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Student types and the evaluation of the university

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Abstract

The relationship between student types and students' perceptions and evaluations of the university has been infrequently researched, particularly among the post-activist student generation. Using a random sample of 460 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C) students surveyed in 1973, the relationship between students' academic orientations and six academically-related sets of variables was investigated: (1) the students' adjectival descriptions of the university, (2) the students' evaluations of university goal implementation, (3) the students' attitudes about academic governance, (4) the students' evaluations of the academic environment, (5) the students' feelings of academic alienation, and (6) the students' preferences concerning academic reform. The results of this research indicate that students' self-descriptions on the Clark-Trow typology of academic orientations are moderately associated with their perceptions and evaluations of the university, with the nonconformist student type emerging as the most distinct academic orientation.

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The research reported here was partially supported by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. The assistance of IPIRG members and of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C) students on this project is gratefully acknowledged. Additional support was provided by the Political Science Department and Political Psychology Program, Yale University. Computer time was furnished by the Yale University Computer Center.

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Long, S. Student types and the evaluation of the university. High Educ 6, 417–436 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132527

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