Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to examine the construct validation of an instrument based on students university choice and their perceptions of professor effectiveness and academic reputation at the University of Los Andes (ULA). Moreover, a comparative analysis was carried out to determine how the selected factors that influence the students decisions and perceptions differ according to student demographic factors such as: gender and university campus. This instrument was developed with items based on the three domains formulated: university choice process, professor effectiveness, and university academic reputation. To determine the instruments appropriateness to measure the students decisions in university choice process and their perceptions about professor effectiveness and university academic reputation at the ULA, this research examined the reliability of scores by domains and factors across domains. The participants were undergraduate students who were registered in the second semester of 2002 and enrolled in the different courses by college within the ULAs main campus, which consists of ten colleges throughout the city of Merida, and within the other two university branch campuses in Tachira and Trujillo. For purposes of this research, a stratified probability sample was used to select the participants. The data show that the instrument designed has adequate internal consistency reliability estimates (all the domains exceeded .70). The confirmatory factor analysis shows that the overall fit indices revealed values at or close to the acceptable range .90, even when the model has statistically significant chi-square and demonstrates significant problems with some of the standardized residuals, which indicates that the fit of the model could possibly be significantly improved. The modified model revealed a relatively small improvement in the overall goodness of fit. These results provide supportive evidence of construct validity. Finally, the multivariate analyses of variance using gender and university campus as the predictor variables revealed a nonsignificant gender effect and a significant university campus effect, respectively. The Tukey multiple comparison test used to determine university campus differences across the domains showed approximately similar results, although they are separate and distinguishable. ULA-Merida established the highest mean scores when they are compared on the factors that influence their decisions in university choice process and their perceptions about professor effectiveness and university academic reputation, and the campus 1 (NURR-Trujillo) show the smaller mean scores.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Mississippi State University. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

The evolutionary process of higher education in the United States has impacted how universities are perceived by their stakeholders. "Truth" emerges not as one objective view, but as a composite picture of how people perceive the university and each other. These constructed realities are critical to an institution's well being in that how an institution is viewed can impact its level of success. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the image of East Tennessee State University as perceived by select members of the internal academy and the external communities and to examine the extent of congruency between and within the two constituencies. Data were collected through focus groups and individual interviews. Transcripts were converted to text files and coded into categories. Inductive analysis revealed themes and patterns in the data. The academy and community participants perceived that the university projects a strong, positive image regarding: (a) aesthetics, (b) affordability and accessibility, (c) opportunities for non-traditional students, (d) a highly visible medical school, (e) unique programs specific to the region, and (f) strong community partnerships. In addition, the administrative academy participants and the four communities highlighted the tradition of "Pride Week" and the strong leadership of the university. However, the lack of adequate funding and resources negatively impact the image of the institution. An incongruency is perceived by participants in one community served by the university in the areas of (a) regionalism, (b) academic excellence, (c) fiscal resources, and (d) outreach. Incongruency exists between the internal and external stakeholders concerning where they place their emphasis in developing an institutional image. The academy focuses on process; external constituencies focus more on outcomes and products. As a result of this study, recommendations were made regarding: (a) enhancing the positive aspects of commuter students' college experience, (b) focusing resources on unique programming, (c) developing appropriate marketing strategies, (d) examining customer service, and (e) continuing university/community collaboration. Exploring the image of the university from a gestalt perspective is important and significant, particularly at regional universities where campuses and communities have formed partnerships to conduct community-based research and collaboratively address problems of regional importance.