The intent and purposes of this study are (1) to discover the extent of the guidance needs and problems which confront the women students in North Texas State Teachers College and the extent to which the students are adjusting and developing into normal and socially effective individuals; (2) to interpret the data collected from the individual questionnaires in order that plans for a more adequate and effective guidance program may be made, and to offer a functional basis for individual and group guidance; and (3) to measure their present needs and problems in relation to personal and social adjustments as individuals and as groups.

This study was an attempt to identify the factors that female basketball players consider important in their selection of a college to attend. A questionnaire was sent to all scholarship-granting junior colleges and Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association universities in the State of Texas during the 1991 spring semester. Students from 11 junior colleges and 11 Division I universities replied to the survey. The findings of this study are based on data collected from the 244 subjects' responses to a four-page, paired-comparison questionnaire. According to the junior college basketball players, the availability of scholarships and the opportunity to play were the two most important factors in their sleection of a college. Six other factors that were considered important to the junior college players' selection of a college were parental influence, the head coach, degrees offered, high school coaches' influence, geographical location of the university, and the style of ball played. The availability of scholarships was the most important factor in Division I female basketball players' selection of a university. Five other factors considered to be significant by Division I female players were the opportunity to play, the geographical location of the university, the degrees offered, the university facilities, and the head coach. A high positive correlation was found between the rankings of the junior college and the Division I female basketball players.

This study identified the problems of mature college women students, assessed their intensity, and described relationships between the intensity of problems and the following seven demographic variables: number of credit hours for which they were currently enrolled, number of hours previously earned, age range, marital status, number of dependent children, age range of youngest child, and estimated total annual family income range. The Introductory Chapter includes the problem, purposes, research questions, background and significance, definitions, and limitations of the study. Chapter II contains a review of the literature concerning mature women, with a focus on two areas: (a) motivation for enrolling in college and (b) measured personality traits. The need for further research on the problems of mature women is also presented. Chapter III describes the subjects, the development of the questionnaire, procedures for the collection of data, and the method of treatment of the data. The findings are reported in Chapter IV. The summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented in Chapter V.

The aim of this study was to identify the characteristics of non-traditional female students and their perceived reasons for university studies.