Minnesota plays an integral role in the worldwide increase in the exchange of goods, services, and ideas. It is imperative that the state's citizens be able to relate to an increasingly interrelated world and to gain the skills, attitudes, and knowledge needed to participate intelligently in such exchanges. Educating to these ends is essential.…

A study measured 206 students' levels of moral reasoning across 4 years of medical education at a particular university. Results indicate an increase in moral reasoning skills over that period and higher levels of reasoning for women than for men in each year. Potential for even greater progress is seen. (MSE)

The Citrus College faculty and staff addressed the problem of lower career aspirations among women by establishing a support group, Citrus Women in Higher Education (CWHE). In addition to group meetings and special programs of interest, the CWHE has developed a mentor program to address the problem of blocked careers faced by women. The goals of…

A school district's 15 years of involvement with the computer are recounted in this paper, from the first computer literacy course to the present slackening of interest in the subject. The conclusion, however, is that computer technology will not be shelved, but will continue to change the way society lives and maximize student development. As an…

Educational leaders must be perceived to act consistently and with integrity. When leaders are conscious of beliefs and values, they will act spontaneously in a consistent manner, and their actions, embedded in their beliefs, will have an underlying harmony. School principals must embrace the concept of empowerment and dignity of the individual…

This speech examines the image of the university as a powerful center of knowledge in the contexts of both the traditional university and the modern research university. The institution's role in thinking and research, personal growth, and social change are discussed, especially as these areas interrelate and can create an exciting intellectual…

This paper reports on research that examined longitudinal data on students entering Tennessee Board of Regents institutions of higher education after the implementation of a state-mandated developmental studies program. The program identifies and helps at-risk students to persist in college to graduation. Data analysis is presented from a 1986…

Ways to promote academic advising are suggested at a conference for deans and directors. Objectives that an institution should address are as follows: (1) to provide advisers with accurate and timely information about the policies, procedures, and processes that affect the advising relationship; (2) to provide advisers with additional skills often…

This study attempted to identify workable strategies for use in helping students develop greater confidence in their ability to learn and achieve in school. A sample of 82 graduate school students (primarily school teachers and administrators) studying school leadership completed an opinionnaire. The opinionnaire was designed to measure the…

A variety of departmental and student outcomes data was obtained and analyzed from faculty and graduating seniors in 27 academic departments located at a university classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Research II institution. The purpose of the study was to determine: (1) whether strong research orientation by an academic department…

This paper presents results from the first phase of a longitudinal study of the Australian Postgraduate Awards (Industry) Scheme, a recent government initiative under which graduate students receive grants to conduct projects for Masters or PhD degrees, supervised jointly by university and industry partners. The study involved national surveys of…

Today's administrators must exercise caution in using student retention as a means of responding to changing social values and to the current media attention on declining standardized test scores. Recent reviews of hundreds of studies of student retention have concluded that some low achieving students do benefit from retention, but the majority…

A survey of 423 medical students assessed (1) authoritarianism, self-esteem, locus of control, self-blame, belief in efficacy of high-tech medicine, and depression; and (2) attributional styles toward patients with psychological or emotional problems. A variety of findings and directions for research are discussed. (MSE)

This volume contains the text of six speeches selected from approximately 125 plenary talks that have been given over the past few years at more than 40 Freshman Year Experience Conferences by leading educators concerned about improving the first year undergraduate experience. In the first speech, "The Undergraduate Experience: Critical…

In response to the increased movement toward competency-based education, a large urban southeastern school system implemented a Pupil Progression Policy in the 1980-81 school year. This paper reports on the results of a 5-year longitudinal study of the policy's effect on the academic achievement of retained and promoted students who entered first…