The continuing importance of data analytics is not lost on higher education leaders, who face a multitude of challenges, including increasing operating costs, dwindling state support, limits to tuition increases, and increased competition from the for-profit sector. To navigate these challenges, savvy leaders must leverage data to make sound…

This article discusses the uses of production function models and describes the role of inferential statistics for making predictions in school finance. Specifically, the analysis evaluates types, suggests uses, explains the advantages and disadvantages, and lists the statistical complexities of production functions. (JAM)

For the purposes of this study, which examines the upward mobility of educational administrators, "upward mobility" is defined as a function of a combination of professional attractiveness and inside sponsorship operating in a paternalistic environment. The study tested four hypotheses within paternalistic school environments: (1)…

The spreadsheet can be a powerful tool in marketing. Using a spreadsheet and admissions data, models can be built for: periodic reports of admission status, projections of the size and quality of the incoming class, and long-term recruitment strategy. (MLW)

The theoretical model of medical student performance begins with 38 measures, reduced to 18 without loss of information. These measures are shown to reflect five underlying theoretical interrelated variables: medical knowledge; clinical performance; science aptitude; college achievement; and attitudes and values. Results should be useful in…

It is generally believed that there are too few Canadian faculty members to meet adequately the needs generated by recent increases in enrollment and by expanding societal expectations for college research and development, technology transfer, and community service. A very large cohort of faculty members will be retiring around the turn of the…

This study of 420 entering students at Dartmouth Medical School (New Hampshire) found that a combination of criteria such as Medical College Admission Test scores, undergraduate science grade averages, and college selectivity was useful in identifying successful first-year students. Results also indicated that the admissions committee…

The conference program and the texts of 24 papers presented at the conference are provided in this document. Selected papers include: "The Use of the College Student Experience Questionnaire in Policy and Program Development" (Karen Bauer and Dale Trusheim); "Predicting Freshman Performance as Admissions Criteria" (David Zubrow); "Has the Middle…

A study was conducted to explore the possible negative consequences that can occur when an innovation is introduced into an organization, with a focus on how the dynamics of an organization can affect, and be affected by, change. After a review of the literature on organizational change and innovation was completed, structured interviews were held…

The focus of the session summarized in this paper was on how postsecondary educational institutions can better anticipate the future of higher education by using the "alternative futures approach to planning" model. The alternative futures model processes the best available information obtainable so that plausible alternative futures in…

A longitudinal study was conducted to determine the factors influencing college student persistence in remaining in school. Persistence was examined at two points: after the first year and 4 years after enrollment. The study was conducted at an urban university using the American College Testing's Entering Student Survey and Student Opinion…

This report describes the analyses of student participation in two school nutrition programs, the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Data were collected from students and their families during the 1983-84 school year as part of the National Evaluation of the School Nutrition Programs (NESNP). Each program…

Procedures for predicting academic achievement at Indiana University, Bloomington, are examined, based on data for the 4,145 freshmen who entered the university in fall 1983. Three sets of prediction equations and a graphic scheme for determining probable first semester grade point averages (GPAs) for males and females are provided. Entering…

Stepwise discriminant analysis coupled with logit regression analysis of freshmen data from Brandon University (Manitoba) indicated that six tested variables drawn from research on university dropouts were useful in predicting attrition: student status, residence, financial sources, distance from home town, goal fulfillment, and satisfaction with…

This paper examines the applicability of net tuition revenue models for a highly selective, elite priced, private research university in the southern U.S. Pricing and aid strategies for this university seem to be driven by intuitive assumptions about the economy, market forces, needs-blind admissions, student satisfaction, net price…