Student Research
Online Graduate Study in Education: An Examination of Tuition Costs and Faculty Salaries for Public, Private, and Proprietary Institutions of Higher Learning in Texas
Volume 7 Issue 2 - Apr 30, 2009 - 9:43:20 AM
By Scarlet Anderson, Amy Davis, Brandy Fair, L. Rusty Waller, and Leah Wickersham
Online education continues to be a growing trend in higher education. Changes in student demographics, rising tuition costs, and a national recession are just a few of the factors that have created the need for greater ease and access to academia. The move to offer online programs creates new problems for institutions of higher education including increased faculty salaries and/or incentives for faculty and the potential to create additional fees and higher tuition for distance education. The current study first examined previous research concerning potential problems related to offering online programs and the rationale for doing so. Research questions were developed related to differences that existed in faculty salaries, total tuition costs, and gender distributions between Texas institutions of higher education offering online graduate degrees in education and those who do not. Online graduate degrees are defined as those offering 51% or more of the course work online. Extractions from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database included only Texas public institutions for the 2006 academic year and provided the number of graduate degrees conferred in the field of education by gender, average 9 month faculty salary, in-state tuition, and in-state fees. Findings indicate no statistical differences in faculty salaries, total tuition costs, and gender distributions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Student Research
Curriculum Reform in American Public High Schools and Its Impact on Minority Students
Volume 7 Issue 2 - Apr 30, 2009 - 9:32:23 AM
By Jayesh D'Souza
The objective of this study is to outline the problems with the present American high school curriculum, examine its impact on falling graduation rates, increasing achievement gaps and rising number of students that require remediation especially among minority students. The paper adopted Ralph W. Tyler’s principles of curriculum-building as a framework in an attempt to provide recommendations on how a revised curriculum could alter these negative statistics. A review of the literature revealed that making mandatory college and career preparatory curricula could go a long way in revitalizing American high school education especially among minority students.

Student Research
A National Study of Community College Retention Rates Segmented by Institutional Degree of Urbanization
Volume 7 Issue 1 - Feb 20, 2009 - 2:42:43 PM
By Tara Tietjen-Smith, Shawna Masters, Hollie Smith, L. Rusty Waller

Student Research
An Examination of the Relationship of a Tenure System to Enrollment Growth, Affordability, Retention Rates, and Graduation Rates in Texas Public Two-Year Colleges
Volume 7 Issue 1 - Feb 20, 2009 - 2:26:20 PM
By Tom Hooten, Jim Richey, Jason Davis, Rusty Waller
This study examined the relationship of a tenure system to enrollment growth, affordability, retention rates, and graduation rates in Texas public two-year colleges. Although university level tenured positions are often equated with institutional excellence and considered highly desirable among faculty, the benefits of tenure systems remain largely uninvestigated at the community college level. This study utilized 2005 self-reported data mined from the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System. Texas public two-year colleges were segmented into those with and those without tenure systems. The researchers identified no statistically significant differences between groups for enrollment growth, affordability indexes, or retention rates. However, statistically significant differences with moderate-large effect sizes were found for graduation rates. Those institutions without tenure systems were found to have higher graduation rates. Possible causes for the observed differences are discussed and areas of further research are suggested.

Student Research
Online Graduate Study in Education: An Examination of Tuition Costs and Faculty Salaries for Public, Private, and Proprietary Institutions of Higher Learning in Texas
Volume 7 Issue 1 - Feb 20, 2009 - 2:20:43 PM
By Scarlet Anderson, Amy Davis, Brandy Fair, L. Rusty Waller, Leah Wickersham
Online education continues to be a growing trend in higher education. Changes in student demographics, rising tuition costs, and a national recession are just a few of the factors that have created the need for greater ease and access to academia. The move to offer online programs creates new problems for institutions of higher education including increased faculty salaries and/or incentives for faculty and the potential to create additional fees and higher tuition for distance education. The current study first examined previous research concerning potential problems related to offering online programs and the rationale for doing so. Research questions were developed related to differences that existed in faculty salaries, total tuition costs, and gender distributions between Texas institutions of higher education offering online graduate degrees in education and those who do not. Online graduate degrees are defined as those offering 51% or more of the course work online. Extractions from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database included only Texas public institutions for the 2006 academic year and provided the number of graduate degrees conferred in the field of education by gender, average 9 month faculty salary, in-state tuition, and in-state fees. Findings indicate no statistical differences in faculty salaries, total tuition costs, and gender distributions. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.