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Abstract

Using institutional effectiveness criteria established by the Southern Assocation of Colleges and Schools, the authors surveyed administrators and faculty at institutions granting associate's degrees in the southern United States to elicit (a) the extent to which effectiveness components were implemented, (b) the importance placed on those components by institutional leaders, and (c) discrepancies between reported implementation and perceived importance. The data were analyzed to determine if differences existed between perceived levels of implementation and importance based on institutional size and respondents' characteristics (including professional classification, gender, ethnicity, age, and years of employment). Reported implementation did not vary according to institutional size or respondents' characteristics, but one-way analysis of variance tests revealed significant relationships between the perceived importance of some components and respondents' length of employment, professonal classification, and institutional size.

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Institutional Effectiveness in Two-Year Colleges: The Southern Region of the United States

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