The problem with which this study is concerned was that of examining the relationship between academic achievement of college freshmen students and selected demographic variables. The purpose was to compare the grade point average of selected freshmen at North Texas State University and determine if geographic location, high school size, gender, racial heritage and college admission test scores affect academic achievement during the first year of college.

This study examined differences between adult first-generation (AFG) and adult-continuing generation (ACG) students’ academic self-efficacy with regard to the online courses in which they were currently enrolled. The study used an online survey methodology to collect self-reported quantitative data from 1,768 undergraduate students enrolled in an online course at a mid-sized, four-year public university in the southwestern United States; 325 cases were usable for the study. The t-tests revealed no statistically significant differences between the academic self-efficacy of the AFG and ACG students. Parents’ level of educational attainment was unrelated to adult students’ academic self-efficacy with online courses. Ordinary least-squares analysis was used to evaluate student characteristics that might be associated with academic self-efficacy in the online environment. A combination of gender, GPA, age, race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic, and other), and number of previous online courses predicted a statistically significant 12% of the variance in academic self-efficacy in an online environment (p < .001). Age (p < .001) and self-efficacy were positively correlated, meaning that adult students reported greater academic self-efficacy than did younger students; and number of previous online courses (p < .001) was also positively correlated to academic self-efficacy, indicating that students with greater experience with online courses …

The problem of this study was to develop a model for the administration of auxiliary enterprises in Texas higher education as a cooperative effort of administrators and input from other sources. The purposes were to determine which administrators currently have the responsibility for the management of auxiliary services, to evaluate the correlation between the type of administrator and the concern for fiscal and student needs, to identify problems and opportunities for useful administration, and to develop a model integrating the strengths of each administrator and the implementation of new ideas to improve auxiliary enterprise management. A survey instrument consisting of three types of questions was mailed to both Vice Presidents of Fiscal Affairs and Student Affairs at all 26 four-year public institutions in Texas. Part I questions were informational, designed to determine who administers auxiliary services. Part II consisted of 20 questions on a Likert scale to obtain both opinions on the theories of the research, and specialized knowledge of the administrators. Part III was free response to solicit ideas from the administrators for the construction of the model. Paired t-tests were performed to determine knowledge strengths of the administrators. All other information was presented in frequency tables or narrative …

Learning communities have emerged as an efficient and effective paradigm for improving undergraduate education, especially for entering freshmen. The academy has become increasingly interested in learning outcomes and student retention, especially as they are related to the assessment of various approaches to educating the whole student. Learning community pedagogy has developed through rigorous research. However, little is known about the impact of this pedagogy upon college students' cognitive development and writing aptitude. Cognitive development theory has been most significantly influenced by the work of William G. Perry, Jr. Though no theory exists which would address the stages of writing development in university students, many composition theorists suggest a correlation between cognitive development and writing aptitude. This study measured cognitive development and writing aptitude in learning community students and non-learning community students, matching them for SAT scores, high school grade point averages, gender, and ethnicity. The research questions of interest were: 1) How does participation in a learning community affect students' cognitive development; and 2) How does participation in a learning community affect students' writing aptitude? The participants were pre- and post-assessed for cognitive development, using the Measure of Intellectual Development (MID). Additionally, participants were preand post-assessed for writing aptitude, using …

The purpose of this study was to develop a test which would reveal a person's primary level of existence according to Clare W. Graves' model of adult psychosocial behavior. The sub-purposes of this study were (1) to translate Graves' theoretical levels of existence into discrete components of attitude and behavior which could then be assessed with a written test instrument, (2) to create such a written instrument, and (3) to test the instrument for reliability and validity. The general conclusion of this study is that the Levels of Existence test meets the standards of reliability and validity accepted within psychometrics sufficiently to recommend that it be revised with respect to certain details as specified in the study, and that further research be undertaken.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine if the System of Interactive Guidance and Information (SIGI), which is a computer-based career guidance system that is employed with non-handicapped individuals, can be adapted to serve the needs of physically handicapped individuals. One hundred forty eight career and guidance professionals responded to a survey instrument, which was designed by the investigator, indicating their perceptions of the limiting effects of twelve specified handicapping conditions on the SIGI-programmed occupations. These respondents also listed their specific occupations, average time spent in career counseling with each handicapped individual, resources used in career counseling, incidence of use of SIGI, and opinions of needed changes to SIGI to make it a viable instrument in counseling the handicapped.

This dissertation examined the relationship between the three year academic success of transfer students and the variables of race, gender, age, number of transfer credit hours, and place of residence. The study was conducted at Midwestern State University, a public, regional four-year institution and followed the incoming transfer classes of the fall 2005 (N = 292), 2006 (N = 323), and 2007 (N = 286) semesters. The subjects included in this study were all new transfer students who met the university.s requirement to live on campus. The dependent variable, three year academic success, was defined as whether or not the student was still persisting or had graduated within three years from the date of initial enrollment. The independent variables were housing status during the first semester after transfer, age at time of transfer, gender, race, and the number of credit hours at the time of transfer. The first research question aimed to determine if housing status impacted the three year academic success in the population. Chi-square analysis found that there were no significant distributions of the students who lived on-campus and the students who lived off-campus during their first semester after transfer. The second research question aimed to determine if …

Academic capital is composed of social processes that result in family knowledge of educational expectations, and strategies that result in a successful college experience. Often underrepresented and first-generation students lack a wealth of academic capital. This lack of knowledge may affect their college success. I used the Academic Capital Scale to research differences in academic capital in students attending a 2-year and a 4-year institution. To address differences in these two groups, I performed an independent samples t-test. The analysis was done with and without transformations (transformations were unsuccessful.) and both procedures yielded no statistical significance in mean academic capital scores. In addition, a Mann-Whitney U test was completed which also resulted in no statistically significant difference in mean rank of scores. I performed a logistic regression to determine whether academic capital could predict students' enrollment status (full time vs. part time). The model accounted for 2% of the variance in the enrollment status and the academic capital scores did not contribute significantly to the model, meaning they did not predict enrollment status. Finally, I ran a multiple regression to investigate if low socioeconomic status, gender identity, first-generation status, enrollment status, or race/ethnicity could predict students' academic capital score. The …

This study sought to determine the ways in which Texas public school districts differ in their calculation of Grade Point Average/Rank in Class (GPA/RIC), how district size affects weighting practices, and the effect of non-uniform calculation of GPA/RIC on admissions to college. Descriptive and non-parametric analysis techniques were used.

The problem with which this study was concerned was that of determining some of the ways and to what extent Texas upper-level universities in their academic units and the individual university as a whole have uniquely met the needs of public higher education in Texas. It was concluded that upper-level universities are fulfilling their roles in innovative/experimental programs. However, as a group upper-level universities are not advancing any more rapidly toward meeting their initial goals and purposes than the four-year universities.

This study is concerned with identifying the factors which produce job satisfaction and which are clearly associated with job characteristics as perceived by the nursing educators who serve in middle management positions. Following are purposes of this study: 1. To identify the actual and ideal job characteristics that are factors associated with job satisfaction, as perceived by nursing educators in middle management positions; 2. To determine the interrelationships among the job satisfaction factors that are identified with the actual and ideal job characteristics, as perceived by nursing educators in middle management positions. Responses to a three-part survey instrument, which contained sixteen independent variables, were received from 152 of a possible 292 middle manager nursing educators working in accredited baccalaureate schools of nursing.

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) is a public university that serves over 4,500 undergraduate and graduate students as a branch of the University of Texas system located in Odessa, Ector County, Texas. The UTPB was established as an upper-division and graduate school on February 4, 1969, and first opened its doors to students in September, 1973. This historical study focuses on the development and progress of the UTPB from its inception until it was elevated from an upper-level institution to a four-year university twenty-two years later. The formation, mission, and curriculum are examined as well as are faculty and student characteristics and support. This study addresses the background history of higher education in the region, the role of community and college leaders in the UTPB's creation and struggle for four-year status, and the UTPB's unique features. The study was conducted by collecting data from available primary and secondary sources. The written data were then subjected to both external and internal criticism to determine the authorship and meaning of the documents. To explain events and put the written documents in context, oral histories, given by participants, were used. The educational opportunities offered by the UTPB have enriched …

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the job performance expectations of recent journalism graduates as perceived by selected managing editors and journalism educators in Standard Federal Region Six (the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). The survey instrument consisted primarily of statements dealing with the topics of five research questions on the value of journalism education to success on newspapers, the value of newspaper experience to teaching journalism, the language skills of recent graduates, the value of academic research to the improvement of newspapers, and the "gap" between journalism education and journalism practice.

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.

Previous research suggests that careproviders' attitudes and perceptions significantly influence the type and quality of services received by institutionalized adults with developmental disabilities (IADD). This study explored attitudes careproviders hold concerning training needs of the IADD and their service model orientation. It traced the history of training people with developmental disabilities and provided a brief review of the medical, developmental, and normalization models of service delivery. The conceptual framework upon which this study was based proposed that staff perceptions and orientation concerning service delivery to the IADD can be conceptually related to five factors in a research model. They were identified as: (a) careprovider's characteristics; (b) working environment; (c) previous careprovider experience; (d) developmental disability history within the careprovider's family; and (e) self-reporting of a service delivery orientation. This study examined only a portion of this model (factors a, b, and e). The response sample included 370 professionals and paraprofessionals, aged 17 to 72 years, who were employed at a large residential facility serving individuals with developmental disabilities in Denton, Texas. The respondents were predominantly female (76.5%), Caucasian (72.2%) with slightly less than 75% having more than a high school diploma. The instrument, a self-administered questionnaire, consisted of three parts; …

The purpose of this study was four-fold: the identification of behaviors perceived as academically honest by faculty and six levels of nursing students, to determine differences between faculty and students, to determine differences between graduate and undergraduate students, and to determine differences in consequences proposed by faculty and students.

The purpose of this study is to compare the perceptions of two groups of student personnel administrators (chief student affairs officers or deans of students and directors of student activities) with respect to current and expected student activity fee policies and procedures in four-year public institutions of higher education in the United States. The comparison is based on the demographic variables of position held, number of years experience in student personnel administration, and geographical location of the institutions by region.

The problem with which this study was concerned is an investigation of physics instruction in Texas public secondary schools. The purposes of this study were to investigate the status of physics instruction and to determine the in-service needs and preferences of the physics teachers in Texas public secondary schools. Data were collected by a questionnaire that was sent to a stratified random sample of 100 teachers. The questionnaire was evaluated by a panel of advisors and pilot tested. The bases for stratification were relative school size and geographic location. Usable returns were obtained from 69 respondents.

This study sought to identify pre- and post-matriculation characteristics of undergraduate Hispanic students at the University of North Texas (UNT). The study also examined demographic trends among this population. Eleven purposes guided the study: 1) to determine geographic origins of the undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT in terms of location of educational institution attended prior to matriculation; 2) to establish whether students entered UNT as true freshmen or transfer students; 3) to ascertain the gender composition of undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT; 4) to report the highest level of education achieved by parents of undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT; 5) to explore patterns in major selection of undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT and who or what influenced that choice of major; 6) to ascertain the percentage of undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT who plan to use financial aid during their enrollment; 7) to examine the graduation rates among undergraduate Hispanic students at UNT; 8) to determine who is most influential in the academic decisions made by Hispanic undergraduate students at UNT; 9) to discover what type of emotional support is given to Hispanic students pertaining to their college enrollment and success; 10) to establish why Hispanic undergraduate students elect to …

In Texas, Hispanic populations (people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race) have increased from 6.7 million in 2000 to 7.4 million in 2005, or by approximately 10.5%. This growth trend is expected to continue with estimates that Hispanics will represent approximately 37% of the state's population by 2015. The problem this research addressed is that participation in higher education by Texas Hispanics is not keeping pace with the growth in the Texas Hispanic population. If allowed to continue, the state could be in danger of realizing devastating economic and societal consequences. The present study utilized regression analysis to determine how well four institutional characteristics explained the variance in Hispanic enrollment and graduation percentages of students attending public 4-year institutions in states with prevalent Hispanic populations. Findings indicate that while local Hispanic population is a strong, positive predictor of Hispanic enrollments, it has a negative impact on Hispanic graduation rates. The independent variables of average cost of attendance and average financial aid package are the strongest predictors of Hispanic graduation percentages. Implications for the state of Texas include stress on public 4-year institutions in coping with Hispanic population increases, …

In 2009 the Texas legislature created the National Research University Fund (NRUF), intended to encourage a select group of public doctoral universities in the state, known as emerging research universities (ERUs), to increase their institutional status related to academic research by awarding supplemental financial support for meeting specific policy metrics. Efforts to increase the research status of these universities occurred at a time when public financial support remained stagnate and overall institutional costs increased within the higher education sector. This study utilizes a theoretical approach grounded in strategic action fields and employs panel data and a difference in differences statistical technique to analyze the impact that NRUF policy has in assisting ERUs in achieving R1 status, and how this organizational change impacted access to, and the quality of, undergraduate education. Results indicate that the NRUF policy intervention was not statistically significant for any part of the study. These findings suggest that policy interventions do not matter as much as specific institutional characteristics and the overall policy environment. Enrollment and tuition revenue predicted institutional performance related to academic research and graduate education, while also assisting these institutions in maintaining undergraduate academic quality and access. These cultural and material resources at the …

This study examined the extent and sources of primary revenue for Hispanic-, African-American-, and Caucasian-serving public community colleges in Texas. The study also examined differences between and among primary revenue streams for these institutions. The public community colleges were identified as Hispanic-, African-American-, and Caucasian-serving based upon the percentage of enrollments for each ethnic classification. A comparative model was developed for the primary revenue streams of in-district student tuition, out-of-district student tuition differentials, out-of-state student tuition differentials, ad valorem property tax revenue per in-district contact hour, and state appropriations. Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was utilized to conduct multiple-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the data set to examine differences between and among the several variables. Post hoc tests were performed where necessary. Difference was identified in in-district student tuition. Post hoc analysis demonstrated that difference existed between Hispanic-serving and African-American-serving community colleges. No difference was identified in the remaining primary revenue streams.

This study explored the legal parameters of sovereign immunity and its waivers for employees of public institutions of higher education in the state of Texas. This empirical study examined the decisions of the Texas Judiciary concerning public university litigation in the area of sovereign immunity, with a review of major state court decisions. Legal research methodology was used in this study. The data for this study included case study review of six cases decided by the Texas judiciary. Information about each of the cases and the important legal inferences from the cases was discussed. A review of the history of sovereign immunity and the current status of the application of the Texas Tort Claims Act was also included. Based on the review of the relevant case law and scholarly commentary, the study findings suggest that a) Texas courts recognize and apply the doctrine of sovereign immunity, unless the application of the doctrine is restricted by the Texas Tort Claims Act; b) the Texas Tort Claims Act establishes limited waivers to sovereign immunity applicable only under specified circumstances and subjects; c) Texas courts were consistent in applying the circumstances by which an institution or its actors waived sovereign immunity. Practice recommendations …

The problem with which the four-phase descriptive study was concerned is the extent of application of strategic planning by senior colleges and universities in Texas. The purpose was to analyze and describe the status of the planning based on the perceptions of the respondents and a specific set of characteristics validated by twenty experts.