Higher education researchers using survey data often face decisions about handling missing data. Multiple imputation (MI) is considered by many statisticians to be the most appropriate technique for addressing missing data in many circumstances. In particular, it has been shown to be preferable to listwise deletion, which has historically been a…

The goal of this study is to evaluate the effect of crime and discipline on graduation rates in higher education. Using national data on more than 1250 public and private non-profit institutions that were drawn from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the results reveal that more violence on and around campus is associated with…

A rich interdisciplinary literature exists exploring the determinants of state higher education funding policies. However, that work has collectively ignored an important finding from political economy literature: namely, that citizens' preferences regarding public spending are strongly influenced by the state's ethnic and racial context. Drawing…

The Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS) collects data on Title IV institutions. The Delta Cost Project (DCP) integrated data from multiple IPEDS survey components into a public-use longitudinal dataset. The DCP Database was the basis for dozens of journal articles and a series of influential policy reports. Unfortunately, a flaw in…

This study develops and empirically tests a conceptual model capturing the factors impacting students' cross-cultural adaptation and the outcomes resulting from such adaption. Data were obtained from a sample of international postgraduate students from six Malaysian public universities using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation…

Increasingly colleges and universities use survey results to make decisions, inform research, and shape public opinion. Given the large number of surveys distributed on campuses, can researchers reasonably expect that busy respondents will diligently answer each and every question? Less serious respondents may "satisfice," i.e., take short-cuts to…

In an effort to identify policies that foster an institutional "culture of teaching," or encourage use of effective pedagogies, this study uses data from 5,612 faculty members at 45 institutions to examine connections between institutional policies and faculty members' perceptions and practices related to teaching and learning. A series of…

Building on a theoretical framework that links characteristics of individuals and their work settings to organizational commitment (OC) and citizenship behavior, this study considers why faculty may be disengaging from institutional service. Analyses of survey data collected from a state system of higher education suggest that job characteristics,…

Because it is often impractical or impossible to obtain school transcripts or records on subjects, many researchers rely on college students to accurately self-report their academic record as part of their data collection procedures. The purpose of this study is to investigate the validity and reliability of student self-reported academic…

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking experiences were no more evident among humanities and…

This study aims to improve our understanding of the postsecondary impacts of high schools by investigating whether or not exposure to different high school contexts may explain academic performance once in college. Drawing on a sample of 3,750 participants from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, descriptive and multivariate analyses…

Legacies, or students with a family member who graduated from the same college or university, have been the source of much debate. We add to the existing literature by providing a detailed empirical portrait of legacies at a private, selective university across the college years. We examine how legacies are distinctive in their admissions…

Seven institutional research maxims based on research and theory about how people cognitively process information are discussed: more may not be better; augment humans with models; chunk data wisely; know decision-makers; heuristics are not always helpful; arrange tables by patterns; and accept negative evidence and new hypotheses. (Author/MLW)

Citation data for higher education journal articles published in the core literature from 1975 to 1981 are presented. Reference use trends are examined over the period covered by the research and by the role and institutional location of authors. Publishing medium, article type, and author demographic factors are discussed. (Author/MLW)

This paper uses descriptive analyses of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to examine the status of Blacks among faculty and administrators at public higher education institutions in the South, where "status" is defined as representation in employment relative to representation among bachelor's degree…