Enrollment demand with constrained supply in a higher education institution

Studies of enrollment demand typically assume that public institutions accept all eligible applicants. In that case the coefficients of a regression equation that explains enrollment as a function of variables that affect student demand are properly interpreted as unknown demand function parameters. However, if enrollments are limited by institutional constraints on the supply of places, another approach to estimating student demand behavior is needed. In this paper we develop a model that explains the determination of enrollments in these cases and a way to estimate the coefficients of a student demand equation that is part of the model. The results are much better than those obtained from a conventional model of enrollment demand estimated using ordinary least squares.     

Processing of rapid auditory stimuli in school-age children referred for evaluation of learning disorders

Tallal hypothesized that reading disabled children have a domain-general deficit in processing rapidly occurring auditory stimuli that degrades speech perception, thereby limiting phonologic awareness and thus reading acquisition. She predicted they would be disproportionately affected by rapidly presented auditory stimuli. In this study, one hundred 7- to 11-year-old children with learning impairment (LI) and 243 non-learning impaired (NLI) children were evaluated on a two-tone auditory discrimination paradigm. LI committed more errors, but effects of timing were comparable. The same result was obtained for a subsample of good and poor readers. Task performance predicted reading, spelling, and calculation. Neural processes underlying perception of speech and other auditory stimuli may be less effective in poor readers; however, contrary to Tallal's hypothesis, rate may not be specifically affected.     

Neurodevelopmental characteristics of children with learning impairments classified according to the double-deficit hypothesis

The double-deficit model has been examined primarily in relation to reading. We investigated whether children classified according to the double-deficit model would exhibit differences in other neuropsychological domains. Children referred for learning problems (N = 188), ages 7 to 11, were classified by double-deficit subtype. Only three of the four groups predicted by the model could be identified. There were no group differences in IQ or attention problems. The three groups showed different neuropsychological profiles, involving functional domains other than reading and language. Differences also emerged in nonverbal low-level information processing. The double-deficit group was generally most severely affected. The double-deficit groupings identify children with different neuropsychological profiles and variation in the efficiency of basic online information processing, extending beyond the oral and written language domain.     

Transition from consideration of a college to the decision to apply

Other researchers have found that personal socioeconomic background, measures of the fit between characteristics of institutions and factors students want in colleges they attend, and measures of the quality and location of the high school attended influence aspiration for higher education and/or the matriculation decision. In this study I investigate the effects of similar variables on students' decisions to apply to a particular institution after asking the Educational Testing Service to send their SAT scores to it. The results indicate that the fit between a student's preferences and an institution's characteristics has the most substantial impact on the decision to apply. Within the set of variables measuring this fit, correspondence between location desired, if the location is close to the student's home, and a SAT score either at or above the average score of applicants to the institution stand out as primary predictors.     

Fostering social connectedness among adolescents and adults with autism: A qualitative analysis

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts approximately 1 in 44 children in the United States. Common characteristics of ASD are marked deficits in communication and social connectedness. As autistic children approach adolescence, there is a lack of interventions available to them. Mentoring can provide adolescents with a relationship that facilitates social connectedness with another person who has a shared life experience, filling a gap in services. The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP) was designed to provide autistic adolescents a meaningful relationship with an autistic young adult. Via participation in focus groups, mentees (n = 5), mentors (n = 6), and parents of mentees (n = 6) shared their experience of participating in an afterschool, youth mentoring intervention. Themes were developed from an open coding procedure. Results showed that AMP was associated with helping mentees find social connection within their mentoring relationship and among the group of mentees. Mentors also reported mutual benefits in social connectedness. Perceived benefits of the program, including improved academic performance, and suggestions for future programming are reported. AMP appears to be a promising program that provides social benefits for adolescents with ASD who may have few options for this type of support.     

Psychosocial Adjustment Over a Two–Year Period in Children Referred for Learning Problems: Risk,Resilience, and Adaptation

Children with learning difficulties have an increased prevalence of psychosocial adjustment problems. We hypothesized that within the context of a risk and resilience model contextual variables influence adjustment, over and above any effects of academic performance. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) was used to evaluate the relationship between psychosocial adjustment, changes in academic skills, and contextual factors longitudinally over a two–year period in 100 children (ages 7 to 11) referred for learning problems. Although there was little improvement in academic skills, contextual factors contributed to observed psychosocial outcome. Different factors were salient for parents, teachers, and children. Context–derived vulnerability and protective factors can be important determinants of adjustment in children with learning problems, even though the academic difficulties can remain chronic.     

States,Markets and University Funding: New paradigms for the reform of higher education in Europe

The construct of the market is an interesting new element in the discourse on higher education in Europe. It has generated serious initiatives in deregulating higher education, in developing performance-based models of resource allocation, in fostering inter-institutional competition and efficient management structures, and even in considering the 'privatisation' of higher education. These developments affect particularly the financing of higher education, where new models of resource generation and allocation, institutional steering and controlling, and accountability are being explored. Within this context, and with a view towards the future of higher education in Europe, four issues are being examined in more detail: formula funding, the mobilisation of external resources, the introduction of tuition fees, and the creation of private institutions of higher education.     

An application of the nested multinomial logit model to enrollment choice behavior

Data bases containing information on the socioeconomic characteristics and post-high school activities of large numbers of young people are commonly used in enrollment demand studies. While researchers almost always use the multinomial logit approach to obtain estimates of the effects of the independent variables in this context, this technique has a potentially serious limitation. This study presents an alternative to multinomial logit and contrasts estimated results from the two approaches using data on 446 high-school graduates in a midwestern state. The results are different enough to suggest that researchers should explore alternatives to multinomial logit when using this type of data base.     

Selection blas and the analysis of persistence of part-time undergraduate students

Most studies of persistence behavior use path analysis or ordinary least squares regression to estimate unknown coefficients. However, estimates produced by these techniques are biased if selectivity bias contaminates choices made by individuals in the data sample. We explain this problem, argue that it is present in data samples used in persistence studies, and discuss an alternative estimation technique that controls for it. The methodology and the differences in the interpretation of coefficient estimates are illustrated with a data sample of individual students at a single university.