Mary Ann Stutts

An Exploratory Study of the Behavior and Perceptions of College Students with Respect to Regular, Light, and Ultralight Cigarettes

The authors perform an exploratory survey that examines the smoking behavior, perceptions, and quitting intentions of 579 college students, an important segment because of their large numbers, their education, and the fact that many of them begin smoking during college. Unlike findings from prior studies of adults, most college students in the sample did not perceive that light cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes or that ultralight cigarettes are safer than light cigarettes, but rather they perceived lights to provide sensory benefits (e.g., milder, lighter taste) over regular cigarettes. This was especially true for former and current smokers. The majority of smokers were nondaily smokers, many of whom have no thoughts of quitting. This is a concern because these nondaily smokers may not consider their smoking behavior risky. In addition, nondaily college student smokers who are primarily social smokers constitute a large group of young adults for which there is little research into the health risks from smoking.

Faculty Perceptions of Student Evaluations

This study focuses on faculty perceptions of student evaluations. Findings indicate that a large percent of faculty feel that student evaluations serve a useful purpose but there is disagreement as to the main purpose of student evaluations. Faculty members do not feel students are capable of judging a teacher’s performance nor that student evaluations are a valid means of measurement. Respondents also felt that variables over which they had little or no control affected student evaluations of a faculty member; namely, grade in the course, faculty member’s personality, course level, class size, degree of rigor required, and elective versus required course.