent variables in the study related to items addressing program effectiveness based on four types of program evaluation, and the independent variables related to specific implementation characteristics. Spearman correlation matrices were executed to test the relationships between and among implementation characteristics and between the four levels of evaluation. Multiple regression analyses were computed to determine which and to what extent implementation characteristics accounted for variation in each of the four measures of effectiveness. Analyses revealed that using a variety of philosophies, tools and content segments, providing training in quality awareness, team leadership, management and leadership, and assessment, using internal trainers, and the extent of staff and faculty support accounted for the largest proportions of variance. The statistical results for the two hypotheses which were derived from the research questions were also reported.

The purpose of this study was to determine the scope of degree-granting programs offered by selected United States industrial corporations. A sample was selected randomly from those corporations with five thousand or more employees listed in the 1980 Fortune Double 500. The sample was stratified by industrial type and number of employees. Data were collected through a mail questionnaire sent to specified corporate officers of 330 corporations. Of the 223 responses received, six were not usable for a variety of reasons. The return of 217 questionnaires from the remaining 324 yielded a response rate of 66.97 percent. The questionnaire was formulated according to the research questions posed in the study and was designed to encourage response from corporate personnel. A case study approach was employed to compare the curricula of corporate-sponsored degree programs with traditional collegiate programs. The corporate degree programs analyzed were associate's degree in electronic engineering technology and bachelor's degree in computer science for business (DeVry Institute of Technology, Bell and Howell Education Group), master of software engineering (Wang Institute of Graduate Studies, Wang Laboratories), and the bachelor's degree programs offered by General Motors Institute in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and industrial administration. The following five items highlight the results and conclusions of this study: (1) One corporation reported offering four degree programs; five more corporations planned to establish a combined total of nine more degree programs within the next few years. (2) It can be anticipated that within the next five years, eight industrial corporations plan to offer a combined total of nineteen college-level degree programs. (3) The corporate degree programs in existence or being planned tended to be in engineering, computer science, and management. (4) Curriculum analyses of corporate degree programs revealed in this study indicated that these programs were comparable to traditional collegiate programs in most respects. (5) Over one-quarter of the respondents indicated that the corporation either participated with local postsecondary institutions to provide educational opportunities for their employees or had tuition-assistance plans for employees.

The purpose of this study was to identify factors accounting for variations in levels of private giving to United States higher education. A second objective was to quantify the effect of each variable on voluntary contributions. Two separate analyses were performed. A cross-sectional study was designed to determine why amounts given vary among institutions for the year 1977-78. Four models were created: an overall contributions and per alumnus contributions model, an economic resource model and an eclectic model. All were analyzed using ordinary least squares regression. The dependent variable used was private giving and the independent variables examined were related to the institution itself or the state environment. In the analysis Liberal Arts I institutions were separated from Research Universities I and tests were performed that divided the sample into public/private institutions, wealthy/poor regions, and sunbelt/snowbelt regions. Second, a time-series analysis of total giving to higher education institutions was performed encompassing the years 1932 to 1974. Again, ordinary least squares regression was used. The dependent variable was total giving (TG) to higher education and the primary independent variables were largely economic factors. In the time-series analysis, three models were probed: gross receipts, net receipts, and a national income model. The cross-sectional analysis found that RUI and LAI institutions share one major variable that is strongly associated with contributions to them: quality. Other factors were found to vary among regions and between nonalumni and alumni giving. It was found also that private giving is best explained through alumni. The time-series analyses had very high explanatory power. Division of the gross receipts model revealed a decided difference between individual and business giving with business responding to classical economic fashion and individuals contributing in apparent disregard of economic motives. It would appear that different characteristics should be stressed when dealing with the different donors to institutions of higher education. Alumni and nonalumni should be solicited in disparate manners and businesses and individuals should be pursued for gifts at different times with different strategies, according to economic indicators and the demonstrated needs of the college.