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Sex-Typed Occupational Aspiration of College Students (open access)

Sex-Typed Occupational Aspiration of College Students

This study examines occupational aspiration and choice of traditional first-time college students utilizing longitudinal data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). Focus is given to beliefs about the importance of family and money in relation to selection of an occupation that is classified as sex-typed. Change from one occupational category to another is also considered. The dissonance between students' beliefs about the importance of family and money as associated with their sex-typed occupational choice is explored. Understanding students' occupational plans that subsequently determine future prestige, wealth, and status is vital to higher educational professionals who facilitate students in their career selection and major. Therefore, environmental factors of satisfaction with career counseling and academic advising are examined. The U.S. Census Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) data is applied in the classification of sex-typed occupations. Race and ethnicity is investigated to determine if the same gender patterns exist among cultural groups with regards to their occupational selection. The results indicate that students' occupational aspirations were influenced by their belief regarding the importance of family or money. In addition, their beliefs regarding family and money changed after four years of college with family increasing in importance. Strong beliefs that were, either concordant or …
Date: May 2006
Creator: Hafer, Myra Wyatt
System: The UNT Digital Library
Wellness in student affairs: An exploration of the profession and its practitioners. (open access)

Wellness in student affairs: An exploration of the profession and its practitioners.

This mixed design study surveyed members of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) to determine the baseline for wellness among student affairs administrators and within the profession. In addition to describing the wellness levels of the administrators and comparing them to the wellness of the general population, the study explored how wellness is represented within the student affairs profession, as reflected in the literature and practice. Student affairs administrators' wellness was assessed utilizing the Five Factor Wel Wellness Inventory (Myers & Sweeney, 2004). Collectively, the administrators posted "well" scores on the six factors utilized in the study and scored higher than the norms reported for the 5F-Wel general population. However, there was a broad range of actual scores across individuals indicating that not everyone can be considered to be maintaining a well-balanced lifestyle. The administrators' wellness was not affected by their length of time in the student affairs profession but was negatively associated with the number of hours they worked per week. The administrators possessed a holistic view of wellness and could articulate the behaviors and conditions associated with achieving, and failing to achieve, balance. However, reported engagement in certain wellness behaviors (e.g., physical activity and healthy eating) …
Date: May 2006
Creator: Marling, Janet L. Trepka
System: The UNT Digital Library
The quality of the doctoral experience in education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (open access)

The quality of the doctoral experience in education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

This study describes the experiences of doctoral students in education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The study focused only on the 14 HBCUs that offer doctoral degrees in education. Twelve of the 14 eligible institutions agreed to participate in the study. A total of 47 doctoral students who were in their third year of study or close to completion participated in the study. These doctoral students completed a survey that was utilized in a national study of doctoral students at predominately white institutions and Ivy League institutions conducted by Golde and Dore in 2001. The purpose of this study was to determine if doctoral students in education at HBCUs are receiving a quality education and if they are being adequately prepared for their careers. This study offers 368 findings from which the doctoral experience in education at HBCUs can be comprehensively evaluated. It was determined that doctoral students in education at HBCUs do receive a quality education and are being effectively prepared for their careers.
Date: May 2006
Creator: Garrett, Rodney Ulysses
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Quantitative Study of Revenue and Expenditures at U.S. Community Colleges, 1980-2001 (open access)

A Quantitative Study of Revenue and Expenditures at U.S. Community Colleges, 1980-2001

This study provides a detailed description of revenue and expenditure patterns of the United States community college by state and by institutional type (rural-, suburban-serving, and urban-serving) for each five-year period from 1980-81 to 2000-01. The Katsinas, Lacey, and Hardy classification schema for community colleges is used to analyze data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS) and Higher Education General Information Surveys (HEGIS). Further analysis clusters states into the following groupings: states with/without substantial local funding, large "mega-states" versus all other states (employing the methodology developed by Grapevine at Illinois State University), and the structure of state coordination (as developed by Tollefson and others in their studies of state community college systems). The analysis showed wide differences in the various funding patterns for community colleges as related to revenue streams. As late as 1980-91, 16 states contributed 60% or more of the total budgets for their community colleges; by 2000-01, no state did so. By college type, rural-serving community colleges saw the greatest net negative change in their operating budget margins, from 3.2% to 0.4%, although it should be noted that every one of the community college types also experienced a significant decline …
Date: May 2006
Creator: Roessler, Billy Charles
System: The UNT Digital Library
It's a Different World: Gender Variations in the Satisfaction of African American College Students (open access)

It's a Different World: Gender Variations in the Satisfaction of African American College Students

The purpose of this research study was to explore gender variances in the satisfaction levels of African American students at UNT toward the goal of increasing the retention of these students. Variances in satisfaction levels were measured using information obtained from African American students that participated in the fall 2004 administration of the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI). In addition, the UNT Customer Satisfaction Survey (UNT-CSS), which applies Hom's Basic Model of Customer Satisfaction, was used to further examine areas of interest identified by the Noel Levitz SSI. Analysis of the SSI data indicated that no statistical significance existed amongst any of the correlates of satisfaction as a function of gender. In fact, African American students appeared to have very similar ideas on what services were important to them and on how satisfied they were with the services provided to them by the university. African American males and females were most satisfied with Campus Support Services, Academic Advising/Counseling, and Instructional Effectiveness at UNT. The UNT-CSS further examined the above areas. African American males and females were measured against each other to discern if differences occur in how African American students process the customer service model as a function of …
Date: December 2006
Creator: Washington, Latanya
System: The UNT Digital Library
A national analysis of faculty salary and benefits in public community colleges, academic year 2003-2004. (open access)

A national analysis of faculty salary and benefits in public community colleges, academic year 2003-2004.

This study provides a detailed description of full-time faculty salary and fringe benefits in US public community colleges by state and by 2005 Carnegie basic classification type for the academic year 2003-2004. This classification is used to analyze data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS). Further analysis clusters states into the following groupings: states with/without collective bargaining agreements, states with/without local appropriations, large megastates versus nonmegastates (using the methodology developed by Grapevine at Illinois State University), and the impact of California on the nation's salaries and fringe benefits. The analysis showed high level of variation of salaries paid by the type of community college (rural, suburban, and urban serving) in the US. The nation's average salary for full-time faculty was $52,598. Rural serving small institutions faculty salary was $18,754 or 45 % less than the nation's average. Salaries in colleges with collective bargaining agreement were higher than in colleges without collective bargaining agreements. Faculty teaching in suburban serving colleges with local taxation had the highest salaries, $61,822 within colleges with access to local support. Suburban serving multiple colleges in megastates had the highest faculty salary average, $64,540 as compared to $42,263 for rural …
Date: December 2006
Creator: Maldonado, José F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Improving self-efficacy in college students: A modified adventure therapy program. (open access)

Improving self-efficacy in college students: A modified adventure therapy program.

Adventure therapy employs a technique in which therapists use controlled amounts of stress to bring about change in the behavior of clients. One of the domains in which adventure therapy reports improvement is that of self-efficacy. Perceived self-efficacy is the belief that individuals have in their ability to overcome and change their situation in life. This study examines the effect of a modified adventure therapy program on the perceived self-efficacy of college students who were enrolled in an Outdoor Pursuits course at a major metropolitan university. Students received 16 weeks of outdoor adventure therapy programming that culminated in a voluntary weekend camping trip. The students were administered the General Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale on the second day of class to determine a baseline level of self-efficacy to be compared to the posttest completed on the last day of class. The study examined 3 consecutive semesters of archival data collected by the researcher while instructing the course. Fifty-six participants across the 3 semesters were usable for data analysis. The results show there is a significant difference between students' level of perceived self-efficacy from pre- to posttest, and no difference in the effect on gender, classification of students, or the participation of the …
Date: December 2006
Creator: Peebles, Larry Mason
System: The UNT Digital Library