This research attempted to ascertain whether the ratings of applicants in the admissions-evaluation process of Dallas Theological Seminary (Admission Committee Rating, or ACR) were related to persistence in seminary study sufficiently to allow reasonable prediction of completion based on the strength of the ratings. Five ACRs were examined - the total ACR and its four components, strength of previous academics, personal references, potential and promise for ministry, and previous ministry experience. Other non-admissions factors were also examined to see what relationship they had to persistence. Those factors were years of matriculation, age at matriculation, gender, marital status, ethnicity, nationality, types of previous higher education, whether or not financial aid was received (if known), and the total amount of financial aid received (if known). Persistence in the study was defined as graduation from the seminary's major four-year master's degree program (Th.M.) within the time limits published for the degree. Analysis results indicated that only two of the five ACRs were statistically significant, ministry potential and ministry experience, but the relationship with completion was weak. The conclusion reached was that the relationship between the strength of the admission evaluation and persistence was practically insignificant and contributed little to the ability to predict …

Learning styles and readiness for self-directed learning were identified for 125 adult employees enrolled in self-paced training courses. The success of the self-paced instruction was measured by confidence to perform learned skills on the job. Confidence scores were compared across learning style types and self-directed learning readiness. It was concluded that self-paced training programs can be effective for a variety of learning style preferences. Additionally, adult employees who are highly self-directed will experience greater success in self-paced instruction than those less self-directed. The implication for businesses and academic institutions seeking to employ technology based, self-instructional programs is that a return on investment can be maximized by an examination of the target audience. Training programs which are self-paced may not generate the desired success which will translate into effective job performance for those adults who are not ready for self-directed learning.

This study addresses an individual's performance, relating it to eyesight changes due to the aging of the individual and to color computer screens used for computer-based-instruction not designed specifically for older students. This study determines how existing research in gerontology, human-computer interface, and color use in visual graphics can be applied to the design of computer screen displays containing color text and backgrounds and how various color combinations will affect performance by adult learners forty years of age and older. The results of this research provide software developers and instructional designers guidelines to use when designing computer screen displays for use in instructional computing settings involving older adults.

Thirty years of empirical research on visual aids have produced inconsistent results--perhaps because the quality and color of those visuals were inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to determine what effects quality and color of instructional transparencies used in an informative speech have on listener recall and attitudes toward speaker and speech. A total of 709 community college and university students in 36 intact classes were randomly assigned to one of four visual treatment groups (poor-quality black/white, high-quality black/white, poor-quality color, or high-quality color) or one of two control groups (no-speech or no-visuals). A videotaped speech was projected onto a large screen at the right of the room; visual aids (each shown for approximately 30 seconds) were projected onto another screen set immediately to the left. Recall was measured by a 10-item multiple choice test; attitude toward speech and speaker were each measured by six seven-item semantic differential scales. Analysis of variance indicated that the type of transparencies used in an informative speech have a definite effect on immediate recall and attitude toward the speech, but no effect on attitude toward speaker. All four treatment groups scored significantly higher on recall than the no-speech and no-visual control groups. Log …

Dallas Bible College existed under several names from 1940 to 1985. It was a member of the American Association of Bible Colleges. Although never prosperous, the institution did have an educational niche. This study explores the reasons behind the close of the school in 1985. It surveys the previous history but emphasizes the events from 1983 to 1985. The study investigates the change of mission, location, and name which occurred in the final year of existence. Also included is an extended study of disunity on the board of directors. Exploration is made of reasons why no strong leadership emerged to step in and save the school as it was on its downward path.

The focus of this study is a comparison of the perceptions and expectations of the leadership role and function of the department chairpersons in the faculty of education by the respective department chairpersons, deans, and all faculty members from each of the six public teacher colleges in Bangkok, Thailand. In conclusion, role conflict between the department chairpersons can be reduced if the department chairpersons concentrate on the expectations of faculty members. The department chairpersons need to reevaluate their leader behavior in relation to both deans and faculty members in order to fulfill the organizational goals and personal needs.

The purpose of the study was to gather sufficient data from a campus questionnaire and subsequent follow-up interview with the primary college administrators within the target population to accurately describe conditions of the fraternity systems on those campuses. The population for this study consisted of selective, small, private colleges and universities in the Northeast and Middle Atlantic region of the country. The target population of twenty-six colleges and universities was identified from the respondents to the campus questionnaire and included schools from the states of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

One idea common in the computer industry today is that by the time a technological innovation reaches the mass market it is already obsolete. News of recent technological developments race quickly through the computer industry, creating large scale competition among various businesses for the dollars of both educational institutions and industries. In an effort to produce sophisticated and powerful software readily accessible to users whose area of expertise is not programming, software developers have increasingly turned toward the simplest form of language and concept representation--the icon. As icons become increasingly sophisticated and their function grows, so will their availability in various interfaces. The number of users who operate them will also increase. Advanced help systems and animation will assist in relieving some difficulties while creating others. In either case, icon recognizability will be a crucial factor for anyone (novice or expert) who will use them. The purpose of this study was to verify whether all users unfamiliar with a graphical user interface (GUI) system, specifically icons, will require assistance with 40' "W those icons that are unrecognizable in either form or function. Based on the results of this study, an icon recognizability does exist among different groups of computer users. …

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a ropes course program on self-concept and affective behavior, based on the belief that ropes course participants would rate significantly higher than non participants. A group of freshmen from a select liberal arts college made up the population. Measuring instruments used were the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and the Platt Affective Behavior Scale. The program was a pre-test, post-test control group design. Data were analyzed by two sample t-tests, correlations, and logistic regressions.

The purpose of this study was to trace the development of education, including higher education, in the United Arab Emirates. In order to complete this study, a computer search of available literature in the English and Arabic languages was constructed. The findings of this study revealed that although education at all levels has been expanded and improved, enrollment in vocational education and science remains low at the secondary level. Students also seem to avoid science and education at the college level. Based on the results of this study, further research should be conducted to determine the perceptions of alumni educational experience, community involvement in education, the role of national and multi-national cooperations in education, and women's education in relation to their participation in the labor force.

This study was motivated by concerns within the medical education community regarding the psychometric soundness of current assessment methodologies. More specifically, there is reason to seriously question the reliablity and/or validity of these methodologies in assessing the intellectual skills upon which medical competence is based.

This study investigated job satisfaction/ dissatisfaction among business administration faculty at selected public Iranian universities. It also examined the relationship between faculty job satisfaction/ dissatisfaction and selected demographic and professional activity variables. Finally, the extrinsic and intrinsic factors associated with faculty job satisfaction were analyzed. It was also concluded that, despite a positive correlation of the intrinsic and the extrinsic factors, Herzberg's two-factor theory is a useful model in a faculty job satisfaction research. Furthermore, Hill's FJS was found to be reliable and valid for use in faculty job satisfaction studies in the colleges and universities in Iran.

The major purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the business and higher education partnership program in one Texas community college. Secondary purposes were to describe and analyze (a) the premise of business and higher education partnerships; (b) the planning, organization, and administrative structure in a selected community college; (c) the educational benefits received by both businesses and their employees who are involved in cooperative partnerships in general and at this community college; (d) the future challenges and opportunities for partnerships at other levels of American higher education; and (e) the needed research to evaluate business and higher education partnerships. The five chapters comprising the study include an introduction, a review of literature, the methods and procedures, a presentation and analysis of data, and the summary, conclusions, interpretation, and recommendations of the study.

The purpose of this study was to describe senior-level hospitality programs and assess hospitality administrators' opinions concerning specialized accreditation during the 1990-91 academic year. Overall, administrators characterized the typical full-time faculty member as: being in a small program (1-3 members); being a non-ethnic minority; having a minimum four years industry work experience; having attained a doctoral degree; and holding the rank of associate professor. Part-time faculty members were described as: being in a small program (1-3 members); being a non-ethnic minority; having at leas one to three years industry work experience; having attained a master's degree; and holding the rank of instructor. Administrators characterized their programs as: located at public institutions; beginning after 1970; requiring graduates to acquire work experience; expecting increased enrollments; having placement services available; and not offering continuing education courses. Administrators indicated they were seeking accreditation or were accredited currently. They agreed slightly that accreditation would improve program image, help them meet their programs' missions and objectives, and provide assistance in planning.

A survey instrument, Coaches' Survey, was constructed for the purpose of collecting data for this study. Subjects were selected from the 1989-1990 National Directory of College Athletics. The survey instrument was mailed to 411 coaches; 273 usable instruments were returned. The coaches were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with 36 statements in both the Real situation and the Ideal situation. Major findings of the study led to the conclusions that (a) better communication between athletic directors and coaches resulted in better understanding and acceptance of limitations which may be beyond the athletic directors' control, (b) coaching stress was a real concern for the coaches surveyed, (c) the coaches believed that athletic directors should be strong leaders, (d) men have better access to community leaders than do women, (e) coaches generally believe that athletic directors perform adequately even though there are some weaknesses, and (f) the area of concern for most coaches is financial support for their programs. Even when seen as a fact, it was viewed as restricting the strength and growth of programs.

The purposes of this study were (1) to determine whether patients with AIDS are stigmatized by nursing faculty, (2) to determine whether practicing homosexuals are stigmatized by nursing faculty, (3) to determine whether faculty attitudes toward AIDS patients are influenced by the patients' sexual preference, and (4) to determine whether faculty attitudes toward practicing homosexual patients are influenced by the patients' disease. This study is a modified replication of studies by Kelly et al.

The purpose of this study was to determine what institutional advancement processes are currently operating in a sample of Southern Baptist 4-year colleges and universities ("what is") and how these processes compare with Wesley K. Willmer's model of an effective small college institutional advancement program ("what ought to be"). An overview of advancement literature suggested that Willmer had developed the best model of an effective, small college advancement program. Willmer's model consisted of five benchmarks which focused on the following: institutional commitment, authority and organizational structure, personnel resources, advancement activities and functions, and evaluation. Willmer developed the model based on his review of advancement literature and results from a survey he sent to 191 small colleges as part of his 1980 dissertation. The same survey instrument, with slight revisions, was subsequently mailed to more than 650 small colleges over a seven year period and through a series of three studies in 1985, 1989, and 1992.

The purposes of this study were to measure and compare stress levels of academic administrators in public and private universities which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of University Affairs in Thailand. The administrators surveyed included vice rectors (vice presidents), deans, department chairpersons, and secretary officers from five public and five private universities. The four administrative stress factors studied included role-based stress, task-based stress, conflict-mediating stress, and social-confidence stress.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the marketing strategies for attracting students who have nonreligious vocational goals (NRVG) that are employed by Bible colleges that are either accredited or candidates for accreditation of the American Association of Bible Colleges (AABC). Primary subpurposes were to determine the AABC's interest in marketing themselves.to NRVG; practice of educational marketing strategies toward NRVG; career planning programs and placement services available to NRVG; approaching employers with placement services for NRVG; making available seminars, placement services, and alumni networking for NRVG; and difference in marketing to NRVG according to a colleges' denomination, size, three year growth pattern, and estimated percentage of NRVG. An overview of the literature pertaining to educational marketing and marketing for a liberal arts education was given. The population chosen for this study was the accredited (87) and candidate for accreditation (15) Bible colleges of the AABC (102). Eighty (78.4%) colleges actually responded. The design of this study was survey research using a mailed questionnaire as the principal source of data collection. The statistics utilized were parametric (e.g., one-way analysis of variance and t test) and nonparametric (e.g., chi square). The results of the study indicated that AABC colleges were …

Academic freedom has gone through three distinct eras yet each era overlaps a great deal with the one following it. The first era was the bureaucratic. It was exemplified by the negotiations between administrators and professors in the 1920s. The American Association of University Professors and the American Association of Colleges began cooperating and a hierarchical structure emerged, with the tenured professor at the top of the faculty. The second era was the political era and it was mainly a result of loyalty oaths, which began after the first World War and then escalated again during the 1930s when communism became a major concern. The political era then gave way to the legal era when the first academic freedom cases went to the United States Supreme Court in the 1950s. The first cases were the result of political pressures that became legal pressures. Most of the early court cases were based on communism. The legal era has produced changes. There are now more rights; for students and teachers of all levels, including pre-college levels, are guaranteed some academic freedom rights. However, the First Amendment and academic freedom are not synonymous because a professor usually cannot win a case based solely …

This study was a comparison of the perceptions of administrators and faculty members regarding the actual and expected role of selected components of a faculty development plan at Srinakharinwirot University-Phitsanulok, Thailand. The study also investigated whether the demographic classifications of administrators and faculty members were related to their perceptions regarding the actual and expected role of selected components of a faculty development plan. Forty-one administrators and sixty full-time faculty members completed the survey instrument. Statistical tests used to summarize and analyze the data included mean, standard deviation, t test, chi-square, and correlation ratio. The results and findings of this study showed that (a) there were no major differences between administrators and faculty members related to their perceptions of a faculty development plan; (b) faculty members perceptions of the actual and expected role of selected components of a faculty development plan were consistent to a greater degree than were the perceptions of administrators; (c) significant differences between the perceptions of administrators regarding the actual and expected role of selected components of a faculty development plan were found for only one item: study leaves; (d) there were significant differences between the perceptions of administrators and faculty members regarding the actual role of …

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.

This study concerns the relationship between student evaluation of instruction and student achievement in the field of management at the community college level. Purposes of the study were to determine the subjective student evaluation of instructor performance in introductory classes of management, student achievement in the class upon completion of the course, and the relationship between the student evaluation of instructor performance and student achievement in knowledge of the course. The population studied was all 10 sections of the Principles of Management course taught by 8 instructors at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas during the fall semester of 1988. A pretest-posttest design was used to determine student achievement scores. The College Board provided sufficient copies of two versions of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests for Introduction to Management for the pretest and posttest. A special statistical technique using multiple regression was used to calculate an achievement score for each student that was adjusted for entry level knowledge. Student evaluations of instructor performance were paired with the achievement scores and grades students received from the instructor. Additional confidential demographic data was obtained about the students and the instructors. Major findings of the study concluded there is no …

The problem of this study was performance on selected mathematics and reading assessment tests as predictors of achievement in remedial mathematics. The purpose of the study was twofold. The first was to determine the internal consistency of a locally developed remedial mathematics placement test and the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test. The second was to determine the predictive validity of performance on (a) the local remedial mathematics placement test, (b) the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test, and (c) the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills, Reading Comprehension Test in combination with demographic variables for mid-semester achievement, end-of-semester achievement, and course success in three levels of remedial mathematics at Richland College, Dallas, Texas.