Research in Higher Education

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Faculty Turnover: Discipline-Specific Attention is Warranted

Yonghong Jade Xu

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 40-61

This study investigated the importance of discipline variations in understanding faculty turnover behaviors. A representative sample of university faculty in Research and Doctoral universities was obtained from a national database. Faculty members, self-identified into a primary academic area, were grouped into eight discipline clusters according to an established framework. Multiple regression models...

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Validating NSSE Against Student Outcomes: Are They Related?

Jonathan Gordon, Joe Ludlum, J. Joseph Hoey

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 19-39

While there exist many examples of institutional use of the results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), there is a relative paucity of research explicitly linking student outcomes to responses on the survey. A major Doctoral-Extensive institution in the Southeast recently conducted a large-scale implementation of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). We have linked multiple...

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Graduation Rates and Accountability: Regressions Versus Production Frontiers

Robert B. Archibald, David H. Feldman

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 101-106

The online version of the original article can be found under doi: 10.1007/s11162-007-9063-6 .

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Exploring the Effects of Financial Aid on the Gap in Student Dropout Risks by Income Level

Rong Chen, Stephen L. DesJardins

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 1-18

Using national survey data and discrete-time logit modeling, this research seeks to understand whether student aid mediates the relationship between parental income and student dropout behavior. Our analysis confirms that there is a gap in dropout rates for low-income students compared with their upper income peers, and suggests that some types of aid are associated with lower risks of dropout. Thus,...

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Prediction of College Major Persistence Based on Vocational Interests, Academic Preparation, and First-Year Academic Performance

Jeff Allen, Steven B. Robbins

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 62-79

We hypothesized that college major persistence would be predicted by first-year academic performance and an interest-major composite score that is derived from a student’s entering major and two work task scores. Using a large data set representing 25 four-year institutions and nearly 50,000 students, we randomly split the sample into an estimation sample and a validation sample. Using the estimation...

article

Graduation Rates and Accountability: Regressions Versus Production Frontiers

Robert B. Archibald, David H. Feldman

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 1 > 80-100

This paper suggests an alternative to the standard practice of measuring the graduation rate performance using regression analysis. The alternative is production frontier analysis. Production frontier analysis is appealing because it compares an institution’s graduation rate to the best performance instead of the average performance. The paper explains the differences between these two types of analysis...

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Using Weighting Adjustments to Compensate for Survey Nonresponse

Gary R. Pike

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 2 > 153-171

Weighting adjustments are used in some studies to compensate for biased estimators produced by survey nonresponse. Using data from the 2004 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the NSSE poststratification weighting algorithm, this study found that weighting adjustments were needed for some, but not all institutions. Unfortunately, no simple criterion for determining when weighting adjustments...

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The Effects of Liberal Arts Experiences on Liberal Arts Outcomes

Tricia A. Seifert, Kathleen M. Goodman, Nathan Lindsay, James D. Jorgensen, more

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 2 > 107-125

Despite scholars’ praise of liberal arts education as a model form, very little research has examined the actual impact of liberal arts education on learning outcomes. The elaborate rhetoric and anecdotal support, long used to advance liberal arts education as the premier type of education with value for all, is no longer sufficient. The practices and conditions that lead to outcomes of a liberally...

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Training Future Scientists: Predicting First-year Minority Student Participation in Health Science Research

Sylvia Hurtado, M. Kevin Eagan, Nolan L. Cabrera, Monica H. Lin, more

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 2 > 126-152

Using longitudinal data from the UCLA Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) and Your First College Year (YFCY) surveys, this study examines predictors of the likelihood that science-oriented students would participate in a health science undergraduate research program during the first year of college. The key predictors of participation in health science research programs are students’...

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Adding a Statistical Wrench to the “Toolbox”

Stephen L. DesJardins, Nathan K. Lindsay

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 2 > 172-179

This paper demonstrates a formal statistical test that can be used to help researchers make decisions about alternative statistical model specifications. This test is commonly used by researchers who would like to test whether adding new variables to a model improves the model fit. However, we demonstrate that this formal test can also be employed when alternative representations of variables or constructs...

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Measuring Up: Examining the Connections among State Structural Characteristics, Regulatory Practices, and Performance

J. Fredericks Volkwein, David A. Tandberg

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 2 > 180-197

Using Measuring Up data from 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006, this study examines the extent to which the state performance grades, and changes in grades, are associated with the characteristics of each state and its arrangements for higher education governance and control. To what extent is each state’s higher education performance a product of relatively controllable governance and regulatory practices...

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Quality Matters: Assessing the Impact of Attending More Selective Institutions on College Completion Rates of Minorities

Tatiana Melguizo

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 3 > 214-236

This paper examines the impact of attending different categories of selective institutions on students’ college completion. Specifically, it explores differences in the impact that selectivity of an institution has by race and ethnicity. The analysis accounts for the impact of individual and institutional characteristics and corrects for omitted variables with proxies for student motivation. The results...

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Emerging from the Pipeline: African American Students, Socioeconomic Status, and College Experiences and Outcomes

MaryBeth Walpole

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 3 > 237-255

This study focuses on how social class affects the college experiences and outcomes for African American students in 4-year colleges and universities. Using a national, longitudinal data base, the findings indicate that low SES African American students have less contact with faculty, study less, are less involved with student organizations, work more, and have lower grades than do their high SES...

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The Way to Wealth and the Way to Leisure: The Impact of College Education on Graduates’ Earnings and Hours of Work

Liang Zhang

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 3 > 199-213

This study extends the analysis of the economic return of college education up to 10 years after college education and further examines the impact of college education on graduates’ hours of work. The results suggest that variation in hours of work explains a portion of earnings differentials among college graduates. Graduates from high-quality private institutions tend to work longer hours than their...

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Characteristics of Alumni Donors Who Volunteer at their Alma Mater

David J. Weerts, Justin M. Ronca

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 3 > 274-292

In the competitive marketplace of higher education, colleges and university leaders increasingly rely on the influence and service of their alumni to further institutional goals. Because of their demonstrated financial commitment to the institution, alumni donors are often enlisted to serve important roles as volunteers and political advocates. Using binomial logistic regression, this study examines...

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Perceptions of a Chilly Climate: Differences in Traditional and Non-traditional Majors for Women

LaDonna K. Morris, Larry G. Daniel

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 3 > 256-273

The purpose of this study was to examine how perceptions of a chilly climate differ between students in traditionally female-dominated majors (nursing and education) versus traditionally male-dominated majors (information technology and engineering), and how these perceptions relate to students’ intentions to persist or pursue higher education in their chosen field. Students (n = 403) attending a...

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Latent Postsecondary Persistence Pathways: Educational Pathways in American Two-Year Colleges

C. Nathan Marti

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 4 > 317-336

Latent trajectories of credit hour accumulation were modeled using three independent samples of community college students. Five qualitatively distinct patterns of persistence emerged from these samples: Full-time, long-term; 2 years and out; long-term decliners; part-time, long-term; and one term and out. Follow-up analyses using measures on the Community College Student Report indicated that long-term...

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Antecedents and Correlates of Course Cancellation in a University “Drop and Add” Period

Elisha Babad, Tamar Icekson, Yaacov Yelinek

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 4 > 293-316

Most institutions of higher education allow students to drop or add courses in the first 2–3 weeks of each term (D&A). Arguing that course cancellation is not merely an administrative issue involving enrollment trends but represents complex decision making processes taken by students, this study investigated antecedents and correlates of course cancellation during a D&A period in 109 elective...

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How Educational Practices Affect the Development of Life-long Learning Orientations in Traditionally-aged Undergraduate Students

Matthew J. Mayhew, Gregory C. Wolniak, Ernest T. Pascarella

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 4 > 337-356

We investigated curricular conditions and educational practices that influenced the development of life-long learning orientations among 405 undergraduate students. Results suggest that growth in life-long learning orientations was facilitated by instruction that included opportunities for reflection, active learning, and perspective-taking and that provided students with opportunities for positively...

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The Effects of Faculty Demographic Characteristics and Disciplinary Context on Dimensions of Job Satisfaction

Tricia A. Seifert, Paul D. Umbach

Research in Higher Education > 2008 > 49 > 4 > 357-381

This study applies Kalleberg’s framework to better understand the effects of diverse demographic faculty characteristics on dimensions of job satisfaction. We also extend his work and the work of others to explore the contextual effects of academic disciplines on faculty job satisfaction. We find that women are consistently less satisfied than their male colleagues and that the effect of being female...

INFONA - science communication portal

Research in Higher Education

Faculty Turnover: Discipline-Specific Attention is Warranted

Validating NSSE Against Student Outcomes: Are They Related?

Graduation Rates and Accountability: Regressions Versus Production Frontiers

Exploring the Effects of Financial Aid on the Gap in Student Dropout Risks by Income Level

Prediction of College Major Persistence Based on Vocational Interests, Academic Preparation, and First-Year Academic Performance

Graduation Rates and Accountability: Regressions Versus Production Frontiers

Using Weighting Adjustments to Compensate for Survey Nonresponse

The Effects of Liberal Arts Experiences on Liberal Arts Outcomes

Training Future Scientists: Predicting First-year Minority Student Participation in Health Science Research

Adding a Statistical Wrench to the “Toolbox”

Measuring Up: Examining the Connections among State Structural Characteristics, Regulatory Practices, and Performance

Quality Matters: Assessing the Impact of Attending More Selective Institutions on College Completion Rates of Minorities

Emerging from the Pipeline: African American Students, Socioeconomic Status, and College Experiences and Outcomes

The Way to Wealth and the Way to Leisure: The Impact of College Education on Graduates’ Earnings and Hours of Work

Characteristics of Alumni Donors Who Volunteer at their Alma Mater

Perceptions of a Chilly Climate: Differences in Traditional and Non-traditional Majors for Women

Latent Postsecondary Persistence Pathways: Educational Pathways in American Two-Year Colleges

Antecedents and Correlates of Course Cancellation in a University “Drop and Add” Period

How Educational Practices Affect the Development of Life-long Learning Orientations in Traditionally-aged Undergraduate Students

The Effects of Faculty Demographic Characteristics and Disciplinary Context on Dimensions of Job Satisfaction

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