Academic Planning Research Articles

A comparison of adaptive behavior in gifted and nongifted children

The assessment of adaptive behavior enriches our view of a child's development beyond the traditional psychometric IQ, and considering it is relevant to the creation of an academic plan for that child. The purpose of this study was to compare the patterns of adaptive behavior in gifted and nongifted children in order to describe the construct of adaptive behavior among children of various levels of intellectual capacity. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, which measures four categories of adaptive behavior, was used in the analysis. The results indicated a significant difference between gifted and nongifted groups of children in the Vineland categories of communication, social skills, and daily living skills. However, the area of motor skill development did not yield significant differences between gifted and nongifted children. It was concluded that measures of adaptive behavior differ among children of varying levels of intellectual functioning. Implications for educational programs are discussed.

The Need for Institutional Research

This paper discusses the need to carry out research on the academic and research activities of universities and to better manage and plan these activities. North America led the way in institutional research by creating the Association for Institutional Research (AIR) in 1960, and by establishing separate functions within the administration of higher education institutions. Those activities range from projecting enrolment and space to financial analysis and strategic and academic planning. Western Europe followed suit in the 1970s. The continuing pressure of budget cuts and an increasingly market-oriented approach are forcing universities to manage their affairs better.

Into Postmodern Weightlessness

Shifts in academic planning thought which became evident by 1980 in cluded skepticism that causal reason ing could serve as the cornerstone of sound planning practice. Some theo rists turned to examine the social construction of reality via communi cation and culture, and to ask what the implications would be for plan ning of noncausal perspectives. This article sets out to describe a contin uum of positions on postmodernism, a term which encompasses some nonpositivist approaches to under standing social life. A description of postmodernist thinking as decon structive, antifoundationalist, non dualistic, and encouraging of plural ism is provided, and some of the analytic themes associated with these characteristics are shown to form the crux of the four articles that follow.

Two Investigations Into the Influence of Incentives and Subject Characteristics on Mail Survey Responses in Teacher Education

Two investigations were conducted to examine whether incentives in crease the number of survey returns from former students and whether ideographic characteristics, incentives, and multiple mailings influence perceptions of respon dents. Sampling former students (graduates of teacher education programs) across years of experience and level of teaching did not result in response bias from these characteristics. Second, using small monetary incentives ($.25, $.50, $1.00) and a raffle for a professional journal to encourage responding to a survey was unproduc tive, whereas establishing a communication network (newsletters) with former students was productive. Third, using multiple requests to increase the number of returns did not affect item response patterns across mail-out requests. EDUCATIONAL DECISION MAKERS expend substantial resources in gathering perceptional data from students, former students, and colleagues regarding existing programs and proposed plans and experiences. This ob servation is particularly appropriate in teacher education where institutions are required to evaluate their programs in order to meet accreditation re quirements of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and state departments of education. Information-gathering ef forts that employ survey techniques often play an important role in pro viding data for academic planning and policy decisions as well (Galluzzo & Craig, 1990). Given limited resources of personnel and funds plus demand ing time schedules, the mail questionnaire often is the most feasible tech nique for obtaining survey data. Yet the validity and utility of this approach to data gathering depend on the response ratio (decimal value of individuals surveyed who complete and return the instrument) as well as response quali ty (whether respondents actually complete the returned instrument).

Strategic Planning at Iowa State University:

The proccss, results and status of academic strategic planning at Iowa State University are described. The president initiated strategic planning in 1987 as the mechanism by which to establish major future emphases and directions for the university within the context of its significantly changing external environment. University- wide goals, objectives and strategies were developed for the teaching, rescarch and outreach functions of the institution. Each academic program was reviewed and formal recommendations (some of them controversial) were made for program enhancement, reorganization and institutional consolidation. Changes are now being implemented, including the adoption of ongoing strategic planning and program review.

A knowledge representation language for university requirements

Intelligent systems with applications in an academic environment are becoming a reality. Such systems can offer intelligent assistance in tasks ranging from interactive scheduling, academic planning, office automation, database management and computer assisted instruction. The problem of designing a general requirements model for university degrees is investigated. A method for expressing the structure of university requirements is described, and a representation language consisting of a subset of Prolog based on set theoretic primitives is suggested. This work has been motivated by our experience with the Academic Planning Environment (APE) expert system project [9] whose goal has been to study the use of knowledge-based techniques in the advising and assistance of university students in the planning of their studies towards an academic degree.

Adopting a Viewpoint: Psychology Majors and Psychological Theory

Psychology majors were surveyed about their endorsement of a psychological theory. Fifty-nine percent of the respondents reported adopting a theory; the most widely accepted theoretical viewpoints were the eclectic and the behavioral/learning/social learning positions. Senior majors and those who had taken courses in personality and abnormal psychology were most likely to have adopted a theory. Students reported that the most important influence on their adoption of a theory was its ability to help them understand themselves. Psychology majors also reported that their theoretical viewpoints had a moderate influence on their academic planning and their approach to everyday problems.

On Being a Sociologist within a University's Administration

I suspect that there is considerable variation in the degree to which those serving within academic administration plan for and seek in a self-conscious fashion the positions they come to occupy. My own progression in administration may be fairly typical-department head, dean, provost. On paper, it may appear to be an orderly, well-conceived career pattern. In actuality, it was unplanned and unexpected. There was no rationally devised strategy to seek administrative responsibility, and my serving in such positions has been at least partially the consequence of organizational changes over which I had no control. I am not sure that an account and analysis of my experience will be of significance to others, but perhaps it will provide some insight into administrative careers. I have some concern about this exercise, for what follows is essentially an abbreviated case history, and I am suspicious of such data and the biases that they invariably contain. I will focus primarily on my sevenand-one-half-year term as Provost of the University of Oregon.

Peer Teaching: To Teach Is to Learn Twice

Describes the practice and benefits of using students as teachers. Explores different types of peer teaching, strategies for academic planning, specific peer groups, evaluation studies, and the psychological merits of peer teaching.

A Simulation Model for Academic Staff Planning

(1989). A Simulation Model for Academic Staff Planning. Journal of Tertiary Education Administration: Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 37-54.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF ACADEMIC ADVISING

The JOURNAL continues its series on the development of academic advising in higher education with the third installment of an interview with Dr. Harvey Wall, who began his career in clinical psychology in the early 1950s. In March 1986, Dr. Wall retired from his position as director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), an advising unit at Penn State University that enrolls freshmen and sophomores exploring a variety of majors and advanced students seeking advising assistance with changes in their academic plans. Dr. Wall was the first director of DUS, which started in 1973 with 800 students. It now enrolls 4,000. In many ways Dr. Wall's professional experiences parallel the development of academic advising nationwide. For those new to advising, Dr. Wall's remembrances of things past, although personal and local, should provide powerful insights into the present status and procedures of advising, regardless of location or type of institution. This final interview with Dr. Wall is particularly significant, because he offers readers an extended definition of academic advising and his experienced views on how advising should look to the future.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF ACADEMIC ADVISING

The JOURNAL continues its series on the development of academic advising in higher education with the second installment of an interview with Dr. Harvey Wall, who began his career in clinical psychology in the early 1950s. In March 1986, Dr. Wall retired from his position as director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), an advising unit at Penn State University that enrolls freshmen and sophomores exploring a variety of majors and advanced students seeking advising assistance with changes in their academic plans. Dr. Wall was the first director of DUS, which started in 1973 with 800 students. It now enrolls 4,000. In many ways Dr. Wall's professional experiences parallel the development of academic advising nationwide. For those new to advising, Dr. Wall's remembrances of things past, although personal and local, should provide powerful insights into the present status and procedures of advising, regardless of location or type of institution.

Perspectives on course and program planning

AbstractViewing curriculum as an academic plan permits development of parallel course and program planning models that are dynamic, conceptually related to student learning, and familiar to institutional planners.

Performance appraisal: A survey of academic staff opinion

ABSTRACT This paper reports the results from a questionnaire which sought the opinions of a representative sample of academic staff at the University of Birmingham to the introduction of more regular and systematic performance appraisal in universities. In particular, whether respodnents were of the opinion that further procedures for the appraisal of individuals and departments were necessary and, if so, who should be involved in such appraisals. In addition, the reactions of staff to the suggestions for an Individual Annual Interview—providing a focus for career development—and a Departmental Annual Report—bringing together a detailed analysis of a department's past performance with an academic plan for its immediate future—are explored. Finally, some opinions on the role of heads of departments and external examiners, and some information on the range of methods of performance appraisal currently in use are presented. The data is further analysed on the basis of the respondents' faculty, position and y...

THE URSINUS COLLEGE FRESHMAN ADVISING PROGRAM

Students today generally need more time and more advice in assessing the wider range of career and life options available to them. Connected to this is an increased need for assistance in academic planning. Students confront more diverse academic options in today's curriculum, and discover that college coursework decisions relate to today's expanded career options in increasingly complex ways. The process of adjusting to college life, with its greater demand for personal responsibility and independence, has always been challenging. It is now widely recognized that this process can be facilitated by a helping relationship with someone skilled in guiding young adults.

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE HISTORY OF ACADEMIC ADVISING

With Volume 7, Number 2, the JOURNAL presents the first in a series of interviews focusing on the development of academic advising in higher education. The first installment of an interview with Dr. Harvey Wall, who began his career in clinical psychology in the early 1950s, introduces the series. In March 1986, Dr. Wall retired from his position as director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), an advising unit at Penn State University that enrolls freshmen and sophomores exploring a variety of majors and advanced students needing advising assistance with changes in their academic plans. Dr. Wall was the first director of DUS, which started in 1973 with 800 students. It now enrolls 4,000. In many ways Dr. Wall's professional experiences parallel the development of academic advising nationwide. For those new to advising, Dr. Wall's remembrances of things past, although personal and local, should provide powerful insights into the present status and procedures of advising, regardless of location or type of institution.

Perceptions of competency attainment in community dietetics: Academic Plan IV vs. dietetic internship

A national survey of Plan IV representatives, internship directors, and dietetic interns was conducted to determine the perceived level of competence in community dietetics upon completion of academic coursework. Interns also rated their perceived competence in community dietetics near the end of internships. All major and specific responsibilities from the ADA Role Delineation and Verification for Entry-Level Positions in Community Dietetics were included in the survey questionnaire. Completed questionnaires were received from 447 dietetic interns (60%), 47 internship directors (57%), and 59 Plan IV representatives (39%). Highly significant differences were found among the three groups, with Plan IV representatives' expectations highest and students' lowest. Work experience prior to internship affected mean ratings on selected responsibilities. Unlike the results of the previous studies in clinical dietetics and foodservice systems management, the ratings in community dietetics did not reach their highest until the last month of the internship. Findings from all three areas of dietetic practice suggest that students' perceived competence is considerably lower upon completion of Plan IV than after completion of an internship, indicating need for defined work experience. Different teaching techniques, i.e., lecture vs. hands-on, could be related to different ratings of perceived competence within and between practice areas.

An Integrated Decision Support System for Academic Effort Planning and Review

Although academic effort planning and faculty merit review are done annually, they are by no means routine and structured tasks. Many studies have dealt with aiding the decision process related to the above tasks. Unfortunately, these studies or models are either oversimplified or too narrow in scope. This study develops a decision support system (DSS) which integrates and supports the decision processes of academic effort planning, merit review, and related activities. The support system is developed based on the concept that a DSS is a network of subsystem interfaces.

Perception of competency attainment in foodservice management: Academic Plan IV vs. dietetic internship

A national survey of 487 dietetic interns (61%), 63 internship directors (76%), and 68 Plan IV representatives (45%) utilized ADA entry-level role responsibilities in foodservice systems management. Student respondents rated perceived competence at the start and near completion of the internship. Program directors rated expected competence at the start of the internship. The three groups differed significantly on mean responses, with interns' ratings lowest and Plan IV representatives' ratings highest. Interns' mean ratings suggested that work experience just prior to starting an internship increased competence somewhat, regardless of type of work. Work during college was not included in the analysis. Interns' mean ratings also suggested that competence peaked some weeks before internship completion. Level of competence averaged about 6 on a scale of 0 to 7 at that time. Starting competence averaged about 2.5 to 3, indicating that Plan IV contribution is substantial but internship experience is essential for entry-level performance. Foodservice systems management competence levels compare very favorably with those previously reported for clinical dietetics.

Perceptions of competency attainment in clinical dietetics: Academic Plan IV vs. dietetic internships

A national survey of all Plan IV representatives and dietetic internship directors in programs with a general or clinical emphasis was conducted to determine the level of competence in clinical dietetics expected of Plan IV graduates. Dietetic interns were asked to rate themselves on competency attainment at the beginning and near the end of the internship. The ADA's Role Delineation Study for Entry-level Personnel in Clinical Dietetics was used as the basis for the survey questionnaire. Completed questionnaires were returned by 137 Plan IV representatives (54%), 71 dietetic internship directors (75%), and 530 dietetic interns (62%). Highly significant differences were found among the three groups. Plan IV representatives had higher expectations of students than internship directors. Interns consistently rated their competency levels for all responsibilities below those indicated by either group of directors. All three groups indicated that students were better prepared for client-focus responsibilities than for professional or organizational-level responsibilities. Interns' self-ratings suggested that similar amounts of learning occurred in each of the three areas during the internship. Nutrition-related work experience immediately prior to the internship influenced students' perceived competency level at the beginning of the internship, but differences between those students and the ones with other or no work experience were overcome as students neared the end of their internships. For most major responsibilities, the students' perceived levels of competence did not change after the first few months of the internship.