The problem with which this study is concerned is the identification of selected factors, prior to a student's admission into the nursing sequence, that may be related to the student's success in completing a baccalaureate nursing education. The purposes of the study were (1) to determine if there is a relationship between the reading ability of baccalaureate nursing students and their grades in their initial nursing course, (2) to determine if there are statistically significant differences in reading abilities among traditional groups and identified nontraditional nursing student subgroups (men, older students, blacks Hispanics, and others) of the population, and (3) to determine if prior educational experience (junior college, senior college, or a previous baccalaureate degree) is related to students' grades in the initial clinical course.

The problem of this study concerned the marketing strategies utilized by public community colleges, public and private colleges and universities for the nontraditional student in Texas. Subjects of this study consisted of 101, or 78.9 percent of the original population of 128 regionally accredited colleges and universities in Texas as listed in the Educational Directory, Colleges & Universities, 1980-81. Out of original subpopulations of 56 public community colleges, 48, or 85.7 percent; 26, or 76.5 percent of the 34 public colleges and universities; and, 27, or 71.1 percent, of the 38 private colleges and universities surveyed participated in the study. Contact persons for the study were primarily public relations officers.