The purpose of this study was to identify a set of determinants of quality for public two-year colleges. To identify specific measures of quality for public two-year colleges, 61 variables of quality were selected from recent research on quality in higher education and consolidated on the Inventory of Determinants of Quality (IDQ). This instrument was mailed to a random sample of two-year college presidents, two-year college faculty members, four-year college deans, and community business leaders. Of the 476 surveys mailed, 315 were returned.
The ANOVA procedure identified 24 IDQ items which the four study groups agreed were important to determining quality at public two-year colleges and 6 IDQ items which were less important. The study groups differed significantly in rating the remaining 31 IDQ items as determinants of quality for public two-year colleges.
The majority of items found to be important to determining quality at public two-year colleges were related to student outcomes and academic standards. Items related to faculty characteristics, such as research productivity, were found to be less important.
Four-year college deans differed significantly from the other three study groups on 13 IDQ items. The major differences were on items related specifically to two-year colleges such as diverse instructional delivery systems and the relationship between the two-year college and its local community.
The results of the study led to two major conclusions regarding the determination of quality of public two—year colleges. First, a different set of criteria must be used for measuring quality at two-year colleges. Second, outcome measures must be an integral part of any two-year college evaluation system. Further research is recommended to determine the degree to which the items identified as determinants of quality for two-year colleges should be measured.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc330784 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Carnahan, Francette |
| Contributors | Smith, Howard Wellington, McCallon, Earl L., Eddy, John, 1932-, Shaake, Jean B. |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | ix, 183 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Carnahan, Francette, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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