The primary purpose of this investigation was to identify and describe the current role of the executive vice president in higher education. The subpurposes of the study were to determine (1) the duties of the executive vice president, (2) the decision-making responsibilities associated with the position, (3) the degree of agreement between presidents, executive vice presidents, and written documents regarding the duties of the office, and (4) the extent of numerical increase or decrease of the position. An analysis of the findings led to the following conclusions that (1) there is close agreement between presidents and executive vice presidents regarding the duties and requirements of the position of executive vice president; (2) there is little agreement between presidents of differing types and sizes of institutions and between vice presidents of such differing institutions; (3) a majority of institutions have written job descriptions for the position but few of these documents actually describe the position with detail; (4) this study also generated a composite job description; and (5) finally, demonstrates that the position of executive vice president has grown at a significant rate over the past decade.

The problems with which this dissertation is concerned are undergraduate student attrition and ways to reduce it. This study describes the problem of undergraduate student attrition by presenting an overview of the extent of such attrition. As a result of this study, the following conclusions, among others, are advanced: 1) Approximately 50 per cent of those who undertake a baccalaureate degree program complete their programs within four years. 2) Attrition data provide a measure of efficiency of higher education. 3) Undergraduates who do not complete course or degree requirements in either attendance or academic performance contribute to and constitute a measure of waste in the economic sense of (a) the labor of teachers, (b) the use of classrooms, laboratories, and equipment, (c) the failure of colleges and universities to achieve educational objectives, and (d) the competent individuals who never enter college. 4) Attrition is a distinct, interactive process. 5) Institutions of higher learning are responsible for changing their characteristics and environments when such variables adversely affect congruence of otherwise qualified and competent students. 6) Texas' senior college presidents who were surveyed believe that an extremely important variable in reducing attrition is the establishment of a relationship between the student and …