Steven G. Olswang

Implications of Comparable Worth for Academe.

Few public policy issues of the 1980s have garnered the attention, or have created the emotion, that comparable worth has engendered. The undeniable reality of wage gaps between men and women workers, the existence of occupational segregation by gender in many job categories, and the polarization of views about the appropriate response to these problems have combined to keep the debate lively. Although litigative attempts by women to use the comparable worth theory to reduce pay inequities have been unsuccessful, comparable worth remains an important issue in the political arenaespecially at the state and municipal level-and the amount of energy devoted to this issue appears unabated. Although most experts agree that the overall earnings differential between men and women workers-calculated as the ratio of womens

A Matter of Degree: Faculty Morale as a Function of Involvement in Institutional Decisions During Times of Financial Distress

Abstract: Recent literature suggests that including faculty in institutional governance relates positively with higher faculty morale. This study examined provosts’ and faculty perceptions of morale as related to faculty involvement in decision making during a time of financial stress. The results indicate a direct relationship between morale and the severity of the institutional reduction plan implemented. However, a relationship between faculty participation in the reduction process and faculty morale was not found. Suggestions for institutional decision making strategies are presented.

Student career goal changes during doctoral education in nursing.

As a relatively new doctoral discipline, nursing appears to be following the research focus of other disciplines in its doctoral programs. One original intent of awarding doctoral degrees in nursing was to prepare faculty. This study sought to determine how many doctoral students in nursing identified the goal of a career as faculty in schools of nursing at the beginning of their doctoral program, and how many would choose faculty positions after being enrolled in a doctoral program for more than one year. The population included 785 doctoral students in nursing from 35 schools in the United States. A cross-sectional study design was used to compare newly enrolled doctoral students with students who had been enrolled for more than one year. Although first-year and more experienced students have similar career goals upon entering a doctoral program, the career goals of doctoral nursing students do change over time. More experienced students become less interested in faculty positions, especially in nondoctoral schools of nursing, and more interested in positions involving research and consultation. Within specific programs, students in EdD programs became more interested in faculty positions in doctoral universities. Students in DNS programs who changed their goals became more career goal oriented, thus compounding the shortage of doctoral faculty. These changes in career goals warrant examination.

Administrative Roles and Perceptions of Governance in the Community College.

Administrators, chairmen, and faculty at a community college were surveyed to determine the extent of congruity among their perceptions of the chairman role and governance functions in the college. The results disclosed significantly different perceptions among the three levels of college participants. A key variable related to the perceptual dissonance was time in position. Significantly greater negative perceptions of the abilities and functional value of the chairman were associated with responses from those with longer histories in the institution. The dissonance between role perceptions related to time in position implies the need for improving communication/information processes between college personnel, specifically directed toward maintaining common understanding of the chairman role prescription.

Facing financial distress: a case study of the University of Washington

This paper describes the processes used by the University of Washington to meet severe budget reductions mandated by the State in the 1980s. A planning philosophy of smaller size and higher quality was adopted, and program elimination was identified as the only way to achieve permanent cost reductions. Program elimination occurred consensually, with faculty and student participation. While a substantial number of programs were eliminated, faith was kept with faculty by retaining all tenured professors in eliminated programs, and with students by allowing them ample time to complete degrees. The strategies the University has developed as a result of its experience of fiscal distress emphasizes increasing university autonomy. The University is striving to acquire authority over its income, is comparing itself with peer institutions to demonstrate underfunding to the legislature, and stressing to the legislature the benefits that come to the state from having a strong research institution.

Computing and Networking Services for Students with Disabilities: How Do Community Colleges Measure Up?.

This study examined the level of computing and networking services provided by colleges and universities for students with disabilities and the barriers faced by institutions in providing such services. A mail survey was distributed to every American post‐secondary institution with an enrollment of 1,000 or more. Responses of 2‐year and 4‐year schools were compared. Survey results suggested that, to comply with federal legislation, institutions must make greater efforts to ensure nondiscrimination with regard to computer and network access. Overall, 2‐year institutions provide a greater range of computing services and more types of adaptive devices than do 4‐year schools. More campus organizational units in 2‐year than in 4‐year institutions are involved in selecting, managing, and funding computing services for students with disabilities. More 2‐year than 4‐year institutions have employees assigned to these computing support positions and have at least one of these positions filled with a person who has ...