Date of Award

12-1982

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership

Abstract

Purpose. This descriptive study examined the effect of administrative budgetary decisions for selected institutional services and personnel upon certain perceptions of continuing education students attending Grand Rapids Junior College.

Procedure. The researcher designed an assessment process and instrument to measure students' perceptions of accessibility toward selected institutional services and personnel. The assessment was conducted in the spring of 1981. The instrument was distributed to 4,459 students, 1,804 (40.5%) assessment instruments were returned, and 1,791 were determined to be usable. Statistical treatment of the data included the use of three nonparametric tests: chi-square, contingency coefficient, and cumulative frequency tests. An earlier study conducted in 1977 provided the data base against which this study's resultant data were measured.

This study examined three research hypotheses. One, when funding levels decrease for institutional services and personnel, student perceptions toward those institutional services and personnel should also decrease. Two, when funding levels remain similar, student perceptions should remain similar. Three, when funding levels increase, student perceptions should increase. Of the 15 institutional services and personnel categories selected for this study, each was operationally defined with their null hypotheses to be rejected at the .10 level of significance.

Findings. The first research hypothesis had six operational subhypotheses examined: Two confirmed the research hypothesis (college catalogs and administrators); and four did not (parking facilities, campus bookstore, student publications, and counselors). The second research hypothesis had four operational subhypotheses examined: One confirmed the research hypothesis (library services); and three did not (testing services, secretaries, and instructors). The third research hypothesis had five operational subhypotheses examined: None confirmed the research hypothesis (counseling services, food services, tutoring services, athletic program, and security staff).

With only three of the 15 operational subhypotheses confirming their respective research hypothesis, the researcher acknowledged the lack of correlation between administrative budgetary decisions and certain student perceptions.

Conclusions. Even though the assessment instrument was found to have content validity and administrative reliability, this study indicated that administrative budgetary decisions had little impact upon the students' perceptions of accessibility. Further examination of this relationship between decision making and students' perceptions is encouraged.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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