Virginia Tech Engineering graduates of 1975 were surveyed to determine if salary differences existed between matched groups of co-op and non co-op graduates and to determine if selected variables were related to salaries. The average salary for co-ops was higher for both first and current positions (six years after graduation). These differences were significant at the .0545 level for first salary and at .0845 after six years. Several variables had significant relationships to salaries. Location for both groups, undergraduate major for non co-ops and type of employer for co-ops were related to first salary. Four variables were related to current salary: type of employer for co-ops and undergraduate major, job function and fathers' Socio-Economic Index for non co-ops. For most of these variables with significant relationships with salary, the significance levels were similar for both groups, and these probably had little effect on salary differences between groups. Co-ops probably had higher first salaries because of their co-op experience. Two variables with possible effects on salary differences were undergraduate major (which was related to current salary for non co-ops) and type of employer (which was related to current salary for co-ops). These two variables may have undetermined effects on salary differences between the groups. The effect of fathers' socio-economic attributes (educational level and occupational prestige) seems to increase with time, with closer relationships to current salaries than to first ones. / Master of Arts

The purposes of this study are to evaluate the effectiveness of the training program at Arlington State College; to evaluate the curricula of the Semi-Professional Engineering Program at Arlington State College; and if needed, suggest improvements in the Semi-Professional Engineering curriculum at Arlington State College.

The primary purpose of this study is to determine the turnover in the teaching profession the first five years after certification. Special attention will be given to the problems that prompted the change of work.

This study reviewed the literature on the struggle for equal educational opportunity of the 1960s and 1970s, the reform movement of the 1990s, the public/private school debate of the 1980s and 1990s, the issue of school choice in the 1990s, and a brief history of private schools. The literature revealed that since the Supreme court's ruling, in 1954, on the unconstitutionality of separate-but-equal public schools and decisions on the separation of church and state, during the 1960s and 1970s, the number of and enrollment in private and parochial schools have grown steadily. This study was conducted on a sample of 14,242 students attending 17 colleges (15 private colleges and 2 public universities) to determine if there was a difference in their academic performance (GPA) at the end of their freshman year. The independent variables of the study were the size of the student's secondary school graduating class, the religious affiliation of the secondary school, the gender enrollment pattern of the secondary school, and the residential pattern of the secondary school. In addition, using the student's SAT score, an analysis was conducted to determine whether or not the student's first-year college GPA exceeded their GPA predicted by the SAT.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Public Relations Management, Department of Public Relations, Durban University of Technology. Durban. South Africa, 2015. / The alumni form the largest stakeholder group of any higher education institution (HEI). Representatives from this constituency occupy seats on t he Council (the highest governing body of a higher education institution). Institutions, worldwide, look to their alumni, as a source of funds, to provide expert advice and general support. Therefore, higher education institutions and alumni have to share a mutually beneficial and ongoing relationship. This relationship is maintained through constant and regular communication. Loyal alumni are a mainstay of financial support for many universities. It is important, though, that universities, not only focus on gifts but rather on a br oad and deep engagement with alumni. Alumni relations with their colleges and universities seek to generate interest that eventually translates into financial contributions and volunteer service, which means giving back to their alma mater. To achieve this goal, communication is extremely important. Alumni respond to a call for assistance from their alma mater for many reasons. Some of the reasons include having had good experiences during their undergraduate years as well as their academic qualifications holding them in good stead in the work place. The value that universities place on t heir alumni cannot be underestimated. Many hold influential positions and can assist in contributing to the financial coffers of the university as well as sharing their expertise.

This study operationalized Bekkers and Wiepking's (2007, 2011) eight theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving, examining them within the context of alumni donor behavior at a selected public university in the southern region of the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine if the theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving represent distinct psychometric dimensions, and whether they are correlated with one another or essentially independent. A survey with 24 original items was created for this study, and completed by 178 alumni association member donors and non-member donors from the selected university. The study found support for six factors that are relatively independent of one another, contributing meaningfully to the overall multidimensional construct. The found factors were labeled efficacy, solicitation, reputation, values, altruism, and awareness of need as they fit reasonably well according to their original names. No differences were found between the mean response scores for alumni association member donors and non-member donors across the six dimensions. These results are beneficial for university fundraisers, alumni relations professionals, researchers in the field of philanthropy, and methodologists interested in developing instruments that measure the motivations for private giving. / by Paul Metcalf. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Fundraising in the 21st century is becoming an increasingly important component of rural community colleges' (RCCs) overall funding strategies. Alumni represent a significant population of potential college supporters. The problem facing rural community colleges involves fiscal viability through developing innovative fundraising practices and identifying emerging sources of additional revenue. The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics and motivations of RCC alumni who are likely to contribute financial support to the institution. The significance of fundraising in RCCs is explored. Rationales, strategies, and key terms are identified from the literature. A review of the literature related to fundraising in RCCs provides context for the topic. A qualitative research design using a case study method was used to answer the research questions. The analysis of data is presented and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Graduation date: 2013 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from June 26, 2012 - June 26, 2014

This dissertation uses qualitative research methodology (individual interviews with alumni of three separate graduating classes) as a means of evaluating the effectiveness of an architecture program at a private engineering college located just outside the city limits of Kathmandu, Nepal. Cross-cultural issues were an important aspect of the research as the researcher (a former teacher at the college) is an American while all the students were from Nepal. All interviews were transcribed and the data collected was analyzed primarily using the Constant Comparison/Grounded Theory approach. Triangulation of data from different individuals helped to verify observations and solidify conclusions. The presentation of the research retains individual anonymity of the subjects within the framework that they were all students of architecture in the Department of Architecture at Nepal Engineering College in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Effort was made to explain the epistemological position of the author and comments are included describing possible bias in various stages of the research and analysis process. The findings indicate a high level of success by the graduates of the program, especially in the early years of its existence. Graduates from more recent years describe less satisfaction with their architecture training. The findings from the research lead to specific suggestions for changes/improvements in the architecture program at Nepal Engineering College. / Department of Educational Studies

A university’s alumnus grouping is one of its most valuable assets in terms of its potential financial, strategic and social contribution towards the credibility and longevity of the institution. The goodwill and support of a primary stakeholder grouping such as the alumni is crucial to the aspirations of a Higher Education institution wanting to prosper in a fast-changing and highly competitive market. Alumni members have the capacity to assist in strategically positioning a tertiary institution as a market leader in the South African Higher Education Sector (SAHES) by means of representation on the institutional council and their involvement in networking, lifelong learning, career services, mentoring, fundraising and community development activities. In light of the restructuring and transformation that this sector has undergone since 1994, building and maintaining valuable relationships with alumni stakeholders of tertiary institutions in South Africa has become a new and more difficult challenge. The integrated network approach of relationship management could give an institution the opportunity to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved. Information technology has had a significant impact on the power structure and relationship between organisations and their publics, stakeholders and the media. It has become extremely difficult for organisations to define and segment these audiences as, for example, Internet audiences are widely spread across geographical, cultural, and economic boundaries. This makes the packaging and dissemination of information a much more challenging task, as information needs to be generic enough to be commonly understood, but should also be personalised in such a way that it still addresses the different audience segmentations effectively. However, the identification and profiling of target audiences is critical for successful information dissemination, as this knowledge will guide the information managers within organisations in compiling relevant (to the target audiences) content and packaging the information in a way that is most suitable to the needs and resources of the targeted group. At the core of developing an alumni network is a secure database with an interactive Web-based platform allowing the alumni management teams and members to disseminate and share relevant information freely. According to a research project (the first phase of a longitudinal study) about disseminating information to UJ alumni, 98,2% of the respondents indicated that they wanted to have contact with the UJ Alumni Relations Office (Barnard, Rensleigh & Niemann, 2005). The majority of respondents, 86,7%, indicated that they preferred to receive the information via electronic mail or from the website. The research findings indicated that the UJ alumni stakeholder group is part of a privileged section of the South African population in the global and national digital divide. Thus, the alumni management of UJ had the opportunity to explore and use the information-sharing options offered by online and digital technologies. This research project forms the second phase of the ongoing research project in an attempt to discard the “one-size-fits-all” notion with regard to information sharing with the alumni stakeholders of tertiary institutions in South Africa. The aim of this research project is to determine the extent to which an online community portal could manage the information needs of alumni stakeholders in the SAHES, using the alumni of the University of Johannesburg as a case study. Establishing an online (virtual) community Web portal for UJ alumni will support a customised approach in terms of information content, dissemination, context and commerce. An online community environment will offer alumni opportunities to re-establish contact with peers and nurture relationships with one another through frequent social interaction (chat). Such a facility would allow and encourage conversations that are of value to all stakeholders, as these communities can exist beyond the boundaries of location and time. They foster not only the potential to promote business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C), but also consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interaction and could even exploit the possibilities of human-resource placements. The research consisted of an extensive literature review followed by a quantitative empirical survey and a qualitative discussion forum. The purpose of the literature review was to establish a theoretical framework in order to lay a solid foundation from which the empirical research was conducted. The different components of the research problem were discussed as well as possible variables that could influence the research problem. The restructuring of the South African Higher Education Sector was investigated, with specific focus on the University of Johannesburg and its alumni stakeholder group, taking an in-depth look into the value that an alumni stakeholder group holds for an institution. The management of alumni information needs was discussed, using Web-technology as focal point. Online community portals were defined, emphasising the benefits that this information tool could have for Higher Education alumni. As part of the quantitative study, an empirical survey was conducted in April 2006 among the alumni of the University of Johannesburg to determine their information needs concerning an online community portal, and the content required of such an online community model. A total number of 10 380 questionnaires was distributed to graduates of the University of Johannesburg at the Autumn Graduation ceremonies. The questionnaire consisted of four sections, namely Section A: Biographical Information, Section B: Online Activities, Section C: Alumni Information Services and Section D: Alumni Community Needs. In total, 1 703 questionnaires were completed and returned by these graduates to the UJ Alumni Relations Office. In addition, a qualitative discussion forum was conducted among 35 alumni management representatives from fourteen SAHES institutions during August 2006. The representatives indicated how information was disseminated electronically to alumni target audiences and their opinions towards alumni online community portals were tested. The research results indicated that an online community portal, could manage, to a great extent, the information needs of alumni in the South African Higher Education Sector (UJ alumni case study). Consequently, a prototype was proposed for an online community portal for SAHES alumni that would have a significant impact on the information and communication methods used to build alumni networks, for the benefit of both the alumni stakeholders and the Higher Education institutions in South Africa. Although the alumni of the University of Johannesburg served as a case study for this research project, the proposed prototype could be tailored to the needs of other alumni organisations throughout the South African Higher Education Sector. In terms of inter-institutional collaboration, this research project offers an opportunity to liaise and share information with other alumni organisations of the SAHES. This could result in successfully identifying a best practice model for managing the information needs of alumni stakeholder groups of tertiary institutions in developing countries, which is significantly different from the philanthropic approach to these stakeholder groups in first world countries. As a result, the employment sector of Higher Education institutions in South Africa could gain from the research outcomes, as the proposed prototype will offer an ICT and Web-based solution which could be applied for the mutual benefit of the relevant stakeholder groups and the institutions. / Prof. Chris Rensleigh

The alumni survey conducted at Portland State University School of Social Work by second year students had two purposes. One purpose was to fulfill the research practicum requirements of a Masters of Social Work degree by providing experience in the area of applied survey research. The other was to provide a data base for future alumni research at the school.