AN lNVESTIGAYiDN OF THE CRIT1CAL ASPECTS
033 THE FUNCTION OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN
AS SEEN BY Hi5 PROFESSIONAL PEERSS USING THE
CRMCM. INCIDENT 'TECHNiQUE '

Thesis for the Degree of 'Pth;

mcmGAN sure UNNERSHY' ' E 7

Alien Winfield Rafigérs .
‘1963

THESIS

LIBRARY

Michigan State

Illlllllllilllllllll|lllllllll|¢|lHIIIIIIHllllllllllllllllll ”Wm“?

3 1293 10463 74

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CRITICAL ASPECTS
OF THE FUNCTION OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN
As SEEN BY HIS PROFESSIONAL PEERS USING
THE CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE

presented by

Allan Winfield Rodgers

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

i“

GEM/4P:

. fl _ Major professor
Date July 23,196

 

 

 

 

 

 

fi
.

 

 

 

 

if l
. (lll. Ill.flrLl\rlL . r
[[ (ll[ llll\{( I

ABSTRACT
AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CRITICAL ASPECTS
OF THE FUNCTION OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN

AS SEEN BY HIS PROFESSIONAL PEERS USING
THE CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE

by Allan Winfield Rodgers

The Problem

A comprehensive review of the literature related to the
collegiate Student Personnel Dean reveals that his functions
are not universally agreed upon. Neither the critical areas
in which the Student Personnel Dean works nor the most effective
procedures employed by him are clearly identified. Thus, this
study was carried out in order to identify the critical functions
as well as effective and ineffective behavior of the Student

Personnel Dean.
Design and Procedure of the Study

The sample used in this study consisted of 133 state-supported
co-educational institutions established for education beyond
the 12th grade and having four year curriculums leading to the
Bachelor's degree. Each had an enrollment of at least 2,000,
but not more than 10,000 full-time students.

The Critical Incident Technique was the primary research imr
plement used in the study. Reporters (Professional Peers) reported
incidents in which the Dean's actions were especially satisfactory
or unsatisfactory. From these critical incidents, specific behav-

iors which were critical to the work of the Dean were identified.

 

Allan Winfield Rodgers

Report forms were sent to each of the 133 sample institutions.
Forty-eight usable and fourteen non-usable reports were returned.
Eighty-five effective and 65 ineffective incidents composed of
171 effective and 115 ineffective elements were reported. These
286 elements were grouped into 73 critical elements; the 73
critical elements were further grouped into seven critical areas
of behavior. The critical areas are: (The number of elements
in each area are in parentheses.) Area I - Communications (59),
Area 11 - Counseling (43), Area III - C00perative Relationships
(54), Area IV’- Diagnosis (21), Area V - Investigation (45),
Area VI - Leadership and Information (50), and Area VII -

Policy Making (14).

Twelve categories of problems which confronted the Student
Personnel Dean were also identified as were fifteen categories
of people with whom.he was in contact in carrying out his
responsibilities. The Dean dealt with both categories in all

seven critical areas of his behavior.

Specific Findings
//’

(1) Student Personnel Deans in smaller institutions do more
counseling with students than their counterparts in
larger institutions.

(2) Student Personnel Deans in smaller institutions are
comparatively ineffective in developing cooperative

relationships.

(3) /Student Personnel Deans in larger institutions are more
ineffective in conducting investigations of reports of
student misconduct than their counterparts in smaller
institutions.

 

 

 

 

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(3)

(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

 

 

Allan Winfield Rodgers

Student Personnel Deans do not consistently take the
initiative to provide leadership and information,
particularly to students and student groups.

Student Personnel Deans do not consistently take the
initiative in communicating the reasons for their
decisions to all parties concerned.

Student Personnel Deans are consistently successful
when working with individual students in disciplinary
situations.

A majority of the Student Personnel Deans' contacts
are with individual male students and he is generally
successful with these individuals.

Student Personnel Deans are not consistently successful
in their dealings with student groups, especially with
fraternity and sorority disciplinary problems.

Public Relations is the category in which the Student
Personnel Dean is involved with a wide variety of
people, particularly the press. Therefore, every
contact he makes has implications for his effectiveness
in public relations.

Student Personnel Deans are not consistently aware
that any action in which they participate exerts
great influence on all considerations of their
effectiveness as judged by their professional peers.

Student Personnel Deans do not consistently analyze
and evaluate all areas of their responsibility to
develop policies that will give direction and support
to help reach the objectives of their program.

When policies or rules and regulations are either
introduced or altered by the Student Personnel Dean,
they are not always fully explained to all parties
concerned. -

Student Personnel Deans are more effective when dealing
with fraternities through an interfraternity council

or the fraternity advisers than with the fraternity
groups themselves.

Student Personnel Deans are most effective when working
personally with all phases of in-service training.

(1)

(2)

(,111-(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(3)

 

 

Allan Winfield Rodgers

Conclusions

Every activity in which the Student Personnel Dean
functions effects the way he is perceived by his
professional peers.

If the Student Personnel Dean is operating effectively
in most areas it is likely that he will be judged so by
his professional peers. The opposite is also true.

.5,

”The importance attached to certain kinds of behavior
of the Student Personnel Dean varies with the size of

the institution in which he operates.

The most appropriate behavior of a Student Personnel
Dean varies from problemeto-problem and from time-to-
time with the same type of problem.

College and university presidents feel that members

of the faculty, staff, or administration who are not
student personnel workers are as able to judge the
effectiveness of the Student Personnel Dean's behavior
as are student personnel workers.

The Student Personnel Dean is more effective when working
with individual students than when working with student
groups.

The Student Personnel Dean is generally more effective
working with the representatives of groups than they
are working with the groups themselves.

The wider the range of activities the Student Personnel
Dean uses to resolve a problem, the more likely he is
to be considered effective by his professional peers.

_A—~;u_v"wu it; -‘a m Zak-~31“!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AN INVESTIGATION OF‘THE CRITICAL‘ASPECTS
OF THE FUNCTION OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN
AS SEEN BY HIS PROFESSIONAL PEERS USING
THE CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE

BY

Allan Winfield Rodgers

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State university
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

College of Education

1963

 

 

 

 

age: 3’
b /.2 3/“

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Conducting and reporting this study has been an interesting,
Challenging, and enlightening experience. For his valuable
assistance in outlining the problem and in setting up the research
technique used in this investigation, I give special thanks to my
doctoral committee chairman, Dr. James Costar. His critical
comments and guidance during the course of the writing of this
dissertation served to direct and inspire me in the completion of
my work. I also thank the members of my committee, Dr. Walter
Johnson, Dr. Eldon Nonnamaker, and Dr. Edward Blackman for their
time, critical comments, and advice which helped me complete
this report. J. Peter Meinke, Richard Halvorson, and Justin
O'Connell contributed critical comments and suggestions related
to the writing of the report itself.

I would also like to give a special thank you to my wife,
Joan, for her understanding of the time involved in the writing
of this report and for her untiring efforts in typing and editing.
Last but not least, I commend my two children, Heather and Gregory,
for the way they accepted my writing a dissertation as a way of

life.

ii

CHAPTER

I

II

III

IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN:
QUESTIONS - THE PROBLEM - LITERATURE . . . . .

A Statement of the Problem . . . . . . . . . .
Literature Related to the Functions of a
Student Personnel Dean . . . . . . . . . . .
Literature Related to the Critical Incident
Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Definitions of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DESIGN AND PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Qualifications of the Institutions . . . . . .
Qualifications of the Reporters . . .
Selecting the Reporters and the Institutions
for the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Developing the Critical Incident Report Form .
Mailing the Report Forms . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Enrollment Sections . . . . . . . . .
Transferring Data from Returned Report Forms
to Work Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Classifying the Incidents . . . . . . . . . .

ORGANIZATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RETURNS

Number and Kinds of Returns . . . . . . . . .
Titles and Responses of Professional Peers . .
Categories of Problems Which Confront the
Student Personnel Dean . . . . . . . . . . .
Categories of People Whom the Student
Personnel Dean Contacted . . . . . . . . . .
Relationship of the People with Whom the Dean
Came in Contact to the Problem Categories .

IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE CRITICAL
AREAS IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL

DEAN O O O O C O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O 0

Organization of the Data . . . . . . . . . . .
Critical Areas of Behavior and their Critical

Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analysis of the Critical Areas of Behavior . .

iii

PAGE

12
19
20
22
22
22
23
23
26
27
29

30
31

32

32
37

42
50

58

6O
60

61
65

 

 

\.( Ii

 

CHAPTER

VI

VII

 

ANALYSIS OF THE CRITICAL AREAS OF THE
BEHAVIOR OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribution of Elements Among the Seven

Critical Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Effective and Ineffective Elements in

Each Critical Area . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Analysis of the Returns by Enrollment

Section .. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribution of the Effective and Ineffective

Elements by Critical Area . . . . . . . . .
Relationship of Critical Areas of Behavior

to the Problem Categories . . . . . . .
Relationship of Critical Areas to the

Categories of People with Whom the Student

Personnel Dean Comes in Contact . . . . .

SUMMARY AND EVALUATION OF FINDINGS . . . . . .

The Problem Restated . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Critical Elements of the Student Personnel
Dean' 8 Functioning . . . . . . . . . . .

Distribution of the Elements by Critical

Areas I O O O O O O O O O O I O O O 0
Distribution of the Elements by Enrollment
seetion O O O O O O O O O O C I O O O 0

Distribution of Elements by Problem

Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Relationships between Critical Areas and

Problem Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Relationships between the Critical Areas

and Categories of People with Whom the

Student Personnel Dean Functioned . . . . .
Relationships between the Categories of

People and the Categories of Problems . . .
Findings of Special Value to Student

Personnel Deans . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation of the Findings . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation of the Critical Incident

Technique . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . .

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hypotheses for Further Study . . . . . . . . .
Implications for the Professional Preparation
of Prospective Student Personnel Deans . . .
Implications for the Experiential Background
of Prospective Student Personnel Deans . . .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iv

PAGE

71
71
71
75
76
80

82

84
87
87
87
88
89
90

90

91
92

93
94

96
99

99
102

105
107

109

 

TABLE

II

III

IV

VI

VII

VIII

IX

XI

XII

XIII

XIV

LIST OF TABLES

The Number and Percentage of Institutions
in Each Enrollment Section of the Total
Sample a o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0

Returns from College and University Presidents
in Response to (1) The Original Qualifying
Letter, (2) The Supplemental Letter of
Explanation, and (3) The Duplicate Qualifying
Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Returns from Three Mailings of Questionnaires
Sent to Professional Peers . . . . . . . . . .

The Number and Percentage of Responding
Institutions in Each Enrollment Section . . .

Titles of Professional Peers Found in Sample
IflStitutions o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Usable Report Forms‘Returned by Professional
Peers in Each Enrollment Section . . . . . . .

Number and Percentage of Report Forms Returned
by Each Category of Professional Peers . . . .

Categories of Problems and Their Elements
which Confront the Student Personnel Dean . .

Critical Categories of People with Whom the
Student Personnel Dean Functioned . . . . . .

Percentage of People with Whom the Student
Personnel Dean Functioned in Each of the
Twelve Problem Categories

Distribution of Elements Among the Seven
Critical Areas 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 0

Proportion of Effective and Ineffective
Elements Reported in Each Critical Area . . .

Distribution of the Elements by Enrollment
Of the Responding Institutions* 0 o o o o o 0

Distribution of the Critical Elements in Each
of the Seven Critical Areas* . . . . . . . . .

PAGE

29

34

35

37

38

41

46

53

58/

72

75

77

81

n.‘ ‘1! If), [([rhrf

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE PAGE

XV Percentage of the Behaviors of Each Problem

Category Falling under Each of the Seven

Critical Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
XVIv/Fercentage of the People with Whom the Student

Personnel Dean Functioned in Each of the

Seven Critical Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

vi

 

 

 

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX PAGE
A LETTERS AND REPORT FORM 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o 116

Department of Higher Education . . . . . . . . . 116
Qualifying Letter to College and

University Presidents . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Sample Post Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
First Report Form Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . 119
Second Report Form Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . 121
Third Report Form Cover Letter . . . . . . . . . 122
Sample Report Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

B LIST OF INSTITUTIONS WHICH COMPRISED THE
TOTAL SAWLE I O O C O O O O O O C C O O O C C O 1 28

vii

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER I

THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN:
QUESTIONS - THE PROBLEM - LITERATURE

Introduction

During recent years, many questions have been raised con-
cerning the true functions of a collegiate Student Personnel
Dean.1 These questions have been raised by people interested
in becoming Student Personnel Deans, by college and university
presidents who are hiring Deans, by members of the teaching
faculty seeking to understand just what is the function of a
Student Personnel Dean in the academic community, and by college
students who come in contact with his office. Questions have
varied depending on the type of college or university and the
individual filling the position of Dean. The lack of well
documented answers to questions about the Dean's duties has
indicated the need for an up-to-date review of the literature
concerning the functions of the Student Personnel Dean and the
need for further research related to a definition of his role.

In this study the literature concerning several different
aspects of the functions of the Student Personnel Dean was
reviewed. However, an analysis of the literature does not reveal
any universal conclusions regarding the most appropriate functions
I:__§;;_ngg_19 for the precise definition of Student Personnel

Dean as used in this study. In the rest of this paper, the
term "Dean" will be used in reference to the "Student
Personnel Dean" only. In some tabular matter, the abbrevi-

ation "SPD" will be used. Other collegiate deans will be
designated by full title, for example, "Academic Dean."

 

 

 

 

 

2
of the office. The writing related to this topic reveals a
wide range of responsibilities thought to be properly associated
with the position. The literature concerning the functions of
the Student Personnel Dean can be categorized into three major
areas: (1) Literature that defines the Dean's duties in general
terms, indicating the administrative nature of his work; (2) Litera-
ture that defines the Dean's functions in a detailed check-list
related to no particular institution; and (3) Literature that defines
in detail the Dean's functions at a particular institution. How-
ever, these three classifications neither clarify the critical
areas in which the Dean must work nor indicate effective processes
for fulfilling the requirements of the position. In general,
available information in the literature concerning the work of the
Student Personnel Dean has little value for such an official at
his particular institution. Most studies are either too limited
or too broad. Thus, no description presently exists of those
duties of the Student Personnel Dean which are essential in order

for him to successfully carry out the requirements of his position.

A Statement of the Problem

 

Because little research has been carried out to identify the
critical aspects of the behavior of the Student Personnel Dean,
that area was chosen as the focal point for this study. Investi-
gation centered around an analysis, using the Critical Incident
Technique developed by John C. Flanagan, of effective and in-
effective procedures employed by the Student Personnel Dean in
carrying out his responsibilities. In addition to those responsi-

bilities directly related to the functions of the Student Personnel

 

 

 

-.. saqagamm

II. .‘n’L‘IIi. 111111].

 

 

3
Dean, the study also included an analysis of the way in which
he effectively copes with more distant but related problems.
Any technique used by the Dean to discharge his responsibilities

”Thus , the

bears some relationship to his success or failure. (
primary purpose of this study was to extricate from the diverse
procedures employed by the Student Personnel Dean those pro-
cedures his professional peers believed to be critical to success
in the position.

To study the functions of the Student Personnel Dean, it
seemed worthwhile to use a design which permitted the study to
occur in an on-the-job situation. The Critical Incident Technique
permits this because it describes the Dean's effectiveness "in
terms of behavior rather than the traditional list of traits."

In this study, it was_g§§gmgd“thatim

1. The total function of the Student Personnel Dean

was everything which he did that was related to
his job.

2. The total function could be broken into several
single functions.

3. Each single function was composed of a set of
identifiable behaviors.

4. Those behaviors which were identified in Critical
Incidents were a part of some function which could
be identified only through the study of behavior.

To isolate these functions, it was necessary to discover just

which things the Dean did satisfactorily and those things which

he did unsatisfactorily.

 

2. Stapley, Maurice and Harlan Beem, "Effective Board Functioning,"
School Executive, 73:101, March, 1954.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literature Related to the Functions of a Student Personnel Dean

—————_———_—_——

Because student personnel work as a professional field is
relatively new, there are still gaps in the literature related
to the functions of the Student Personnel Dean. An examination
of the literature shows that the position of Student Personnel
Dean evolved from the assignment of staff members by the presi-
dent to assist him in the area of student life outside the
classroom. This work has become known in educational settings
as student personnel work. Such work evolved because college
and university presidents, who had traditionally handled all
problems relating to student life, could no longer afford the
drain on their time and energy. The first student personnel
appointments were made to assist students in finding suitable
housing.3 Later, appointments were made to handle all aspects
of student life outside the classroom.

The forerunner to the position of Student Personnel Dean
was that of Dean of Men. The first Dean of Men was appointed
at the University of Illinois in 1901.4 It was at this time
that student personnel work first received formal recognition by
college presidents and thus began to grow as a campus entity.

Until 1938,5 all student personnel workers had formerly been
3:——L;;E;;d:_E;genie, A., Origins 2; Personnel Services ig American

flighgg Education, university of Minnesota Press, 1959, p. 112.

4. DeFarrari, Roy, College Organization gag Administration,
The Catholic University of America Press, 1947, p. 76.

5. Reed, Anna Y., "The Origin and Development of the work of the
Dean of Men in Higher Education," abstract of a Ph. D.
Dissertation, School of Education of New York university, 1938,
Association 2; American Colleges Bulletin, 25:277-285, 1939.

 

 

 

PE‘

97
0..

th;

3r,

0f

 

5

employed in some other field of endeavor. The majority had come
from non-academic pursuits; none had any special educational
training for their new work.

World War II interrupted the growth of professional student
personnel work; however, immediately after the war the trend
toward professionalism grew rapidly. Saddlemire in 1950 reported
that student personnel workers were being selected from varied
backgrounds:

. . . major fields represented by the highest

degree granted were: 20.5% education; 15.5%

social sciences; and_12% guidance or Student

Personnel Administration. The remaining 52%

were scattered among many different fields.6

Thus it is seen that from 1938 to 1950, the number of student }
personnel workers holding student personnel degrees increased from: “
0% to 12%. Current literature does not indicate any change in
this trend.
Broad Definitions of the Functions
of the Student Personnel Dean

In 1933 William Gray7 indicated that the student personnel
worker should aid students in estimating their ability to do
college level work and bring to bear upon those who enter college
all the resources which will enable them to achieve the major

values of a college education. This suggests that the Dean would

be an administrator in an organization geared to achieve these ends.

 

6. Saddlemire, Gerald, "Of Man Personnel Administrators in
Colleges and Universities," Occupations 29:192, 1950.

7. Gray, William, Editor, Needed Readjustments i3 Higher
Education, university of Chicago Press, 1933.

 

Roy DeFarrari,

6
8

using a modified check list developed by

W. E. Hilton, reported in 1947 the following duties and responsi-

bilities of the Student Personnel Dean.

Supervising student health.

Supervising dormitories, dining rooms, and the
board and rooms for off-campus students.

Supervising student government and other activities,

including all social functions.

Investigating absences, doing personal counseling,
handling discipline problems, and encouraging
religious life on campus.

Supervising the freshmen orientation program.
Providing academic advising, including supervision
of the testing program and special reports to

parents.

Giving vocational guidance, and supervising part-
time employment and occupational placement.

Directing loans and scholarships.
Securing and selecting students.

Making community contacts and representing the
college at professional meetings.

9
E. Lindsay and E. 0. Holland indicate that perhaps

the

chief requirement for successfully carrying out the duties of

the Student Personnel Dean is the ability to work with young

people.

Thus, the Student Personnel Dean must win and hold the

respect, the confidence, and the cooperation of the students.

 

8. DeFarrari, 22,.gi§., p. 77.

9. Lindsay, E. E. and E. 0. Holland, College gag university
Administration, The MacMillian Company, 1930, p. 27.

 

 

 

I...
III
(

L

{I}
III"
'1‘!

52‘.

Pa:

n
1
11

Ce

 

the

of

res

tas

12.

7

The Student Personnel Dean's personal influence

should make a favorable impact upon the students'
lives. Close personal friendships with the leaders

of student opinion is very necessary in working with
social living units such as cooperatives, fraternities,
and organized houses.10

A statement from a doctoral dissertation by E. E. Hanson

summarizes the general administrative role of the Dean as

follows:

The duties of the chief personnel official would

be thought of as being primarily the administration
and supervision of the program of Student Personnel
Services. It would seem that . . . there is a def-
inite tendency on the part of colleges and universi-
ties . . . to assign the responsibility for the
coordination and direction of the student personnel
program to a person or an official who could be
classified as a personnel official . . . .

Detailed Check-List Descriptions of the
Functions of the Student Personnel Dean

The results of a survey of 34 member-colleges of the North

Central Association published in 1943, give some insight into

the proportion of Deans who perform duties in the major areas

of identifiable responsibility. The following list shows these

responsibilities and the percentage of Deans performing each

 

 

 

 

 

task:12
. Approving health and housing policies 9%
. Setting conduct standards 16%

10. Ibid., p. 503.

11. Hanson, Ernest E., A Study gf_the Structural Organization
2g Student Personnel Services lg Certain State Colleges and
Universities, Michigan State University Doctoral Dissertation,
1952.

12. Hyde, Melvin W. and Emile Leffler, A Study 2§_Administrative

 

Functions, A report of a survey sponsored by the North Central
soc ations of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1943.

 

 

Vith.

 

 

 

 

 

. Drafting personnel budgets 66%
. Checking chapel attendance 75%}
. Keeping personnel records 94%
. Making statistical studies 25%
. Checking student failures 50%¥
. Checking class attendance 75%
. Evaluating student personnel operations 77%

Saddlemire reports,13 that 54% of the Student Personnel
Deans in his study did not consider civic responsibilities such
as public relations and representing the university to the public,
affiliation with church councils and religious committees, and
attendance at Rotary, Kiwanis, and professional meetings as
personnel functions.

Related studies have been done of the academic disciplines
in which Deans were trained prior to their personnel appointments.
Studies have also been conducted to find the highest academic
degree held by various groups of people engaged in student personnel
work.
Detailed Descriptions of the Functions of the
Student Personnel Dean at a Particular Institution

Studies conducted at a particular institution have been called,
in many instances, "household studies" because they are studies

within the framework of a particular institution.

 

l3. Saddlemire, 22, cit., pp. 190-193.

9

A book, entitled Student Personnel Work 33 the University 3f

Minnesota,l4 prepared for the President's Committee at the

University of Minnesota is an outstanding example of such a

study. This study utilizing evaluations of regular divisional

reports, personal interviews with divisional chairmen, and

special questionnaires, reports the following areas in which the

Student Personnel Dean functions.

Family Cooperation - The Dean of Student Affairs in
certain disciplinary cases may call upon parents.

 

Physical and Mental Health - The Dean of Student
Affairs inspects fraternity and sorority houses
regularly.

Housing - The Dean of Student Affairs inspects the
physical plant of fraternities and sororities and
has a staff relationship to the Director of Housing.

Extra-Curricular Activities - The Dean of Student
Affairs, as chairman of the Committee on Student
Affairs, supervises all extra-curricular activities . . . .

 

Social Life - The Dean of Student Affairs supervises
the organized social life on the campus through his
discretionary powers as chairman of the Senate
Committee on Student Affairs . . . .

 

Financial Aid - The Dean of Student Affairs administers
university loan funds, administers a number of private
loan funds, and administers certain scholarships.

 

Cumulative Record Keeping - The Dean of Student
Affairs keeps a file of activity preferences of men
students.

Discipline - The Dean of Student Affairs disciplines
students who are accused of moral delinquency and is
chairman of the all-university Discipline Committee.

 

14.

Williamson, E. G. and T. R. Sarbin, Sgudent Personnel
Work $5 the university 9; Minnesota, Burgess Publishing
Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1941.

 

   

 

 

ENC

per

 

H
Ln

 

 

10

Williamson and Sarbin15 also report that in administering

student personnel services the Dean of Student Affairs has

four types of relationships. These relationships are:

. Line relationship - involves approval of budget, staff

appointments and promotions, policies and programs

. Staff relationship - involves program consultation and

details of a similar nature, which is many times in the
nature of expert advice

. Functional coordination relationship - involves the

coordination of departments performing similar functions
to increase efficiency and avoid duplication

. Staff coordination relationship - involves coordinating

A

and integrating all student personnel services to increase
their efficiency for both the student and institution

16

similar, though less complete, study conducted at Florida

State university in 1960 found the primary responsibility of the

Dean of Men to be that of providing for the personal and social

guidance of the males in the student body and the supervision of

their conduct and general well-being.

According to this study, the Dean of Men serves on a number

of standing committees including the Health, Discipline, Housing,

and the Admissions Committees. He engages in a wide range of

personnel functions such as the following:

1.

He helps formulate student personnel policies
through committee membership.

He assists in implementing policies dealing with
university entrance and retention regulations.

He counsels with individuals and groups on matters
of a personal and social nature.

15. Ibid., p. 93.

16. The Dean of Men and His Staff, Florida State University

 

C:

 

 

 

 

SEC

 

Per

whi

 

11

4. He confers with parents and instructors concerning
the personal, social, and academic problems of
individual students.

5. He recommends personnel to be added to the student
personnel staff, prepares budgets, and administers
appropriations to his office.

6. He promotes continual growth of the professional
staff through vigorously conducted in-service
training programs.

7. He assists with the orientation program for entering
students.

8. He refers students to specialized personnel officers
when the need is apparent.

9. He promotes the individual development of students in
areas of citizenship and scholarship through the
counseling process and by giving appropriate
recognition to students who excel in these areas
during the school year.

10. He cooperates fully with all other members of the
personnel and guidance team.

This study of the responsibilities of the Dean of Men
concludes with the statement: "All branches of the university
student government work with this office, and the relationship
in the case of men's government is particularly close."17

Although the investigations reported in each of the preceding
sections help to broadly define the functions of the Student
Personnel Dean, they do not indicate those specific activities
which are critical in carrying out these functions in an efficient
and effective manner. None of the studies gives objective

evidence to support the judgment that certain behavior is more

effective than any other or why it is so. Thus, previous studies

 

17. Ibido, Po 3-40

 

 

 

 

 

"-1

ex-
in

obt

tra.

fel:

 

VagL-

 

12
have been of little help in showing a Student Personnel Dean
how he might improve his effectiveness as a student personnel

worker.

Literature Related £g_the Critical Incident Technique

 

 

A survey of the literature related to the Critical Incident
Technique was conducted for two reasons: (1) To gain enough
knowledge so that the Critical Incident Technique could be applied
to an investigation of the functions of the Student Personnel Dean;
and (2) To insure that this technique had not already been used
to investigate his duties.

Some pioneer work in the area of on-the-job analysis and
evaluation of performance was done by W. W. Charters in Pittsburgh

18 Charter's work was directed toward

in the early 1920's.
obtaining precise statements from supervisors' Opinions about the
most important traits needed by secretaries to do satisfactory
work. Workers and supervisors made the observations and judgments,
not job analysts.

Ghiselli and Brown19 followed the precedent set by W. W.
Charters in that they rejected the practice of simply listing those
traits and skills which appear important to the job analyst. They

felt such action was justified because job analysts' reports used

vague and abstract terms, and failed to report the degree of

 

18. Whitley, I. B., Analysis g§_Secretaria1 Duties and Traits,
Williams and Wilkes Company, Baltimore, 1924.

19. Ghiselli, Edwin E., and C. W. Brown, Personnel and Industrial
Psychology, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New York, 1948.

 

 

 

 

 

In:

suc
thr

in 1:

21.

 

22.

 

 

 

13

importance of job traits and skills. They proposed that the
primary objective of worker analysis should be to discover the
minimum qualifications necessary for satisfactory accomplishment
of the work.

Just subsequent to and during World War II, psychologists
and sociologists renewed interest in the analysis of jobs in
various occupational fields. One of the many investigators was
John C. Flanagan who, working with associates, developed what is
now called the Critical Incident Technique. This technique was
designed to study the problem of job requirements and the relative
importance of the various aspects of a given job. In discussing
the problem, Flanagan stated:

In the analysis of the fundamental factors of a situation,

it is clear that an adequate solution to the problem of

job requirements must be based on observations of the

behavior of the individual worker and the effectiveness of

this behavior in accomplishing the assigned task in a

satisfactory manner. These observations are the primary

data on which all other types of estimates, opinions,
judgments, and inferences must be based.20

In 1949, Flanagan21 outlined the methodology of the Critical
Incident Technique and certain necessary requirements for its

22
successful use. In brief, the procedure involves job analysis

through the study of the total job rather than through an

investigation of its separate parts. In industry, the plan involves

 

20. Flanagan, John 0., "Job Requirements", in W. Dennis,Current
Trends 33 Industrial Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, 1949.

21. Flanagan, John 6., Critical Requirements for Research Personnel:
A Study g§_0bserved Behaviors gf Personnel ig_Research Labora-
tories, American Institute for Research, Pittsburgh, March, 1949.

22. These requirements are described in detail in Chapter II.

 

 

 

 

wh

 

8C1

he

 

 

 

14

the selection of competent observers, usually supervisory foremen,
who watch men at work in order to observe the results of their
labor. When these results seem especially satisfactory or unsatis-
factory, the observer makes written descriptions of the actual
behavior of the worker. These are classified as critical incidents.
From a large number of such critical incidents, observers then
isolate those specific behaviors or critical elements which have the
most influence on the results of the work; thus, the technique
derives its name: the Critical Incident Technique.

When using the Critical Incident Technique, Flanagan concluded:

. . . data could be gathered which would provide a basis

for preparing a form for observing and recording on-the-job

behaviors, provide ready-made criterion data for the jobs

studied, provide an excellent basis for making inferences

regarding the nature of critical aptitude and training

requirements for these jobs, and provide the matgrial to be
used in the purification and design of the jobs. 3

Flanagan also pointed out that the collection of incidents,
when properly executed, provides a functional description of the

activity in terms of specific behaviors. In more recent articles

he states:

. . . there is one reason for going further and that is
practical utility. The purpose of the data analysis

stage is to summarize and describe the data in an effective
manner so it can effectively be used for many practical

purposes.

Psychologists . . . see that without a definite and
detailed definition of an activity or job in terms of
actual behavior and the results of this behavior, the
establishment of a criterion measure of a personnel

 

23. Flanagan, 22. cit., "Job Requirements," p. 48.

24. Flanagan, John 0., "Critical Incident Technique,"
Psychological Bulletin, 51:327-358, July, 1954, pp. 343-344.

 

 

 

g.“

is
ham

to

25.

26.

 

28.

29,

 

 

 

15

evaluation system is entirely out of the question.
Thus, it becomes necessary to make an intensive
analysis of behavior of workers doing a job.25

The essence of success, then, of the Critical Incident
Technique is that the reporters need collect only that data
germane to success or failure of the worker.

A critical requirement is defined as a requirement

which is crucial in the sense that it has been res-

ponsible for outstandingly effective or definitely

unsatisfactory perfoggance of an important part of

the job or activity.

This procedure, has considerable efficiency because

of the use of only the extremes of behavior. It is

well known that extremes can be more accurately

identified than behavior which is more nearly average

in character.27

Because the Critical Incident Technique had been used success-
fully in the investigation of critical job requirements for
industrial and technical personnel, it was soon tried by investi-
gators in other fields of professional and educational endeavor.

Research using the Critical Incident Technique reported here
is that which is related to educational matters only. Investigators
have used the Critical Incident Technique successfully in education

28 29

to study the behavior of teachers, college instructors,

 

25. Flanagan, John 0., "Critical Requirements: A New Approach to
Employee Evaluation," Personnel Psychology 2:419-425, Winter,
1949, pp. 419-420.

26. Ibid., p. 420.

27° Flanagan, John C., "Requirements in Employee Evaluation,"
Personnel Psychology 2:419, Spring, 1942, p. 419.

28. Merritt, Edith P., "Critical Competencies for Elementary Teachers
in Selected Curriculum Areas," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 1955), 120 pp.

29. Smit, Jo Ann, "Study of the Critical Requirements for Instructors
of General Psychology Courses," University 2£_Pittsburgh Bulletin,
48:279-284, June, 1952.

 

 

 

31‘

32.

33.

34.

35,

 

36.

 

16
30-31 . . 32
schoolboard members, elementary princ1pals, and secondary
principals.33
These studies have relied on various groups of observers

including superintendents,34 parents,35 and teachers.36

Advantages of the Critical
Incident Technique
The Critical Incident Technique has some important advantages
not found in other methods that have been used to investigate the
functions of the Student Personnel Dean. These advantages are:
l. The investigator may sample large numbers of observers
with relative ease and thus accumulate a broad sampling

of incidents.

2. The observers require no special training since their
contribution is in the nature of recall and communication.

 

30. Barnhart, Richard E., "A Study of the Critical Requirements
for School Board Membership Based Upon the Analysis of
Critical Incidents," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Indiana university, Bloomington, Indiana, 1952), 180 pp.

31. Corbally, John E., Jr., "A Study of the Critical Elements
of School Board - Community Relations," (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of California, 1955), 298 pp.

32. Benjamin, Dayton, "Critical Behaviors of Elementary Principals
in the Improvement of Instruction," (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Stanford university, Palo Alto, California, 1955),
115 pp.

33. Walters, Thomas W., "The Job of the High School Principal as
Perceived by California City Superintendents," (unpublished
doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California,
1955), 127 pp.

34. Corbally, 22. cit., p. 47.

35. Buffington, Reed L., "The Job of the Elementary School Principal
as Viewed by Parents," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 1954), 101 pp.

36. Medsker, Leland L., "The Job of the Elementary School Principal
as Viewed by Teachers," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,

Stanford university, Palo Alto, California, 1954), 110 pp.

 

w. was. ,. AW Tao-J Sues; ~~

$9 " '
i 4 -

 

 

Te

re}

the

the
an y

Val

 

 

 

 

 

17

3. The observers identify incidents of extreme behavior
as either outstanding or unsatisfactory. Therefore,
no bias from selective memory or inadequate definition
of the types of incidents will result.

4. The incidents represent objective data since they
involve accounts of behavior only.

5. The frequency of incidents can be converted directly
into statistical estimates for the purposes of pre-
diction and evaluation.

In describing the value of the Critical Incident Technique,

Flanagan emphasized that,

. . . observations of the behavior of the individual and

of the effectiveness of this behavior in accomplishing

the desired results in a satisfactory manner constitute

not just one source of data, but the only source of

primary data regarding tbs critical requirements of a
job in terms of behavior. 7

Limitations of Applicability

The largest single limitation of the Critical Incident
Technique stems from the reporters themselves. However, if the
reporters respond in the manner requested on the report form,
the limitation is negligible.

The report form itself is also limiting because it negates

the possibility of an interviewer eliciting from the reporter

38

any explanation or interpretation of the terms he used. Corbally

validated his use of the report form by a field study of 42 personal

 

37. Flanagan, 92, cit., "Critical Requirements," p. 421.

38. Corbally, 92. 315,, pp. 117-119.

 

- on-

 

 

..‘H
W‘-
x-‘ _
"'3‘—

 

 

cr
re;

IDOL

dis
the

11m;

 

41.

 

 

18
interviews of 60 to 90 minutes each. Corbally stated,
. . no problem or activity categories were reported

during the field study which were outside the frame-

work established by the questionnaire returns. No

incidents were reported in any interview which involved

behaviors not already described as critical elements.

In another study, Wagner evaluated the results obtained from
individual and group interviews. He found that the group interview,
where respondents were asked to write their descriptions of critical
incidents in specially-prepared booklets, yielded data of comparable
quality to that of the personal interview, while the group interview

40 Although these

required only one-fourth as much interview time.
findings cannot be accepted as conclusive evidence that they include
every possible problem or activity area and that they have uncovered
every critical element, both the individual and group interview
findings do strongly support the use of the report form survey alone.
The ability of the observer to retain critical incidents
creates another limitation. Therefore, observers were asked to
report only those incidents which had occurred within the past 18
months.41
The amount of time required to complete a report form may
discourage reporters from returning any incidents at all. Therefore,

the time required to complete a report form may be considered a

limitation.

 

39. Ibid., p. 120.

40. Wagner, R. F., "A Group Situation Compared with Individual
Interviews for Securing Personnel Information," Personnel
Psychology, Vol. 1, pp. 93-107, Spring, 1948.

 

41. This amount of time was well within the time range of other
studies in which the Critical Incident Technique had been
used.

 

to

19

Definitions 9; Terms

 

The following definitions are of important terms related

student personnel work used in this study.

Student Personnel Dean: A person who is a full-time
student personnel officer in an institution of higher
education. He is responsible to the chief adminis-
trative officer of the institution for the student
personnel organization, and he is the chief repre-
sentative of that organization on all councils, com-
mittees, and other official bodies in which such
representation is maintained.

Institution 2; Higher Education: A co-educational
institution established for the purpose of offering
education beyond the twelfth grade and has a four
year curriculum leading to a Bachelor's degree.

Function: That activity which is performed by the
Student Personnel Dean in fulfilling his position.
It is not limited to those activities which are
prescribed or established as customarily being his
"duties." It is anything which he does or says, or
causes others to do or say, which in actual practice
contributes to the fulfillment of his position.

The terms that follow are those commonly used in the research

method called the Critical Incident Technique.42

42.

Incident: An event involving the Student Personnel
Dean in a specific situation, having a cause, some
action taking place during its happening, and a
result. It will involve the Dean in some function
which he carries out to fulfill his position. It
may take place in an hour, it may consume several
weeks, or it may not come to a definite end.

Critical Incident: An incident in which the behavior
of a Student Personnel Dean is considered to be
effective or ineffective.

For a more detailed definition of these terms see:
Flanagan, 22.,gi5., "Job Requirements," pp. 40-41.

 

20

Reporter (Professional Peer): One who has had sufficient ;
experience in student personnel work to be familiar with
the work of the Student Personnel Dean and who has par- f
ticipated sufficiently in student personnel activities to!
be able to judge the effectiveness of the behavior of the;
Dean in the incident cited. '
Element: A constituent part of an incident. A specific
procedure used by a Dean during an incident. An incident
may, and usually will, contain several elements.

Critical element: Those elements which occur most fre-
quently in critical incidents. Consequently, they are
the elements which, if carried out in a particularly
effective or ineffective manner, lead to judgments by
observers regarding the effectiveness of the activity

in which they occur.

Critical area: Combines those functions of a Student
Personnel Dean which involve a number of related critical
elements.

Egg-Critical elements: Those elements which do not occur
in a critical incident. Consequently, they are elements
which either bear little relationship to success in the
total functioning, or include little variability in the
performance of one Dean when compared with another.

While these elements may be of importance in student
personnel functions, they are not found in critical
incidents.

Summary

Chapter I summarizes pertinent information found in the
literature related to the functions of the Student Personnel
Dean and applications of the Critical Incident Technique along
with definitions of critical terms used in the study. The remainder
of the report is organized as follows: Chapter II includes the
design of the study and the procedures followed in the use of the
Critical Incident Technique. Chapter III deals with the organization
and interpretation of the questionnaire returns. Chapter IV presents

the critical areas of behavior of the Student Personnel Dean and the

21
constituent elements in each area. Chapter V contains a detailed
analysis of the critical areas of behavior. Chapter VI presents
a summary and evaluation of the findings; and in Chapter VII,
the conclusions are stated along with recommendations for further

studies.

CHAPTER II
DESIGN AND PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY

Introduction

This chapter describes the design of the entire study
and the major processes used to: (1) Identify the sample
institutions to be investigated; (2) Select and identify the
reporters; and (3) Develop and utilize the critical incident
report form. The information which was gained by using this
design and procedure is reported in Chapter III and analyzed

in succeeding chapters.

anlifications‘gf the Institutions

To investigate the functions of a Student Personnel Dean,
a sample had to be developed which would yield as many Deans
as possible, yet it had to be a sample homogeneous enough to
permit the drawing of useful conclusions. It was not practical
to examine every possible combination of institutions of higher
learning; therefore, the selected sample was one of co-educational
institutions established for education beyond the twelfth grade
having a full four year curriculum leading to a Bachelor's degree.
Only state supported institutions having an enrollment of not
less than 2,000 or no more than 10,000 full-time students were
included. It was felt that an insignificant number of institutions
with less than 2,000 full-time students would have a personnel

officer who would fit the definition of the Student Personnel Dean

22

23
used in this study. The upper limit of 10,000 full-time students
was established to give a higher degree of homogeneity to the

sample.

Qualifications Oi the Reporters

 

 

The reporter had to have three major qualifications: (1) He
had to actually observe the activity upon which he reported;
(2) He had to know the aims of the individual observed; and (3)
He had to be qualified to make a judgment regarding the outcomes
of the activity observed.43

All segments of college and university populations were
examined to ascertain which segment would best meet the reporter's
qualifications. No segment of college or university p0pulation
met these requirements as fully as did the professional peer.
From his education, experience, and position the professional peer
was the most appropriate person to report on the functions of the
Student Personnel Dean.

Selecting the Reporters and
the Institutions for the Study

The first step in the selection of the sample institutions
was to write to each director of higher education in the 50 United
States. The letter asked for the names and the presidents of the

colleges and universities in that state which fulfilled the

 

43. Flanagan, _p. cit., "Critical Requirements," pp. 421-22.

24
definition of an institution of higher education used in this
study. (A sample letter can be found in Appendix A.) The director
was also asked to report the 1960-61 enrollment figures of these
institutions.

The second step in this selection process was to develop a
state by state alphabetical listing, with enrollment figures, of
all colleges or universities along with the names and addresses of
their respective presidents. To insure that no institution of
higher education had been overlooked and to verify the enrollment
figure given for each institution, all data gathered by this means
was compared with that reported in the Educationsl Directory 1959 -
1960, Part III, Higher Education?4 The enrollment figures found in
this directory were entered on the alphabetical list of institutions.
The above processes identified 169 institutions.

In the third step a letter was sent to each college or
university president explaining the purposes of the investigation
and providing him with definitions of the Student Personnel Dean
and of the professional peer, who, in this study, was to serve as
the reporter of critical incidents.. A self-addressed post card was
enclosed with the letter. (See Appendix A) The president was asked
to indicate on the post card the name of the institution, the
approximate number of full-time students in the 1960-61 academic

year, the name and title of the person fitting the definition of a

 

44. Educational Directory 1959 - 1960, Part III, Higher Education,
United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
Office of Education.

 

25

Student Personnel Dean, and the name and title of the person
fitting the description of the professional peer. The primary
purposes of the letter and post card was to help determine which
institutions met the sampling criteria and to identify the pro-
fessional peer.

In most cases there was a difference in the enrollment
figures cited by the state director of higher education and the

Educational Directory 1959 - 1960, Part III, Higher Education.45

 

However, the enrollments usually remained within the range of
2,000 - 10,000 full-time students. In the few cases where the
enrollment figure from either source fell outside of the enroll-
ment range for this study, the figures were averaged; if the
averaged enrollment fell within the enrollment range, the institu-
tion remained in the sample to be investigated.

The enrollment figures returned on the post cards were later
compared with those previously obtained. If the enrollment figure
on the post card was outside the range established for this study,
the enrollment figures from all three sources (state director of

higher education, Educational Directory, 1959 - 1960, Part III,

 

Higher Education, and the parent institutions' post card) were
averaged. If the averaged enrollment was within the enrollment
range, the institution remained in the sample of institutions to
be investigated.

45. The enrollment figures reported in the Educational Directory

1959 - 1960 were the most recent statistics published at the
time the sample was selected.

 

26

Finally, a supplemental letter of explanation and another
post card was sent to each respondent whose return did not contain
complete information. Simultaneously, a second qualifying letter
and post card, identical to the first, was sent to the presidents
who failed to respond to the first request.

The selection of the reporters was carried out through the
above process. Later an alphabetical list of the institutions
was made. The name and address of the person who had been designated
as the professional peer was noted along with each institution.
(See Appendix A for a complete list of institutions.)

Developing the Critical
Incident Rgport Form

 

Two concepts are basic in the development of the Critical
Incident Report Form: First, the instructions for completing the
report form must be so clear that the reporter will know exactly
what to do; and Second, the instructions must be so short that the
reporter will be encouraged to read everything and inspired to
complete the form. To insure clarity in the instructions, examples
of critical incidents were provided on the report form. These
examples clearly illustrated one example of effective behavior and
one example of ineffective behavior.

The use of the word "critical" was avoided because it was felt
that it would create an emotional barrier which could cause the
reporter to report only crises-like events. Also, it was felt that

if the word "critical" were used, the reporter would consider some

 

27

incidents not critical and, therefore, not important enough to
report. Thus, the word "significant" was used in the hope that
it would evoke less emotional responses from the reporters.

The report form consisted of four 8" x 11" pages. The first
page was the cover sheet which contained suggestions for completing
the form. It further requested that the reporter report only
incidents which in hIg judggent were significant. (See Appendix A
for a sample of the report form.) The second page was divided into
halves with each half providing space for the reporter to report
one effective incident. The third page was also divided into
halves with each half providing space for the reporter to record
one ineffective incident. The fourth page allowed the reporter
additional space in which to report an incident requiring more

space than was provided on either of the preceding sheets.

Mailing the Report Forms

Critical Incident Report Forms were mailed to 133 individuals
who were identified as professional peers of the Student Personnel
Dean. The report form instructions specifically stated that the
respondents were not to identify their reports and that the names
of the persons and institutions responding would not be used in
summarizing, analyzing, or reporting the results of this study.

Thus the returns were identifiable only by the title of the reporter
and the enrollment of his institution. This identification was

necessary to see if significant differences existed between the

 

28

types of incidents returned by the various types of professional
peers or by the size of their institutions. The report form was
accompanied by a cover letter (see Appendix A), which described
the purpose and nature of the investigation and its anticipated
value to higher education. It also included a self-addressed,
postage-paid envelope to encourage and facilitate the respondent's
participation.

About six weeks from the time of the first mailing, the
second mailing was sent to those who had not yet responded. The
cover letter was a slightly revised copy of the first cover letter
(see Appendix A). All other conditions were the same.

Following another lapse of approximately six weeks, it was
evident that there would be no further returns from the second
mailing. Therefore, a third letter was sent to those reporters
who had not yet responded. The third cover letter, a considerable
departure from the form letter used for the first two mailings,
was individually typed with an inside address and salutation (see
Appendix A). It indicated to the reporter that this was a special
request, directed to him individually, to be a respondent from his
particular geographic region. This letter was as highly personalized
as possible in a research situation. The same report form was used
for the third mailing.

Because of the highly personalized nature of the third cover
letter and because a significant number of reporters responded that

they could not or would not participate in the study, a fourth

29
mailing was not attempted. It was felt that further persistence
to obtain more returns could result in an alienation of the

reporters from this and other investigations as well.

Creatigg Enrollment Sections

In order to handle and analyze the returns more adequately,
institutional enrollment sections were created within the enroll-
ment range established for participating institutions. This
enrollment range was divided into four sections with each having

a range of 2,000 students:

(1) 2,000 - 4,000
(2) 4,000 - 6,000
(3) 6,000 - 8,000
(4) 8,000 - 10,000

Table I.The Number and Percentage of Institutions
in Each Enrollment Section of the Total Sample

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Institutional Number of institu- Percentage of the total
enrollment tions in each institutions in each
sections enrollment section enrollment section
IgQOO - 4,000 76 57%

4,000 - 64900 30 22%

64900 - 84000 11 09%

84000 - 10,000 16 12%

TOTALS 133 I00%

 

It was found that a majority of the sample institutions were
in the first two enrollment sections. Of the 133 institutions
in the total sample, 106 (or 79%) were in the 2,000 - 6,000
enrollment sections. The larger enrollment section of 6,000 -
10,000 contained only 27 institutions (or 21%) of the total

sample.

30
Transferring Data from Returned
Report Forms £2 Work Cards

When a report form was returned, the name of the responding
institution was recorded. Next, the four pages of the form were
separated, and the cover sheet was discarded. Effective incidents
were placed in one group, ineffective incidents were placed in
another, and the pages with additional space for incidents were
placed in a third group.

In both the effective and ineffective categories, the follow-
ing process was used to insure accuracy in extracting critical
elements. Each incident was numbered and its elements determined
on the day it was received. Each element was placed on a 5" x 7"
work card. Code symbols were placed at the top of each card to
identify other aspects of the incident. The letters "EFF" were
used to identify effective elements. The letters "IN" were used
to identify ineffective elements. The enrollment range of the
institution was placed in the upper right-hand corner of the card.
Separate cards were used for each specific element extracted from
the incidents received.

Each element was analyzed three times according to: (1) The
type of problem; (2) The person or group involved; and (3) The
action taken. On each occasion the element was classified as being
in one of several categories found within each of the three areas.

After all the returns had been received, the procedure for
determining the elements of each incident was repeated. In those

cases where differences occurred between the first and second

31
categorizations, a special effort was made to reconcile these
differences. A new list of elements was made for these incidents.
They were then set aside for two weeks, and the process was
repeated again. After the third review, agreement had been reached
in each case. The complete list of elements received two checks.
Cases which proved troublesome to identify received three checks.
Report forms were later identified by the title of the professional
peer. These titles appear in an analysis of the data presented

in the next chapter.

Classifying the Incidents

46
Following Flanagan's suggestions for analyzing critical

incident data, the next step involved the derivation of a classi-
fication system to facilitate the grouping of similar behaviors.
This system was determined from the data rather than from the use
of a predetermined classification arrangement and is carefully

described in the following chapter.

 

46. Flanagan, 92. cit., "Critical Requirements," p. 424.

CHAPTER III

ORGANIZATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RETURNS

Chapter III contains a description of the problems which
confront the Student Personnel Dean and the people with whom
he works. The categories for each area were evolved from an
analysis of reports submitted by the professional peers. The
chapter is divided into four major areas: Number and Kinds of
Returns; Titles and Responses of Professional Peers; Categories
of Problems; and Categories of People With Whom the Student

Personnel Dean Functioned.

Number and Kinds 9; Returns

Returns from College and
University Presidents

Each of the 50 state directors of higher education responded
to the request that they supply the names of the institutions
fitting the criteria established for this study. From their replies,
169 institutions were selected for further investigation. Qualifying
letters were sent to the presidents of these selected institutions.
Of the 139 replies, 110 contained complete information. One
president indicated his institution had over 10,000 full-time
students. Five presidents represented institutions with enrollments
under 2,000 full-time students. Six stated that their student
personnel services did not fulfill the criteria established for the

study.
32

33

Supplemental letters of explanation were sent to the 17
presidents who failed to answer all the questions. These supple-
mental letters yielded eight returns which contained complete
information; nine presidents failed to respond.

A duplicate qualifying letter and post card was sent to
each of the 30 presidents who had not responded to the original
letter. Eighteen returns from the duplicate qualifying letter
yielded 15 replies with complete information. Three were not
usable. One institution's student personnel services did not
fulfill the established criteria. One president stated that
his institution had just changed to junior college status. One
reply contained incomplete information. A tabulation of the
final returns received from the original qualifying letter,
from the supplemental letter of explanation, and from the dup-
licate qualifying letter is summarized in Table II. A total
of 157 presidents of colleges and universities responded in one

way or another. Only 12 presidents failed to respond at all.
Returns from Professional Peers

One hundred and thirty-three institutions constitute the
sample for the investigation. Three mailings were sent to the
professional peer reporters,47 and when it became apparent that
additional returns would yield no additional categories the

results of all three mailings were totaled. Letters and report

 

47. Pages 27-29 describe the mailing procedure.

34

Table II. Returns from College and University Presidents
in Response to (1) The Original Qualifying Letter, (2) The
Supplemental Letter of Explanation, and (3) The Duplicate
_Qualifying Letter

 

Mailings Returns

Number Com- In- Insti- Insti- Student Changed Total No

of plete com- tu- tu- person- to re- returns
letters in- plete tional tional nel orga- junior turns re-
sent for- in- en- en- nization college ceived

ma- for- roll- roll- did not status
tion ma- ment ment fit esta-
tion was was blished
too too criteria
large small

Orig-

inal
quali-

fying

169 110 17 1 5 6 139 30
Supple-
mental
explan-
atory

l7 8 8 9
Dup-

licate
quali-

fying

30 15 1 l l 18 12

 

 

TOTALS

216 133 18 1 5 7 l 165 51
forms were mailed to 133 institutions. Forty-eight usable and
fourteen non-usable report forms were returned. In each of the
14 non-usable returns the respondent either stated that he had

no knowledge of incidents which seemed significant, or he refused
to participate in the study. The usable returns contained 85
effective incidents and 65 ineffective incidents. The 85 effective
incidents contained 171 elements and the 65 ineffective incidents
contained 115 elements. In total the 150 incidents received con-
tained 286 elements. The returns from all mailings are tabulated

in Table III.

35

Table III. Returns from Three Mailings of
Questionnaires Sent to Professional Peers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report Number of Percentage of Percentage of
forms report forms report forms total usable
sent returned returned report forms
returned ‘_
Us- Non- Total Us- Non- Total
able us- able us-
able able
lst
Mail-
ing 133 17 5 22 12.8 3.7 16.5 35.5
2nd
Mail-
ing 111 14 5 19 12.6 4.5 17.1 29
3rd
Mail-
ing, j_792 17 4gry 21 18.4 4.3 22.7 35,5
W48 If 62 W

 

As a result of all three mailings, 36% of the sample insti-
tutions returned usable report forms. While the low percentage
of usable returns may seem to cast doubt on the usability of the
data, the nature of the Critical Incident Technique is such that
the percentage of returns is not an important factor. Once
definite patterns are established additional reports are not
necessary. Regarding the number of returns needed for valid use
of the Critical Incident Technique, Flanagan stated:

the Critical Incident Technique attempts to gain

representativeness by providing that data be

collected systematically from respondents in every

major activity of the job until no new types of

behavior are reported in significant numbers.48

The types of behavior reported in this study fell into

definite patterns after the tabulation of the returns from two

 

48. Flanagan, 22. cit., Critical Requirements for Research
Personnel, p. 6.

36
mailings. Thus it was necessary to make only one additional
request for incidents in order to validate the categories
already established. This study did,however, receive a signifi-
cantly higher percentage of responses than studies using the
Critical Incident Technique conducted by Corbally (20.15%),49

50 51 52
Sternloff (19.30%), Robson (28.5%), and Schriver (21.45%).

Returns for Each
Enrollment Section

Returns were tabulated by enrollment sections,and it was
found that 26 of the 48 responding institutions were in the 2-4
section and 9 in the 4-6 section. Thirty-five of forty-eight
responding institutions were in the 2,000 - 6,000 enrollment
range, constituting 73% of the total usable returns. This is
comparable to the percentage of the total sample in the 2,000 -

53

6,000 enrollment range. These returns are presented in Table

IV.

 

49. Corbally, 92, cit., p. 74.

50. Sternloff, Robert Elmer, "The Critical Requirements for School
Administrators Based Upon an Analysis of Critical Incidents,"
(unpublished doctoral dissertation, university of Wisconsin,
1953).

51. Robson, Howard N., "Factors Contributing to the Success or
Failure of School Superintendents as Determined by the use
of the Critical Incident Technique," (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Wyoming, 1956).

52. Schriver, Alice, "A Plan of Organization for Establishment of
a Major for Health Personnel at the WOmen's College of North
Carolina with Implications for State Universities in the
Southern Region of the United States," (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Columbia University Teachers College, 1952).

53. See Table I for number and percentage of institutions in
each enrollment section.

37

Table IV. The Number and Percentage of
Responding Institutions in Each Enrollment Section
Institutional Number of Percentage of Number of Percentage

 

 

 

enrollment usable usable report non-usable of non-
sections report forms returned report usable
forms forms report forms
returned returned returned
2,000 - 4,000 26 54 7 50
4,000 - 6,000 9 l9 5 36
6,000 - 8,000 4 O8 1 07
84000 - 10,000 9 19 l 07
TOTALS 48 100 14 100

 

Titles and Respgnses
2I_Professiona1 Peers

Titles of Professional Peers

To provide additional background information, the professional
peers were identified by their titles. A total of 17 different
titles was given by college and university presidents in identifying
the people whom they felt fulfilled the definition of professional
peer. The rank order and total number of times a title was reported
is presented in Table V.

This table also indicates the number of times each title is
mentioned in each enrollment section. The Academic Dean was most
often identified as the Professional peer of the Student Personnel
Dean. The next largest group included the Assistant and Associate
Deans of Students or Student Affairs. The next group, Faculty

(Miscellaneous), was composed of faculty members from various

 

 

 

 

 

 

38

Table V. Titles of Professional
Peers Found in Sample Institutions

 

 

 

Title of the Enrollment of the responding institution
professional (by thousands)

pger 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 Total

1. Academic Dean 14 8 3 2 27

2. Associate or
Assistant Dean
of Students or

 

 

Student Affairs 15 3 2 5 25
3. Faculty
(Miscellaneous)* 9 4 2 15
4. Dean of Men 6 4 l 2 13
—-5. President 8 2 1 Il4—-
6. Dean of Women 6 2 1 9
7. Vice-President ‘4 1 2 7
8. Director of
Guidance and
Counseling 4 l l 6
9. Counselor 3 1 4
10. Assistant to the
President 1 l 1 3
11. Director of
Admissions 2 1 3
12. Provost l l l 3
13. Dean of Student
Activities 1 l 2
14. Placement Director 2 2
15. Dean of Graduate
Studies 1 l
16. Director of
Auxiliary Services 1 l
17. Director of Men's
Residence Halls 1 1
TOTAL 76 30 ll 16 133

 

*Miscellaneous - This group is composed of so many different kinds
of teaching faculty that no other title could be used.
disciplines. The fourth most mentioned title was that of Dean of
Men. Deans of Women were mentioned only slightly less often than
Deans of Men. It appeared that it was only because of the adminis-

trative structure of the responding institution that these two titles

 

39
were not included in the group of Associate and Assistant Deans.
Eight of the eleven presidents who identified themselves as pro-
fessional peers and four of the seven vice-presidents identified
were from institutions in the 2-4 enrollment section. This seemst///
to indicate that in smaller institutions there is a tendency for
the president to feel that either he or the vice-president is in
the most advantageous position to judge the effectiveness of the

behavior of the Student Personnel Dean.
Responses frmm Professional Peers

Table VI shows the proportion of usable returns supplied by
each group of professional peers, the number of responses received
from each group in each enrollment section, and the total number
of responses from each group. In general, the number of responses
from each group was in proportion to the number of reporters in
the group. Table VI appears on page 40.

The rank order and the percentage of responses from each
category of reporters is provided in Table VII on page 41. A
notable aspect of this table is related to the columns entitled
"Number of Usable Returns," and "Percentage of Usable Returns."
These two columns can be interpreted as the reporter's own concept
of whether or not he is in a position to report critical incidents.
It is interesting to note that only 11 of the 133 presidents who
responded named themselves as professional peers, and that only
three of the eleven naming themselves as professional peers responded

on the report form.

40

Table VI. Usable Report Forms Returned by
Professional Peers in Each Enrollment Section

 

 

 

Title of the Enrollment of the responding institution
Professional (by thousands)
P
8“ 2-4 4-6 6-8 8-10 Total
1. Associate and [7 if J 6 2? 5'!”
Assistant Dean of ,p ,3” 9 ,1 ~’?a~a.:iy
Students or Student /
Affairs 5 2 l 4 12
2. Academic Dean 2 3 l 6+~ .
3. Faculty
(Miscellaneous) 4 1 5 i
4. Counselor 4 4
5. Dean of Men 1 l 1 l 4
6. Director of Guidance
and Counseling 2 1 1 4
7. President 1 1 l 3 .1
8. Dean of Women 2 2
9. Provost 1 1 2‘
10. Vice-President 1 1 2 i
11. Assistant to the
President 1 1‘
12. Director of Admissions l 1
13. Director of Men's '
Residence Halls 1 l
14. Placement Director 1 l
15. Dean of Graduate Studies 0
16. Dean of Student Activities 0
17. Director of Auxiliary

Services 0
TOTAL 26 9 4 9 48

 

41

Table VII. Number and Percentage of Report Forms
Returned by Each Category of Professional Peers

 

 

Persons Number Number Percen- Number Percen- Total Total
designated in of tage of of tage of num- per-
as pro- sample usable usable non- non- ber centage
fessional re- returns usable usable of of
peers turns re- returns re- sample
turns turns returned

1. Counselor 4 4 100 0 0 4 100
2. Director of

Admissions 3 l 33 2 67 3 100
3. Director of

Men's Res-

idence Halls 1 l 100 0 0 1 100

4. Director of
Guidance and
Counseling 6 4 67 0 0 4 67
5. Faculty (Mis-
cellaneous) 15
6. Provost 3
7. Vice-
President 7 2 29 2 29 4 58
8. Associate
and Assis-
tant Dean
of Students
or Student
Affairs 25 12 48 1 4 13 52
9. Placement
Director 2 1 50
10. Dean of Men 13 4 31
11. Assistant
to the
President 3 l 33 0 O l 33
12. Dean of
Women 9 2 22 l 10 3 33
4—43. President 11 3 27 0 0 3 27..
14. Academic
Deans 27 6 22 l 4 7 26
15. Dean of
Graduate
Study 1 0 O 0 0 0 0
16. Dean of
Student
Activities 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
17. Director of
Auxiliary
Services 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

33 10 67
67

33
67

NU!
OLD
O
N

50

NO
0
H

 

TOTALS 133 48 36 14 10 62 46

 

 

 

 

42

Categories 2f Problems Which
Confront the Student Personnel Dean

 

 

 

Each of the 150 incidents received involved a special problem,
a specific activity, and a specific person or group. When an
element was extracted from an incident a notation was made for
each of these three categories on each work card. This was done
to provide tabulations that would reveal a frequency or other
distribution pattern which would indicate at least the number of
times each of these categories was mentioned.

The significance of this material is that it indicates the
number of things which have led to critical incidents in various
institutions of higher education. It shows the variety of problem
categories which, because of various institutional situations and
”factors, may lead the Dean to marked success or failure. The
frequencies presented indicate that certain types of problems,
activities, and people were involved in critical incidents more
often than other types found in the institutions represented;
however there is no evidence that this pattern represents any
given institution.

Categories of Problems in which
the Dean Functioned Effectively

The work cards, containing one effective element each, were
sorted into stacks representing each problem category in which
the Dean functioned effectively. Twenty-two categories were

isolated from the returns of the first mailing, five more from

 

 

43
the second mailing, and two more from the third mailing. Thus,
a total of 29 effective categories were identified. They are

as follows:

1. Academic - General 15. In-Service Training
2. Academic - Policy Making 16. Mob Behavior
3. Coordination of Services 17. Off-Campus Housing
4. Discipline - Academic 18. Personal

Dishonesty 19. Personal - Academic
5. Discipline - Drinking 20. Policy Interpretation
6. Discipline - Explosives 21. Policy Making
7. Discipline - Fighting 22. Providing Information
8. Discipline - Hazing 23. Psychological
9. Discipline - IFC 24. Public Relations
10. Discipline - Miscellaneous 25. Residence Halls
ll. Discipline - Morals 26. Social Education
12. Discipline - Policy Making 27. Social Policy Making
13. Discipline - Theft 28. Student Employment
14. Discipline - Trespassing 29. Student Government

These 29 categories were then examined to ascertain any aspects
of commonality. Those categories which contained like aspects were
grouped into the 12 critical problem categories which are in Table
VIII, Page 46.

Categories of Problems in Which
the Dean Functioned Ineffectively

The ineffective elements were handled in exactly the same
manner as were the effective elements. Fourteen categories were
isolated from the returns of the first mailing, two more from the
second mailing, and two more from the third mailing for a total
of 18 categories in which the Student Personnel Dean functioned

ineffectively. They are as follows:

1. Academic - General 5. Discipline - Miscellaneous
2. Discipline - Academic 6. Discipline - Morals
Dishonesty 7. Discipline - Theft
3. Discipline - Drinking 8. Discipline - Traffic
9

4. Discipline - Hazing . Financial

 

\

 

 

10. Legal Rights 15. Psychological

11. Mob Behavior 16. Public Relations
12. Personal 17. Residence Halls
13. Personal-Academic 18. Student Government

14. Policy Interpretation

Those categories which contained like aspects were grouped
together into nine critical problem categories. These are also
found in Table VIII, Page 46, In addition Table VIII presents the
report form returns by enrollment sections along with a break-
down of each category into effective and ineffective elements.
Effective and ineffective elements were first tabulated separately
and then both categories were combined in order to obtain a more
complete picture of the total data.
Definitions of the Problem Categories in
which the Student Personnel Dean Functioned

To clarify the problem categories, each is briefly defined
here. The symbols used in Table VIII are the same as those used
in these definitions.
fig - Academic General deals with the development of campus

academic assistance programs, student-faculty relations,

and individual students in general academic matters. These

are matters which affect the relationships between students

and faculty, affect relationships between faculty members,

but are not directly related to the curriculum or instructional
program.

I‘DIS - Discipline includes all cases relating to students who have

in some way violated institutional regulations or civil law.
The cases are: academic dishonesty, drinking, use of ex-
plosives, physical hazing of students, fighting, morals,
theft, traffic, trespassing, and other incidents of discipline
which occur only once and, therefore, are classified as
miscellaneous.

 

45

ISI - Ig-Service Training includes establishing and conducting
work shops, information sessions, and retreats for train-
ing residence hall peers or student government. The purpose
of these in-service training programs is to provide addi-
tional information about areas of concern to the Dean and
the recipient campus group.

 

Mob Behavior is centered around development and implementa-
tion of policy to prevent, to control, and to deal with
students who are involved in unauthorized group activities.

IE

 

"d
"U
I

Personal Problems relates to problems of individual students
which are personal in nature, but which do not indicate
emotional or psychological upset. These problems are basi-
cally academic, financial, social, or vocational.

"U
H
I

Poligy Interpretation involves the interpretation of exist-
ing and new college rules and regulations to fraternity
groups, to student government, to residence hall peers, to
individual students, and to faculty peers.

 

PM Policngaking refers to cooperative policy making where the
Dean works with groups on campus in establishing policy
necessary to deal with campus problems. He works with resi-
dence hall government, residence hall peers, interfraternity
council, student government, faculty peers, and the student

body.

PSI - Psychological involves the work of the Dean with individual
students and/or their parents in the area of psychological
or emotional upset. He either diagnoses the area of diff-
iculty and refers the student to the proper source for help;
or diagnoses, counsels, and then refers the student to the
proper source for help; or diagnoses and counsels, and confers
with faculty peers about the diagnosis and referral of the
student and then refers the student. He also explains student
behavior and the implications of such behavior to parents.

 

PR - Public Relations involves contact with the press, campus police,
city police, superiors, parents, townspeople, and students -
both individually and in groups. A majority of the contacts
informed people of what was going to happen, what was happen-
ing, and what had happened. Communications and working co-
operatively with others are the'tna'najei aspects of public
relations in this study.

 

RH - Residence Halls involves contacts with groups of resident
students, residence student government, residence hall peers,
and individual students. The Dean works to provide leadership
and information and to support those people endeavoring to work
in residence halls.

 

 

46

Table VIII. Categories of Problems and Their Elements
which Confront the Student Personnel Dean

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enrollment Sections Total Elements
2 - 4 4 - 6 6 - 8 8 - 10 Both
E I E I E I E I E I E&I
1. AG 1 l 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 l 4
2. DIS 38 27 17 ll 9 2 l6 8 8O 48 1286/
3. IST 7 0 O O 0 0 0 0 7 0 7
4. MB 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 6 4 10
5. PP 9 3 l 3 3 0 0 1 13 7 20
6. PI 3 l 0 2 0 2 0 1 3 6 9
7. PM 8 0 0 0 2 0 4 0 14 0 l4
8. PSY 9 8 7 1 3 2 5 0 24 ll 35
9. PR 4 12 5 8 0 2 4 10 13 32 45‘//
10. RH 2 2 2 l 0 0 0 0 4 3 7
11. SE 0 0 l 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2
12. SG 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 3 5
TOTALS 85 54 35 26 17 ll 34 24 171 115 286

 

E = Effective functioning.
I 8 Ineffective functioning.

Key to the abbreviations used in Table VIII:

AG - Academic General PM - Policy Making

DIS - Discipline PSY - Psychological

IST - In-Service Training PR - Public Relations
MB - Mob Behavior RH - Residence Halls
PP - Personal Problems SE - Social Education
PI - Policy Interpretation SG - Student Government

 

 

 

47
SE - Social Education relates to assisting both individuals
and groups to be more effective in their social relation-
ships and in their social understandings.
SG - Student Government involves work with individual students,
faculty peers, and all-campus student government groups
by providing leadership and information to assist them in

making decisions based on the principles of democratic
action.

Analysis of Problem Categories

DIS - Discipline, as a problem area, contains 128 elements which

is almost three times as many elements as those found in the second

most frequently mentioned area, Public Relations, and almost four

times as many elements as in the third most frequently mentioned

area, Psychological. In all enrollment sections in Table VIII,

there are more effective than ineffective elements. However, the
g,__weee.

ratio of effective to ineffective elements is lower in the 2-4

and 4-6 enrollment sections than in the 6-8 and 8-10 sections.

SIPR - Public Relations contains the second highest number of elements. 4—-W

Each enrollment section includes more ineffective than effective
elements. In the 6-8 enrollment section no effective elements are
reported. The total number of ineffective elements in the category
is more than twice the number of effective elements. A.majority
of the ineffective elements were related to the Dean's inability,
and sometimes his refusal, to communicate to the persons affected
by a particular situation. The high ratio of ineffective-to-
effective elements is particularly interesting when one compares

the effectiveness of the Dean in handling disciplinary problems

d.»

 

 

48
with his ineffectiveness in the area of public relations.
One might assume after reading the reports of this study that
the Dean is effective more frequently than ineffective in the
area of discipline because he recognizes the delicacy of a
discipline problem and handles it accordingly. His ineffective
behavior in the area of public relations might be attributed to
the fact that he considers public relations contacts more personal
or social than professional. Therefore, he does not employ the
same amount of thought and diplomacy to public relations situations.
PSY - Psychological contains the third highest number of elements.
In the 2-4 and 6-8 enrollment sections, the number of effective
elements is not significantly greater than the number of in-
effective elements. In the 4-6 and 8-10 enrollment sections, the
number of effective elements is significantly larger than inef-
fective elements. In total, this area contains more than twice as
many effective as ineffective elements.
Egb- Personal Problems shows that there are almost twice as many
effective as ineffective elements. There is considerable variation
in the number of responses as evidenced in the 2-4 section where
two times as many effective as ineffective elements were received,
and in the 4-6 enrollment section where the Opposite was found to
be true. No ineffective elements were reported from.the 6-8 enroll-
ment section and no effective elements were reported from the 8-10
enrollment section.

,PM - Poligy Making elements indicate that the Dean is effective in

 

 

49
this area because no mention was made of ineffective behavior.

MB,- Mob Behavior consists of two effective and no ineffective

 

elements in the 2-4 enrollment section. No reports were re-
ceived from the 4-6 and 6-8 enrollment sections. The 8-10
enrollment section contains 4 effective and 4 ineffective elements.
Although the number of elements is small, they seem to indicate
that the Dean was not significantly effective in this area.

‘PI - Policy Interpretation shows effective elements in the 2-4

 

enrollment section only. In no other enrollment sections were
effective elements reported. Ineffective elements are found in
each section. In all, twice as many ineffective as effective'
elements were tallied. This seems to indicate that the Student
Personnel Dean is not particularly effective in policy interpre-
tation. Wherever ineffective elements were noted, the Dean was
interpreting policy to students.

IST - Ingervice Training lists all incidents in the 2-4 enroll-

 

ment section. Only effective elements were noted. Since all
elements were found in the 2-4 section, one might conclude that

the Dean personally instructs the in-service training programs

only in smaller institutions.

RH - Residence Halls shows all elements reported in the 2-4 and

4-6 enrollment sections. This leads one to believe that the Dean
works directly with residence halls program in smaller institutions
and that someone other than he does this work in larger institutions.
SQ - Student Government includes only a small number of elements
which neither indicate that the Dean is effective nor ineffective

in this area.

 

 

50

SE - Social Education contains elements in the 4-6 and 8-10

 

enrollment sections. In all cases where social education was
attempted the Dean was considered effective.

In summary, only effective incidents were reported for the
Student Personnel Dean in policy making, in-service training,
and social education. More effective than ineffective elements
were noted in discipline, psychological, and personal problems.
In the areas of public relations and policy interpretation, the
Dean was notably ineffective.

Categories of People Whom the
Student Personnel Dean Contacted

 

People with whom the Dean
Functioned Effectively

The same significance attached to the data concerned with
the problem categories mentioned on page 42 of this chapter
applies to these data. Twenty-one categories of people with whom
the Dean functioned effectively were isolated from the returns of
the first mailing, four more from the second mailing, and seven
more from the third mailing. The following alphabetical list

shows the 32 categories of people with whom the Dean functioned

effectively:
1. Campus police 9. Fraternity National
2. Civil police 10. Fraternity Pledges
3. Faculty Peers 11. IFC and Panhellenic
4. Faculty-student group 12. IFC Rushing
5. Fraternity Adviser 13. Individual Female Students
6. Fraternity-Alumni Adviser 14. Individual Foreign Student
7. Fraternity Group 15. Individual Male Students
8. Fraternity Individual 16. IFC Judiciary

' tow

 

 

 

W

51

17. Parents 25. Residence Males
18. Professional Peers 26. Small Groups
19. Professional Peers at 27. Student Body

other institutions 28. Student Government
20. Press 29. Student Groups
21. Residence Females 30. Student Judiciary
22. Residence Groups 31. Superiors

23. Residence Hall Government 32. Townspeople
24. Residence Hall Peers

These categories were then grouped into 14 major categories
of people with whom the Dean functioned. Table IX, page 53

shows this information.

 

People with whom the Dean
Functioned Ineffectively
Thirteen specific categories of people were isolated from
the returns of the first mailing, five more from the second mailing
and five more from the third mailing. The 23 categories of people .

with whom the Dean functioned ineffectively are as follows:

1. Faculty Peers 13. Residence Hall Government

2. Fraternity Adviser 14. Residence Hall Group

3. Fraternity Group 15. Residence Hall Peers

4. Fraternity Individuals 16. Resident Female

5. Individual Female Students 17. Resident Male

6. Individual Foreign Student 18. Sorority Group

7. Individual Male Students 19. Student Government

8. Interfraternity Council 20. Student Government -

9. Interfraternity Council - Judiciary
Judiciary 21. Student Group

10. Male Group 22. Superiors

11. Parents 23. Townspeople

12. Professional Peers
These categories were then grouped into 13 major categories

of people critical to the functioning of the Student Personnel Dean.
After a determination of the critical categories of people

with whom the Dean functioned, the effective and ineffective elements

were tabulated separately and then collectively to obtain a more

 

 

52

complete picture of the data in each enrollment section. Table IX,
page 53 shows this information.
Definitions of the Categories of People with
whom the Student Personnel Dean Functioned
To clarify the categories of people with whom the Dean worked,
each is briefly defined here. The symbols used in Table IX are
the same as those used in these definitions.
3g - Fraternity Advisers includes advisers from the institution's
faculty, alumni advisers who were former actives of a campus
chapter, and advisers from national fraternities. In all

cases, the Dean's contacts were related to some effort to
make a change in the operation of a campus chapter.

 

IQ - Fraternity Group area includes both active chapter members
and pledges. Only when men were clearly identified as
actives or pledges of a social fraternity were they placed in
this category.

 

IF - Individual Female Students includes only cases where the indi-
vidual female was identified as not acting with or for a
group. It includes all individual females regardless of res-
idence or group affiliations.

IFS - Individual Foreign Student includes only those contacts with
individual males from other countries.

 

.IM - Individual Male Students includes all males contacted on an
individual basis regardless of residence, group affiliation,
or reason for being contacted.

 

IFC - Interfraternity Council includes all contact with the
Interfraternity Council and its sub-groups such as judiciary,
rushing commission, and joint IFC - Panhellenic meetings.

PAR - Parents includes contacts with parents of students, either
on or off campus, regardless of the reasons for contacting
them.

IR - Peers includes all contacts with professional peers, faculty
peers, residence hall peers, and professional peers at other
institutions.

 

 

 

53

Table IX. Critical Categories of People with
whom the Student Personnel Dean Functioned

 

Number of elements in each category hy enrollment section
Enrollment Sections

 

Total Elements

 

 

 

 

 

2 - 4 4 - 6 6 - 8 8 - 10 Both
E I E I E I E I E I E&I
1. FA 0 O 2 1 l 0 l 0 4 1 5
2. F0 0 6 l 9 1 0 3 l 5 16 21
3. IF 9 4 1 0 l l 1 O 12 5 l7
4. IFS 0 l 1 0 0 0 O 0 l 1 2
5. IM 33 18 15 8 6 0 6 5 60 31 91
6. IFC 5 2 0 l 4 l 3 0 12 4 l6
7. PAR 4 l 3 l 2 0 2 3 11 5 l6
8. PR 20 10 2 4 1 3 5 7 28 24 52
9. POL 2 0 3 0 O O 2 0 7 O 7
10. PRS O O O O 0 O 2 0 2 O 2
ll. SOR O 3 O 0 0 0 0 O O 3 3
12. SG 7 4 0 0 l 5 3 0 ll 9 20
13. SGRP 3 3 5 1 O O 3 5 ll 9 20
14. SUP 1 1 l l 0 O 1 l 3 3 . 6 f
15. TP 1 1 l 0 0 l 2 2 4 4 8
TOTALS 85 54 35 26 17 ll 34 24 171 115 286
E = Effective Functioning
I = Ineffective Functioning
Key to the abbreviations used in Table IX:
FA - Fraternity Adviser POL - Police
FG - Fraternity Group PR3 - Press
IF - Individual Female Students SOR - Sorority
IFS - Individual Foreign Students SG - Student Government
IM - Individual Male Students SGRP - Student Group
IFC - Interfraternity Council SUP - Superiors
PAR - Parents TP - Townspeople
PR - Peers

 

54

POL - Police includes all contacts with either civil or campus
police.

PRS - Press includes contacts with the members of the press who
were not affiliated with any student publication.

SOR - Sorority Group includes contacts with social sororities,
either actives or pledges, after they had been identified
as such.

SQ - Student Government includes all contacts with student
government and its various sub-groups, such as student
judiciary, residence hall government, and social committees.
Any phase of government organized and carried out by students
is considered in this category.

 

SGRP - Student Groups includes all student groups such as student
employment groups, mixed social groups, male student groups,
and residence groups. This includes spontaneous groups,
groups gathered for a common purpose such as spectators at a
game, participants at a social dance, or a gathering for a
panty raid. These groups, while readily identifiable are not
organized, do not have elected officers, and are transitory
in nature. Many times they were thrown together only by
factors of chance.

 

‘SHP - Superiors includes only those people on a higher adminis-
trative level than the Dean. This includes presidents,
vice-presidents, provosts, and members of the institutional
board of control.

I3 - Townspeople includes those people who are not directly
related to the instituion by employment, by admission
to the student body, or by positions of control. It
relates to those people contacted by the Dean who are
outside of the institutional setting, but who in some
way affect or have been affected by the institution's
policies, faculty, or students.

 

Analysis of Categories of People
with whom the Dean Functioned

IM - Individual Male Students Of the 91 elements in this cate-
gory, 60 are effective and 31 are ineffective. In each enrollment

section there are significantly more effective elements than

 

SS
ineffective elements. The elements in this category number
almost twice as many as the next ranked category and contains
32% of the total elements.
£3 - nggg Of the 52 elements in this category, 28 are effective
and 24 are ineffective. It should be noted, however, that in the
2-4 enrollment section, the effective elements are mentioned more
often than ineffective elements while in the other sections, the
ineffective elements are mentioned more frequently than effective
ones. From this, it seems that the Dean in smaller institutions
is more effective in his relationships with peers than he is with
his peers in larger institutions.
59 - Fraternity Groups 0f the 21 elements in this category, 16
are ineffective and only 5 are effective. Only in the 6-8 enroll-
ment section is he reported more effective than ineffective. This
indicates that the Dean is generally ineffective when dealing with
recognized campus social fraternity groups.
SQ - Student Government Eleven of the twenty elements mentioned
are effective. It should be noted that only in the 2-4 and the
8-10 enrollment sections is the Dean reported more effective than
ineffective. The elements mentioned in this category do not lead
to a clearly defined pattern except to indicate that the Dean is,
in general, not significantly more effective than ineffective.
SEEP - Student Group This is another area in which the Dean does
not appear to be particularly effective. In the 2-4 enrollment
section, ineffective elements are mentioned as frequently as the
effective elements. In the 4-6 enrollment section, effective

elements are mentioned 5 to 1 over ineffective elements. In the

56
6-8 enrollment section, no elements are listed and in the 8-10
enrollment section, five ineffective and three effective elements
are mentioned. No definite pattern can be determined for this
category.
ggg - Parents The Student Personnel Dean received twice as many
mentions of effective behavior as ineffective behavior in this
category. This trend holds true in three of the four enrollment
sections. Thus, from the total number of elements mentioned in 1r
this category, it seems that the Dean is generally effective in I
his contacts with parents.
I: - Individual Female Students The pattern established in this
category indicates that the Dean is generally effective in his
contacts with individual female students. Effective elements are
mentioned more frequently than ineffective elements in all en-
rollment sections.
IEQW- Interfraternity Council The pattern established in this
category shows effective elements three times more frequently
than ineffective elements. Conversely, the Dean's behavior with
fraternity groups shows more ineffective than effective elements.
This is a noteworthy distinction because the Dean is, perhaps,
dealing with the same individuals, in either case, that is,
fraternity members, but with entirely different results.

2P - Townspeople In this category there is no discernible pattern

 

of effective or ineffective behavior for the total category or for

any enrollment section.

 

 

 

'. .z'fl"? m. —._: “

57
EA - Fraternity Adviser Effective elements are mentioned consis-
tently more frequently than ineffective elements. Compared to the
elements reported for interfraternity councils and fraternity
groups, this report is particularly interesting. It seems that
when working with people related to or representing the fraternities,
the Dean is able to function effectively, and that when dealing with
the student members of the campus chapter, he more frequently
functions ineffectively.
POL - Police In this category, the Dean appears to function
effectively. No ineffective behavior is mentioned.

PRS - Press No mention of ineffective behaviors are noted in this

 

category. All incidents are reported in the 8-10 enrollment section.
This may indicate that only in larger institutions does the Dean
have contact with members of the press.

SOR - Sororities In this category, only ineffective elements are

 

noted. All elements noted are in the 2-4 enrollment section. This
may indicate that only in smaller institutions does the Dean come
in direct contact with sorority groups.
SUP - Superiors This category holds no clear pattern for either
effective or ineffective behavior. In no enrollment section is
there a difference in the number of effective and ineffective be-
haviors.

In summary, it is clear that the Student Personnel Dean is
generally more effective when working with individuals than when
working with groups. In areas where he is most frequently in-

effective, he worked with groups. However, from the reports it

 

58

was apparent that the Dean is more effective in working with

certain types of groups than with others.

Relationship pf the People with whom the

 

Dean Came in Contact £2 the Problem Categories

In the two preceding tables, the problems that confront the

Dean and the people with whom he came in contact are presented.

Table X shows the people with whom the Dean works in each problem

 

 

area.

Table X. Percentage of People with whom

the Student Personnel Dean Functioned in

Each of the Twelve Problem Categories _
Categories
of people Problem Categoriesb
with whom
the S.P.D. Total
functioneda AG DIS IST MB PP PI PM PSY PR RH SE SG Z
FA - 80 - - - - - - 20 - - - 100
EC - 73 - - - - - - 27 - - - 100
IF - 64 - - - - - 36 - - - - 100
IFS - 50 - - 50 - - - - - - - 100
IM 1 53 - 2 16 - - 22 3 2 - 1 100
IFC - 70 - - - - 24 - 6 - - - lOO
PAR - 44 - - 6 - - 19 31 - - - 100
PR 4 26 10 4 - 12 8 8 24 2 - 2 100
POL - 29 - 29 - - - - 42 - - - lOO
PRS - - - - - - - - 100 - - - 100
SOR - SO - - - - - - 50 - - - 100
SC - 17 10 - - 27 31 - lO 5 - - 100
SGRP 11 ,16 - 23 - 6 6 - 11 16 ll - 100
SUP - {33 - - - - - - ' 67 - - - 100
TP - 25 - - - - - - 75 - - - 100

 

a. People with whom the Dean

listed in Table IX.

functioned are the same as those

b. Problem categories are the same as those noted in Table VIII.

 

S9

The discipline category involves many people. In these
cases the Dean contacts 14 of the 15 different groups of people
with whom he functions. A majority of all his contacts with
fraternity advisers, fraternity groups, individual female students,
interfraternity council, individual male students, and parents
was in this category.

In the area of public relations, the Dean contacted 13 of
the 15 possible categories of people with whom he dealt. However,
when compared to the category of discipline, it should be noted
that the percentages of the people contacted in the discipline
category are higher than in the public relations category with
one exception, PRS (Press).

To gain fullest benefit from Table X, one should also observe
the types of problems with which certain categories of people
have the most involvement. In this study, peers were involved with
10 of 12 different types of problems, and the Dean contacted
individual male students in 8 of the problem areas.

It is noteworthy that discipline and public relations ap-
parently go hand-in-hand, that is, where there is a high percentage
of contacts with people in the disciplinary problem area there is
also a high percentage of contacts in the area of public relations.
From this, it would seem that the Dean spends a large portion of \//
his time in handling disciplinary cases. However, from other data
presented in this chapter, it is questionable whether he is
effective in his public relations efforts related to this problem

area.

 

CHAPTER IV
IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION
OF THE CRITICAL AREAS IN THE BEHAVIOR
OF THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN
‘The material presented up to this point has provided back-

ground information leading to the main findings of this study.
Chapter IV represents the beginning of the findings germane to
the main purpose of this investigation. It is divided into two
parts. The first part lists the critical areas in the behavior i

of the Student Personnel Dean along with their constituent

elements, and the second part provides some analysis of each area.

Organization 2f the Data

 

After repeated analyses of the original 286 elements, a list
of 73 elements critical to the functioning of the Student Personnel
Dean was developed. To give this list further clarity, the critical
elements were then organized into seven critical areas. Each
critical area contains a number of closely related critical elements.
The critical areas and critical elements are presented here
as a series of positive statements. The 73 critical elements of
behavior, when carried out satisfactorily, caused the Student
Personnel Dean to be considered effective by his professional peers;

if done unsatisfactorily, he was considered ineffective.

6O

61

Critical Areas 2f Behavior
and their Critical Elements

 

Area I, Communicated Effectively with all People Contacted

1.

2.

10.

11.

12.
13.
14.

15.

l6.

l7.

Explained to parents the disciplinary action taken
with their son.

Explained to parents their daughters' socially un-
acceptable behavior.

Presented a case for academic readmission of a student
to a faculty committee.

Consulted with peers before deciding on a course of
action in a student disciplinary case.

Consulted with civil police before deciding on a course
of action in a student disciplinary case.

Explained and defined staff relationships to peers.
Interpreted policy to students.

Convinced fraternity advisers to give active assis-
tance on a fraternity discipline case.

Explained to parents their son's psychological con-
dition.

Convinced faculty to accept an interfraternity council
judiciary decision.

Communicated an interfraternity council judiciary
decision to superiors.

Communicated with peers at other institutions.
Convinced press to keep a morals story out of the paper.
Released a statement to the press.

Communicated disciplinary action taken with students to
offended townspeople.

Explained policy for handling student violators to
campus police.

Explained to townspeople school policy on the use of
campus facilities.

 

 

Area

Area

II

10.

11.

62

Counseled Students gg_all Phases 2f their Conduct

 

 

and Problems

 

Terminal counseling for students dismissed for dis-
ciplinary reasons.

Psychological counseling for students who were psy-
chologically or emotionally upset.

Disciplinary counseling for students who had broken
civil and/or campus rules.

Personal counseling for non-psychological problems.
Educational counseling.
Vocational counseling.

Developed Cooperative Relationships with All People
Contacted

Cooperated with residence hall staff in solving a
disciplinary problem.

Made sure physical facilities were available to help
interfraternity council carry out fraternity rush

policies.

Cooperated with residence hall staff to establish
student government.

Provided outlets for recommendations, and their use,
made by residence hall staff.

Attended a student's funeral.
Cooperated with peers in the interpretation of policy.

Assisted parents of a student to clear up college
business matters.

Kept his word to townspeople to provide physical
facilities for a meeting.

Cooperated with interfraternity council to carry out
their recommendations on disciplinary cases.

Followed established judiciary policy.

Worked to develop better faculty—student relations by
establishing a campus-wide academic assistance program.

 

_....r “WW?" ‘WS-n .. '9T—v~‘*-'T*‘-~ M‘s-"Bit "I" ‘ vymtmmw-um '- ‘-

 

 

12.

13.

Area IV

Area V

63
Established good personal relations with campus police.

Cooperated with college physician and psychiatrist on
a student's psychological problem.

Diggnosed and Referred £2_Proper Aggncies Psychologically
gr Emotionally Disturbed Students.

Diagnosed and referred students to psychiatrists.
Diagnosed and referred students to counselors.
Diagnosed a student's psychological problem and es-
tablished an atmosphere that allowed referrals to be
made to other people who were better qualified to

assist the student.

Investigated both Individual and Group Actions Which
Violated Institutional 95 Civil Rules

Provided an opportunity for a student to re-enter
school.

Placed students on probation for violation of campus
rules.

Suspended students for violation of campus and civil
regulations.

Investigated off-campus drinking parties.

Fired a residence hall student assistant for hazing
another student.

Investigated fraternity drinking situations.
Investigated fraternity pranks.

Contacted proper legal authorities for information
before expelling some fraternity members from school

for violation of campus rules.

Provided Leadership and Information 59 both Individuals
and Groups

 

Assisted a fraternity group in deciding a course of
action for dealing with a homosexual member.

Initiated a voluntary all-campus academic assistance
program.

 

 

 

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

64

Assisted a residence hall group in understanding and
accepting the behavior of socially illiterate students.

Initiated meetings to inform students of their rights
and responsibilities as students.

Initiated meetings with a residence group to teach them
proper regard for residence hall facilities.

Assisted interfraternity council in calling in the
national office of a campus social fraternity to settle
a disciplinary problem.

Assisted interfraternity council in placing a fraternity
disciplinary situation in its proper perspective.

Assisted interfraternity council in developing new and
more satisfactory social regulations.

Initiated a program on campus which caused students to
examine and up-grade their moral standards.

Assisted student judiciary to see the importance of
making fair consistent decisions.

Assisted all-campus student government to develop more
democratic practices.

Initiated the practice of having the all-campus student
government recommend solutions to campus problems.

Initiated a program to develop better relations with
students from other colleges.

Assisted interfraternity council to strengthen rushing
procedures.

Worked with residence hall groups to establish student
government and self determination in disciplinary
matters.

Initiated meetings to provide information to students
about fraternities.

Assisted all-campus student government in program and
budget planning.

Initiated an in-service training program for all-campus
student government.

 

65

19. Held meetings with student employees to explain policy
change.

20. Initiated an in-service training program for residence
hall personnel.

Area VII Worked with Various Groups £2_Assist Them 13 Policy
Making

 

1. Met with residence hall personnel in planning policy
to deal with disciplinary cases.

2. Met with residence hall personnel to establish a policy
for making room assignments.

3. Met with faculty to establish policy for handling
panty raids.

4. Met with campus police to establish policy for handling
panty raids.

5. Met with civil police to establish policy for handling
panty raids.

6. Met with campus police to establish a policy for report-
ing student violators.

Ha

Analysis 2_ the
Critical Areas gf Behavior

 

The seven critical areas of the Student Personnel Dean's
behavior have been presented and amplified by listing the critical
elements in each area. Further analysis of these areas provides
additional insight into the behavior of the Dean.

5322.; - Communications

Communications refers to all contacts, either verbal or
written, in which the Dean attempts to communicate with others.
Most of his contacts are verbal and are usually with students,
faculty, professional peers, parents, press, and civil or campus

police. The purposes of these contacts are to explain or interpret

66
rules and regulations or the behavior of students, and to consult
with faculty, professional peers, or the police before deciding on
a course of action in disciplinary cases. Most of the cases in-
volving effective communication result when the Dean consults with
people concerned about a particular situation before making any
decisions. Another factor which causes him to be effective is his
careful explanation and interpretation, to parents and students,
of the reasons behind decisions which he made.

Area I; - Counseling

? :L‘ x.— .‘

Counseling behaviors comprised mainly of contacts with in-
dividual students. These contacts are a one-to-one, counselor-
counselee relationship and encompass a wide range of student
problems.

A number of the counseling situations develop because students
come to the Dean on a voluntary basis. However, some students come
on an involuntary basis for terminal and disciplinary counseling.
In either case, the student is asked by the Dean to appear for
counseling. In disciplinary counseling, the student continues on
in school, but is usually placed on disciplinary probation and is
counseled by the Dean as a condition of this probation. When it
appears that the student has sufficiently changed his attitude
about the problem which caused him to be counseled and that the
problem will not cause the student further difficulty, the Dean
discontinues the counseling.

In terminal counseling, the student has violated some college

or civil rule which is usually more serious in nature than the

67
regulations violated by the student in disciplinary counseling.
Terminal counseling is almost always of a short duration, that is,
usually one or two counseling periods. If there are two counseling
periods, they are usually held on the same day or on consecutive
days. The purpose of terminal counseling is to help the student
see the error in his attitudes and his actions and to accept the
fact that it is he who precipitated the termination of his college
enrollment. In cases where the Dean is unable to accomplish these ET

ends, he usually is not able to diagnose the seriousness of the

_F=—~ '"flh‘"7f,_ "

student's problem. He is most successful in dealing with students
whose problems are not deep-seated in nature.
A339 III - Develppipg,Co9perative Relationships”,

In the area of cooperative relationships, the Dean's contacts
are usually staff relationships. His success in this area depends
upon his ability to work cooperatively with others who are neither
superior nor subordinate to him. His success, then, is based on
his ability to "get along" with others and to work with them to
arrive at a mutually satisfying solution of the problem on which
they are working.

His ineffectiveness is most notable in his dealing with
students and with faculty members who are of lesser academic rank
than he. When he uses his position unfairly, he is viewed as
ineffective. He is also considered ineffective when he attempts
to use his position to implement his personal ends, or to
"bulldoze" an idea through the objections of the group.

Agg§_lg - Diagnosis and Referral

The area of diagnosis and referral is related to contacts

68
with students the Dean saw only long enough to make a diagnosis
of the problem and refer to either a psychiatrist or a
counselor. Thus, the Dean is required to diagnose the nature
and seriousness of the student's problem and to refer the student
to an agent who can be of assistance in solving the problem.
. There are also implications that the Dean recognize his own limita-
tions such as his inability to properly diagnose a problem or
counsel with students. In the process of diagnosis and referral,
it is necessary for the Dean to develop within students an attitude
which will help them accept a referral to another counselor.
A3591 2 - Investigation

In the area of investigation, the Dean is involved in as-
certaining the correctness of charges brought against either
individuals or groups, who violate a college rule or regulation.
His primary role is to investigate the charges and to separate
facts from rumor. In almost all cases, successful investigations
take considerable time and allow interested parties adequate
opportunity to make sure all relevant information is brought to
the Dean's attention. Decisions made by the Dean after only a
short investigation, even though it appears to uncover all the
facts, usually are classified as ineffective behavior.

Where the Dean acts arbitrarily, either making the decision
purely by himself or acting on the basis of insufficient evidence,
he is considered ineffective. Many times he is considered in-
effective when working under pressure from others to make a

decision as rapidly as possible. Under these conditions he is

 

 

69

considered ineffective not only by those affected by the decision
but by those who had pressured him for a rapid decision as well.
‘Aggg.yl - ngdership and Information

In providing leadership and information, the Dean sees the
need for making changes in some area of the institution and takes
the initiative to change it. In cases where he is most effective,
he works directly with a group and assists them in finding solutions
to problems. He is particularly effective in this area when work- ‘1
ing with student groups.54 §1

The Dean is considered ineffective when he recognizes a
problem area but fails to provide leadership and information which
will eliminate it. In this case he is ineffective 225 because he
provides faulty leadership and information, but rather because he
fails to provide gay leadership or information at all.
Aggg XII - Policy Making

Contacts in the area of policy making involve the development
of policy which deals directly with student life ranging from
room assignments in residence halls to regulations designed to
disperse panty-raid mobs. He is considered effective in policy-
making when his efforts are preventive in nature or are policies
which give direction and support to people who deal directly with
students.

He is considered ineffective when he neglects to develop any

policy at all concerning an area where policy is needed and when

 

54. Example: A change of policy stopped residence hall student
kitchen workers from eating free of charge. The Dean saw
this as a problem area and took the initiative to explain
all of the reasons which precipitated the change. After he
explained the change of policy, the students were willing
to accept it as a necessary change.

 

m“—

 

X_-‘."""J'J.

70
he waits until after a situation occurs before developing a
policy on an gg post facto basis. The majority of his contacts
in this area are either with residence hall personnel or with
law enforcement personnel and, in all cases, are related to the

development of policy for the control of student life.

 

CHAPTER V
ANALYSIS OF THE CRITICAL
AREAS OF THE BEHAVIOR OF

THE STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN

Introduction

 

It is evident that certain types of behavior of the Student
Personnel Dean, listed as critical elements in this study, are
more frequently reported than others. Some of these elements
occur more often than others because of the nature of the elements ‘f
themselves. Others occur frequently because of the nature of the
Dean's duties. The following discussion, with accompanying tables,
shows the degree to which the original 286 elements are related
to each of the seven critical areas of the Dean's behavior. Such
an analysis will show the extent to which the various critical
areas were included in critical incidents involving the Dean and
areas in which he seems to have the greatest amount of success.

The data does not indicate that one area is any more critical
than another. Because Area I (Communication) is mentioned four
times more often than Area VII (Policy Making), does not mean that
it is four times as critical. Every time any one of the 286
elements was mentioned in an incident, it was deemed critical to
the success or failure of the Student Personnel Dean.

Distribution gf_Elements
Among the Seven Critical Areas
Table XI displays the number and percentage of the 286

elements which were placed in each of the seven critical areas.

71

 

 

72
The final column gives a rank order for each area, with Number 1

being the most frequently mentioned area.

Table XI. Distribution of Elements
Among the Seven Critical Areas

 

 

 

Elements
Number Percen- Number Percen- Total Total Rank
Area of tage of of In- tage of num- per-
effec- total effec- total ber cen-
tive effec- tive ineffec- tage
tive tive
I-Communication .37. 22 22 19 59, 20.7 1
II-Counseling 35 20 8 7 43 15.1 5
III-Cooperative
Relationships 18 10 36 32 _§4 18.9 2
IV-Diagnosis 13 8 8 5 21 7.3 6
V-Investigation 28 16 17 16 45 15.7 4
VI-Leadership and
Information 33 20 17 15 50 17.4 3
VII-Policy Making 7 4 7 6 14 4.9 7
TOTAL 171 100 115 100 286 100

 

Area I (Communication) received the most attention in the
reports of critical incidents. The importance of this critical
area is a fact which presents itself in many different ways in
the findings of this study. There can be no question that this
area is one which must receive major attention from the Dean if
he is to be considered effective.

Area III (Cooperative Relationships) contains the second
largest number of elements. It is the only area where more in-

effective than effective elements were reported. There is no

73
doubt that this is a neglected area in the behavior of the Dean.

Table XI shows us that 87.8% of all the elements are contain-
ed in five areas and that only 12.2% of the elements are found in
the remaining two. The five areas with the highest number of
elements differ very little in size. The three largest areas are
concerned with the Dean's behavior in dealing with groups rather
than individuals. The next three areas are more related to working
with individuals. It is interesting to note that the Dean could
be functioning effectively in six of the areas and yet be generally
thought of as an ineffective Dean because of his inadequate per-
formance in the remaining area.

Another way in which the returns in Table XI may be viewed
is by considering the relationships between areas. It is important
to consider which critical areas contribute the largest number of
effective or ineffective elements to the total study. Since there
are 171 effective and 115 ineffective elements reported in this
study one can determine what percentage of the total number of
effective and ineffective elements are involved in each critical
area. By this means a general picture is obtained of the impact
of each area on the perception held of the Student Personnel Dean
by his professional peers.

When one considers only the effective elements in this study,
it can be seen that Area I (Communication) has the largest per-
centage of incidents in which the Dean is considered effective.

It is closely followed by Area II (Counseling) and Area VI

(Leadership and Information). These three areas account for

d

 

 

74
almost two-thirds of all the effective performances and point
out two facts which should be mentioned here. First, the Dean
should become aware of the opportunities these three areas afford
him to become an effective administrator. Second, it would appear
that the remaining areas are being overlooked by many Deans as
opportunities for being effective. While the distribution of the
elements among the seven areas is not expected to be exactly
even, there is no reason to expect that such a high percentage
of elements would be found in only three areas.

When one looks at only the ineffective elements it is
apparent that Area III (Cooperative Relationships) contains al-
most one-third of all mentions of ineffective behavior. This is
almost double the percentage of ineffective elements in the
second highest area. This indicates that the Dean should be par-
ticularly cautious in his staff relationships. Area I (Communi-
cation), Area V (Investigation), and Area VI (Leadership and
Information) contain nearly equal percentages of ineffective be-
haviors. Area II (Counseling), Area IV (Diagnosis), and Area VII
(Policy Making) contain smaller, but nearly equal, percentages of
ineffective behavior. The percentages of ineffective behavior are
not as equally distributed as are the percentages of effective
behavior. Thus, it seems that the Dean should pay particular
attention to those areas having the highest percentages of in-
effective behavior. This is not that ineffective behavior is more
critical in one area than in another, but rather that the proba-

bility of being ineffective is higher in some areas than others.

75
It is apparent that ineffective performance in any of the
seven critical areas may cause the Dean to be considered in-
effective. Likewise, those areas in which he is most effective
may also have unsatisfactory incidents.‘
Effective and Ineffective
Elements ig_Each Critical Area
One way of handling the information from the report forms
is to look at it within each critical area in terms of its
effectiveness or ineffectiveness. This can be done by calcula-
ting the percentage of effective and ineffective elements in
each area. These calculations are found in Table XII.

Table XII. Proportion of Effective and Ineffective
Elements Reported in Each Critical Area

 

Effective Ineffective
100% - - - - 50 - - - 0 Critical Areas 0 - - - - 50 - - - - 100%

 

62 - XXXXXXX I Communication XXX - 38
81 - XXXXXXXXXXX II Counseling - 19
III Cooperative
32 -X Relationships XXXXXXXXXX - 68 V”
71 - XXXXXXXX IV Diagnosis XX - 29
60 - XXXXX V Investigation XXXXX- 40
VI Leadership &
66 - XXXXXXX Information XXX- 34
50 - XXX VII Policy Making XXXXXXXXX - 50“'

Table XII shows the rank order of the percentages of
effective behavior to be counseling, diagnosis, providing leadership
and information, communication, investigation, policy making, and
cosperative relationships with counseling having the highest per-

centage of effective elements. The Dean is more effective than

 

is:

 

 

J45! ‘

 

76
ineffective in all areas except policy making and developing
cooperative relationships. All areas, except Area VII (Policy
Making), show differences between effective and ineffective
behavior which are distinct enough to reveal definite trends.
Analysis pf the Returns
By Enrollment Section

Table XII presented data in terms of effectiveness and
ineffectiveness for each critical area. In Table XIII, the data
is presented in another way in order to show the percentage of
all effective or ineffective elements in each enrollment section
which is contributed by each critical area. For example, 18%
of the effective elements in the 2-4 section are contributed by
Area I (Communication), 22% by Area II (Counseling), 12% by
Area III (Cooperative Relationships), 7% by Area IV (Diagnosis),
18% by Area V (Investigation), 20% by Area VI (Leadership and
Information), and 3% by Area VII (Policy Making).

It should be noted that in Area II (Counseling) there is a
gradual decrease in number of effective performances as the size
of the responding institutions increases. The 4-6 enrollment
section represents an exception to this trend. The percentages
of ineffective behaviors mentioned in this area are considerably
smaller than the percentages of effective behaviors.

The percentages of effective behaviors in Area III (Co-
operative Relationships) do not represent information which could
be interpreted as showing significant differences between the

responses from different enrollment sections. There is, however,

TABLE XIII.

77

Distribution of the Elements by
Enrollment of the Responding Institutions *

 

--407..-307.-- 207.--- 107.»- 0 Areas

Critical

Ineffective
0--IOZP--ZOZP"-3OZP“4OZF'

 

26

27

18

I

 

18

Communip
cation

 

30
18
29

 

 

22
26

18
12

II
Counsel—
ing

 

12

III

46

7 Cooperative 30
11 Relation— 18
10 ships 9

 

IV 9
ll Diagnosis-Q

IN

10

7‘7

12

 

 

18 V 10

14 Investi-

 

23

 

gation

IN

Ll '°|

27
29

 

20

23
20

14

VI
Leadership
& Informa-
tion

19

 

27

 

 

3__ 'VII
2 Policy
Making

0
I'lNl
on
\O

I

 

Total 1001
for each enrollment section

Total 100%
for each enrollment section

* The percentages for each area are by enrollment section as
follows:
Line 1. 2-4
Line 2. 4-6
Line 3. 6-8
Line 4. 8-10

   

 

78

a distinct trend evidenced by the percentages of ineffective

 

behaviors mentioned in each enrollment section where a rapid
decrease in the percentages of ineffective behavior is noted
as the size of the responding institutions increases. Almost
one-half of the ineffective elements are in the 2-4 enrollment
section, about one-third are in the 4-6 enrollment section

and only 27% are found in the other two sections. This indi-
cates rather clearly that the Dean in a smaller institution
uses his position to implement his own personal ideas and
plans. One might attribute this to the lesser number of people
with whom a Dean must confer to implement a practice in smaller
institutions.

The 2-4 and 4-6 enrollment sections in Area V (Investi-
gation) indicate smaller percentages of both effective and
ineffective behaviors than the larger enrollment sections in
this area. The percentages in the 6-8 and 8-10 enrollment
sections indicate a great deal of activity with the number of
ineffective behaviors somewhat higher than the effective be-
haviors. However, the percentages of effective behavior are
larger than the percentages of ineffective behavior in the
smaller institutions. The opposite is true for the larger schools.
This indicates that while there is a greater emphasis on in-
vestigation in the larger institutions, the Dean is a more effec-
tive investigator in the smaller institutions.

Area VI (Leadership and Information) is one of great emphasis,

but only the 8-10 enrollment section contains a significantly

79
higher percentage of effective behavior than ineffective be-
havior. No significant trends are apparent in this area, even
though the amount of activity is great.

The three smaller enrollment sections in Area VII (Policy
Making) contain very small percentages of either effective or
ineffective behaviors. The percentage for enrollment section
8-10 is almost twice as large as the combined percentages of
the other three sections. Apparently the Dean is more involved
in policy making at the larger institutions. 3
Distribution of Effective and Ineffective
Elements by Enrollment Section

The highest percentage of effective elements in the 2-4
enrollment section is in Area II (Counseling), and the largest
percentage of ineffective behaviors is in Area III (Cooperative
Relationships). This seems unusual because it appears that the
same qualities are necessary for the Dean to be successful in
both areas. The 2-4 enrollment section also emphasizes effective
performance in Area I (Communications), Area V (Investigation),
and Area VI (Leadership and Information).

In the 4-6 enrollment section, the highest percentages of
effective and ineffective behavior appear for Area I (Communica-
tion) and Area II (Counseling), and Area III (Cooperative

Relationships) and Area I (Communication) respectively. Here

again, an unexpected difference occurred similar to that found in

the 2-4 enrollment section.

80

The largest percentages of effective elements in the 6-8
enrollment section appear in Area V (Investigation) and Area VI
(Leadership and Information). These areas also contain the
highest percentages of ineffective elements. It was not expected
that the highest percentage of both effective and ineffective
elements in a critical area would be reported by a single enroll-
ment section.

Area I (Communication) and Area VI (Leadership and Informa-
tion) have the highest percentages of effective behaviors in the
8-10 enrollment section. The highest percentages of ineffective
behaviors occur in Area I (Communications), Area V (Investigation),
and Area VII (Policy Making).

Distribution 2; the Effective and
Ineffective Elements by Critical Area

 

 

 

In Table XIV, the data are presented in terms of the per-
centage of effective and ineffective behavior for each critical
area reported by each enrollment section. In the table, the
total percentage listed on both the effective and ineffective
sides of each critical area is 100%. Thus, in Area I (Communi-
cation), 40% of the effective elements were reported by 2-4
institutions, 24% by 4-6 institutions, 8% by 6-8 institutions
and 28% by 8-10 institutions.

The percentage of responses from each enrollment section in
each critical area may be compared to the percentage of institu-
tions in each enrollment section found in Table 1, page 29.

Area VII (Policy Making) has a disproportionately high percentage

.3 ‘2‘}.m-‘Lo -—--n
a.

'11,

81

TABLE XIV. Distribution of the Critical Elements
in Each of the Seven Critical Areas *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effective Critical Ineffective
--80%P‘602F"'4OZP'-'202P'~0 Areas 0---20%r--40%r--60%r-80%r-
40 I 22
24 Communi- 39
8_ cation __9
28 30
52 II 38
26 Counsel- 38
10_ ing '9
l2__ 24
58 III 70

 

 

l2__Cooperative 20
l2__Relationr _§

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 ships _5
40 IV II __,83
27 Diagnos is 2
7_ 17
26 .Q
62 V 30
17 Investi- “—12
14 gation 18
7_ #4_40
51 VI 52
16 Leadership 18
12 & Informa- 18
21 tion ___12
28 VII .__15
15 Policy 28
.9_ Making .2
57 57

 

 

* The percentages for each area are by enrollment section as
follows:
Line 1. 2-4
Line 2. 4-6
Line 3. 6-8
Line 4. 8~10

.1 -II 111-:

u,

82
of elements in the 8-10 enrollment section and supports a previous
indication that policy making forms a larger proportion of the
role of the Dean in large institutions than in small institutions.
From this table, it is possible to see the amount of emphasis
placed on each of the seven critical areas by institutions of
various sizes.

Relationship 2; Critical Areas of
Behavior 52 the Problem Categories

 

In Chapter III, the problem categories in which the Student
Personnel Dean functioned were identified. The seven critical
areas of behavior of the Dean were developed in Chapter IV. In
Table XV, the data are presented in such a way as to show the
relationships between these two major factors. The effective and
ineffective elements are combined in this table to give a more
precise picture of the amount and kind of activity being devoted
to each problem category by the Student Personnel Dean.

It should be noted that the problem area PM (Policy Making)
and critical Area VII (Policy Making) are related but not the
same. For example, an element may be one which involves the
problem of policy making; however, the critical behavior in dealing
with this problem might be more related to Area I (Communication).

Area VI (Leadership and Information) involves the Student
Personnel Dean in most problem categories. Table XV shows that
elements in this area are involved in all but two problem cate-

gories and one of these, PSY, is by definition, a category in

83

Table XV. Percentage of the Behaviors of Each Problem
Category Falling under Each of the Seven Critical Areas

 

 

Problem Critical Areasb
Categoriesa
I II III IV V VI VII Total %

AG 25 - 25 - 25 25 - lOO
DIS 22 17 23 l 25 10 2 100
IST 43 - l4 - - 43 - 100
MB - - - - 30 - 70 100
PP 15 70 - 5 - 10 - 100
PI 22 - 22 - - 45 11 100
PM - - 27 - - 73 - lOO
PSY ll 21 9 50 5 - 3 100
PR 40 - 33 - 10 15 2 100
RH - - 12 - - 76 12 100
SE - - - - - 100 - 100
$3 - - - - 20 80 - 100

 

a. Problem Categories Legend

AG - Academic General PM - Policy Making

DIS - Discipline PSY - Psychological

IST - In-Service Training PR - Public Relations
MB - Mob Behavior RH - Residence Halls

PP - Personal Problems SE - Social Education
PI - Policy Interpretation SG - Student Government

b. Area Legend

I - Communication V - Investigation

II - Counseling VI - Leadership and Information
III - Cooperative Relationships VII - Policy Making

IV - Diagnosis

84
which the Dean is not expected to provide leadership and infor-
mation. Other critical areas of behavior related to a large
number of problem categories are Area I (Communication) and
Area III (Cooperative Relationships).

Table XV also gives some indication of the critical behavior
which seems to be involved most often in dealing with a specific
problem category. For instance, the problem category DIS (Dis-
cipline) is mentioned in each of seven critical areas. Thus, it
is clear that when the Dean is working with disciplinary cases
he must incorporate a wide range of behaviors.

Relationship 9f Critical Areas £2.5hg

Catggories‘gf People with whom the
Student Personnel Dean Comes 33 Contact

 

 

 

The categories of people with whom the Dean functions are
identified in Chapter III and are presented here in a manner
similar to the problem categories presented in Table XV. In Table
XVI, type of people with whom the Dean has contact in carrying
out certain actions becomes more apparent.

From Table XVI, it can be seen that the Dean has contacts
with a majority of the people with whom he works in the following
types of activities: Area I (Communication), Area III (Co-
operative Relationships), and Area V (Investigation). In Area I
(Communication), he comes into contact with 12 of the 15 possible
categories of people. The people with whom he has the highest
percentage of contact are fraternity advisers, parents, press,

superiors and townspeople. In Area V (Investigation) much emphasis

85

Table XVI. Percentage of the People with whom the Student
Personnel Dean Functioned in each of the Seven Critical Areas

 

Categories of

 

 

people with Critical Areasb

whom the SPD

functioneda I II III IV V VI VII Total %
FA 60 - 4O - - - - 100
FG 21 - 37 - 16 26 - 100
IF - 27 20 20 33 - - 100
IFS - 50 - - - 50 - 100
IM 3 36 l4 16 24 5 2 100
IFC - - 27 - - 73 - 100
PAR 87 - l3 - - - - 100
PR 37 - 33 - 12 8 10 100
POL 29 - l4 - l4 - 43 100
PRS 100 - - - - - - lOO
SOR 50 - - - 50 - - 100
SC 12 - 21 - 12 67 - 100
SGRP 5 5 5 - 10 55 20 100
SUP 100 - - - - - - 100
TP 66 - 17 - l7 - - 100

 

a. Categories of People Legend

FA - Fraternity Adviser POL - Police
FG Fraternity Group PRS - Press
IF - Individual Female Students SOR - Sorority Group

IFS - Individual Foreign Student SG - Student Government
IM - Individual Male Student SGRP - Student Group

IFC - Interfraternity Council SUP - Superiors

PAR - Parents TP - Townspeople

PR - Peers

b. The area legend is the same as used for Table XV.

 

pm.

‘0.

 

“I

 

86

is placed on the Dean's dealings with fraternity groups, individual
female students, individual male students, sororities, student
groups, and student government.

When Table XVI is interpreted along the vertical axis, the
number of critical areas in which a particular category of people
is involved becomes apparent. Category IM (Individual Male Students)
involves each of the seven critical areas of behavior. Categories
PRS (Press) and SUP (Superiors) are related to only one area of

behavior.

 

 

CHAPTER VI

SUMMARY AND EVALUATION OF FINDINGS

Chapter VI is essentially a restatement of the main
findings of this study. The chapter is devoted to summarizing
and evaluating. Conclusions and recommendations appear in

Chapter VII.
The Problem Restated .r.

Because little research had been carried out to identify K
the critical aspects of the functions of the Student Personnel
Dean, that area was chosen as the focal point for this study.

The study was designed to investigate what procedures the
Student Personnel Dean employs that are classified by his pro-
fessional peers as critical to success in fulfilling his position.
Thus, the two major outcomes were the identification of: (1) Types
of behavior employed by the Student Personnel Dean; and (2) Re-
lationships that exist between each type of behavior and success
in the work.

Critical Elements 2; the Student

Personnel Dean's Functioning

One hundred and fifty critical incidents were received which
contained 286 individual behaviors (elements) of Student Personnel
Deans. Many of the elements were either identical or so similar

that it was possible to categorize them into 73 critical elements.55

 

55. The 73 critical elements are reported in Chapter IV.

87

88
These, in turn, were combined into seven separate critical
areas of related behavior. They are as follows:

Area I (Communications)

Area II (Counseling)

Area III (Cooperative Relationships)
Area IV (Diagnosis)

Area V (Investigation)

Area VI (Leadership and Information)
Area VII (Policy Making)

Distribution gf_the Elements
by,Critical Areas

Because of the nature of the Dean's position and the nature
of the problems with which he works, the elements are not evenly
distributed among the seven critical areas. The exact number of
elements found in each area are presented graphically and dis-
cussed in Chapter V. The main points covered therein are as
follows:

1. The greatest number of elements occur in Area I
(Communication) closely followed by Area 111
(Cooperative Relationships) and Area VI (Leader-
ship and Information).

2. The greatest difference between the percentages of
effective and ineffective behaviors occur in
Area II (Counseling) where effective behaviors
predominate and in Area III (Cooperative Relation-
ships) where percentages of ineffective behavior
far outnumber those of effective behavior.

3. Effective performances appear in significantly
more cases than do ineffective performances in
Area I (Communication), Area II (Counseling),
Area IV (Diagnosis), Area V (Investigation),
and Area VI (Leadership and Information).

4. Ineffective performances appear in significantly
more cases than do effective performances in
Area III (Cooperative Relationships).

5. Effective performances appear in the same number
as ineffective performances in Area VII (Policy
Making) .

89

Distribution gf the Elements
by Enrollment Sections

In the preceding section the elements were analyzed

according to the critical areas in which they fall. A different

distribution of elements exists for each enrollment section.

Six significant differences were found and are as follow:

1.

In Area 11 (Counseling) there is a decrease in thet//
number of incidents reported as the size of the
responding institutions increase.

In Area III (Cooperative Relationships) there is a V”
rapid decrease in the percentages of ineffective
behavior noted as the size of the responding in-
stitutions increase.

In Area V (Investigation) the greatest amount of
activity is noted in the 6,000-10,000 enrollment
range. However, the greatest ratio of effective
over ineffective behavior is found in the 2,000-
6,000 enrollment range.

In Area VII (Policy Making) a majority of the
incidents were reported from the 8-10 enrollment
section. However, only in the 2-4 enrollment
section does effective behavior receive more
mentions than ineffective behavior.

In Area II (Counseling) the 2-4 enrollment section
receives more mention of effective behavior while
Area III (Cooperative Relationships), which logi-
cally is dependent for success on qualities similar
to Area 11, receives more mention of ineffective
behavior.

In the 4-6 enrollment section, the same unusual
behavior pattern presented in Number 5 above exists
between Area I (Communication) and Area III
(Cooperative Relationships).

90
Distribution pf Elements
‘by Problem Categories
Each of the 286 elements involved a Dean in his dealings
with one of 12 types of problems. These problems indicate the
wide range of activities which are related to the work of the

Student Personnel Dean, and include the following categories:

1. Academic - General 7. Policy Making

2. Discipline 8. Psychological

3. In-Service Training 9. Public Relations
4. Mob Behavior 10. Residence Halls

5. Personal Problems 11. Social Education
6. Policy Interpretation 12. Student Government

Relationships between Critical
Areas and Problem Categories
In Chapter V, the relationships between types of problems
and critical areas of behavior are presented in detail. An
examination of the relationships between problem categories
and critical areas reveals these main points:

1. Area VI (Leadership and Information) is involved
in 10 of the 12 problem categories.

2. Area III (Cooperative Relationships) 15 involved
with 9 of the 12 problem categories.

3. Area I (Communication) is involved with 8 of the
12 problem categories.

The data was also studied to ascertain the number of critical
areas of the Dean's behavior which were involved in each problem
category. The following problem categories are involved in the
largest number of critical areas:

1. DIS (Discipline) involves each critical area, but

with particular emphasis on Area I (Communication),

Area II (Counseling), Area III (Cooperative Re-
lationships), and Area V (Investigation).

 

' 95W... .3! 3. ? Y' "..-¢_~.§¢ :IPtLV'f} 3'

 

 

91

PSY (Psychological) involves 6 of the 7 critical
areas, and by definition, could not be involved
with the seventh.

IST (In-Service Training) emphasizes involvement
with Area I (Communication) and Area VI (Leader-
ship and Information).

Relationships between the Critical Areas
and Categories g£_People with whom the
Student Personnel Dean Functioned

Another area in Chapter V, deals with the people who are

important to the success of the Dean. The three areas in which

the Dean contacted the largest variety of people are:

1.

In Area I (Communication) he contacted 12 of the

15 categories of people with whom he dealt. People
having the highest percentages of contacts were
fraternity advisers, parents, press, superiors, and
townspeople.

In Area III (Cooperative Relationships) the Dean con-
tacted ll of the 15 categories possible. Contacts
emphasized were fraternity advisers, fraternity
groups, peers, interfraternity council, and student
government.

In Area V (Investigation) he contacted 9 of the 15
categories possible. Emphasis was placed on his
contacts with fraternity groups, individual female
students, individual male students, sororities,
student groups, and student government.

The main points found in the relationships between the

categories of people that the Dean contacted and the critical

areas are as follows:

1.

Category IM (Individual Male Students) was involved
in all critical areas with particular emphasis on
Area II (Counseling) and Area V (Investigation).

Category SGRP (Student Group) was involved in 6 of
the 7 critical areas with particular emphasis on
Area VI (Leadership and Information) followed by
Area VII (Policy Making).

92

Category PR (Peers) was involved in 5 of 7
critical areas. Area I (Communication) and
Area III (Cooperative Relationships) were em-
phasized as being most frequently contacted.

Relationships between the Categories
gkaeople and the Categories 2; Problems

The relationships between the categories of people and the

problem categories were examined. The major findings are as

follows:

1.

In DIS (Discipline) the Dean contacted 14 of the 15
categories of people with whom he dealt. High per-
centages of contacts occur with fraternity advisers,
fraternity groups, individual female students, inter-
fraternity council, individual male students, and
parents.

In PR (Public Relations) the Dean contacted 13 of 15
possible categories of people. However, the per-
centage of contacts is high only with one category
of people, PRS (Press).

In PR (Peers) the Dean made contacts in 10 of the

12 problem categories. Contacts were emphasized

in the problem categories of discipline, in-service
training, policy interpretation, and public relations.

In IM (Individual Male Students) the Dean made con-
tacts in 8 of the 12 problem categories. Emphasis
was placed on his contacts with individual male
students for discipline, personal problems and psy-
chological problems.

In SGRP (Student Groups) the Dean made contacts in
8 of 12 possible problem categories. Mob behavior,
discipline, public relations, and residence halls
were the problem categories receiving the greatest
emphasis with this category of people.

In SG (Student Government) the Dean made contacts in
6 of 12 possible problem categories placing emphasis
on discipline, policy interpretation, and policy
making.

 

93

Findings 2; Special Value
£2 Student Personnel Deans

A number of findings of a specific nature were evolved
from the critical incidents reported for this study. The
findings of the study represent the image of the Student
Personnel Dean as he is seen by his professional peers. These
findings are of special value to Student Personnel Deans.

l. Deans in smaller institutions do more counseling ,
than their counterparts in larger institutions.

2. Deans in smaller institutions are generally in-
effective in developing cooperative relationships.

3. Deans in larger institutions are more ineffective
investigators than their counterparts in smaller
institutions.

4. Deans do not consistently take the initiative to
provide leadership and information particularly
to students and student groups.

5. Deans do not consistently take the initiative in
communicating their reasons as well as their
decisions to all parties concerned with their
decisions.

6. Deans are consistently successful when working
with individual students in disciplinary situations.

7. A majority of the Dean's contacts are with individual
male students and he is generally successful with
these individuals.

8. Deans are not consistently successful in their
dealings with student groups, especially with
fraternities and sororities on disciplinary pro-
blems.

9. Public relations is a category in which the Dean
is involved with almost all people he contacted,
particularly the press. Therefore, every contact
he makes has implications for his effectiveness in
public relations.

 

94

10. Deans are not consistently aware that their
peers exert great influence on all consider-
ations of the effectiveness of Deans.

ll. Deans do not consistently analyze and evaluate ‘///
all areas of their responsibility to develop
policies that will give direction and support
to help reach the objectives of their program.

12. When policies and rules and regulations are
either introduced or altered, they are not
always fully explained to all parties concerned.

13. Deans are more effective dealing with frater-
nities through an interfraternity council or the
fraternity advisers rather than directly with
fraternity groups.

14. Deans are effective when working directly with all
phases of in-service training.

Evaluation 3f the Findings

 

 

This section shows the kind of evaluation which was made
when the research findings were re-studied in preparation for
drawing final conclusions. Two questions make up the basic
frame of reference for this evaluation: (1) To what extent are
the purposes of the investigation satisfied? (2) To what extent,
and to whom, are the findings useful?

A survey of literature did not reveal information which
indicated the behaviors that a Student Personnel Dean must
fulfill in order to be viewed as effective by his professional
peers. Therefore, this study sought to provide information which
had been missing up to this time. This study does provide the
following new information:

1. Seventy-three elements of behavior critical to
the successful functioning of Deans.

 

95
2. Seven critical areas of the Dean's behavior.
3. An analysis of the critical elements of behavior
to show the differences in the degree to which

they were reported by institutions of various sizes.

4. Twelve problem categories which influence the
functioning of the Dean.

5. Fifteen categories of people who influence the
functioning of the Dean.

6. The relationships between the twelve problem
categories and the seven critical areas of the
Dean's behavior.

7. The relationship between the fifteen categories of
people with whom the Dean dealt and the seven
critical areas of the Dean's functioning.

8. The relationships between the twelve problem
categories and the fifteen categories of people
with whom the Dean comes in contact.

With these findings, a great deal of new information about
the behavior of the Student Personnel Dean is available. All
of it is relevant to the primary purposes of this study. The
information presented here provides Deans with additional
material for use in improving their effectiveness. The next

consideration, then, must be whether the information is pre-

sented in a useful form.
Usability of the Findings

Because the findings of this study are reported directly
from field observations, they can be applied directly to other
field situations. The elements have been judged critical

because they have an actual and significant effect on the success

96

of the Dean who fulfills the function. There is no doubt,
then, that the critical elements reported here represent
practical procedures for use by Student Personnel Deans.

Mbreover, the findings of this study apply to almost every
activity in which a Dean might find himself. They also identify
a wide variety of techniques which can be applied and suggest
those problem areas in which these techniques should be applied.

Evaluation 2§_the Critical
Incident Technique

The Critical Incident Technique, as it was used in this
study, was also evaluated in order to identify any factors in
the technique which will effect the conclusions that are drawn.

Advantages of the Critical
Incident Technique

The advantages of the Critical Incident Technique,56

evaluated on a point-by-point basis, indicate that all of its
advantages applied to this study. They are as follows:

1. It was possible to contact a broad sample of
institutions. Reports were received from
observers from institutions in all enrollment
sections. The responses from the institutions
reporting was in proportion to their repre-
sentation in the total sample. Usable report
forms were returned from all geographic areas
of the sample.

2. It was not necessary to provide training for
observers. If training had been necessary it
would have been impossible to conduct the survey.

 

56. See pages 16-17.

 

97

3. All usable report forms received did identify
extremes of behaviors which the reporter viewed
as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

4. The reported incidents did involve only accounts
of behavior. Inferences were not reported.

5. The frequency of incidents and the elements con-
tained therein were easily converted directly to
critical elements of behavior.

Limitations of the

Critical Incident Technique

Limitations of the Critical Incident Technique are stated

in terms of known limitations. Thus, as in (a) ways could be

found to offset the limitations; and as in (b) criteria could

be found against which to evaluate the steps taken to overcome

the limitations.

Limitation l.

a.
b.

Limitation 2.

8.

b.

Limitation 3.

Cover Letter and

The following are examples.

Reporter who does not respond as
requested

Selected professional peer as reporter
All reports returned were usable

Reporter's ability to remember critical
incidents

Only critical incidents which had happened
in the past 18 months reported

All critical incidents received were
reported in detail

Amount of time required to complete a
report form

Instructions for report were brief and
succinct

Higher percentage of returns was
received than for other studies reviewed
using the Critical Incident Technique

Report Form Construction

The percentage of returns from report forms sent under the

three different cover letters served to evaluate cover letter

 

98

effectiveness. All report forms were identical. The first
and second cover letters were form letters and contained the
same basic information. The percentage of returns from the
second letter was almost identical to the returns from the
first letter. The third cover letter was individually typed
and was an appeal, of a personal nature, for the individual
to be a respondent from his geographic area. There was a 6%
increase in the returns from the third letter over the returns
from either the first or the second cover letter.

The report form construction and instructions were
assumed to be adequate because no comments were received to
indicate otherwise. Also, all returns were on the original

report forms and were completed according to instructions.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER VII

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents a number of conclusions, recommendations
and hypotheses arrived at by the researcher as a result of having
conducted the study. In each case, the basic data used in drawing
the conclusions, recommendations or hypotheses are given. The
reader's attention is again called to the fact that the Critical
Incident Technique requires the person using this research
method to make considerable use of subjective judgment in order
to completely utilize the data. The findings are reported here
in three sections. They are as follow:

1. Conclusions suggested by the study and based
on the design and the analysis used

2. Specific hypotheses suggested for further study

3. Implications of the findings for the professional
preparation of prospective Deans

The conclusions are statements which apply to the Student
Personnel Dean. The hypotheses for further study are generated
from re-occurring incidents that suggest conclusions, but are not
strong enough to serve as conclusive proof. The implications for
the professional preparation of prospective Deans are based on
interpretations of the ineffective incidents, ineffective critical
areas, and the enrollment of the institutions reporting the

ineffective incidents.

99

 

   

lOO

Conclusions

 

1. Every activity in which the Student Personnel Dean functions
effects the way he is perceived by his professional peers.

Twelve problem categories are involved in the critical
incidents reported for this study. These categories cover almost
every possible activity in which the Dean could be involved. Some
of these categories such as Academic-General or Social Education

F1,
are not generally considered to have any implications for con- “
sidering him effective or ineffective. However, this study shows
that each of these categories does have such implications and
that Deans must constantly be aware of the effects of any action
upon their being considered effective or ineffective.

2. If the Student Personnel Dean is operating effectively in
most areas,pit is likely that he will be judged so by his pro-
fessional peers. The ppposite is also true.

It has been shown that effective performances of these
critical elements by many Deans have been judged by their
professional peers as functions which cause the Dean to be
considered effective. While there is no evidence of a cause-and-
effect relationship, the data indicate that there is a strong
association between the effective performance of the elements
and the Dean being considered effective in fulfilling his
functions. The establishment of a cause-and-effect relationship
is not claimed for these data because there is a lack of evidence
concerning the effects of other variables present in the many
situations reported. Personalities involved, the nature of the

specific situation reported, and the circumstances under which the

situation occurred, are examples of factors which may have had an

 

 

 

101
equal or greater effect on the perception of the Dean as being
effective than the incidents reported in this study. These factors
are all extremely variable and would have to be taken into con-
sideration when seeking cause-and-effect relationships. For this
reason, this conclusion is stated in terms of an associational
relationship.

3. The importance attached to certain kinds of behavior of the

 

Student Personnel Dean varies with the size of the institution I E:

 

in which he operates.

The critical incidents reported for this study reveal def- En
inite differences between the responses from institutions of
different sizes. These differences regard the types of elements
which occur most often in any given enrollment section. While
every enrollment section does not differ from every other enroll-
ment section in each critical area, there are definite trends
which justify this conclusion.

4. The most appropriate behavior of a Student Personnel Dean
varies frompproblem-toeproblem and from time-to-time with the
same type of problem.

The critical elements are not individually restricted to
any given critical area. While these data do not show that every
critical element is involved in each critical area, there are
enough examples to show a trend in this direction to justify this
conclusion. There are, furthermore, no findings of any kind
which would tend to establish limits which would exclude any

critical element from being used in any critical area.

 

 

102
5. College and university presidents are likely to report that
members of the faculty, staffppor administration who are not
studentgpersonnel workers are as able to judge the effectiveness
of the Student Personnel Dean's behavior as are studentppersonnel
workers.

This conclusion is supported by the titles of people iden-
tified by the presidents as professional peers. The titles of
68 of the 133 professional peers identified people not generally
considered student personnel workers.

6. Student Personnel Deans are more oftegZeffective when working
with individual students than when working with studentggroups.

This conclusion is confirmed by the information in Table IX,
page 53. The table also shows that Deans were reported as in-
effective more often than effective when working with groups of
students.

7. Sgudent Personnel Deans are generally more effective working
with the representatives of groups than_§hey are working with
the_groups themselves.

This is exemplified by the successes with interfraternity
councils and all fraternity advisers, and the unsatisfactory
record with fraternity and residence hall groups.

8. The wider the_;ange of activities the Student Personnel Dean
uses to resolve appgpblemg the more likely he is to be considered
effective by his professional peers.

This conclusion is supported by all analyses made of the
critical incidents received from all mailings. The effective

incidents contain a larger average number of elements per incident

on ""_rn"‘t rr ~.a 4|"

103
than do the ineffective incidents. Many of the ineffective

incidents contained only one element.

Hypotheses for Further Study

1. The behavior of the Student_Personnel Dean is not considered

 

 

 

g/'/a"
effective when he is operating according to the expectations of '-
hisgprofessionalgpeers.

A number of factors found in the report of satisfactory and 11
unsatisfactory critical incidents lead to the development of this 3
hypothesis that the expectations of professional peers wields a l;

powerful influence on their judgments regarding the effective-
ness or ineffectiveness of the Dean's behavior. Their reporting,
for example, may involve this phenomenon if a small number of
satisfactory incidents regarding Area III (COOperative Relation-
ships) are compared to a much larger number of unsatisfactory
incidents in this same area. Professional peers may expect full
cOOperation and therefore are not inclined to regard it as
significantly effective when their expectations are realized.

If this hypothesis should prove to be true, a study of the
expectations of professional peers with regard to the behaviors
of a Dean would reveal information which would aid in the
utilization of the critical elements related to the Dean's
functioning.

2. In most universities, the professional peers are unaware of

 

the function of the Student Personnel Dean until a crisis develops

 

in which the Dean is believed to have made an error which is

 

104

thought to be within the realm of his responsibility.

This hypothesis is supported by the large number of pro-
fessional peers who either failed to respond to the questionnaire
at all, or who responded that they could not recall any significant
incidents in which the Dean had been involved.
3. Professional_peers are better able to identify effective
performances than ineffective performances of the Student Personnel
2.2321- E 1

This hypothesis results from the larger number of effective
than ineffective incidents reported. Also, there are more returns be
which contain only effective incidents than there are returns
which contain only ineffective incidents. The larger number of
elements per average effective incident reported than for ineffec-
tive incidents reported is an additional reason for this hypothesis.
4. The Student Personnel Dean and hisgprofessional peers hold
different views concerninggthe types of behavior which are critical 1
in performing_the functions of the Student Personnel Dean.

This hypothesis is based on the evidence stating that Deans
are more effective than ineffective in the problem category DIS
(Discipline) and.mmre ineffective than effective in the problem
category PR (Public Relations). Discipline cases are always
delicate and are handled so well that the Dean is usually considered
effective. Therefore, the Dean must have considered this area to
be critical and consequently treated it as such. In public re-
lations, he is usually considered ineffective because he refuses
or neglects to handle the situation to the best of his ability.

Therefore, he must have viewed these two categories differently

while his professional peers viewed both as being critical categories.

 

7‘ J5

 

105

Implications for the Professional
Preparation of Prospective Student Personnel Deans

 

The following statements are not strongly supported by any
of the actual findings of this study. They represent ideas
which occurred during the course of the study and seem worthy
of mentioning here.

Implications for the Educational Background ’
of Prospective Student Personnel Deans p1

 

The conclusions reached in this investigation show that the
Dean is more ineffective than effective when working with student
groups. This implies that the educational background for a
prospective Dean should include courses to acquaint him with the
characteristics, peculiarities, and patterns of group behaviors.

Implication Number 1, (Understanding Group Interaction)

 

The prospective Student Personnel Dean should take courses
to acquaint himself with all aspects of group behavior. This «e”"
would include:

1. Participant-observer courses to study relationships
in groups

2. Courses in small group dynamics

3. Courses designed to identify the contributions that
individuals, including himself, are making towards
group objectives

4. Courses in the psychology of mob behavior

5. Courses to provide background in preventing, controlling,
and dispersing mobs

106

Implication Number 2. (Conducting Group Meetings)

This implication is supported by the findings of the
study which indicate that Deans are unable to work effectively
with people outside of the staff-line relationship, -- particularly
in Area III (Cooperative Relationships).

The educational background for the prospective Dean should
also include courses designed to:

1. Assist him to implement group meetings so they
are conducted in an organized, positive manner

2. Assist him to become more sensitive to the
feelings and attitudes held by group members

F-‘“”LT§L

3. Teach him parlimentary law and procedure

4. Teach him leaderless group discussion techniques
Implication Number 3, (Communicating with Groups)

This implication is supported by the findings in Area I
(Communications) primarily because of the great emphasis placed
upon incidents in this area and because the effective to in-
effective ratio must be improved if Deans are to be reported as
successful in communicating with others.

The educational background for prospective Deans should
include:

1. Speech courses designed to assist him in organizing
and presenting his point of view as clearly and
succinctly as possible

2. Courses in logic and philosophy

3. Courses in forensics, argumentation and persuasion

4. Courses in public speaking

107
Implications for the Experiential Background

g§,Prospective Student Personnel Deans

The experiential background of the prospective Student
Personnel Dean should be related to the educational background
as closely as possible. These two areas should be experienced
simultaneously or as close together as possible to insure
maximum learning for the prospective Dean. Therefore, the
following practical experiences related to the position of the
Student Personnel Dean should be integrated with the Dean's ;
educational experiences. The numbers of the following experi-
ences coincide with their educational counterparts on the
preceding pages.

Implication Number 1, (understanding Group Interaction)

The prospective Dean should be given supervised experiences
working with student groups, of which he is not a resident, or
has any group membership or affiliation. He should be included
in the development and execution of plans to prevent, control,
and disperse mobs. These should be experiences working on such
a status to duplicate as nearly as possible the conditions under
which the prospective Dean will be working when he, in fact,
does become a Student Personnel Dean.

Implication Number g. (Conducting Group Meetings)

The prospective Dean should attend as many meetings, at
least as an observer, with a practicing Dean as possible. He
should conduct meetings to practice the proper application of

theory learned in his academic courses. The practicing Dean

108
and the prospective Dean should then have an opportunity to
discuss and evaluate all facets of the meetings.
Implication Number 3, (Communicating with Groups)

The prospective Student Personnel Dean needs to have many
experiences speaking before groups of varied membership. He
needs to speak on technical or other such subjects that require
him to organize and present his subject in a logical, concise
manner. He should act as an observer at meetings where he
should note how speakers develop and make the points of their
speechs. These experiences should be supervised to allow the
maximum benefit to accrue to the prospective Student Personnel

Dean.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Arbuckle, Dugald 8., Student Personnel Services 33 Higher
Education, MCGraw-Hill Company, 1953.

Barry, Ruth and Beverly Wolf, Modern Issues i3 Guidance-
Personnel Work, Teachers College, Columbia university, 1957.

 

Beveridge, W. I. B., The Art'gf Scientific Investigation, ,w
New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1951.

Blaesser, Willard, The Future 2f.Student Personnel Work i2
Higher Education, university of Wisconsin, 1949.

 

 

Brumbaugh, AAron J., and Ralph Berdie, Student Personnel
Programs ig_Transition, American Council on Education, 1952.

Deferrari, Roy J., College Organization and Administration,
The Catholic University of America Press, 1947.

Dixon, Wilfrid & Massey, Introduction £2_Statistical Analysis,
1951.

 

 

Flanagan, John C., (responsible investigator) Critical
Requirements for Research Personnel, Pittsburgh: American
Institute for Research, March, 1949, Mimeographed and
Microfilmed.

Flanagan, John C., "Job Requirements" in W. Dennis; Current
Trends i2 Industrial Psychology, University of Pittsburgh,
1949, pp. 40-41 & 45-48.

 

Ghiselli, Edwin Ernest and C. W. Brown, Personnel Q Industrial
Psychology, New York: MtGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1948.

Gray, William, Editor, Needed Readjpstments ig_Higher Education,
University of Chicago Press, 1933.

 

 

Hawkes, H. E. and Anna L. Hawkes, Through A Dean's Open Door,
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1945.

 

Lee, Storres, God Bless Our Queer Old Dean, G. P. Putnam and
Sons, New York City, 1959.

109

- 1‘-.. _'_.' 1-
_;m.._l

110

Leonard, Eugenie, Origins gbeersonnel Services 23 American
Higher Education, University of Minnesota Press, 1959.

 

Lindsay, E. E. and E. 0. Holland, College é University Adminis-
tration, The MacMillan Company, 1930.

Preston, Harley 0., The Development gfig Procedure for Evaluating
Officers $3 the United States Air Force, Pittsburg: American
Institute for Research, 1948.

 

Viteles, M. 5., Industrial Psychology, New York: W. W. Norton &
Company, 1932.

 

 

Whitley, I. B., Analysis pf Secretarial Duties é Traits,
Baltimore, Williams & Wilkes, 1924.

Williamson, E. C., Trends i3 Student Personnel Work, University
of Minnesota Press, 1949.

Williamson, E. G. and T. R. Sarbin, Student Personnel Work $3
the University pg Minnesota, Prepared for the President's
Committee on a Survey of the Student Personnel Program, Burgess
Publishing Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1941.

BOUND MAGAZINES

Anderson, Gordon V., "Professional Standards and Training of
College Personnel Workers," Educational and Psychological
Measurement, 8:451-9, 1948.

Approaches go the Study of Administrators lg Student
Personnel Work, Papers from the Institute for Student Personnel
Administrators, University of Minnesota Press, 1960.

 

Blaesser, Willard & Clifford Froehlich, "Major Issues and
Trends in the Graduate Training of College Personnel Workers,"
Educational and Psychologigal Measurement, 8:588-95, 1950.

Carroll, Marian, "Overview of Personnel Work in Colleges and
Universities," Journal 2f the National Association 2; Deans of
Women, 14, 3-33, October, 1950.

Clark, T. C., "Conditions of Work for College Faculty and
Administrators," National Education Association Journal, 48:
pp. 59-61, October, 1959.

   

1...“..- unfi_ '~—'~¢'3‘L

 

.
- . . .
s
.
. . . ,
. .
.
a n
. , a -
v
-
a
4
c
, s u

lll

Cottingham, H. F., "Roles, Functions and Training Levels for
College Personnel Workers," Personnel and Guidance Journal,
33: 534-38, 1955.

Cowley, William H., "The Disappearing Dean of Men," Occupations,
16:147-54, 1937.

(Editor, The), "Shared Responsibility of the President and

Dean," North Central Association Quarterly, 32:186-92, October, 1957.
Flanagan. John C., "Critical Incident Technique," Psychological /”
Bulletin, 51:327-58, July, 1954.

Flanagan, John C., "Critical Requirements: A New Approach to
Employee Evaluation," Personnel Psychology.

Flanagan, John C., "Requirements in Employee Evaluation,"
Personnel Psychology, 2:419, Spring 1942.

Froelich, Clifford P., "Current Events and Trends in Guidance,"
California Journal gf|Secondapy Education, 31:35-39, January,
1956.

Gordon, Thomas, "The Use of the Critical Incident Technique in
the Construction of an Evaluation Procedure for Airline Pilots,"
American Psychologist, 4:301, 1949.

Henderson, Algo D., "The Dean is Busy," North Central Association
Quarterly, 32:179-85, October, 1957.

Hill, H. H., "Administration in a Teachers College," Educational
Forum, 24:41-7, November, 1959.

Jones, Arthur J., "Preparation of Personnel WOrkers," Review of
Educational Research, 15:185-90, 1945.

Kreitlow, Burton W., "All We Want Are the Facts," Phi Delta Kappan,
36:37-43, October, 1954.

 

LeRoy, Gaylord C., "Two Problems in General Education," Journal
gquigher Education, 29:301-8 & 350, 1948.

Litchfield, E. H., "Organization in Large American universities,
Part 1," Journal g§_Higher Education, 302353-64, October, 1959.

FT"——'~"txa 9';_

112

Litchfield, E. H., "Organization in Large American Universities,
Part 11," Journal gprigher Education, 30:489-504, December, 1959.

Ness, F. W., "Deans as Humanists," School and Society, 88:280-282,
Summer, 1960.

Rainey, H. D., "How Shall We Control our Universities?," Journal
.gf Higher Education, 31:376-383, October, 1960.

 

Reed, Anna Y., "The Origin and Development of the Work of the
Dean of Men in Higher Education," Abstract of a Ph. D. Thesis,
School of Education of New York University, 1938, Association 2f
American Colleges Bulletin, 25:277-285, 1939.

Russel, John Dale, Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science, 301:22-31, 1955.

Saddlemire, Gerald L., "0f Men Personnel Administrators in
Colleges and Universities," Occupations, 29:190-193, 1950.

Savage, William W. and Harlan D. Beem, "The Effective
Administrator," Administrators Notebook, IIzl-4, October, 1953.

Smit, Jo Ann, "A Study of the Critical Requirements for Instructors
of General Psychology Courses," University of Pittsburgh Bulletin,
48:279-284, June, 1952.

Smith, W. C., "Yes Man on Campus," Educational Forum, 24:405-407,
May, 1960.

 

Stapley, Maurice E., "Effectiveness of School Board Members,"
Administrators Notebook, 1:1-4, September, 1952.

Stapley, Maurice E. and Harlan D. Beem, "Effective Board
Functioning," School Executive, 73:101, March, 1954.

Super, Donald E., "The Criteria of Vocational Success," Occupations,
30:5-9, October, 1951.

 

United States Office of Education, Administration gprigher
Education: Annotated Bibliography, united States Office of
Education, Division of Higher Education, Bulletin No. 7, 1960.

Wagner, Ralph F., "Using Critical Incident to Determine Test
Weights," Personnel Psychology, 4:373-381, 1951.

nan-V
I.

q

 

 

 

 

113
UNPUBLISHED DISSERTATIONS

Barnhart, Richard E., "A Study of the Critical Requirements for
School Board Membership Based Upon an Analysis of Critical
Incidents," (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of
Education, Indiana University, 1952, p. 180).

Benjamin, Dayton, "Critical Behaviors of Elementary Principals
in the Improvement of Instruction," (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Stanford Unilersity, Palo Alto, California, 1955).

Buffington, Reed L., "The Job of the Elementary School Principal
as Viewed by Parents," (unpublished doctoral dissertation, ~1
Stanford university, Palo Alto, California, 1954).

Corbally, John E., Jr., "A Study of the Critical Elements of 5!
School Board - Community Relations," (Unpublished doctoral W.
dissertation, university of California, 1955).

Hanson, Ernest E., "A Study of the Structural Organization of
Student Personnel Services in Certain State Colleges and
Universities," (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1952).

Medsker, Leland L., "The JOb of the Elementary School Principal
as Viewed by Teachers," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Stanford university, Palo Alto, California, 1954).

Merritt, Edith P., "Critical Competencies for Elementary Teachers
in Selected Curriculum Areas," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, 1955).

Robson, Howard N., "Factors Contributing to the Success or Failure
of School Superintendents as Determined by the use of the

Critical Incident Technique," (Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
university of Wyoming, 1956).

Schriver, Alice, "A Plan of Organization for Establishment of a
Major for Health Personnel at the Women's College of North
Carolina with Implications for State Universities in the Southern
Region of the United States," (unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Columbia University Teachers College, 1952).

Scott, William Lee, "A Study of Student Personnel Services in
Small Liberal Arts Colleges" xiii, 112 pp., 1959.

114

Sternloff, Robert Elmer, "The Critical Requirements for
School Administrators Based Upon an Analysis of Critical
Incidents," (unpublished doctoral dissertation, university
of Wisconsin, 1953).

Walters, Thomas W., "The Job of the High School Principal

as Perceived by California City Superintendents," (Unpublished
doctoral dissertation, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California,
1955).

Whalen, Richard Earle Jr., "Effectiveness of Elected and
Appointed School Board Members," (unpublished doctoral
dissertation, School of Education, Indiana University, 1953).

T “I

RESEARCH NOTES, BULLETINS,
ADDRESSESIQ’REPORTS

 

American Institute for Research, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
"The development of Job Analysis Procedures," The American
Institute for Research Note, HQ-.&: 1951.

 

American Institute for Research, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
”The Development of Tests of Aptitude and Proficiency,"
American Institute Research Note, 39.12, 1951.

(Editor, The) "Administration of Higher Education: Annotated
Bibliography," United States Office Lf Education, Division Lf
Higher Education, Bulletin No. 7,1960.

 

(Editors, The) Approaches £9 the Study g§_Administration 33
Student Personnel Work; Papers: Institute for Student
Administrators, university of Minnesota Press, 1960.

 

 

(Editor, The) United States Office of Education, "Management
of Learning," Division of Higher Education (OE-50013 - New
Dimensions gf'Higher Education, NQ.,§, 1960).

 

 

McConnell, T. R., "A university President Looks at Student
Personnel Work," Address to American Personnel and Guidance
Association Convention, Buffalo, New York, 1954.

Proceedings Lf 33rd Anniversa_y Conference 2£_the National
Association of Deans & Advisors of Men, 1951.

 

 

 

 

Proceedings Lf the 35th Anniversary Conference Lf the
National Association Lf Student Personnel Administrators,
April, 1953.

 

 

 

115

Report_ of the Committee Ln Standards andn Raining_ of College
Personnel Workers, let annual meeting of American College
Personnel Association, 1948.

 

hassee, Florida, 1960, (A pamphlet published by the office of
the Dean of Men, Florida State University, Tallahassee,
Florida).

 

 

F—

 

 

APPENDIX _A_

LETTERS AND REPORT FORM

Department of Higher Education
State Department of Public Education
State of

Dear Sir: g

I am writing a doctoral dissertation in conjunction with
Michigan State university concerning the functions of the
Student Personnel Area in selected state supported institutions
of higher education.

 

.In an effort to obtain only the most current information,
I am writing to enlist your assistance in selecting my sample.
My sample must fulfill the following description: The insti-
tution must have a four year curriculum which leads to the
granting of a Bachelor's Degree and have an enrollment no less
than 2,000 but no more than 10,000 full-time students. The
institution must have as its principal source of financial
support the state in which it is located.

If you will supply the names of the presidents and the
colleges and universities which fulfill the above description
with their enrollments for the academic year of 1960 - 1961,
I will be very grateful to you.

If there are any questions concerning my request, do not
hesitate to ask for clarification.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely yours,

Allan W. Rodgers
Dean of Men

Hamline University
St. Paul, Minnesota

AWszk

116

 

 

 

 

ll7

Qualifying Letter to
College and University Presidents

Dear :

Please allow me to introduce myself and my purpose for your
consideration. I am Allan W. Rodgers, Dean of Men, at Hamline
University, St. Paul, Minnesota. I am writing a doctoral
dissertation in conjunction with Michigan State University
which is concerned with the functions of the student personnel
services in selected state colleges and universities.

Due to the lack of complete and up-to-date information, I
am.writing to enlist your assistance in obtaining an accurate
list of appropriate personnel workers. After reading the
remainder of this letter please fill in the appropriate spaces
on the enclosed self-addressed postal card.

The following definitions from my dissertation proposal
provide partial criterion for filling in the postal card:

STUDENT PERSONNEL DEAN -- A.person who is a full-time student
personnel officer in an institution of higher education. He
is responsible to the chief administrative officer of the
institution for the student personnel organization, and he is
the chief representative of the student personnel organization
on all councils, committees, or areas when such representation
is maintained.

PROFESSIONAL PEER.-- One who has had sufficient experience
in student personnel work to be familiar with the functions of
the student personnel dean in general, and who has participated
sufficiently in student personnel activities to be able to
judge the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the student
personnel services.

I propose to contact the pe0ple which you indicate fit the
above definitions, (their title is incidental - their function is
the important factor) for their evaluation of segments of the
student personnel services.

If there are any questions concerning my dissertation, or
for clarification of this letter and postal card, please do
not hesitate to contact me.

Very truly yours,

ENC.

 

 

 

118

Information Requested by
the Return Postal Card

Name of Institution

 

Approximate number of full-time students in 1960-61

Do your student personnel people fulfill the definitions
stated in the accompanying letter? Yes No

 

Name and title of the "Student Personnel Dean"

 

Name and title of the "Professional Peer"

 

Signed Title

 

119

First Report Form Cover Letter

Dear Sir:

I am planning to make an analysis of the functions of
Student Personnel Deans, in selected state supported institutions
of higher education, in order to determine which of these functions
are important to his fulfilling his job.

I am making this study in cooperation with Michigan State
University, Division of Higher Education, and the results will
be made available through this institution.

The study will provide, among other things, the following
information:

1. Data which Student Personnel Deans may use as a basis
for comparing their own functions.
2. Information which can be used by Student Personnel
Deans to better explain the reasons for their own actions.
3. Suggestions for the educational and experiential back-
ground needed for prospective Student Personnel Deans.
4. Those functions of the Student Personnel Dean which
are most important.

The manner in which they fulfill these functions determine
whether their actions are considered effective or ineffective.
It is generally accepted that Student Personnel Deans will
function effectively in some areas and less effectively in
others. It is the purpose of this study to (1) determine the
functions which are considered important and are fulfilled
effectively and (2) determine the functions which are considered
important but are fulfilled ineffectively.

The enclosed report form is to be used to provide infor-
mation which should be of help in analyzing the effectiveness or
ineffectiveness of Student Personnel Deans in fulfilling their
functions.

As one who has had special opportunities for observing
Student Personnel Deans in fulfilling their functions, we would
like you to report four incidents involving your Student Personnel
Dean and his effectiveness in fulfilling his functions. The
information on the first page of the report form will help you
choose and report incidents so that they will be significant
for this study. Note that the names of persons reporting incidents
and the names of the Student Personnel Deans and other persons
and places involved will not be used in summarizing, analyzing,
or reporting the results of this study.

 

120

We shall be grateful for your help in the study of this
important problem. Please complete and return the enclosed form
as soon as possible using the self-addressed envelope provided.
No postage is required for this envelope. Only a few minutes of
your time will be required. Questions and comments will be most

welcome and may be included with your completed form.

Thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

Allan W. Rodgers
Dean of Men

AWkaj

ENC.

 

121

Second Report Form Cover Letter

Dear Sir:

I am planning to make an analysis of the functions of
Student Personnel Deans, in selected state supported institutions
of higher education, in order to determine which of these
functions are important to his fulfilling his job.

I am.making this study in cooperation with Michigan State
University, Division of Higher Education, and the results will
be made available through this institution.

The study will provide, among other things, the following
information:

1. Data which Student Personnel Deans may use as a basis
for comparing their own functions.

2. Information which can be used by Student Personnel
Deans to better explain the reasons for their own
actions.

3. Suggestions for the educational and experiential back,
ground needed for prospective Student Personnel Deans.

4. Those functions of the Student Personnel Dean which
are most important.

As one who has had special opportunities for observing
Student Personnel Deans in fulfilling their functions, we would
like you to report four incidents involving your Student Per-
sonnel Dean and his effectiveness in fulfilling his functions.
Note that the names of persons reporting incidents and the
names of the Student Personnel Deans and other persons and
places involved will not be used in summarizing, analyzing, or
reporting the results of this study.

We shall be grateful for your help in the study of this
important problem. Please complete and return the enclosed
form by March lg, 1962, using the self-addressed, pre—paid
envelope provided. Approximately twenty minutes of your time
will be required to complete the forms. Questions and comments
will be most welcome and may be included with your completed form.

 

Thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,

ENC. Allan W. Rodgers
kj Dean of Men

122

Third Report Form Cover Letter

Date

Name

Street

City and State
Dear :

I am writing this letter as a personal request to enlist
your assistance in the doctoral dissertation on higher education
which I am preparing.

.As you may recall I previously contacted you, using a form
letter, making this same request. I contacted you because your
president gave me your name as the person he felt would be best
qualified to supply the information I am requesting. I would
not contact you again except that due to an established sampling
criteria, I must have a reply from another institution of higher
education in your geographic area.

Therefore, I sincerely hope you will find time to complete
this report form. I assure you that your cooperation is needed
and that it will be gratefully appreciated.

With best regards.

Very truly yours,

Allan W. Rodgers
Dean of Men

M

123

SUGGESTIONS FOR.COMPLETING REPORT FORMS

Please report four significant incidents which involve the
Student Personnel Dean fulfilling the functions of his position.
A significant incident is one which in your judgment, the
Student Personnel Dean fulfills either effectively or ineffectively
Ybu should report only incidents which you have observed, in
which you have participated, or with which you are very familiar
and know the facts.

Some incidents result in the Student Personnel Dean being
considered effective in fulfilling his position. The incident
may involve a group or an individual. The incident may involve
either students or non-students. Here is an example of an
effective incident.

January, 1961. Student X had been starting conflicts with
other students and the director of his residence hall had not
been able to prevent these conflicts. Because of this, student
X was referred to the Student Personnel Dean's office for
disciplinary action. The Dean decided, after conferring with
the director of the residence hall to retain the boy in school
and counsel with him. After a series of counseling interviews
with the Student Personnel Dean, the student seemed to have made
a better adjustment in his interpersonal relationships. He no
longer gets into fights and was elected to a student government
office in his residence hall.

 

Some incidents result in the Student Personnel Dean being
considered ineffective in fulfilling his position. The incident
may involve a group or an individual. The incident may involve
either students or nonestudents. Here is an example of an
ineffective incident.

October, 1960. Several members of Social Fraternity Y
were reported to the Student Personnel Dean for being involved
in a drinking party. The officers of the fraternity were called
in and with no discussion were told that their fraternity
was being placed on social probation. Later the Student Per~
sonnel Dean found that the report was wrong. The members of the
drinking party were members of another chapter of Social
Fraternity Y from.another campus. Although the Student Personnel
Dean removed the fraternity from social probation, I am sure
that their faith in his actions has not been restored.

 

 

 

As you will note in the examples:
Each Incident:

1. Involves one or more people and the Student Personnel
Dean.

2. May last an hour or may consume several weeks from
beginning to end.

3. Can be distinctly considered either effective or
ineffective.

Each Incident:

1. Includes the approximate date of the incident.

2. Includes the facts of the case and the results of the
incident.

3. Uses letters in place of names.

Please write about two SIGNIFICANT EFFECTIVE INCIDENTS and
two SIGNIFICANT INEFFECTIVE INCIDENTS. These should be from.the
past eighteen months. If you cannot recall four incidents,
report only three, two, or one. Significant incidents are far
more important than mere quantity. Please note that the first
two spaces on this form are for EFFECTIVE incidents and the
final two for INEFFECTIVE incidents. Use as much space as you
feel you need to give each report. Extra space is available on
the last page.

Thank you again for your help in this study.

125

EFFECTIVE INCIDENT N0. 1
Approximate date __ (Month and year).

Basis for report: Participation , Observation

Knowledge

 

 

EFFECTIVE INCIDENT N0. 2
Approximate date V__(Mbnth and year).
Basis for report: Participation , Observation

Knowledge

 

 

 

 

 

 

126

INEFFECTIVE INCIDENT NO. 1
Approximate date (Mbnth and year).
Basis for report: Participation , Observation

Knowledge

 

 

INEFFECTIVE INCIDENT NO. 2
Approximate date (Month and year).
Basis for report: Participation , Observation

Knowledge

"L.,-..

 

127

PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

10.

ll.

12.

13.

14.

APPENDIX 11

LIST OF INSTITUTIONS
WHICH COMPRISED THE TOTAL SAMPLE

Jacksonville State College
Jacksonville, Alabama

Arkansas State College
State College, Arkansas

University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas

California State
Polytechnic College
San Luis Obispo, California

Chico State College
Chico, California

Fresno State College
Fresno 26, California

Humboldt State College
Arcata, California

Long Beach State College
Long Beach 4, California

Sacramento State College
Sacramento 19, California

San Fernando Valley State
College
Northridge, California

University of California
Santa Barbara, Goleta,
California

Colorado State College
Greeley, Colorado

Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado

Central Connecticut

State College
New Britain, Connecticut

128

15.

l6.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

Southern Connecticut
State College
New Haven, Connecticut

University of Connecticut
Storrs, Connecticut

The university of Delaware
Newark, Delaware

Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida

Florida Agricultural
& Mechanical University
Tallahassee, Florida

Georgia Institute
of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia State College
of Business Administration
Atlanta, Georgia

University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

University of Hawaii
1801 University Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii

Idaho State College
Pocatello, Idaho

University of Idaho
Mbscow, Idaho

Eastern Illinois
University
Charleston, Illinois

Illinois State Normal
university
Normal, Illinois

 

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

129

Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, Illinois

Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, Illinois

Western Illinois University
Macomb, Illinois

Ball State Teachers
C011ege
‘Muncie, Indiana

Indiana State Teachers
College
Terre Haute, Indiana

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa

State College of Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Kansas State Teachers
College
Emporia,‘Kansas

Kansas State University
Nanhattan, Kansas

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

Morehead State College
‘Morehaad, Kentucky

Murray State College
Murray'Kentucky

University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky

Western Kentucky
State College
Bowling Green, Kentucky

Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

1 f5 2‘.

43.

44.

45.

46.

47.

48.

49.

50.

51.

In!"

A
1' l
:5 '
‘. 1'

McNesse State College
Lake Charles, LOuisiana

Northeast Louisiana
State College
Monroe, Louisiana

Northwestern State
College of Louisiana
Natchitoches, Louisiana

Southern University
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

University of Maine
Orono, Maine

Morgan State College
Hillen Road and

Cold Spring Lane
Baltimore 12, Maryland

State Teachers College
at Boston
Boston 15, Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts

Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti,‘Michigan

Ferris Institute
Big Rapids, Michigan

S4,}Michigan College of

55.

56.

Mining and Technology
Houghton,‘Michigan

'Mankato State College
Manka to , Minnesota

St. Cloud State College
St. Cloud, Minnesota

 

57.

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

University of Minnesota
Duluth Campus

230 Science Addition
Duluth, Minnesota

Mississippi State University
State College, Mississippi

University of Mississippi

University, Mississippi

Central Missouri State
College
Warrensburg, Missouri

NOrthwest Missouri State
College
Maryville, Missouri

Southeasthissouri State
College
Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Southwest Missouri State
College
Springfield, Missouri

Montana State College
Bozeman, Montana

Montana State University
Missoula, Montana

University of Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska

University of Nevada
Reno, Nevada

University of New
Hampshire
Durham, New Hampshire

Montclair State College

Upper Montclair, New Jersey

Paterson State College
Wayne, New Jersey

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.

80.

81.

Trenton State College
Trenton, New Jersey

New Mexico State
University
University Park,
New Mexico

State University of
New York

College of Education
Albany, New YOrk

State University of
New York

College of Education
Buffalo, New York

State University of
New York

College of Education
Cortland, New Ybrk

State University of
New YOrk

College of Education
Oneota, New YOrk

State University of
New YOrk

College of Education
Oswego, New Ybrk

University of North
Carolina
Chapel Hill, North
Carolina

The Agricultural and
Technical College
Greensboro, North
Carolina

Appalachian State
Teachers College
Boone, North Carolina

East Carolina College
Greenville, North
Carolina

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

89.

90.

91.

92.

93.

94.

95.

96.

 

131

North Carolina College
Durham, North Carolina

North Carolina State College
Raleigh, North Carolina

university of North Dakota
Grand Forks, North Dakota

North Dakota State university
Fargo, North Dakota

Bowling Green State
university
Bowling Green, Ohio

Kent State university
Kent, Ohio

AMiami University
Oxford, Ohio

Ohio University
Athens, Ohio

Central State College
Edmond, Oklahoma

Northeastern State College
Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma
Norman, Oklahoma

University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon

Portland State College
1620 So. W. Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon

Indiana State College
Indiana, Pennsylvania

 

97.

98.

99.

100.

101.

102.

103.

104.

105.

106.

107.

108.

 

West Chester State
College

West Chester,
Pennsylvania

University of Rhode
Island
Kingston, Rhode Island

South Dakota State
College and Mechanic Arts
Brookings, South Dakota

East Tennessee State
College
Johnson City, Tennessee

Memphis State university
Memphis 11, Tennessee

Middle Tennessee State
College
Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Tennessee Polytechnic
Institute
Cookeville, Tennessee

East Texas State College
East Texas Station
Commerce, Texas

Agricultural & Mechanical
College of Texas
College Station, Texas

Arlington State College
Arlington, Texas

Lamar State College of
Technology
Beaumont, Texas

Prairie View Agricultural
& Mechanical College
Prairie View, Texas

109.

110.

111.

112.

113.

114.

115.

116.

117.

118.

119.

120.

121.

122.

123.

132

Sam Houston State
Teachers College
Huntsville, Texas

Southwest Texas State
College
San Marcos, Texas

Texas College of Arts
and Industries
Kingsville, Texas

Texas Southern University
Houston, Texas

Texas Technological
College
Lubbock, Texas

Texas Western College
El Paso, Texas

University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah State University
Logan, Utah

University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont

College of William 6: Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia

Richmond Professional Institute

Richmond, Virginia

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia

Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Blacksburg, Virginia

Central washington State
College
Ellensburg, Washington

Eastern Washington State
College
Cheney, Washington

124.

125.

126.

127.

128.

129.

130.

131.

132.

133.

Washington State University
Pullman, washington

Western washington State
College
Bellingham, Washington

Marshall University
Huntington, West Virginia

West Virginia State
College
Institute, West Virginia

West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia

Wisconsin State College
Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Wisconsin State College
Osh Kosh, Wisconsin

Wisconsin State College
Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Wisconsin State College
Whitewater, Wisconsin

University of Wyoming
Laramie, Wyoming

 

 

A
In

 

 

 

 

anflt?‘_ 'jf‘ {E‘- 7
£1.11 USE 312:1

 

_ -. SIT-pd

 

'm 4 4‘. II
VI“ N U [97¢er

M ’ ‘1 (m war; 6 3

I i’: i ‘ , -7 .2.»

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.11; 3.

 

l

r4;fi

‘7‘, )7

"‘mum