Despite being criticized as unrepresentative and misleading, retention and graduation rates are an important part of college-search web sites and accountability systems, and they frequently have been used as indicators of institutional quality and effectiveness in educational research. Retention and graduation rates are often compared over time…

This study examines the relationships between the normative and resource dimensions of a high school counseling department and four-year college-going rates. Utilizing data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS: 09), we employ multiple regression and latent class analysis to identify salient factors related to the college-going…

The heightened mobility of resources, ideas, and cultural practices across national borders--commonly known as "globalization"--entails changes in the contexts in which US research universities operate. We draw on recent developments in neo-institutional theory to understand these changes and their implications for the ways in which US…

This methodological note illustrates how a commonly used calculation of the Delta-p statistic is inappropriate for categorical independent variables, and this note provides users of logistic regression with a revised calculation of the Delta-p statistic that is more meaningful when studying the differences in the predicted probability of an…

Four models of possible predictors are advanced and tested using data collected from 1,164 faculty in 80 university departments and from published sources. Results indicated that there is no single set of factors that can reliably predict improvement or decline in prestige across all disciplines. (Author/LBH)

Application of the statistical techniques of survival analysis and credit scoring to private education loans extended to law students found a pronounced seasoning effect for such loans and the robust predictive power of credit bureau scoring of borrowers. Other predictors of default included school-of-attendance, school's geographic location, and…

A meta-analytic method synthesized results of 108 studies of the relationship between college grades and various criteria of adult achievement or success. Results showed little correlation, although effects were larger for military settings and studies before 1950. The predictive value of grades is questioned. (MSE)

The use of life history or biographical information to predict various college experiences of women was examined in this study of 327 women. The results indicated that life history data could be used to make longitudinal predictions and are discussed in terms of their implications for counseling students in higher education. (Author/LBH)

A study demonstrated the use of logistic regression in conjunction with a new structural equations modeling technique for a university attrition study. The results and their methodological implications are discussed. (MSE)

Examined are the specific differences in the salary reward structures of eight clusters of academic disciplines included in Biglan's three-dimensional model of the academic profession. A total of 1,320 faculty at a large research university responded to the Faculty Activity Analysis questionnaire regarding the time spent in 11 categories of…

A new statistical model based for identifying potential major donors was developed from a portion (n=53,276) of the Northwestern University (Illinois) alumni database. The model, utilizing logit analysis, found that the most critical measure was individuals' past giving records. Results indicate prospects with a low past giving level will rarely…

This study used Tobit analysis to estimate retention probabilities and credit hours at two universities. Tobit was judged as appropriate for this problem because it recognizes the lower bound of zero on credit hours and incorporates this bound into parameter estimates and forecasts. Models are estimated for credit hours in a single year and…

The model estimated the influences of a comprehensive list of factors classified as rational or nonrational equity and parity (marketplace). It is recommended for studying year-to-year changes in salary policies and for checking the importance of each factor in salary increase deliberations. (Author/LBH)

Romney's 1977 findings indicate that within student ratings, the course that an instructor teaches is as important a determiner of resulting ratings as the instructor himself. Reanalysis of his data indicates that the course effect is actually quite small, a result consistent with earlier studies. (Author/LBH)

Using 3,355 class section means, the relationship between six predictor variables and student ratings of instruction was investigated. All linear interactions were found to be negligible although two predictor variables, expected grade and required-elective, provided large contributions to the prediction of the criterion measure. (Author/LBH)