Throughout the United States, colleges and universities are faced with an increasing need for financial funding, while at the same time resources continue to diminish. With the limitations of available funds, community colleges must exhibit efficiencies in the operations of their institutions. External interests, such as governing boards and legislatures, require demonstration of efficient financial management. This evidence is then used to make decisions concerning future financial support for the community college. This study determined if community college chief executive officers use financial performance indicators as provided by the State Auditor's Office and if the chief executive officers of the community colleges value the compilation and the distribution of the financial performance indicators. In the selected colleges, many of the chief executive officers depend on their chief financial officer for understanding and application of financial performance indicators. The performance indicators distributed by the Auditor's Office captured only a snapshot of the college's performance, and failed to fully describe the whole college performance or specific financial events captured by the indicators. Though the indicators had flaws, either through incorrect data or lack of explanation, the CEOs did value their compilation because they provided a means for ‘getting the community college story' …

The effect of an interdisciplinary algebra/science course on students' critical thinking skills was examined. A traditional college algebra course was used as a comparison group. The students in the sample enrolled in college algebra and then half were randomly placed into the interdisciplinary course. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest comparison group design was used. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal was used to measure the students' critical thinking skills. This instrument consists of an overall critical thinking score as well as five subscores in the areas of Inference, Recognition of Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation and Evaluation of Arguments. It was found that the students in the interdisciplinary course made greater gains in the overall critical thinking score as well as in four of the five subscores. However, the differences in the gains made in the two courses were not statistically significant. Disregarding course, other factors that were found to be closely related to critical thinking were Composite ACT, grade received in the course, Math ACT and grade point average. It was also found that students whose majors were in the Schools of Arts and Letters or Science and Technology scored higher on critical thinking than students whose majors were in the Schools of Business …

Student retention is one of the most important issues facing higher education. The demand for accountability of higher education has pushed the issue of student retention to the forefront of its agenda. Increasingly, state legislatures are tying funding to institutional effectiveness, using graduation rates as measures of academic quality. Though there is an abundance of literature of studies conducted at the four year institution, few studies have examined the community college student. This study attempted to identify 4 specific pre-enrollment variables, (1) parent's education, (2) high school senior grade point average, (3) educational goals and (4) racial origin, as predictors of persistence and retention. The sample included 312 entering freshmen at North Lake College in Irving, Texas who were administered the College Student Inventory (CSI) in the fall semesters of 1995 and 1996. The 1995 cohort consisted of 201 entries, 103 (51.2%) female and 98 (48.8) male. The 1996 cohort consisted of 111 entries, 65 (58.5%) female and 46 (41.5%) male. A data base was constructed by extracting selected data elements from the completed inventory. Each student was tracked for one year following the semester they completed the survey. The Pearson Chi-Square Test of Independence with .05 level of significance …

This research study investigated the effectiveness of the application of child-centered play therapy procedures and skills by trained fifth grade students in play sessions with kindergarten children who had adjustment difficulties. Specifically, this research determined if play sessions with trained fifth grade students facilitated change in kindergarten children's self concept, internalizing behavior, and externalizing behavior and their parents' stress level.

This study examined success rates and end-of-semester grades for three instructional methods used in developmental algebra and college algebra. The methods investigated were traditional lecture, laboratory, and computer mediated learning. The population included the 10,095 students who had enrolled in developmental algebra and college algebra at Richland College in Dallas, Texas, for five semesters. Success was defined as earning a grade of A, B, C, or D in a course.

This study examined the way in which the top 100 "most wired" colleges and universities provide online student services. Named by a national publication in May 1998, these colleges and universities were chosen because of their technological infrastructure, courses offered online, public computers on campus, and online student services, among other aspects.

By measuring interactions among and between anxiety and the independent variables of country of origin, gender, level of education, and age, this study attempted to gain insight into how students from different countries experience anxiety on a U.S. college campus. Results of the Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and the univariate test(ANOVA) indicated that the gender and level of education of the subjects made no significant difference. However, when it came to country of origin, there were significant differences between two of the cultural groups and respective anxiety level. Findings also support a positive correlation between age and anxiety levels, with the youngest participants having the lowest anxiety levels.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether age, ethnicity, gender, full-time/ part-time status, and the community college academic variables of cumulative GPA, total transferable hours, and number of completed core courses predicted students' persistence or GPA at a four-year university.

This study investigated current use of American Association of Colleges of Nursing guidelines in preparing the baccalaureate nurse graduate to practice nursing in the community health sector of the healthcare delivery system and use of community based healthcare delivery sites by baccalaureate programs located in non-urbanized and urbanized areas. The extent of guidelines adoption, plans by colleges not currently using them to do so in the future, and impact of accreditation visits on the adoption of the guidelines were also explored. A qualitative survey design was used to describe the use of AACN guidelines in the development of baccalaureate nursing education.

A study was conducted at The University of Texas at Arlington to obtain measurements of non-traditional age undergraduate students using the Mattering Scales for Adult Students in Higher Education (MHE). The MHE is designed to assess the perceptions of adult students on how much they matter to the institution they are attending. The study also sought to determine if "mattering" and other selected nonacademic variables associated with the university environment are perceived by nontraditional age students to effect their likelihood of completing their baccalaureate degree. Of the five subscales surveyed by the MHE, significant statistical differences were found to exist in the Administration, Interaction With Peers, Multiple Roles, and Faculty subscales denoting an interaction between gender and minority status. Significant statistical differences were also found by gender on the Advising subscale and by minority status on the Faculty subscale.

Reorganization efforts within colleges and universities are increasingly considered as institutions look for ways to streamline operations for financial cost savings or competitive advantage. The purpose of this study was to assess a particular change effort in a university library which took place between August, 1996 and July, 1997. A team was formed to manage the change effort, and an outside consultant was hired to facilitate the process and guide the team. Stufflebeam's evaluation model was used as a conceptual framework to evaluate the entire process which included a particular change management model brought in by the consultant. The entire change effort was described by the author as a participating member of the team and assessed by gathering feedback from team members, library staff members affected by the effort, and members of the library administration.

This study sought to determine if different factors had influenced females and males to select engineering/science-related studies at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS). The data were collected in the fall semester in 1997 at TAMS located on the University of North Texas campus from a survey of factors reported in the literature that had influenced students to enroll in engineering/science-related curriculum.

This study investigated Texas nurses' attitudes toward mandatory continuing education, and their perceptions of skill improvement, knowledge enrichment and improvement of health care to the public as a result of participation in twenty contact hours of continuing education programs as required by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas. This sample of Texas nurses felt that the goals set forth by the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas had been met by participation in mandatory continuing education. However, given the small return rate, the attitudes of these nurses may not represent the attitudes of the majority of Texas nurses.

The problem of this study concerns the role and functions of diversity affairs centers' chief personnel officers at public universities in Texas. Because of the political and evolving nature of diversity affairs offices, it is important to understand the functions and types of services these centers provide with respect to institutional goals, missions, and student retention at public universities in Texas.

This study focused on factors that may influence freshmen students when choosing their colleges, specifically those who attend metropolitan universities such as the University of North Texas. In addition to identifying major characteristics of the institution that attract students, it also explored the sources of information that students considered important when making their choice about where to attend college. The primary instrument for gathering the data was focus groups. These informal, small groups provided a format for in-depth discussion and probing questioning about the needs, wants and influential factors driving freshmen college choice. Ten focus groups were held with between six and ten students in a specially designed room on the campus of the University of North Texas. A professional moderator was employed and sessions were observed via a two-way mirror and tape recorded for later transcription. The major questions addressed in the focus groups included: What factors influenced students the most to attend the University of North Texas? What did they consider the level of friendliness on campus? And how did the marketing materials that the university distributed impact their decision to attend? The study found that the factors that most influenced freshmen to attend the University of North …

The fact that girls and women suffer a loss of self-esteem disproportionate to boys and men is without argument. There are an increasing number of books, magazine articles, and resource kits being made available to begin to comprehensively address the issue with young girls. However, less effort is being directed toward the older adolescent, the college-age woman. The problem with which this study was concerned was that of determining the impact of a mentoring program on the self-esteem of college-age women. The Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory (MSEI) was administered as a pre- and posttest, to 40 sophomore women, 20 of whom were in a control group and 20 who participated in the structured mentoring program. Using the MSEI, it was possible to gain statistically significant data which indicated that the self-esteem of the women could be positively impacted as a result of the mentoring experience. In addition to the instrument, the participants kept journals about their mentoring experience. Therefore, this research was able to report both qualitative and quantitative findings. The findings regarding the control group were not statistically significant for any of the 11 characteristics on the inventory. The findings from the mentored group however, were determined to be statistically …

The study determined the overall persistence rate of first-time full-time entrants into a mid-sized private university during the fall semesters 1989 to 1991 to the 2nd year (1990 to 1992). The study compared the retention rate of recipients and nonrecipients of a variety of financial aid programs. Included is a comparison of groups receiving various types of financial assistance and whether or not there are differences between the groups with respect to types of assistance, gender, ethnicity (African American, Hispanic, Anglo), high school grade point average, and national test scores (SAT, ACT). The types of assistance studied were categorized by academic scholarships, university-operated student employment, need-based grants, activity awards, entitlements, and loans. The question of whether renewal, elimination, or reduction in assistance relates to retention was also studied.

The relationship between work-family role strain and parenting styles (permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative) was examined. Questionnaires were completed by 45 mothers whose children (ages newborn to three years) were enrolled in early childhood centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton, Texas, area. Participants were primarily Caucasian, high-income mothers who had attended college. Results indicated no significant relationship between role strain and parenting styles. Open-ended questions revealed insights into mothers' reported role strain. This research may provide employers and professionals who work with families with information to assist mothers in reducing role strain. They may also recognize that parenting style may be independent of a successful balance of work and family.

Proprietary colleges are uniquely different from two or four year colleges due to the emphasis on the student establishing a definite career path prior to enrollment. Because of this career track emphasis, Bandura's (1977) postulation that self-efficacy is a significant variable influencing task completion may offer insight into the challenge of student retention at a proprietary college. The study's purpose was to determine if career self-efficacy, demographic factors, and academic preparedness measures in first quarter students could predict student persistence, class attendance, and academic performance. The statistical technique of multinomial logistic regression was applied to data files of 725 first quarter students who attended The Art Institute of Dallas from Summer 1996 through Winter 1997. The predictor variables included a measure of career self-efficacy, ASSET scores (American College Testing Program, 1994), ethnicity, age, gender, full-time/part-time attendance, high school grade point average, parents' educational level, socioeconomic status, and developmental course placement. Criterion variables were completion, class attendance, and cumulative grade point average.

The present study compared the academic stress levels of 450 college sophomore students at a public university and a public two-year college. This investigation also explored the levels of academic stress by institutional type, age, gender, and ethnicity. Data were obtained from having the subjects complete the Academic Stress Scale, a questionnaire which lists thirty five stress items found in the college classroom. Analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyze the data. There were 225 subjects each in the community college group and the university group. The university group had a statistically significant higher mean stress score than the community college group. 294 traditional age (23 and younger) and 156 nontraditional age (24 and over) subjects stress levels were compared. It was found that the traditional age college student group experienced a statistically significant higher academic stress level in both academic settings. Group means were compared between the stress scores of 245 female and 205 male subjects. At both the community college and university levels, the female group had a statistically significant higher level of academic stress. The academic stress levels were also compared according to ethnicity. The minority group consisted of 104 subjects and 346 subjects comprised …

This study was designed to assess the difference in litigation between two courts: one mandating For Kids' Sake, a psycho-educational seminar for divorcing parents, and the other not so mandating. The level of difficulty of children's adjustment to divorce has been positively correlated with parental hostility. More hostile parents would have more contested cases, interim motions, and relitigations. This research compared final dispositions, interim motions, and relitigation between parents in two courts in Collin County, Texas. The treatment group was from the 219th District Court which mandated all divorcing parents with minor children to attend the For Kids' Sake Seminar and the control group was from the 199th District Court which did not so mandate. Archival data was collected from a computer generated list for the Total group data to assess final dispositions and directly from District Clerk files for the In-Depth group data to assess interim motions and relitigation. The Total group was comprised of 679 research subjects with 330 cases in the treatment group and 349 cases in the control group. The In-Depth group consisted of 182 cases from both courts with 84 cases in the treatment group and 98 cases in the control group. Chi square analysis …

Kenneth H. Cooper is considered to be a noted scholar in the field of wellness and fitness. This study explored his contributions to the preventive medicine and wellness movement in community college physical education programs in the United States. It examined Cooper's influence on the development of preventive medicine and wellness from its inception and growth to its impact on changes and factors affecting curriculum in community college programs. A random sample of436 physical education division directors from the nation's 1,400 community colleges yielded a 62% survey response. For purposes of comparison, the sample was stratified into two regions taken fromeast and west of the Mississippi River. Chi-square analysis at the .01 level of significance found no difference between variables due to geographic region. The findings of this study indicate that Kenneth Cooper's contributions to preventive medicine and wellness in community college physical education curriculum are overshadowed by state and local governing bodies that are the force behind curricular development in the nation's 2-year community colleges. However, as an individual contributor, Cooper ranks highly in influencing the wellness and physical education curriculum primarily in the areas of aerobic exercise, physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease. The extent of Cooper's impact on …

This study resulted in the development of the Discouragement Scale for Adults (DSA), an assessment instrument for the Adlerian construct of discouragement in adults more than 18 years of age. The DSA is a 60-item instrument that contains five sub-scales corresponding to five life tasks identified in Adlerian literature as work, love, society, self, and spirituality. Age, gender, and ethnicity norms were established for the DSA using a diverse sample (N=586). Additional normative data was developed with a presumed discouraged sample (N=47), and a special sample of traditional college students aged 18-27 years (N=531). Findings on the norm sample indicated that females are less discouraged than males on the Total DSA and on society and spirituality sub-scales. The 18-34 year old group was more discouraged than other age groups on the Total DSA and on work, society, and spirituality sub-scales. Presumed discouraged sample findings indicated that females were less discouraged than males on the society sub-scale. College student findings indicated that females were less discouraged than males on the Total DSA and sub-scales of love, society, spirituality, and work. A significant difference was found among ethnic groups in self sub-scales. Students with no absences per week were less discouraged than …

This study was an examination of faculty and student perceptions of a campus-wide computer network at Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio. The most important conclusion of this study is that the computer network at Cedarville College has significantly impacted interactions between faculty and peers and faculty and students. It is recommended that a longitudinal study be conducted to explore the possibilities of the computer network and its importance to and impact on the teaching/learning process. It is also recommended that an evaluation program be set up to monitor the usefulness of the computer network to the teaching/learning process.