This user's guide documents the procedures used to collect, process, and summarize data from the 2009 High School Transcript Study (HSTS 2009). Chapters detail the sampling of schools and graduates (chapters 2 and 3), data collection procedures (chapter 4), data processing procedures (chapter 5), and weighting procedures (chapter 6). Chapter 7…

A guide for conducting alumni surveys is presented, including 22 sample questionnaires. The first section on planning an effective survey strategy includes the following five articles: "Let's Take a Survey" (Cletis Pride); "Surveying Your Alumni: Or an Unexamined College Is Not Worth Loving" (Jocelyn Bartkevicius); "Make Your Survey Scientific"…

The procedure is described for a followup of the graduates of the University of New Mexico Department of Special Education; which was conducted in order to evaluate the academic programs. The components are comprised of: developing survey instruments; maintaining a correct mailing list; obtaining basic followup information; obtaining extensive…

This guidebook is designed as a brief introduction to the use of attitude research as a tool in the student recruitment process. Opinion and attitude research are briefly described from the perspective of the academic communicator. Topics include the following: the difference between opinion and attitude research, the two basic forms surveys…

As part of the third follow-up to the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, the Third Follow-Up Questionnaire was administered to a sample of the members of the high school class of 1972 who had been surveyed in 1972 and 1974. The questionnaire contains 158 items about education and work experience and is divided into the…

This handbook for administrators, teachers, parents, and students describes a system of strategies that will assist in implementing follow-up studies of former vocational program participants (completers and/or early leavers). Section 1 discusses use of the handbook. Section 2 concerns the rationale for doing follow-up and includes legislation,…

Survey instruments used in the collection of data for the High School and Beyond base year (1980) through the third follow-up surveys (1986) are provided as Volume II of a user's manual for the senior cohort data file. The complete user's manual is designed to provide the extensive documentation necessary for using the cohort data files. Copies of…

Guidelines for using questionnaires/findings provided through the Student-Outcomes Information Service (SOIS) are presented. SOIS provides institutional decision-makers with information on student characteristics, backgrounds, attitudes, reasons for making various educational choices, activities, educational plans, occupational choices, and…

Direct mail surveys can be an effective method of surveying alumni, but a good survey takes careful planning, scheduling, execution, and follow-up. A six-month timetable is recommended, with three mailings and attention to a variety of details, such as the quality of the survey package and the recording of responses. (MSE)

This technical report documents the procedures used to collect and summarize data from the 2005 High School Transcript Study (HSTS 2005). The transcript studies serve as a barometer for changes in high school graduates' course-taking patterns; these patterns provide information about the rigor of high school curricula followed across the nation.…

Designed for local school and district vocational educators, this manual contains instructions and materials necessary to plan and implement a student longitudinal followup system. Part 1 provides background information and definitions used in the system. In part 2 are described the 11 major activities that must be undertaken by local program…

Intended for minority students (American Indians, Black Americans, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans) who may be contemplating graduate study, this guide provides information in a question-and-answer format on the graduate admission process. The following topics are addressed: (1) who should consider a graduate degree (includes a…

Information on why readership surveys are valuable and on how to conduct them is presented, along with sample surveys used at a number of different institutions, and a questionnaire used by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education to measure the opinion of "CASE CURRENTS," readers. Guidelines for doing a mail survey outline…

This packet identifies and explains the questionnaires and coding used in DeVault VIII, a subsystem of the Texas Student Information System designed to generate data for local utilization and for fulfillment of the federally-mandated Vocational Education Data System (VEDS) student and employer follow-up requirements. The report first explains the…

This book is a guide to conducting follow-up studies on outcomes for students with disabilities and other special needs in school-to-work and other transitional programs. An accompanying computer disk contains a bank of survey items organized by the basic content areas found in most follow-up studies. Chapters offer a step-by-step guide through…