.- - , ,1. c- - 1'13?! '3 . vyn'. l 3‘, 3:313:11 1, 2 n . ,‘ 1' 1 . 1.. ..—.. - . V «1—. . . . "Ir-3&3? 3 - . a - _ . , . . O O 1 :3: 1.- . . n W ‘ - ..-—. . -. - M.“ "M. -- : .- .—'."~'.¢o"- . -9 . ‘ ‘ ' ' . 2o . . . . I ‘ . uv . .33.... , ~ 1 .‘ .. - , «v A ' ”Qv - a W A". :O'v-OOHM “xv". .A— o n -1 a. no. 0 .- 11M “an F = 2313 33 “25W- 911w .... ... ...... O . a 'v -vm‘n-wm 10%;... ., . . - -44 ' M I .O-V n . L." -. . . .-‘ ‘- .u-_ ' Hy" . “-333; ..... . .— . . d . .- ..‘ A v4 - ‘ .25.?“ . . W...- .72., n ‘ .. .u no c. 1,. 'oo-l I a», .— - ‘31 'l 0 ' .mfir‘"t ' 1 - 1 - 21 3 ' ~' - . ”P:-L’.‘.aflz¢a‘ ntiv'a": . '3‘:- ‘u . ~‘:~ «'1'qu *4 1"" a “-01 -— na ‘ 21...?“ . - - ..~A - . l u.-. ’0 n . o n . .. pv- . a‘ o .- W4 ' , f..3o- - a 1 4. o— .-. m. . ;~ ‘ up. 1 T V V ' ;...-... .‘g' ' .v—ar u.”' I.) - ~ : ~I~l< Nug- A4- M Jig”... ,.. 2 151 W[3 ’ 1 111133131, 3 .1. U a?!) 131%: 3” 3‘33 . . " ~1 31 2.x.“- ' I A ‘ u -‘ 71“”: £5,313? “r"‘kfishfifi _ . - ”553;.“ ... ‘f‘ f5"..- .... “0.1".” . -. a . , .- , . «m4 . {wry 5.23"“. ‘43:? . $35 A .4 '4 J ,.,. . . ‘ - ; . 1 . ‘ ' ,. "‘4 ' ol ‘ o “‘33:; :33“... f. . s‘ 1. .1 I. "wn" lag-g.“ '>-3:' .. “1:... $335" \\\\ 3"“: 51%“ 5‘ .1111. 1. 4‘3; . l b h. ’06:: a £133». .. .m 3;! .. . ..:. ""3W3‘Jg 9.0-:- rw‘ o- ‘flw .. 1‘ 'J‘L“ 3:23: .... r. . " I M5» ‘ d . .1“ . 4 --- -1 «a . ma... . ‘w \ pua '10. I. to - . .4-.. -u - ... -. . , n. 1 . o a 4 .- ._ . n... .- "”5. a .4 o toe-cum p > .. ‘4 53......" we...” - ,.... - as?" 1 -, . -Aa .-...v..._4 a .41. 1 .13 .. 3 my [3345‘ 1‘31113’3131 1321-“. 3111;111:1113 3‘; 133133133121“ 331 1. 1 1".33 131: W: 33331 11331311111111 13.111!!! 3115;33- 23 3 £3 .1 ,1'ihi.!:§i~.‘3§‘}‘111 ' ~:. 2‘. ‘ I <1 _ a .0. ov' '1: 3 o 4..- I . o .o-v. c .- <....,... ..._.....43': 0:4 Ju"~: w-.. - ,- - -... 1 fl, . '3‘. ..... ”4.3:? -u- AW ’ 1.‘ 3313' . 1 11:1111-131‘3'" - 1-37.13-33' ‘rhh 1 :13311'311 13331:: . 3433.33 £9553": 133315311'1 11131313. ‘33-“ ‘ WP?! 11% 1 1131131! :3 .13“! 19:35} ' £311 3% I~v:.~': (— _, -r‘ “3%":- .— to ~.. 'u ”3 I 1 1311”“ 1 11,1 113‘”. 611 .3“ i: 1131' .‘ 31' 3.33 3!: 313.1333 .-.,._:. W: 7:33;: 13; 1 “It fi‘g 3;}:‘3i34'3IVIY-3 1313115“ “I fl 3 31? F L 3333111113 31 11:1 1 £133“ ‘ m3 :11 32131311113 l//I////l Ill/Ill" WWW/7900 31293 1059 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled A STUDY OF SELF-PERCEIVED FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF FORMER CHIEF STUDENT AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATORS presented by Pene10pe Hornschemeier Wills has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Doctorate degreein PhilosoPhy Major professor Date October 12, 1982 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771 MSU RETURNING MATERIALS: Place in book drop to / . LIBRARJES remove this checkout from _-c—_ your record. FINES will be charged if book is returned after the date stamped below. fl” 02mm: :53me Wow A STUDY OF SELF -PERCEIVED FACIORS WHICH INFINENCE THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF FORMER CHIEF STUDENT AFFAIRS AD’IDIIS'I'RATORS By Penelope Homschemeier Wills A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of IDCIUR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Adminis tration and Curriculum 1983 6 /Qo 5107 ABSTRACT A STUDY OF SELF -PERCEIVED FACIURS WHICH INFUJENCE THE CAREER DEVEIflPMflTI‘ OF FORMER CHIEF STUDENT AFFAIRS WS‘I‘RA’IORS By Penelope Hornschemeier Wills This study evolved from a concern of the paucity of research re- lated to the career development of former Chief Student Affairs Admin- istrators (CSAAs) . Prior studies focused on the career development of staff members while still in the field of student affairs; they did not study the career advancement of the CSAA past this position. The purpose of this study was three-fold: 1) To provide descriptive information on various personal characteristics of former CSAAs; 2) To identify the employment positions accepted by former CSAAs subsequent to their CSAA positions; and 3) To determine the factors which influenced these former CSAAs to leave their CSAA positions. A sample of 267 individuals was determined by comparing the 1977-78 and 1978-79 editions of the Directory of Higher Education Institutions. These former CSAAs had already left their CSAA posi- tions for reasons other than retirement, death, or leave of absence. Subjects were sent a two-part questiomaire. The first part contained inquiries regarding their personal, academic, and professional back- grounds while in the second part respondents were asked to select and rank in order of importance those factors which influenced them to leave their former CSAA positions. The data from the first part of . the questionnaire was studied using descriptive statistics. Five hypotheses related to the ranking of influential factors were tested by employing an analysis of variance (F tests). The results of this study were grouped into three major cate- gories: personal characteristics of former CSAAs, their career devel- opment, and factors which influenced their decision to leave their former CSAA position. Four conclusions were drawn: 1) The most in- fluential factors as ranked by former CSAAs were actually related to the literatm'e of mid-life career development; 2) Certain employment trends are becoming evident in respect to the fields of employment prior to the CSAA position; 3) Skills acquired by CSAAs are appli- cable to other areas of higher education administration; and 4) The career development of many former CSAAs is probably not well planned. Recommendations regarding the professional preparation of student affairs staff, as well as, suggestions for future research, were noted. AWENI‘S I wish to genuinely express my appreciation of the following individuals for their assistance and support during this endeavor: Dr. Louis Stamatakos, Chairman of my committee, who has advised me throughout my doctoral program and whose constructive criticism and support has been most appreciated. Drs. Fred Ignatovich and Howard Teitelbaum, who took time from their busy schedules to serve on this committee. Dr. Max Raines, whose creativity and belief in my potential and nervous energy was always a source of motivation for me. Drs. John Duling and Peggy Elder, who reminded me at appropriate times that my efforts would germinely be worth it. Dr. Melchor Ortiz, a colleague who spent so much time and patience assisting me with this study's data analysis. Virginia Bruerrmer and Mary Ann Lewis , who always believed that I could and would complete this venture. And finally, my family, Ron, Alex, and Kizzy, who may not have always understood what I was doing but nevertheless believed in me and supported my work. ii TABLE OF (DNI'ENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................ v LIST OF FIGURES ...................... vii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .................... 1 Background of the Study ............. 1 Purpose ..................... 7 Research Questions ............... 7 Need for the Study ............... 7 Subjects .................... 8 Research Methods ................ 9 Definition of Terms ............... 11 Limitations of the Study ............ 12 Organization of the Study ............ 13 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .............. 14 Introduction .................. 14 Career Patterns of Chief Student Affairs Administrators ............ 14 Adult Psychological Development ......... 21 Career Development ............... 28 Conditions and Factors for Mid-Life Career Change ................ 31 Summary ..................... 34 III. METHODS AND PROCEDURES ............... 36 Introduction .................. 36 Sample ..................... 36 Survey Instrument ................ 40 Data Collection ................. 42 Research Methods ................ 48 Summary ..................... 55 iii IV. PRESENTATION OF THE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. . . . 56 Introduction .................. 56 Personal Characteristics of Former CSAAs. . . . 56 Career Development of Former CSAAs ....... 64 Factors Influencing Career Decisions ...... 75 Summary .................... 93 V. SUNMARY, CDNCLUSIONS, AND RECXMIENDATIONS ..... 95 Introduction .................. 95 Summary of the Study .............. 95 Conclusions .................. 101 Recommendations Regarding Professional Preparation of CSAAs ............ 104 Recommendations for Further Study ....... 105 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................ 108 APPENDICES A. Initial Mailing to Respondents .......... 112 B. Cover Letter and Postcard for Follow-up Mailing. . 118 C. Computer Coding Sheet ............... 120 D. Table of Rank Frequencies for Factors ....... 122 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Nurber of Former CSAAs in Sample by Affiliation and Type ................. 38 2. Number of Survey Respondents by Affiliation and Type . .38 3. Comparison of Numbers of Former CSAAs Responding and in Sample by Type ................. 39 4. Comparison of Nimber of Former CSAAs Responding and in Sample by Affiliation ............. 39 5. Comparison of Number of Former CSAAs Responding and in Sample by Gender ................ 4O 6. Present Age of Former CSAAs by Gender .......... 58 7. Age of Former CSAAs When Leaving Former Position . . . .59 8. Ethnicity by Gender ................... 6O 9. Marital Status by Gender ................ 61 10. Highest Earned Academic Degree by Gender ........ 62 11. Years in Student Affairs by Gender ........... 65 12. Tenure in CSAA Position by Gender ............ 66 13. Number of Positions in Student Affairs by Gender . . . .67 14. Previous Positions by Gender .............. 69 15. Field of Subsequent Position by Gender ......... 7O 16. Number of Former CSAAs Who Have Accepted More Than One Subsequent Position ............. 72 17. Consideration of Position Change by Gender ....... 72 18. List of 20 Factors by Frequency of Checks and Frequency of #1 Ranks ................. 78 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. Mean Percentiles of Influential Factors ......... 79 Comparison of Factors by Gender ............. 83 Comparison of Factors by Etlnnicity ........... 84 Comparison of Factors by Consideration of Career/ Job Move .................... 86 Comparison of Mean Percentile Ranks of Factors by Tenure in Student Affairs ............. 87 Comparison of Mean Percentile Ranks of Factors by Subsequent Field of Employment ........... 89 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. List of 20 Factors Which May Have Influenced Career Decisions ................... 76 2. Most Influential Factors by Statistical Approach . . . .81 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Background of the Study During the past twenty years, numerous studies have been com- pleted and information has been gathered conceming professional staff members in the Division of Student Affairs in colleges and universities. The principal figure in much of this research has been the Chief Student Affairs Administrator (CSAA) . This administrative officer is responsible for supervising all student life programs, such as residence halls, financial aids , placement services , and counseling, and may hold one of various titles, for example, Dean of Student Services or Vice President for Student Affairs. The research completed to date has included analyses of such characteristics as sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, academic degrees received, job satisfaction and title and level of present and previous positions (Gross, 1978). Much of this research has focused on the career devel- opment of staff members while still in the field of student affairs, that is, it has concluded with the Chief Student Affairs Administra- tor's position. It has not studied the career advancement of the CSAA past this position. In the last fifteen years, four major studies were completed concerning the career patterns of student affairs members and in par- ticular the CSAA. The first study of broad significance was conducted by Ayers, Tripp, and Russell (1966) . It included a representative random sampling of student affairs administrators but limited its 1 coverage of variables to professional backgrounds , certain personal characteristics and previous experience. From this study it was de- termined that the median age for male CSAAs was 44. 2 years of age wlnereas female CSAAs was 50.3. Also 57% of CSAAs were in their pres- ent assignment for under five years and 327° for under two years . The average length of tenure in their present positions was between two and four years. This information suggested that the position of CSAA was in a very mobile state. In 1968, Dutton, the Director of the Research and Publications Division of the National Association of Student Personnel Administra- tors (NASPA) , called for research to be conducted regarding the ca- reer patterns of CSAAs and also for study of those "factors (which) influence attrition or continuation in the field" (p. 341) . Subse- quently, two studies were undertaken. A national study by Foy (1968) gathered information on the career patterns , the educational back- grounds , the work experiences and personal characteristics of student affairs administrators including the CSAA. Fromn this study the mean age of CSAAs was found to be 40.9 years and the length of profession- al experience in present position was a mean of 2.95 years. When asked what the CSAAs anticipated their next professional move to be 15.77.. did not know; 21.57.. expected to be promoted in student affairs; and 3. 7‘7.) expected to accept a lateral move in student affairs. These percentages became more interesting when compared with the answers re- ceived when CSAAs were asked about their predecessors . It was fonmnd that 5. 27.. of their predecessors were promoted in student affairs; 12.77.. moved laterally in student affairs; and 39.9% of the predeces- sors held the position of CSAA from one to four years. A troublesome 3 aspect of Foy's study was the absence of definitions of the terms: promotion, demotion, or lateral move in student affairs. Shaw's study in 1970 was the only study located which attended to the attrition of student affairs staff members. He fonnnd that staff menbers holding positions at different levels in student affairs administration tended to leave the profession for different reasons. In addition, he determined that former student affairs staff members with sigrnificant academic training in student affairs tended to leave the profession for reasons different than those with no significant training in the field. Shaw's findings also revealed an increasing attrition rate within the entire profession. Three years prior to his study this rate was 11.37.; two years prior it was 27.97.; and one year previous to his study it was 51.57... A recent study completed by Studer (1980) did not show any sig- nificant changes in the basic deiographic profile of a CSAA. Al— thougln his study was conducted ten years later than those previously mentioned, Studer still found that the mean age for a CSAA was between 40 and 44 years of age. In regard to the number of years spent in their current positions as CSAAs, it was noted that over half (55.67.) of the study's population had been in their positions for four years or less . When asked how much longer they anticipated remaining in their current positions, CSAAs reported in this study that 14.87.. were planning to leave after this year and another 26. 27.. were anticipating a career move within one to three years, while 35.27o did not know. The rereining 23.87. anticipated remaining in their position for four or more years. It becomes evident when the data are reviewed and compared from 4 these studies that many CSAAs will not remain in their positions until they retire , for the average age for this administrator is approxi- mately 44 years of age and the average length of tenure in this posi- tion is between two and four years. Thus, in order to obtain a more complete picture of the career development of CSAAs , one should inves- tigate the positions these individuals assumed after they left their current CSAA jobs. The CSAAs included in all of these studies were comprised of only current CSAAs and did not include those individuals who had formerly held the position of CSAA. Because the previous studies focused ex- clusively on current staff merbers , one can only obtain perceived or anticipated career shifts from responses given by people who were CSAAs at the time of the study as in the research by Foy (1968) and Studer (1980). It would seem that if one wanted to study more com- plete career patterns of individuals who have held the position of CSAA, one should sarple former CSAAs who have left that position. Thus, a more reliable group to study would be those who have already made the career move, that is, former CSAAs, rather than those cnm'rent- ly in the CSAA position and only anticipating their next career move. One may conclude from the above mentioned studies that mnany of these professionals will be making serious career decisions during middle age . In order to more fully understand the career development process during middle age one must refer to studies and articles out- side the field of student affairs. Many of these publications address the problem of the paucity of theories on adult development and how such a theory could offer further explanation and understanding of these career shifts and changes which occur later in an adult's life. 5 Other studies focus on the factors which influence career shifts. Erikson (1968) was one of the first of a growing number of social scientists who had included in his theory adult developmental process- es past the age of eiglnteen. Erikson's last three stages of human development (intimacy, generativity, and integrity) correspond to the young, middle, and late adulthood of an individual. During these last three levels of development a person becomes more introspective and begins to evaluate and view life in terms of years left instead of years spent. As a result, according to this theory, many individuals increasingly experience internal pressure to reconcile their life ac- complislments with their own personal expectations. Murray, Powers , and Havinghurst (1971) identified various factors which influenced career shifts for middle-aged adults . They indicated that there are two dimensions that interact in determining a work his- tory. (he dimension is that of self as a source of pressure or moti- vation for vocational change and the second is that of environment as the basis of pressure for vocational change. Pressures fran the envi- ronment may stem from family, job, or societal change; while pressnn'es from the self principally derive from one's searcln for satisfaction (Schlossberg, 1975) and from the effects of situational crises and role changes which occur during a person's adult life (Schlossberg and Troll, 1975) . In his book, Changing Careers After Thirty-Five, Heistand (1971) cited six major forces which influence mid-life career change: 1) growth and transformation of professional work in the United States; 2) early completion of families; 3) early retirerent, wheth- er optional or forced; 4) ability of many individuals to accumulate 6 savings; 5) ability to work and study concurrently; and 6) perhaps most importantly, the desire of more men and women to lead more con- structive and satisfying lives. Sinick (1977) found, through his re- view of the recent literature in career counseling, that many individ- uals felt that their initial careers were not their own choices; their original aspirations were not met by their initial careers; and their careers did not allow an adequate outlet for creativity nor challenge fbr their abilities. Upon a review of the literature of mid-life career development, it seere that there is no one fully developed theory in this area; rather, many researchers comment on the forces or pressures , whether internal or external to the self, which are very influential in this developmental process . A study of self-perceived factors which influ- enced the career development of former CSAAs , who are primarily middle-aged adults, could only add to our understanding of adult de- velopment as well as our knowledge of the career patterns of profes- sionals in the field of student affairs. As Zanbrano and Entine (1976) erphasize in their book, A Guide to Career Alternatives for Academics , meny faculty members and administrators will not remain in academic life during their entire working careers. They stress that when this prospect of changing careers is considered thoughtfully, rather than in panic, much can be gained, including a wlnolly new and satisfying career. Thus the importance of the actual reasons given for a career shift and the new position itself looms large. m The purpose of this study was three-fold: 1) To provide descrip- tive data on the various personal/professional characteristics of for- mer Chief Student Affairs Administrators (CSAAs); 2) To identify the employment positions accepted by former CSAAs subsequent to their CSAA positions; and 3) To determine the factors which influenced these former CSAAs to leave their positions as CSAAs. Research Questions The general questions which guided this study were: 1) To de- termine what were the primary reasons why former CSAAs left their posi- tions as CSAAs; and 2) To ascertain if their reasons for leaving their former positions were specific to selected personal characteristics and/or the field of their subsequent employment. Need For The Study The importance of this study was prompted by the belief that few CSAAs have a definite career plan past the CSAA level (Foy, 1968; Studer, 1980) . It seems that many individuals are leaving the field of student affairs administration (Shaw, 1970) . In fact, the turnover rate for the position of CSAA is increasing each year (Directory of Higher Education Institutions, 1979). When one compares the current ages of CSAAs in these studies to the average tenure in these positions one may reasonably conclude that many CSAAs will not remain in their position until a typical retirement age. There appears to be a paucity of research relating to the career patterns and personal data of former CSAAs; thus a person currently in this position has at best only limited knowledge of how former CSAAs are currently employed, what prompted their career changes and what variables are related to such changes. It is expected that this study may contribute to the literature of the field of student affairs administration by: 1) Providing a better understanding of career patterns of former CSAAs , including the variables which influenced their career shifts, thus enabling administrators to better plan for their own careers , especially if involuntarily reroved fromn a position of CSAA; and 2) Providing assistance in the professional preparation of future student affairs administrators by enabling those individuals responsible for the graduate professional preparation and/ or the in- service training of student affairs administrators to gain a better understanding of career patterns within and beyond their profession. The information obtained from this study should aid professors and others involved in graduate programs in their curriculum planning but more importantly in their vocational counseling of their students. SUbjects The sUbjects for this study consisted of former Chief Student Affairs Administrators. These individuals would have resigned or been terminated from their positions at a college or university during the academic year of 1977-78. The subjects were determined by comparing the 1977-78 and 1978-79 editions of the Directory of Higher Education Institutions as published by the National Center for Education Statis- tics. These specific resource directories were chosen because they were the most complete publications which yielded such information. This academic year was selected since the investigator believed that it was representative of a typical year in higher education. Research Methods Procedurally, this study contained six phases: 1) A determination of the members of the study's population of former CSAAs was done by comparing the two editions of the Directog of Higlner Education Institutions, 1977-78 and 1978-79. From this com— parisonn a list of all CSAAs who left their positions as CSAAs during the academic year of 1977-78 was compiled. 2) The investigator then contacted the former place of erploy- ment of all merbers of the study population in order to obtain their current addresses. 3) Based upon a review of the literature in the fields of career development and adult development, a questionnaire was devised that asked respondents to: a) Check all factors which influenced their decision to leave their former position as a CSAA; and b) Rank those checked items in order of their influence (1 being of most influence, 2 being second most influential, and so forth.) 4) The first draft of this questionnaire was tlnen reviewed by colleagues and the investigator' s doctoral committee. After incor— porating their collective suggestions, the questionnaire was then sent to various experts in the fields of both career and adult development for their review and comments . 5) After receiving the suggestions of the various experts, the questionnaire was again revised and a pilot study was conducted with 20 randomly selected members of the study's population. After receiv- ing the completed questionrnaires from these individuals , the 10 questionnaire was again refined and sent to the remaining members of the sample. 6) The data analysis for this study consisted of three parts. First, descriptive statistics were erployed to provide information on the various personal characteristics of former CSAAs and their subse- quent fields of employment. Second, the most influential factors affecting career decisions were suggested by comparing: 1) the mean percentile ranks for each factor; 2) the total number of times a fac- tor was checked by the respondents; and 3) the frequency for each factor to be checked as being most influential, that is, receiving a ranking of ' 1'. Finally, in order to determine if there were significant dif- ferences between subgroups of the study' 5 population in regards to their rankings of influential factors , dependent and independent variables were established. The ranked set of reasons became the dependent variables; while the independent variables were the various personal characteristics of the sample, such as gender, ethnicity, length of tenure in the field of student affairs, field of subsequent employment position, and the consideration of their career move to be voluntary or not. Analyses of variance (F tests) were initially con- ducted to study any significant differences in rankings among inde- pendent variables. In those situations when significant differences seered to be present among subgroups of three or more, a test of least Significance Differences was calculated. 11 Definitions of Terms 1) Chief Student Affairs Admninistrator (CSAA): The senior administrator responsible for the direction of student life programs. anctions typically include student counseling and testing, student housing, student placement, student union, relationships with student organizations and related functions; may include student health ser- vices and financial aid. This administrator reports to the Chief Executive Officer (President / Chancellor) (Directory of Higher Education Institutions, 1979). 2) Former Chief Student Affairs Administrator: For the purpose of this study, a former CSAA is a person who had met the criteria for CSAA at the same university or college prior to or during, but not after, the academic year of 1977-78. 3) gag: Succession of related jobs, arranged in a hierarchy of prestige, through which persons move in an ordered, more or less , predictable sequence (Wilensky, 1961) . 4) Career Change: A move or transfer fromn one position to another eIployment position in a different professional field. In this study a career change included those situations when a former CSAA ac- cepted a position in business, government, religion, or other areas outside the field of higher edncation. 5) Career Shift: A move or transfer from one position to another employment position within the same or related field. In this study it denoted a change in employment fromn the CSAA position to another CSAA position, another position in the field of student affairs , or another position in the field of higher education. 6) Attrition: A gradual decrease in the number of members of a 12 particular group for various reasons. For this study, the term meant leaving a CSAA position for reasons other than death, retirenent, or tenporary leave . Limitations of the Study 1) Since the investigator could not locate any standardized instrument available for use in this study none could be used. As ex- plained in the above section, Research Methods, the investigator at- teIpted to establish validity by securing suggestions about the study's questionnaire fromn various experts in the fields of adult and career development. 2) The questionnaire was a self-report instrunent and its valid- ity was limnited by the honesty and perceptions of the respondents and the clarity of the questions included. 3) The response rate to the questiormnaire, which was mailed to the subjects, was important. Those subjects who refused to respond usually do not differ greatly from those who do respond (Weisborg and Bowen, 1977). A follow-up mnailirng was implerented to secure as mnany responses as possible for the purpose of increasing the response rate. 4) Other limitations were related to random errors while collect- ing and codirng the information. These random errors are the results of chance and should not have seriously affected the results of the study in any significant way (Weisborg and Bowen, 1977) . 5) Both two and four year institutions, privately and publicly affiliated, were included in this study. The results of this study were not generalizable to professional or other specialized education- al institutions . 13 Organization of the Study The study is organized into five chapters , bibliography, and appendices. Chapter One serves as an introduction by defining the purpose of this study, explaining the need for such a study, specify- ing its limnitations and stating the general research questions and metlnods which guided the study. The second chapter contains a summary of pertinent related literature to the study. Chapter Three contains the design and the research methods followed in this study. An analysis and interpretation of the data is provided in Chapter Four . Chapter Five includes a summary of the findings, conclusions drawn from the findings and recommendations for further study. CHAPTERTlAD REVIEWOFTI-IELITERATURE Introduction In order to better understand the information gathered in this study, it is necessary to first review past studies regarding the ca- reer development of Chief Student Affairs Administrators (CSAAs) . Since a portion of this study's questiomnaire was developed fromn a review of the literature in the areas of adnlt and career development , the pertinent studies and theories in these fields are summarized. Therefore , this chapter includes the following sections: Career Patterns of Chief Student Affairs Admninistrators; Adnlt Psychological Development; Career Development; and Conditions and Factors for Mid- Life Career Changes . Career Patterns of Chief Student Affairs Administrators The majority of the studies concerning the career patterns of the CSAA primarily have been a compilation of the personal data on the individuals who were in those positions at the time of the studies. All of these studies concluded with the position of CSAA as being the currently held position. Only three publications , discussed later in this section, were located which addressed the CSAA' s anticipated next career move. In their benchmark study, Ayers, Tripp, and Russell (1966) sur- veyed a national sample of student affairs professionals at various levels of administration. They found that 877. of their sarple 14 15 reportedly had an individual at their institution who was designated as a CSAA. The responsibilities of this administrator were to develop policies , procedures and programs (in cooperation with his colleagues and professional staff and under the leadership of the president) pertaining to the spectrum of specialized services provided to and for the student (p. 8). The most common title for this administrator was Dean of Students (507.) while 237. held the title of Director of Student Personnel Services or Vice President for Student Services . Ayers, et a1. , found that more than 797. (496 of 621) of the CSAAs in their sample were male. The largest percentage of the mnales (36.77.) were in the 40 to 49 year age range, while the largest percentage of the females (38.47.) were in the 50 to 59 year age range. In regards to the educational backgrounds of these admninistrators , 507. obtained their degrees in the professional field of education (257. in general educational administration and 257. in educational psychology or guid- ance and student personnel). Only 37.57. of the sample had earned a research doctorate, presumably the Ph.D. , with the mnasters degree (517.) beirng the most typical degree. The presumption that an admninistrator enjoyed long tenure in a CSAA position was quickly negated by this study. . Ayers, et a1. , ascer- tained that 577. of the CSAAs had held their positions for less than five years while 327. for under two years. The average length of expe- rience of these CSAAs in their present position was between two and four years. These data indicated that the position was in a highly mobile state and that mnany of these individuals mould be making job or career changes during their mid- life. As an indication of the types of professional experience that 16 CSAAS had prior to accepting their positions, Ayers et a1. identified the titles of their previous positions. More than one-fourth had moved fromn faculty positions to their present responsibilities. This sonn‘ce ranked second only to other student affairs work as a background. Slightly more than one-third had previous experience in student affairs work, the majority being in subordinate administrative positions (p. 18) . In a study on the compensation and working conditions of college and university administrators , Ingrahamn and King (1968) found The median age of male deans of students is 45, and of the 107. who are women, 49. Twenty-one percent had a Ph.D. degree, 187. the degree of Ed.D. , the masters degree was highest for 497.. Three-quarters had the work of their highest degree in the following four fields: Education, 407., psychology, 157., social science, 147., and English and journalism, 87. (p. 223). Ingraham's and King's study was one of the few research efforts to ad- dress the tenure of the immediate past incumbent in the Dean of Stu- dent' 3 position. While the median nunber of years for the present Dean of Students to be in his/her position was only four years, their predecessor's entire stay in the same position was only five years. The median age of the predecessor when leaving the Dean of Student's position was 44 years. The next major study of the career patterns of CSAAs was com- pleted by Foy in 1968. This study sought to examine the career patterns , certain personal characteristics , and the academic and work backgrounds of student persomnel officers in certain selected adminis- trative positions . Concerning the CSAA, Foy found the mean age to be 40.9 years. In regard to their highest degrees earned, 42.97. of the CSAAs studied in the fields of higlner education, counseling and stu- dent persormnel. Only 197. had published and 307. had completed research 17 relevant to the field of student affairs. The length of tenure in their current CSAA position was found to be a mean of 2.95 years; their predecessors' entire stay in the same office had been 2.98 years. Those who did have previous professional experience in student affairs had a mean length of tenure of 7.35 years and had held an average of 2.41 positions in the field before assumning the CSAA office. Foy reported that 50.17. of them had moved fromn a student personnel position to their current position. Another 18.27. came from college teaching or admninistrative positions and 11.27. came from public schools. Foy's study was the first to address the future career choices of CSAAs . When asked what they anticipated their next professional position would be the CSAAs in Foy's study reported the following: within the field of student affairs, 21.57. expected a promotion, 3.77. a lateral move and .97. a demotion; 14.27. anticipated mnaking a career change from student affairs; and only 8.47. of the CSAAs planned to retire in their present position. These data becme even more in- teresting when compared to the CSAAs' responses regarding their pre- decessors . Of their predecessors , 5 . 27. were promoted in student affairs, and 12.77. had moved laterally in the same field. Other information regarding the CSAAs ' anticipated next profes- sional positions which was of interest was that 15.77. of the respon- dents did not know what their next move would be and 19.27. of the CSAAs were simply not anticipating any future moves in their careers. These percentages may have indicated a serious lack of career planning on the part of the CSAA since research findings to that point in time indicated that they could only expect to stay in their current 18 positions between two and four years. In a simnilar but less comprehensive study, Brooks and Avila (1974) found the mean age of CSAAs to be 42 years and that 477. pos- sessed the doctorate. They also reported that 707. had been in their present positions for four years or less. Crookston and Atkyns (1974) also reported simnilar findings. The largest percentage (407.) of the CSAAs were in the 40 to 49 year age group. Regarding their academnic preparation, 49.87. of the CSAAs held the doctorate and of these 457. had studied in education and 15.67. in counseling and guidance. The findings of two other research studies conducted in the 19603 were consistent with the above mentioned studies of academic back- grounds and duration of professional experience. In a study of CSAAs in large universities (enrollment over 10,000 students), Upcraft (1967) found that 717. held doctorates of which 637. were edncated in the field of student personnel work or a related discipline such as edncational philosophy or higher edncation administration. An interesting find- ing reported by Upcraft in regard to the professional experience of these CSAAs, was that 267. of them had assumed their present dnties with no prior enqnerience in the field. In 1968, Dutton, in a study for the National Association of Stu- dent Persomnel Admninistrators (NASPA) , reported that CSAAs had a median of 3.4 years in their present position and 8.2 years in the field over- all. Also, the CSAAs held their highest degrees primnarily in two fields, student persormnel mark (307.) and higher education (267.) . The one study that concerned itself with the attrition rate of CSAAs and other student personnel professionals was completed by 19 Shaw in 1970. His mnajor finding stated that staff in different administrative positions tended to leave the profession of student affairs for different reasons . Also former student personnel workers with significant academic trainirng in the field tended to leave the profession for reasons different from those with no significant train- ing. Shaw listed six mnajor reasons given for leaving their positions: 1) internal politics; 2) lack of appreciation by Stperiors ; 3) level of bureaucracy; 4) level of decision making; 5) resistance of the institution to innovation or change; and 6) perceived resistance of much of the institution to the goals of the student personnel depart- ment. Shaw found that the attrition rate for the field of student affairs was increasing. Three years prior to his study, 11.37. of the administrators had left the field of student affairs; two years prior the rate was 27.97.; and the year prior to his study, 1969, 51.57. had made career shifts. It should be kept in mnind that these rates were for the profession overall. When examining the attrition rate for only the CSAA, the findings reveal ever- shortening tenure . According to the DirectorLof Higlner Education Institutions the turnover rate for the CSAA position during the past three years has been increasing. For 1976-77 the rate was 16.27.; in 1977-78, 17.17. of the CSAAs had left their positions ; while in 1978—79, 18.97. were no longer in their positions as CSAAs. A recent study on the career development of CSAAs was completed by Studer in 1980. His national study not only collected demographic data regarding current CSAAs but it also addressed their job satisfac- tion. Mnen asked their level of satisfaction with their current job, he found that 777. of the respondents were quite satisfied and that the 20 majority (837.) would become CSAAs if they had the choice to do it again. In regard to the various aspects of their jobs, the CSAAs re- ported that they were satisfied with such factors as their institution (847.) , relations with admninistrative peers (83°. , relations with supervisor (857.) , and opportunity for autoncmny (807.) . Areas where they felt less satisfaction included relations with faculty peers (777.) , current salaries (577.) and fringe benefits (507.) . Studer found that the profile of the typical CSAA had changed little from that reported by Ayers and others ten years earlier. The majority of CSAAs continued to be male (827.), married (817.) , and white (887.). In regard to their age, 707.. were 40 years of age or older with 297. being between the ages of 40 and 49. Of the CSAAs in this study, 567.. had received the doctorate. Of tlnose wlno held this degree, the major fields of study included college student personnel (177.) , higher edncation administration (357.) , and counseling and guidance (187.) . In regard to their enployment patterns, 647.. had held a position in student affairs immediately prior to their CSAA position while 127. were formerly in another administrative position in higher edncation and 107. were employed as college teachers. It was also found that the mean nunber of positions in student personnel work held by CSAAs, in— cluding their present position, was only 2. 72. When asked about their tenure in their CSAA position, 567. reported that they had been in their present position for four or less years. It was also noted that 157.. planned to leave their present position within one year, while another 267. were anticipating a career move within one to three years . 21 M The high turnover rates in the position of CSAA, coupled with the relatively young age of CSAAs and short tenure in these positions lead to the question of the future professional positions CSAAs will assume. As indicated by the studies above, the average age of CSAAs is between 40 to 49 years. This leaves at least 10 to 15 years before one can typically retire. Since the average tenure is between two and four years, those currently holding the CSAA position will need to plan for at least onne more job or career change. It was the intent of this study to determine what positionns CSAAs accepted subsequent to holding the office of CSAA, and to determnine the factors which influenced their decision to change positions or careers during their mid-life develop- IIEI'lt . Adult Psychological Development In order to have a more enriched understanding of the career patterns of middle-aged adults it is necessary to review briefly the theories and studies pertainirng to the psychological development of this sub-group of the population. As Neugarten (1968) stated in her book, Middle Age and Aging, there is not only a paucity of data regard- ing adnlt developmennt but "more importantly we are without a useful theory" (p. 137). In reviewing the various studies on adnlt develop- ment one quickly becomes aware of the lack of agreenent of termns used, the limitationns of the studies (e.g. , smnall sarples, primarily only male subjects, and volunteer subjects), and no camonly accepted view of adnlt development. Despite the unsystematic character of much of the literature, there are two basic thennes which appear in most of the 22 works . First , there is a general consensus that there are certain periods in the developmental process which impose very difficult ad- justment problems for the individual. Second, adult development is a complex process involving the interaction of a variety of forces , for example, biological, social, and environmental (Beusse, 1980) . A simple definition of middle age has been difficult to attain. If one were to place the various theories on a continumm, that of Levinson et a1. (1978) would probably be the most definitive in its description of mniddle age. In this theory the age-related definition is based on the concept that fairly universal stages take place at cer- tain ages or within age ranges (Norman and Scararella, 1980) . Levinson states that typically "Mid-life Transition" lasts fromn age 37 to age 43, while "Middle Adulthood" begins at age 44 and concludes at age 50. Other researchers do not see middle age as a concept so easily defined by a strictly age-related description. Neugarten (1979) views the life cycle as more than age-groupings. She feels that a definition of middle age based strictly on age cannot possibly account for all of the individual differences and environmental effects which shape the growth of human beings. From a review of the literature in this area, the start of middle age is usually placed around the age of 40. Throughout mnany of the studies it is noted that often middle age begins with several difficult years that have been termed "mid-life crisis" or "mid-life transition" (Norman and Scaramella, 1980) . This crisis is not initiated by any significant event but rather by the realization that more time stretches behind onne than stretches before one. As Neugarten (1979) reports, middle-aged adults become more conscious of the relationship of time 23 and life events. Onne of the first developmental theorists who expanded his concept of ego development beyond the age of 18 or 20 is Erikson (1963). While other theorists concentrate primnarily on the early periods of growth, Erikson divides the entire lnunan life cycle into eight stages. According to this theory, each of the stages must be passed througln in sequence. A different psychological issue "constitutes the nuclear conflict or crisis for the ego at each developmental stage, but the same issue is also present in preceding and later stages" (p. 85) . In this theory, a crisis connnotes not a threat but a turning point, a crucial period of increased vulnerability and heightened potential. A solution at any stage of ego development has its effects on all subse- quent stages; failure to achieve a successful resolution at one stage impedes all later development . The last two stages of Erikson's theory directly relate to adult development . During mniddle adnlthood the individual strives to develop generativity which is primarily the concern in establislning and guiding the next generation. Erikson considers generativity the crucial aspect of middle age with stagnation being the negative outcome. Stagnationn is falling into a routine where one no lonnger seeks to learn or grow (Norman and Scaramella, 1980) . For some individnals, this generativity involves intense strivinng to climax a career, while for many others it entails taking an active role as mentors in their fields of endeavors. The last stage of development involves establishing a sense of ego integrity. This is the acceptance of one's one and only life cycle as something that had to be. The person who possesses integrity is com- fortable with his/her life and its achievements . lack of accrued 24 integrity results in a fear of death; time is now short, too short to attept to start another life and to try other roads to integrity (Erikson, 1968) . According to Erikson's theory, middle-aged adults, having their parental functions virtually completed and their careers progressing, begin to look introspectively. Viewing life in termns of time left, the middle-aged adult begins to reassess his/her life; begins to question one's productivity; and evaluates one's accomplishments and the true value of these endeavors. If the individual reaches a posi- tive conclusion he/ she is successfully resolving the conflict in these latter developmental stages. A crisis, though, will occur if the con- clusions are negative and the individual sees no alternative solutions . In another major study, Neugarten (1968) found that people's re- sponses confirmed that middle age is a "period of heightened sensitiv— ity to onne's position within a complex social environment" (p. 93). As with Erikson's theory the reassessment of the self was again found to be a prevailing thee . According to Neugarten, mniddle age should be perceived as a distinct period in the life cycle, one which is a period of maximum capacity and ability to handle a highly complex en- vironment and differentiated self (Neugarten, 1968) . Two important areas, which Neugarten addresses in her studies, are the influence of age-related events and social experiences on in- dividnals, and the difference in adult development between men and women. In her theory, Neugarten addresses age but not in the sane manner as levinson. As mentioned earlier, Levinson views development as a series of fairly universal stages which take place at certain ages or within age ranges. Neugarten discusses age in the context of 25 age-related identity. She ephasizes that there is much discussion of sex-role identity but little regarding age-related identity. The age structure of society, for exanple, age expectations and interaction amonng age groups, has been neglected in present studies on middle adult development. She has found that middle-aged adults use different life contexts, such as body, family and career, rather than chronological age for their primary cues in 'clocking' thenselves. While growing through this stage, adnlts become increasingly aware of the distance (eotionally, socially and culturally) between themselves and younger people. Neugarten specifies three types of time - historical, social and chronological - which interact to produce a person' s life cycle. According to her theory, it is when life events, such as a death of a parent, do not occur on time, that stress results. When events do occur at the socially appropriate and expected time a crisis rarely results (Schlossberg, Troll, and Ieibowitz, 1978) . In reviewing studies on adnlt development , Neugarten also realized that few women were included as subjects, thus most theories are actu- ally based on male development. Neugarten stresses that both men and women are faced with crises in their adulthood. During the mniddle age, men become more achievement—oriented, and men shift toward be- coming more affiliative (Neugarten and Gutman, 1958) . Also women tend to define their age status in terms of timning of family events while men perceive the onset of mniddle age by cues presented outside the fam- ily, often from their work setting. Neugarten also found in her study in 1968 that women tend to closely relate their life line and career line; men perceive middle age as the beginning of a period in which their latent talents can be put to use in new directions. Gould (1978) , 26 in his book, Transformations: Growth and Change in Adnlt Life, dis- cusses the adult life cycle in terms of growth. He states that Adultlnood is not a plateau; rather it is a dynamic and changing time for all of us. As we grow and change, we take steps away fromn childhood and toward adulthood. . .with each step, the unfinished business of childhood intrudes, disturbing ou: eotions and requiring psychological work (p . 14) . Could also found that most problems of adulthood are age related. He believes that as adults, people take a characteristic view of each decade. In their twenties, adults see the world as secure. During their thirties they experience a sense of timelessness which changes to an awareness of the pressure of time in their forties. This pressure forces them to see theselves more as the creators of their lives as opposed to living the lives they thought were simply their destiny. Another major theory has been developed by Levinson (1978) . In his book, Seasons of a Man's Life, he describes four age-linked periods of an adult' 3 life cycle each lasting approximately 25 years , separated by short transitions. The mid-life transition which precedes the third developmental period, Middle Adulthood, ordinarily has its onset at age 40 or 41 and lasts approximately five years. There are two major tasks involved in this transition: 1) to review one's life and reappraise what one has done with it; and 2) to test new choices for one's pres- ent age (Levinson, 1978) . According to Levinson, this period includes much discomfort for many individuals. During these years a person must recall his/her youthful dream of life's achieveents and resolve the usual realities of its lack of fulfillment (Hodgkinson, 1977) . This need to reconsider the past arises in part from a heightened aware- ness of one's mortality and a desire to use the reaining time more wisely (Levinson, 1978) . The discomfort is usually less for the people 27 who have not fulfilled their dreams; their problem is simply a revi- sion downward in expectations. However, for those who did come close to accomplishing their dreamn, the mnid—life transition is very difficult because it involves the establishment of a whole new set of aspirations and fulfillment (Hodgkinson, 1977). One of the most important insights from Levinson' 5 work is that if the tasks inherent in this transition are avoided drring this time, the accompanying discomfort will surface again with greater intensity in the 50's. 33121172 In reviewing these theories mnany simnilarities become apparent. All of them include a time orientation. Individnals, drring their middle years, begin to view their life differently. Life is viewed in termns of years left, not how much time has elapsed to date. Also, during this period of development, people reassess their lives and ac- complislnments. It seems that individnals are searching for congruency between their hopes and realities. This period includes crises or transitions but these terms may have various meanings depending on the theorist. Erikson views crises as turning points in one's life; indi- vidnals becomes more sensitized and vulnerable. One must successfully pass through these turning points to continue development. levinson also sees crises as transitions but stresses that individuals must con- front the tasks inherent in the crises or they will only occur at a later time with more intensity. A middle-aged person may avoid crises , according to Neugarten, if life events for this person occur during a socially supported time frame. In summary, it would appear that these theories should be reviewed collectively since apparently no one theory 28 adequately explains all the different aspects of adult development. Career Develgpment In her studies on career development, Schlossberg (1977) found that during their mid-life crisis , many men began to experience doubts and dislocations in their sense of identity. This finding coincides with Neugarten's and Levinson's period of reassessment as mentioned earlier. The feeling that one will reain in their present job for the next 20 years is often not stimulating to the individual, especially if the job does not require the person to master new skills (Kuhlen, 1968; Schlossberg, 1977) . Brim (1973) concluded that this mid-life crisis may be caused by discrepancies between aspirations and achieve- ments on the job as the worker realizes that time is running out in his/her career. In the past, career choices were thought to be made during adoles- cence and/ or early adulthood and then crystallized at that point. From the recent studies on adult development, it has been noted that contin- uous transitions , including changing careers , occur throughout the en- tire life span (Heistand, 1971; Schlossberg, 1977) . Three career devel- opment theories that address the issue of mid-life career changes are theories by Ginzberg, Super, and Holland. In 1952, Ginzberg wrote his original theory on 'Occupational Choice' . He stated that "Occupational choice is a decision-making pro- cess that extends from pre-puberty until the late teens or early 20's when the individnal makes a definitive occupational commitment" (Ginzberg, 1972, p. 169) . In 1972, Ginzberg reformulated his theory because of the availability of new knowledge energing from adult 29 development studies being conducted during that time period. Ginzberg' s newly adapted theory is that "occupational choice is a lifelong process of decision-making in which the individual seeks to find the optimal fit between his career preparation and goals and the realities of the world of WC " (p. 172). He ephasizes three points in this theory. One is that occupational choice is a process that reains open as long as onne makes and expects to make decisions regarding work. Also, a person' 3 career will not only be influenced by the preparation completed in early adulthood but also by the continuous changes a person undergoes dnring life and work. Finally, people strive to secu'e the best curbi- nation of need satisfaction and the restraints and opportunities in their work. Another theorist, Super (1957) , in his theory of vocational devel- opment, stated three major reasons for working. First of all, a job or positionn permits a person to fulfill a basic human need, that is, to be recognized as an individnal, to have status in society. People not only need to be recognized as hunann beings but also as someone distinct and different from others. The second reason pertains to the work sit- uation or activity itself. Work allows for self expression. The third reasonn is a job offers financial security. (he of the major conntributions of Super' s theory to mid-life career development is his differentiation between vocational matuity and voca- tional adjustment. Vocational maturity is the ability to cope with the career developmental tasks with which one is confronted; while adjust- ment implies just reacting to a situation once it occurs. According to this theory, it is very important for middle-aged adults to have this maturity, to have a prospective approach to career events (Super, 1977) . 30 As mentioned earlier by Schlossberg, people change careers be- cause of changing and increased interests. One of the major career development theories which ephasizes awareness of one' 3 personal in- terests is Holland's (Schlossberg, 1975) . Holland's Occupational Classification Systen divides the world of work into six major sub- groups: realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising, and conventional. By using this theory adults can match their person- al orientation with specific types of occupations . If an individnal is not aware of his/her personal interests when first choosing a ca- reer, much conflict can result. Likewise, as individuals mature, their interests further expand and/ or change. In order for adults to more fully-utilize their abilities and skills they must have a high level of self awareness and adjust their career to their current interests. Sean These three theories contribute to a better understanding of the career development of middle-aged adults. It seems that career develop- ment is a continuous process in which the individual strives to obtain congruency between one ' 3 personal needs and interests and the re- straints of work. All of the theorists, Ginzberg, Super, and Holland, believe that individuals undergo change in their personal development throughout their life time. Holland states that it is important for people to become fully aware of their interests and pursue their ca- reers accordingly. Super ' s theory presents a means to this goal by stressing that individnals must prepare thennselves for these changes by developing vocational maturity. 31 Conditions and Factors for Mid-Life Career Change A review of the major theories of adult and career development provides a good backdrop for the study of the reasons (as noted in the literature) for mid-life career change. As discussed in the previous sections, a career change by itself is only one indication of what is waning in an individual' 3 life dnring middle adulthood. Like other aspects of this period, such as changes in biological, social or famil- ial contexts, an occupational change is part of a dynamic and on-going process, not an abrupt shift. In this section the various motivations, preconditions and factors that influence one to change his /her career dn'ing mid-life will be reviewed. There are many common events during middle age which can serve as preconditions for career change. Some of then are: the lack of depen— dents and related responsibilities (Ehpty Nest Syndrome); fiscal events (onne may experience a severe strain on financial resources as children attend college or a release by children leaving home and mortgage paid); observing colleagues displaced fromn their jobs which may result in doubts of one's own job security (Heistand, 1971; Roberts, 1975; Heald, 1977) . Roberts (1973) enumerates other possible preconditions such as early retireent, dislocation by external forces (e.g. , closing of fac- tories, lay—offs) and famnily crises (e.g. , divorce or death of a spouse). Sinick (1977) believes that longer lifespans, earlier comple- tion of famnilies and the feninist moveent have had a definite effect on the career development of adults. Knowing that these events are common to the majority of middle- aged adnlts what factors cause a person to actually change a career? Why do some individuals act on their desires and others do not? 32 Orth (1974) believes that a career change is normally a long-term build-up of both positive and negative factors. The positive influ- ences include a review of earlier career decisions, an examination of the conngruency between current interests and eployment ; continued edJcation; and possible early retireent. The negative factors can encompass such eotions as boredom, restlessness and depression. Also a conflict between work and one's preferred life style may have devel- oped over the years. In relation to the specific job environment, other negative pressnm'es may be a deterioration of office climate, unused knowledge or skills, and a change in personnel requireents. Roberts (1973, 1975) found through her studies on mid-life career changes that many subjects were confronted with a discrepancy between onne' s aspirations and one' s achieveents. Manny were searching for more socially useful work and were frustrated with their lack of auton- amy and/or meaning in their job. She stated that it seeed that there was a shift in values which describe the quality of one's life. No longer are these values centered on the extrinsic factors such as work, pay, and status. Instead, self-expression and autonomy are of suffi- cient concern to individuals that they are looking for new careers . In their study of executive mid-career change, Driskill and Dauw (1975) found that there were different groups of reasons given for changing careers , depending on whether the choice was voluntary or in- voluntary. If people changed careers primarily because of pressure fromn the self they did so for the following reasons: 'To do what I want to do' (68.9%) Abilities not fully utilized (64.77.) Difference in manageent philosophy (48 . 77.) Limited promotions (42. 07.) 33 Those individuals forced from their jobs stated different reasons: Difference in manageent philosophy (58.77.) Personality clash (57.67.) Reduction inn work force (48. 97.) In 1978, Wilcox conducted a study which focused on how community colleges could better meet the needs of adults seeking assistance in mid-life career changes. It was concluded from this study that some of the factors which influence career changes are longer life spans , better health, increased leisure time, and greater ephasis upon the quality of life. Wilcox reported that family, job, and societal pres- sures interact and result in four career patterns: routine (absence of career change); self-determined (career change occurs because of desire rather than necessity); situationally determnined (change heavily influ- enced by outside pressures); and self—directed accommodation (career change influenced by environmental pressures but shaped by individnal choice) . mean In surmary, it seems that there are simnilar factors , tlnroughout the studies on mid-life career change, that help explain why some in- dividuals decide to make a career or job change while others decide not to do this. It is mentioned consistently that middle-aged indi- viduals begin to reassess or review their achieveents to date and com- pare these to their aspirations. As noted in a previous section, this process is more difficult for those people who come very close to ful- filling their dreamn than for those who never experience any such pos- sibility (Levinson, 1978). Another commonality is the striving for congruency between one's present interests and one's career. If one 34 cannot achieve this goal much conflict can result. Two other areas which seem to be mentioned throughout the literature is a stronger desire for these individuals to want more socially useful work and also increased autonomy. It seens that no longer is the primary purpose for having a job financial security but rather it is an opportunity for self-expression. Serene Fromn this review of the literature it becomes apparent that further studies need to be conducted on mid-life career development. The pop- ulation of former CSAAs seens to be an ideal group for such a study since they tend to be middle-aged. Since the length of tenure in their CSAA position is between two and four years one may reasonably conclude that these individnals will be accepting other eployment positions subsequent to that particular job. This denographic information, although interesting, does not indi- cate the reasonns why some members of this age group make a decision to remain in their positions wlnile others choose to accept other eploy- ment. Many conditionns, such as the epty nest syndrome, financial re- sponsibilities, or early retireent may be common to all mnenbers of this group. These events may serve as a pre-condition for mid-life career change but what are the actual factors which influence an indi- vidnal's decision to make a job or career change. There seem to be a few consistent reasons, as stated in the literature, on mid-life career change: the reassessment of one's productivity or achieveents; the need to match one's current interests with one's career; the desire to be involved in more socially useful work and avoid stagnation; and 35 obtainment of more autonomny in one's position of eployment. It was the intent of tlnis particular study to investigate the reasons given by former CSAAs for leaving their positions during middle age and to add to the literature in the fields of adult and career development , and student affairs. CHAPTER'IHREE MEI'I-DDSANDPROCEDURES Introduction This chapter on Methods and Procedures serves as a detailed ex- planation of how the study on the Career Development of Former Clnief Student Affairs Admninistrators was planned and condncted. It is noted in the following sections how the subject population for the study was selected and how the survey instrument was developed. Also, the inde- pendent and dependent variables are discussed as well as the specific research questions. In another section, the statistical analysis en- ployed in this study is explained. It was the intent of the investi- gator that this chapter would serve as a thorough guide for those indi- viduals who may wish to replicate this study. S§n_rple The sample for this study consisted of those CSAAs who left their positions during the academic year of 1977-78. Since one of the con- cerns of this study was the identification of factors which influenced CSAAs to leave their positions and accept other eployment , the sample did not include those CSAAs who left their positions for reasons of death, retireent, or leave of absence. The identification of members of the subject population was de- rived by comparing the 1977-78 and 1978-79 editions of the Directory of Higher Education Institutions. This publication was used because it offered the most complete and current directory information at the 36 37 time of the study. The specific year, 1977-78, was believed to be representative of a typical economnical year in higher education. For each institution listed in this directory, the name(s) and tit1e(s) of the central administrator(s) were given. Upon comparing the two edi- tions it was noted if there had been a change in personnnel in the CSAA positionn. The individual who no longer was listed as the CSAA thus be- came eligible to be a member of the initial subject population which mmbered 352. The next step in selecting the actual subjects for the study in- cluded a telephone call to the former location of eployment for the former CSAA. The purpose of this step was to obtain the last known, and hopefully the current, address for each individual. If possible, it was also ascertained if the individnal still qualified to be a sub- ject or had retired, died or had been on a leave of absence and had since returned to his/her CSAA position. Current addresses could not be located for 48 individuals; seven former CSAAs had left their posi- tions to retire; nine were no longer living; and one had been on a leave of absence. Upon completion of the telephone conntacts the total nunber of eligible subjects nnumbered 287. A pilot study, discussed in a later section, was then conducted. Twenty mnebers of the adjusted sample of 287 were randomly selected for the pilot study. Thus the final draft of the questionnnaire used for this study was sent to 267 individuals. Table 1 shows the number of questionnaires sent to former CSAAs who had worked at either a public or private school as well as indicating whether they had been eployed at a two or four year institution. 38 Table 1 Nurber of Former CSAAs in Sanple by Affiliation and Type Affiliation Type Public Private Total Tkwo Year 68 18 86 Four Year 48 133 181 Totals 116 151 267 The response rate to the questionnaire was 687... Of the 267 ques- tionnaires that were mailed, 166 were returned completed, five were re- turned but incorrectly completed, eight were returned by the postal service because of insufficient or incorrect addresses, and seven ques- tiornnaires could not be used for this study because the respondents did not qualify for the sample. Table 2 indicates the rnumber of completed questionnaires received from the former CSAAs . Table 2 Number of Survey Respondents by Affiliation and Type Affiliation Type Public Private Total Two Year 42 8 50 Four Year 35 81 116 Totals 77 89 166 39 Chi-Square Goodness of Fitness Tests were performed to determine if these responses were representative of the sample in relation to the type (two or four year) (Table 3), affiliation (public or private) (Table 4), and gender (male or female) (Table 5). This test indicated that there was no significant differences at the .05 level of confidence between the respondents and the sample, thus the results of this study were generalizable to the total population of fermer CSAAs. Table 3 Comparison of Numbers of Former CSAAs Responding and.in Sample by Type Type Sample Respondents Two Year 86 (32)8 50 (30) Four Year 181 (68) 116 (70) Totals 267 (100) 166 (100) aNumbers in parentheses indicate percentages .25 (Net significant at the .05 level) Table 4 Comparison of Number of Former CSAAs Responding and in Sample by Affiliation .Affiliation Sample Respondents Public 116 (30)a 77 (46) Private 151 (70) 89 (54) Totals 267 (100) 166 (100) 8Numbers in.parentheses indicate percentages j(= .89 (Not significant at the .05 level) 40 Table 5 Comparison of Number of Former CSAAs Responding and in Sample by Gender Gender Sample Respondents Male 212 (79)a 140 (84) Female 55 (21) 26 (16) Totals 267 (100) 166 (100) a Number in parentheses indicate percentages 9( = 2.93 (Not significant at the .05 level) The informationn provided by all of the 166 respondents was used in the descriptive analysis of the personal characteristics of former CSAAs and their subsequent fields of eployment. In the analysis of the ranked factors (as explained later in this chapter) 10 surveys were not included. The reason for their exclusion was that these 10 respon- dents included other factors, not listed in the survey' 3 choices, as being influential in their decision making. Since the entire sample did not have an opportunity to review these additional factors, it was decided to discuss these responses separate from the analysis. Stevey Instrument As stated in Chapter One, the purpose of the study was three- fold: 1) to obtain descriptive personal/professional information re- garding former CSAAs; 2) to identify eployment positions accepted by CSAAs subsequent to their CSAA position; and 3) to investigate the primary factors which influenced these individuals to leave their former CSAA positions. The first two purposes could be accomplished 41 by devising a questionnaire which included appropriate questions . The investigator anticipated that a standardized instrument could be obtained which could be administered to the subjects to study the third purpose, that is , the factors which influenced a middle-aged person to change jobs and/ or careers. Unfortunately such an instrument could not be located even after contacting several professionals in the fields of career and adult development. Thus the questionnaire for this study had to be developed in its entirety by the investigator. Process of Developing the Survey Instrument The survey instrurent (See Appendix A) was divided into two major sections. Part I included 16 questions which were inquiries as to birthdate, sex, marital status , etlmnicity, acadenic preparation, em— ployment history, length of tenure in the CSAA position and identifica- tion of eployment subsequent to the CSAA positionn. The selection of items for this section was based on previous studies on the career patterns of professionals in student affairs. Thus the information obtained from this section could be easily compared and added to the data from past studies in this area. In Part II, a list of 20 itea were listed which may have influ- enced an individnal's decision to change jobs and/or careers. Also in this section, subjects were asked to state in narrative form why they decided to make this change. This short essay was included so that a fuller explanation of the reasons inherent in a career/ j ob change could be obtained. The list of 20 factors was derived fromn a thorough review of the literature in the fields of career and adult development. After 42 initially developing this list the investigator requested members of her doctoral dissertation commnittee to review the entire survey instru- ment. It was suggested by the commnittee to include two additional spaces at the bottom of the list for respondents to note "Other" rea- sons which influenced their decisions but were not included in the above list of factors. Once all of their suggestions were incorporated into the survey it was sent to various researchers and professionals who were studying mid-life career development. These individuals vali- dated that the list was thorough and that it did indeed address the major influential factors in mid-life career development. The questionmnaire was then mailed to 20 randomly selected members of the sample for a pilot test. Eleven responses were obtained; no follow-up request was made for this mailing. Particular attention was paid to the completion of the survey; did the respondents seem to have difficulty in understanding the directions? Also, the "Other" items included in the list of factors were studied to ascertain if a major factor had been omnitted fromn the list. It seered, fromn this pilot study, that the directions were clear and that the list of factors were relevant and exhaustive. The questionnaire was then printed and sent to the entire sample of 267 former CSAAs. Data Collection As previously mentioned, a survey instrument was used in this study to gather information from the former CSAAs regarding their per- sonal/professional characteristics and their reasons for leaving their CSAA positions. Kerlinger (1973) states that there are several accept- able methods of data collection in survey research. Although it was 43 felt that a personal interview or even a telephone survey would have been preferable, it was decided that a mailed questiornnaire would be used in this particular study. The principal reason for this choice was that it was not finnancially feasible for the investigator to visit each member of the sample nor contact each one for an in-depth tele- phone interview. The mailed questiornnaire method of data collection was advantageous because of the short time factor involved in gather- ing information and its lower costs. When eploying this method, it is imperative that the directions and content of the questionnnaire are easy to understand and are not annbiguous. Also, every effort slnould be made to obtain a high return rate. later in this section, the directions for completion of the survey are noted as well as the efforts made to encourage a high response rate. Records of Data Collection After all of the members of the subject population were determined, a separate 3" x 5" index card was prepared for each individual. On these cards the following information was noted: name of the subject; last known address; title of former CSAA position; name of institution for former CSAA position; designation of whether former institution was privately or publicly affiliated; and designation of whether it was a two or four year institution. Although these last three itea could have been asked on the survey instrunent , the investigator felt that since she could determnine these by reviewing the Directory of Higher Education (1979) , it would only help to shorten the time needed to conn- plete the sutvey instrument. On the reverse side of this card three items of information were 44 recorded. First, each subject was assigned a number for the purpose of proper data collection. This number was explained and noted on both the questionnaire and the post card which was used as a follow-up re- minder for those who had not yet responded. Also, the date the initial survey was sent to the individual and the date the completed survey was received by the investigator was noted on this index card. Directions for Completion of the Survey In a preliminary section to the main survey instrument, the re- spondents were informed of the coding procedure used with each survey to assist with the data collection. This procedure was merely the m- ber which was assigned to each member of the sample. This number was noted in the upper right hand corner of a half-sheet of paper which could be separated from the survey instrument. On this same sheet of paper , respondents were asked to identify themselves and their current address only if they would be interested in receiving a sunmary of the results of this study. The investigator stated on this half-sheet that the sole purpose of requesting this information was to assist in pro- viding the results of the study to those respondents who requested such information. It in no way compromised anonymity and was not used in any analysis of the instrument. After this information was recorded, this particular sheet was detached fromn the completed questionnaire. Accompanying the survey instrument was a letter fromn the investi- gator and her major professor (See Appendix A). This letter included an explanation of the purposes of the study and a summary of the direc- tions for completion of the survey. In Part I of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to complete the information requested in three 45 sections: "Biographical Information"; "Academic Preparation"; and "Professional Backgroun ". In the first section, "Biographical In- formation" , the following itens were included: birthdate, sex, marital status, nunber of dependents, and ethnicity. In the second section, ' 'Academic Preparation" , responndents were asked to state the names of their various acadenic degrees , the years in which degrees were awarded, their major fields of study and the college or university granting each degree. The remaining itens in Part I of the questionnaire pertained to the respondent' 3 professional background. Subjects were asked to list all full-time work experience for the past 20 years. Also, there were four itens pertaining to the length of tenure in their former CSAA position. The remaining itens were related to the position(s) which they accepted subsequent to their former CSAA position. In Part II of the questionnnaire, subjects were asked to review a list of 20 factors which may have influenced their decision to leave their former CSAA position. Initially, they were asked to check each item or factor in Column A. Then, they were asked to rank these checked itens, in Column B, in order of their influence. Specifically, the re- spondents were to rank the most influential factor as 'l' , the second most influential factor as ' 2' , and so forth. Since a list of factors which may have influenced their decision to leave their fornner positions may not fully explain why these individuals changed their eployment, the subjects were asked to write a short narrative explaining why they left their former positions as CSAAs. At the close of the questionmnaire, the respondents were asked to enclose their completed questiornnaires with the attached identification sheets in self-addressed envelopes and mail to the investigator's office. Mailgg' s The study included four major mailings. The first mailing was the pilot study and included 20 members of the subject population. These individlals were sent an individualized letter similar to the one used in the study; an identification sheet on which they could re- quest a summary of the study's results; a copy of the questionnaire (typed but not professionally printed); and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to return the completed questionnaire. Of the 20 question- naires mailed in the pilot study, 11 were returned cepleted and two were returned because of incorrect addresses . The major mailing was the actual study's questionnaire which was sent to all 267 remaining members of the sample. This mailing was sent the second week in January as to avoid the lnoliday mail. The following items were enclosed: 1) Ann individualized addressed letter to each subject, typed on a memory typewriter on the investigator' 3 official institution statio- nery. This letter included the individualized salutation and also the title and location of the subject's former position. The letter was then signed by both the investigator and her major professor (See Appendix A). 2) A copy of the final draft of the questionnaire with the de- tachable half-sheet which was used for coding and obtaining the names and addresses of those repondents who requested a copy of the results of the study. These itens were typeset and professionally printed on cree colored paper. It was felt that a questionnnaire that was printed as opposed to mimeographed mnight also enhance the response rate (Ennglehart, 1972) (See Appendix A). 47 3) An envelope for the respondent to mail his/her completed questiornnaire to the investigator. This envelope included the neces- sary postage and was self-addressed. This mailing, as well as all others in the study, were sent using first-class postage since higher response rates are associated with first-class rather than third-class postage (Warwick and Lininager, 1975) . Every effort was made to personalize the letters sent to the subjects. Also, careful consideration was given to the ease of conn- pleting and returning the questiornnaire. It was the investigator's in- tent that these actionns would positively influence the return rate of completed questiornnaires. TWO weeks after the initial returned questiornnaire was received, a second letter was sent to the mnebers of the sample (123 of 267) who had, to date, not returned their questionnaire. This letter was typed on the investigator's office stationery and signed by both the investi— gator and her major professor. Included in this mailing was a stamped, self—addressed postcard (See Appendix B). Subjects needed only to check the appropriate item on the reverse side of the postcard to ex- plain their non-response. The postcard read as follows: Regarding the questiornnaire for the "Study of the Career Development of Former Chief Student Affairs Administrators", I do not plan to complete it because: Cl I prefer not to be a respondent. E] I misplaced the questiornnaire, please send another copy to me. D I never received my copy of the questiornnaire , please send another copy so I can complete it. D Other Although the initial response rate (prior to the reminder) was 48 approximately 507. it was hoped that this letter and postcard might positively influence and increase the response rate. Also, the re- sponses on these postcards might better explain the non-response rate. The final response rate was 687.. After the study was completed, a summary of the results were mailed to all respondents who had requested such information. This activity constituted the fourth mailing. Coding of the Data The information which was collected was coded onto computer data sheets. The questiornnaire was not designed to be self-coding so as not to confuse the respondent; thus, all items had to be coded by the investigator. The coding format which was used can be found in Appen- dix C. Any ites of information which were not completed by the re- spondents were noted by leaving the appropriate coding square blank. The data fromn these sheets was then keypunched and an initial print-out of the data was obtained from the New Mexico State University Computer Center. This print-out was checked against the original questionnaires for accuracy before any statistical manipulation was performed. Research Methods Inn the following section the statistical procedm'es, specific re- search questions and hypotheses for this study are explained. Also, the independent and dependent variables are presented as well as the rationale for their inclusion in this study. 49 Statistical Procedues The first statistical analysis of the data used the Chi-Square Goodness of Fitnness Test. This test determined whether the responding sample was representative of the study's sarple of institutions with regards to the type (two or four year), affiliation (public or private), and gender (male or feale) . The formula (Manndenhall, 1966) for this test is: .L 7C = K [71,- " E(1t,-_)]2' i=1 imp The data collected from Part I of the questionnnaire was then ana- lyzed through the use of descriptive statistics. This analysis includ- ed frequency distributions , percentages , means , medians , and standard deviations. The computer program, Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was used for these computations. To determnine if there was significant differences between men and men for certain characteristics , the median test was eployed (Downie and Heath, 1974) . The formula for this test is: Z. 2.. ”X = N (ad-bcl N/2) klmn By analyzing this data the first and second purposes of this study were fulfilled, that is , personal characteristics of former CSAAs were provided and also the subsequent eployment of former CSAAs was deter- mnined. The third purpose of the study, the determination of the major influential reasons for leaving a CSAA position, provided the major 50 research questions and hypotheses for the study. An important point to understand when studying this data is that the respondents were not asked to choose and then rank a certain number of itena. Rather they were instructed to check and rank only those itens which influenced their career decision. As a result, the number of items checked were unequal; some respondents checked only one item while others checked as many as twelve. Since a precise statistical method of analysis to study unequal number of rankings was not known by the investigator, three statistical approaches were used to indicate the most influential factors as stated by former CSAAs . These three approaches were as follows: 1) Calculating the mean percentile rank for each iten included in the study. This calculation was chosen over the average ranks and nor- malized ranks methods since it was more accurate when working with un- equal nunber of rankings (Shaw and Osburn, 1970). The mean percentile rank for each factor was derived by taking each respondent ' s rankings and determnining their percentile ranks. As an example, if a respondent ranked four factors , the factor receiving the number one ranking would receive a percentile ranking of 100. The factor ranked second would receive a percentile ranking of 75; the third ranked factor, 50 ; and the fourth ranked factor, 25 . (knee the ranks for each respondent were transposed into percentile rankings , the mean average was calculated for each factor. By determining the mean percentile rank one may better understand the average ranking received by each item. A concern with using only this approach is that an iten which was only checked twice could receive the highest mean percentile rank. Thus, when suggesting the most influential reasons in terms of mean percentile ranks, the 51 frequency of the item was also taken into consideration. 2) Totaling the nunber of times each factor was checked, regard- less of rank. This approach indicated the popularity of the items but it must be kept in mind that it measured only that aspect. It was possible that an item was checked, for example, by 88 respondents, but was always ranked as '8', '9', or 'lO', never '1', '2', or '3'. 3) By displaying the data by frequency of ranks (See Appendix D), the number of times an item received a ranking of '1' could be deter- mnined. Thus the itens which seered to receive the ranking of most in- fluential most often could be determined. The statistical method used to study the research questions as stated in the following section included analysis of variance (F tests). The formula for this test is: Mean square between groups Mean square within groups 2.. .. 2. or Zéxfj) fiéz Xu) ”J N F = F 2:: J“ l 1:__ (EXH- )1 E Z XL} . 2 nj N-J If a significant difference among three or more levels of an independent variable was found then the statistical test of least Significant Dif- ference (Steele and Torie , 1980) was erployed to determnine which specif- ic levels were different from each other. This test's formla is as follows: I l LSD = tdf (MSE) (7“, +71) 52 Research Questions and Hypotheses The general questions which guided this study were: 1) to deter- mine what were the mnajor reasons why former CSAAs left their positions as CSAAs; and 2) to ascertain if their reasons for leaving their former positions were specific to selected personal characteristics. The first research question could be addressed by analyzing the data from Part II of the questionnaire as explained in the previous section. In order to answer the second question, the major reasons, as stated by former CSAAs with certain similar characteristics , needed to be compared. As noted in the "Purpose of the Study" in Chapter One, one of the reasons for this study was to provide descriptive information on the various characteristics of former CSAAs. The selection of these personal items, which were asked for this purpose, provided a nurber of ways that the sample could be separated. For example, one could study the major reasons as stated by mnale former CSAAs and compare these rea- sons to the major reasons as stated by female former CSAAs; likewise, the responses of former CSAAs could be compared among the three levels of earned academic degrees; and another possible area for comparison would be the field of employment accepted subsequent to the former CSAA position. Any of these items could have served as independent variables (discussed later in this section) to answer the second general research question. For this study onnly five such items were selected for the specific research questions and translated into hypotheses. The re- search questions were as follows: I. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between men and women. II. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of 53 reasons for leaving the CSAA position between Caucasians and all other ethnicities. III. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between those former CSAAs who considered their move to be voluntary and those who considered their move to be involuntary. IV. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position among the three different measures of tenure in the field of student affairs (1 = less than 5 years; 2 = 5 to 10 years; and 3 = Nbre than 10 years). V. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position among the six fields of employ- ment which former CSAAs accepted subsequent to their CSAA position. (The six fields being: student affairs, higlner education other than student affairs , government, business , religion, and other). Dependent and Independent Variables The data used in suggesting answers to the research questionns were separated into two types: dependent and independent variables . Depen- dent variables are those variables which the investigator seeks to ex- plain. Independent variables are those factors which may cause, or in- fluence, the study's outcome. The distinction between these types is that a "dependent variable is an effect, while an independent variable is a canse - or at least a suspected cause." (Weisborg and Bowen, 1977) . The dependent variables in this study were the factors which were selected and ranked by former CSAAs as being influential in their deci- sions to leave their former positions. Although numerous independent 54 variables could have been studied, five were selected. These variables, with the rationale for their selection, are explained below. 1. Eager. When analyzing the data, the reasons for leaving their former CSAA position as ranked by women as being most important were compared to those rated by men. Neugarten and Gutmnan (1958) found in their studies that men and women differed in their development during middle age . While women tend to become more achievenent oriented and relate their life line and their career line, men shift toward becomning more affiliative and perceive middle age as a time to experiment with latent talents. Gross (1978) in his review of studies regarding student personnel workers also found that gender was an influential factor in developing one's career. 2. Ethnicity. Respondents were asked to identify their ethnicity. Is there a difference between the major reasons as stated by Caucasians and those stated by other ethnicities? Gross also recommended that future studies regarding student personnel admninistrators include the ethnic characteristic because it seened to have a great effect on the entrance and retention of persons in the profession (1978) . 3. Voluntary or Involuntary Nbve. Each respondent was asked if they considered their career change to be voluntary or involuntary. Driskill and Dauw (1975) found in their studies that this independent variable made a definite difference in the reasons given for leaving a position. 4. Tenure in the Field of Student Affairs. The former CSAAs in this study were asked how long they had been erployed in the field of Student Affairs: a) less than five years; b) from five to ten years; and c) more than ten years. Shaw (1970) found that two variables, 55 type of administrative position in Student Affairs and the anount of related academic training, did affect the reasons for attrition anongst student personnel workers. It seems that one would also study the ef- fect of the length of erployment in the field of Student Affairs. 5. Field of Subsequent Employment Position. As previously noted, there is a paucity of information on the type of enployment which for- mer CSAAs accept subsequent to their CSAA position. The purpose of this study included not only identifying the fields of subsequent em- ployment but also assisting in determining if former CSAAs had different reasons for leaving their former positions because of the subsequent field of employment. The fields of erployment for this study were iden- tified as: Student Affairs, Higher Education (other than Student Af- fairs), Business, Religion, Government, and Other. area The sample for this study was composed of former CSAAs who had left their CSAA positions during the 1977-78 academic year. After locating the present addresses of these individuals, a questiornnaire was mailed to each of then. This survey consisted of two parts. Part I requested biographical information fromn the respondents , while in Part II the former CSAAs were asked to select and rank in order of influence the factors which were involved in their decision to leave their former CSAA position. The data in this study was then analyzed using descrip- tive and inferential statistics. CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF THE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Introduction The data for this study was gathered and analyzed as explained in the preceding chapter. This information is reported in the following sections: Personal Characteristics of Former CSAAs; Career Develop- ment of Former CSAAs; and Factors Influencing Career Decisions . Each section includes the presentation of the data and related discussion. Personal Characteristics of Former CSAAs One of the purposes of this study was to collect information re- garding the personnel characteristics of former CSAAs . Data was collect- ed and studied in respect to the following characteristics: present age and gender, age when leaving the former CSAA position, etlnnicity, marital status, number of dependents , and highest earned academic degree. Present Age and Gender. The data presented in Table 6 indicates the range of present ages for the former CSAAs was from 27 through 66 years. Since this range included a number of atypical values in the ages (that is, 20's and 60's) the measure of central tendency that best described this characteristic was the median. This average was 44.4 years. Addi- tional analysis indicated that the mean present age for all respondents was 46.0 years with a standard deviationn of 8.4. Of the study's respondents, 140 (84.34%) were men and 26 (15.66%) were women. It was found that the median present age for the female 56 57 respondents was 46.5 years and for the males, 44.1 years. Although it appeared that women were older than men, the difference in their median ages was found not to be significant at the .05 level. Age When leaving Former Position. By reviewing the information present- ed in Table 7, it is noted that the CSAAs in this study left their posi- tions typically at the age of 41. 6 years. This average was the median age while the mean age for all respondents was 42.5 years with a stan- dard deviation of 8.4. When studying this particular aspect, it seened that women tended to leave their former positions as CSAAs at an older age (43.8) than men (41.0) . There was no significant difference between the age medians at the .05 level. Ethnicity. The data for this characteristic is reported two ways in Table 8. Since the majority of CSAAs indicated on the survey that they were Caucasians (84. 34%) the other ethnicities were reported by: a) individual ettmnicities; and b) a major grouping of 'Other Ethnic- ities'. It was found that 10.84% of the former CSAAs were of ethnic- ities other than Caucasians with the largest groups being Black and Hispanic, 10 (6.02%) and 5 (3.01%) respectively. Inn reference to gender and etlmnicities it seemed that there were similar percentages of men (10.71%) and women (11.53%) who reported that they were members of a minority ethnic group. It should be noted that eight respondents did nnot report this information on their questionnaires. 58 8. m OOH mo.© m¢.HH ©¢.¢H mm.©H OH.NN HN.H unmohmm q.¢d 00H HH ma qN mN mu N sz HNupH OOH mo.m 00.5 wo.mN MN.mH Nm.©N o unmoumm m.©d 0N N N o m n o CMEDS OOH mq.o ¢H.NH ow.NH m¢.©H ¢H.NN m¢.H unmoumm H.q¢ oqa a NH ma MN mm N am: om mmnmm emnOm wanna «aloe cm .88 “83 cofiomz_ Hooch mw< umncwo noonmu.%n.m§ 8g mic umEMOm mo mw< 60 OOH Nw.e O0.0H ON.OO ucmommm OOH O OH OOH Hanna OOH N0.0 HO.m N0.0 OO. HN.H ON.OO unmoumm OOH w O OH H N OOH mHmuouasm OOH mO.m mO.m OO.N O O H0.00 “smegma ON H H N O O NN _gmaoa OOH OO.m O¢.N HN.O HN. OO.H ON.OO Osmommm OOH N O m H N OHH Om: UgamHm x88 932 EHOcH Bevan mmHuHOHcsum mmeuo cmHmmust oouuoamm mHSoH “oz bHoEfim 358 umOcmO HL.NUHOHOeOm 61 Marital Status. In Table 9 , the mnarital status is reported for the for- mer CSAAs. Only one respondent did not complete this item. Overall, 79. 52% of the former CSAAs indicated that they were mnarried, while 19.88% of the respondents reported that they were single. When gender is considered, 76.92% of female former CSAAs and 9.29% of the male for- mer CSAAs were reportedly single. The subcategory 'single' included individuals who were widowed , divorced , or never married. Table 9 Marital Status by Gender Gender Marital Status Not Reported Totals Single Married Men 13 126 l 140 Percent 9. 29 90. 00 . 71 100 Women 20 6 0 26 Percent 76 . 92 23 . 08 0 . 00 100 Total 33 132 l 166 Percent 19. 88 79 . 52 . 60 100 Nmber of Dependents. It was intended that the subjects would indicate the number of children they had but the responses to this item varied fromn complete, incomplete, to varied. Some former CSAAs did indicate how many children they had, while others included their spouses and/ or their parents . Thus , reliable information could not be reported for this Characteristic. 62 Highest Earned Academic Degree. Since this characteristic was nominal in nature the average highest earned degrees were reported in modes . Overall, the most frequently highest earned degree was the Doctorate (53.01%) , with the Master's degree being second in frequency (44.58%) . It seened that men more often earned a Doctorate (55.00%) while women more often earned a Master's degree (57.69%). This information is re- ported in Table 10. Table 10 Highest Earned Academic Degree by Gender Gender Academic Degree Totals Bachelor ' 3 Master' 3 Doctorate Men 4 59 77 140 Percent 2 . 86 42 . 14 55 . 00 100 Women 0 15 ll 26 Percent 0. 00 57 . 69 42 . 31 100 Total 4 74 88 166 Percent 2 . 41 44. 58 53 . 01 100 Discussion of the Personal Characteristics of Former CSAAs The personal characteristics of former CSAAs , who responded to the study's questionnaire, did not seem to vary from the information which was gathered on current CSAAs in the studies discussed in Chapter Two. It seems that the largest number of former CSAAs are presently in their forties and left their positions as CSAAs in this sane decade. It was similarly reported in other studies that CSAAs tended to be in this 63 age group. As in the study completed by Ayers, et a1. (1966) female CSAAs tended to be older than their male counterparts. This same find- ing was also reported by Ingraham and King (1968). All other studies discussed in Chapter Two reported overall average ages for CSAAs which were consistent with the findings of this study. As in the previous studies on current CSAAs, those who have left their former CSAA positions also have similar characteristics in re- spect to gender, ethnicity, and marital status. Both Ayers, et a1. (1968) and Studer (1980) reported that the majority of the respondents in their studies were mnale (79% and 82% respectively). It seems that the etlnnnic breakdown for current and former CSAAs was also similar. In this study it was reported that 84.34% of the respondents indicated that they were Caucasians, while Studer reported that 88% of his respondents were of this same etlnnicity. Studer also found that 81% of the CSAAs in his study were married while 79.52% of the former CSAAs in this study had a simnilar marital status. The one personal characteristic in which there seems to be a change fromn previous studies is the highest earned academic degree. Prior to 1970, the most popular highest earned degree was the Master's (Ayers, et a1. (1966) - 51%; Inng and King (1968) - 49%). In 1974, Crookstonn and Atkins reported that the most frequently highest degree earned was the Doctorate (49. 8%) . This degree continued to be the most reported with Studer reporting in 1980 that 56% of his respondents had earned this degree. In the present study, this trend continued with 53.01% having earned the degree of Doctorate. In summary, it seemed that the former CSAAs in this study did not possess any personal characteristics that were markedly different from 64 tlnose individuals who were currently in these positions at the time of the studies cited in Chapter Two. Career Development of Former CSAAs The focus of this section is on various aspects of the respondents' employment history. First, the tenure of respondents in the field of student affairs is addressed as well as the tenure in the former CSAA positions. Related to these itens, the number of employment positions in student affairs for the former CSAAs is reported. Another aspect of their career development which is presented is the various fields of employment in which the respondents held position both prior and subse- quent to their former CSAA positions. Finally, it is noted how many former CSAAs considered their career/ j ob change to be or not be a voluntary move. Years of Employment in Student Affairs. Respondents were asked to in- dicate the duration of their enployment in the student affairs field by checking one of three categories: 'less Than 5 Years' , '5-10 Years' , and 'More Than 10 Years' . In Table 11, it is revealed that half (50%) of the former CSAAs have been in the field for more than 10 years. The modal average for men was the category of 'More Than 10 Years ' (51.43%) while the typical duration for women was between '5-10 Years' (46.15%). 65 Table 11 Years in Student Affairs by Gender Gender Years of Tenure Total less Than 5 5-10 More Than 10 Men 20 48 72 140 Percent 14. 28 34 . 29 51. 43 100 Women 3 12 ll 26 Percent 11. 54 46. 15 42 . 31 100 Total 23 60 83 166 Percent 13.86 36 . 14 50 . 00 100 Years in Former CSAA Position. The range for tenure in the former CSAA position was frcmn one to 28 years. Since the mean average was unduly influenced by figures in the tails of the distribution, the median average was calculated. This average was 5 . 4 years (See Table 12) . Although women seened to have a shorter span of enployment in the CSAA position than men, it was not significantly different at the .05 level. Number of Positions in the Field of Student Affairs. When asked how many full-time employment positions they held in this field, the for- mer CSAAs responded on the average of approximately two (Median equaled 2.1 positions.) The range for this item was fromn one to six positions. The overall mean was 2.36 positions with a standard devi- ationn of 1.3 positions. This information is presented in Table 13. 66 OO. NH OOH NN.O HO.O OO.OH ON.OO NO.ON OO.O mamommm O.O OOH N O ON OO OO OH Hmuoa OOH OO.O OO.O OO.OH HO.OO HO.OO OO.HH “smegma O.O ON H O . O O O O Omega OOH ON.O NO.O OO.OH HN.OO NO.ON OO.N “smegma O.O OOH O O HN NO OO HH Om: whoa .Ho 33 .Ho OH OH-HH OH-O N-O O-N maO gm: Hooch. mane—mm. H380 NH 3an HOOOmO OO.OOHOHOOO.OOOO OH mmscme 67 OOH ON.H OO .O OO.NH NOOH NNOO .8 .HO bemoan HH .N OOH N HH ON OO HO NO H88. OOH O0.0 OO .O O0.0H OO.HH O0.00 KOO “838 OO.N ON O H O O OH O 883 OOH NO.H OH .N OO.HH ON.OH ON.ON OO.HO “.838 OHN OOH N OH OH NN HO O 8: unflm mxrfinm .HHwOrm 60$ 3H. 08 8H8: H88. mEHuHmom ~88 .3983 an. mnwmmma. ucmoam HHO mcofifimom mo Hmaeoz m 0.3.3. 68 Field of Position Previous to the Former CSAA Position. When study- ing the career history of former CSAAs, information was gathered in reference to the enployment fields of the respondents prior to their acceptance of their former CSAA positions. Listed in Table 14 are the various fields of previous enployment: Student Affairs , Higher Educa- tion Administration, Faculty, Religion, Secondary Education, and Other. It seemed that the majority of respondents (55.42%) were already em- ployed in the student affairs field before accepting the CSAA position. The second most frequent field of enployment was also in higher educa- tion, that being, a member of the faculty (12.00%) with other adminis- trative positions in higher echncation being third in frequency (10.84%) . Field of Position Subsequent to Former CSAA Position. (he of the pri- mnary purposes of this study was to ascertain the types of enployment the former CSAAs accepted subsequent to their CSAA positions. Table 15 displays this information for the overall sample and also by gender of respondents. Six fields of enployment were noted: Student Affairs (acceptance of another position in this specific field); Higher Educa- tion (acceptance of a position in this field other than Student Af— fairs); Government; Business; Religion; and Other. The largest group of CSAAs accepted positions in the field of Higher Education. This finding also held true for the subcategories of men and women. It was found that of the 71 former CSAAs who went into Higher Education, 19 (26.76%) accepted a faculty position; 46 (64.79%) accepted other ad- ministrative posts; and 6(8.45%) became presidents of a college or university. The percentages for the overall sanple for the field of Higher Education were faculty, 11.45%; administrator, 27.71%; and 69 OOH NN.O NO.m OO.N N0.0 mO.NH O0.0H NO.mm unmonom OOH n O OH OH ON OH NO HmuoH OOH O0.0 O0.0 OO.HH O0.0 O0.0H Om.HH O0.00 unmunmm ON O N O O O O OH omenz OOH OO.m OO.N OH.O OH.~ mO.HH HN.OH Hm.mm unwonmm OOH n O OH OH OH OH mm on: Hmnuo cowumuoom coewaHmm auHoomm cowumuumfioaan< muflmmm< mumooooom ucmnoum Hmuofi nouuoamm mooHuHmom moow>wum Hmoowo uoz Manama %n_mcoHuHmom moow>mnm OH mHnNH 70 OOH O0.0H HO.N O0.0 OO.HH OO.NO OH.ON unwouwm OOH OH O OH OH HO OO Hmuoe OOH N0.0N O0.0 OO.N mN.mH NN.Om OO.HH unwoumm ON N H N n O m ouanz OOH OO.N OH.N O0.0 O0.0H O0.00 O0.0N unmonmm OOH HH O NH OH mO mm on: unwenhm>ou nonHHmm wmmoemom GDHumonpm mnemmm<. HgaeH emeum Hmuoe Honpo coHuHmom Homoommnom Hmocou mmchO an OOHuHmom Hamsemmnsm no OHOHO OH OHHmH 71 president, 3.61%. Examples of the popularly listed types of admin- istrative positions mentioned were Provost, Director, or Vice Presi- dent for Development and/or Alumni Affairs, Dean of Educational Ser- vices, Dean of a college, and Assistant to the President. Of those 40 individuals who stayed in the field of Student Af— fairs, 29 former CSAAs had accepted other CSAA positions at other uni- versities. This equated to 17.47% of the total sanple. Eleven (6.63% of the sample) of the former CSAAs accepted positions elsewhere in the field of Student Affairs. The 18 former CSAAs who were included in the 'Other' field of erployment accepted such positions as administration or teaching at the elerentary or secondary level of education, medicine , and graduate assistant while working on an advanced degree. It was also found that five menbers , included in this group , were unemployed at the time of the study. Number of Positions Accepted Subsequent to Former CSAA Position. Respondents were asked to list all full-time employment that they had for the past 20 years. By reviewing this information it was noted that approximately 37% of the respondents had made additional erployment changes since the one accepted immediately subsequent to the former CSAA position, while 62.65% of the respondents had only accepted one subsequent position. This information is presented in Table 16. 72 Table 16 Number of Former CSAAs Who Have Accepted l’bre Than One Subsequent Position Number of Positions Frequency Percentage (he 104 62 . 65 Two 59 35. 54 Three 3 1. 81 Total 166 100 . 00 Connsideration of Employment Change. The data presented in Table 17 in- dicates the difference in opinions of the respondents in reference to their enployment change. Respondents were asked if they considered their move to be of a voluntary nature, for example, one wanted to lo- cate a job which was more congruent with present interests; or an in- voluntary one, for exanple , reduction in the work force , renoval from the position. The majority of former CSAAs (83.13%) considered that they chose and were not forced to leave their positions and therefore made the move voluntarily. Table 17 Consideration of Position Change by Gender Gender Consideration Total Voluntary Change Involuntary Change Man 115 25 140 Percent 82.14 17.86 100 Vkmmmn 23 3 26 Percent 88.46 11.54 100 Total 138 28 166 Percent 83.13 16.87 100 73 Discussion of Career Development of Former CSAAs In this section the innvestigator intended to present data that would contribute to a better understanding of the erployment history of former CSAAs. Many of the items presented in this section had not been included or were not integral factors in previous studies . It seened that former CSAAs had typically been in the field of student affairs for a nnumber of years. In this study, 50% of the re- spondents reported that they had been in this field for more than 10 years. The CSAAs in a previous study by Foy (1968) also reported a tenure in this field of more than five years, specifically 7.35 years. When studying the tenure inn the specific position of CSAA it was de- termnined in this study that the median amount of time spent as a CSAA was 5.41 years. This finding agreed with the results of a study con- ducted by Ingrahamn and King in 1968 when CSAAs were asked about the length of enployment for their predecessors in their positions, which was, five years. Other studies to date, known to the investigator, only addressed the tenure in the CSAA positionn of present CSAAs. Con- sistently it was found that the majority of CSAAs had been in their present positions as CSAAs for four or less years (Ingraham and King, 1968; Brooks and Avila, 1974; Studer, 1980). The number of enployment positions held by former CSAAs in the field of student affairs also seened to coincide with the findings of previous studies . The present respondents indicated that they had held a mean average of 2.36 positions in student affairs. Foy (1968) and Studer (1980) reported simnilar results in their studies of 2.4 and 2.7 positions respectively. When asked what was their field of enploynent prior to the CSAA 74 position, the former CSAAs reported that 55.42% had been in the field of student affairs; 12.00% had been members of the faculty at a college or university; and 10. 84% had been administrators in areas of higher echncation other than student affairs . When compared with previous studies, trends becane evident especially in the fields of student af- fairs and faculty. Since 1966, the percentage of CSAAs coming from within the field of student affairs has increased. Ayers, et a1. (1966) reported 33% of their sanple had been in student affairs before accept- ing a CSAA position; Foy (1968) reported 50%; and Studer (1980) found that 64% of his respondents had been in student affairs prior to being a CSAA. A trend in the opposite direction was found in reference to the nnumber of CSAAs who were faculty members immediately prior to ac- cepting a CSAA position. In 1966, Ayers, et al. reported that as mnany as 25% of their sanple were from the faculty. This percentage decreased to 18.2% in 1968 in a study by Foy and further to 10% in Studer's study in 1980. Thus it seens that over the past 15 years more CSAAs have been selected for this position from within the field of student affairs and less from the faculty. An area of study not addressed by prior research projects was the field of enployment that former CSAAs accepted subsequent to their CSAA position. Although Foy (1968) asked his sanple to predict their next career/ job move, he reported it in the general termns of promotion, de- motion, and lateral moves. He did not inquire in what specific fields they planned to be enployed after they left their p0sitions. In the present study, it was found that 42. 77% of the respondents had accepted positions in areas of the field of higher education other than student affairs. The second most popular area of enployment was the field of 75 student affairs with 24.10%. Of this group, 72.50% accepted lateral moves in student affairs in respect to title of position; while 27.50% had accepted a demotion when comparing titles of positions. It was also found that 37.35"0 of the respondents were now beyond their first subsequent positions and had accepted two or three positions since their former CSAA position. When studying the respondents' consideration of their job or ca- reer move, was it voluntary or not, much care should be taken. It seened to the investigator that this may have been a very sensitive issue for mnany of the respondents. Although 83.13% indicated that their career decisions were of their own volition there was no way of determining if any of them chose to leave knowing that it was only a matter of time before they would be asked or forced to leave their positions. In summary, the former CSAAs do not seem to differ greatly from individuals who have been studied while currently holding the CSAA position. Thus the question arises, why do some CSAAs choose to leave their positions and others do not. The next section of data will pre- sent the reasons for leaving this position as indicated by the respon- dents in this study. Factors Influencing Career Decisions In Part II of this study's questionnaire, subjects were asked to review a list of 20 factors which may have influenced their decisions to leave their former CSAA positions (See Fignn‘e l) . They were asked to rank the influential items in order of their influence. Specifical- ly, the respondents were to rank the most influential factor as ' 1' , 76 the second most influential as '2' , and so forth. Three statistical approaches, explained in Chapter Three, were used to indicate the most influential factors as stated by the former CSAAs. The first part of this section presents this data by enploying each of the three statis- tical approaches: Overall Frequency of Factors , Frequency of Factors Ranked as lbst Influential, and Mean Percentile Ranks of Factors. A discussion of the results fromn these analyses are then summarized. The second part of this section focuses on the study's research questions as stated in the previous chapter. Finally, other influen- tial factors not included in the list of 20 factors, but mentioned by the respondents , are explained. New position seened to offer more socially useful work Desired to explore new career path Felt a general source of restlessness and/or boredom in former position - Purpose of first career was accomplished - Wanted to become more involved with avocationnal interests - Aspirations were not met by former position - There were more promotion opportunities in new position - Autonomy was inncreased in new position - Salary/fringe benefits were better in new position - level of authority was increased in new position - Working connditions in new position seened better - New position offered more prestige - Relationship with peers in former position was not satisfying Relationship with supervisor in former position was not satisfying - Political pressures in former position were excessive level of responsibility in former position was excessive level of responsibility in former position did not correspond with authority - There were fannily concerns or crisis - Health necessitated less responsibility - Geographic location of new job was desirable Figure 1 List of 20 Factors Which May Have Influenced Career Decisions 77 Primary Influential Factors Overall Frecpency of Factors. The number of times each of the factors listed in Figure l was checked, was totaled regardless of rank. This approach indicated the popularity of the individual items . By review- ing Table 18 it can be seen that the following factors seem to be the most influential when only their frequencies are considered: 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' 'Exploration of New Career Path' 'Better Working Conditions' 'Better Salary/Fringe Benefits' 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor‘ 'First Career Accomplished' Frequency of Factors Ranked as lVbst Influential. In the second col- unn of Table 18 it is noted which factors appear to be most influen- tial when the ranking of number '1' is considered. The factors which received the most rankings of being very influential are: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' 'Exploration of New Career Path' 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' 'First Career Accomplished' 'Unmet Aspirations' 78 Table 18 List of 20 Factors by Frequency of Checks and Frequency of #1 Ranks Frequency Frequency Factors of Checks of #1 Rank Pbre Socially Useful Work 28 6 b Exploration of New Career Path 63 (2.5)a l8 (2) Feeling of Restlessness/Boredomn 75 (1) 15 (3) First Career Accomplished 50 (6) 14 (4.5) Avocational Innterests 21 5 Unmet Aspirations 46 14 (4.5) Nbre Promotion Opportunities 39 5 Increased Autonomny 49 4 Better Salary/Fringe Benefits 56 (4) 6 Increased level of Authority 44 5 Better Working Conditions 63 (2.5) 3 Inncreased Prestige 29 l Unnsatisfactory Relationship with Peers 18 l Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor 55 (5) 28 (1) Excessive Political Pressnn‘e 29 7 Excessive Responsibility l9 5 Responsibility did not equal Authority 30 4 Famnily Concerns or Crisis 22 4 Health Concerns 6 2 New Geographic Location 32 5 a Indicates ranking of the six most influential factors by this statistical approach Indicates ranking of the five most influential factors by this statistical approach b Mean ‘PerCentile Ranks of Factors. By determining the mean percentile rank, one may better understand the 'average' ranking received by each item. In Table 19 the mean percentile ranking is displayed for each factor as well as the number of times each item was ranked. As men- tioned in Chapter Three, one of the concerns with this method was that an item could receive a high mean percentile rank and only be ranked by a relatively small nurber of respondents. Thus when deternnnining the most innfluential factors suggested by this statistical approach, 79 the number of times an item was checked was taken into consideration. The six factors with the highest mean percentile ranks, with relative- ly high frequencies, were: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' 'Enqnloration of New Career Path' 'First Career Accomplished' 'Nbre Socially Useful Work' 'Fanily Concerns or Crisis' 'Unmet Aspirations' Table 19 Mean Percentiles of Influential Factors . F‘remlency Mean Factors of Checks Percentile More Socially Useful Work 28 64.49 (4)51 Exploration of New Career Path 63 69.15 (2) Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom 75 60.02 First Career Accomplished 50 64.77 (3) Avocational Interests 21 61.19 Unmet Aspirations 46 63.08 (6) More Promotion Opportunities 39 60.89 Increased Autonomny 49 55 .72 Better Salary/Fringe Benefits 56 55.72 Increased level of Authority 44 57.04 Better Working Conditions 63 48.45 Increased Prestige 29 41.52 Unsatisfactory Relationship with Peers 18 50. 94 Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor 55 77.55 (1) Excessive Political Pressures 29 62.82 Excessive Responsibility 19 58.28 Responsibility did not equal Authority 30 57.87 Famnily Concerns or Crisis 22 63.71 (5) Health Concerns 6 72.92 New Geographic location 32 51.16 a Indicates ranking of the six most influential factors by this statistical approach 80 Discussion of Primary Influential Factors. As explained in Chapter Three, the results of the three statistical approaches should be con- sidered collectively, not separately. No one approach presents a com- plete picture of the most influential factors. In Figure 2, the in- fluential factors are listed by each statistical approach. When the results are reviewed and compared it can be seen that three factors were included in each method of analysis . The three factors to be con- sistently more influential were: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' , 'Exploration of New Career Path' , and 'First Career Accom- plished' . Two other factors were included in two of the approaches: 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' and 'Unmet Aspirations' . The factor 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' seems to distinguish itself fromn the other two factors which were consistently ranked as being very influential. Although it received the fifth highest number of times it was checked, it received the highest number of Number One rankings . When compared with the factor which received the second highest number of Number One rankings , this factor received almost double the anount of Nunber One rankings (28 carpared to 18 re- ceived by factor 'Exploration of New Career Path') . Also, when the mean percentile ranks are compared, this particular factor is distin- guishable from the others. The mean percentile rank for this factor (77.55) is much higher than the mean percentile ranks received by the other influential factors which seened to cluster between the 60.0 and 69. 0 ranks. As Orth (1974) stated in his research, mid-life career decisions result from a 'build-up' of both positive and negative forces. It seemns that the results of this study coincide with this belief for the 81 most influential factors are a compilation of positive and negative staterents. The positive factors such as 'Exploration of New Career Path' , 'First Career Accomplished' , and 'Feeling of Restlessness/ Boredom' support the general findings of Neugarten (1979) and Erikson (1968) . It seems that many former CSAAs experienced a reassessment of their lives and were willing to try something new to satisfy their current interests . The negative staterents include such factors as 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' , 'Unmet Aspirations' . Together these two sets of factors appear to compel mnany middle-aged individuals to make a mid-life career decision. Frequency of Checks Feeling of Restlessness/Boredem Exploration of New Career Path Better Working Conditions Better Salary/Fringe Benefits Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor #1 Rankings Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor Exploration of New Career Path Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom First Career Accomplished Unmet Aspirations Mean Percentile Ranks Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor Exploration of New Career Path First Career Accomplished More Socially Useful Work Family Concerns or Crisis Unmet Aspirations Figure 2 Most Influential Factors by Statistical Approach 82 Research Hypotheses As stated in Chapter Three, the general research questions which guided this study were: 1) To determine what were the major reasons why former CSAAs left their positions as CSAAs; and 2) To ascertain if their reasons for leaving their former positions were specific to selected personal characteristics. In the previous section the first of these research questions was answered. The second research question included the personal characteristics of gender, ethnicity, consider- ation of career/ job move, teunre in the student affairs field, and sub- sequent fields of employment. These research hypotheses are studied in the following paragraphs. Since the present study was investigative in nature all of the Observed Significance levels, for comparirng the mean percentile ranks for each itemn, are noted in the tables that fol- low. For the purposes of this particular study, the significance level was set at .05. I. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of rea- sons for leaving the CSAA position between men and women. In Table 20 the mean percentile ranks are listed for each factor for men and for mnen. The two factors in which there seems to be sig- nificant differences in the mean percentile ranks are 'First Career Ac- complished' and 'Geographic Location' . Men seemed to give the factor, 'First Career Accomplished' , a higher ranking than women at the .05 level of significance. For the other factor, 'Geographic Location' , women seem to place a higher level of importance on this item than men. This significant difference may be deceptive since only two women included this item in their rankings and each happened to give it their 83 highest ranking. Table 20 Comparison of Factors by Gender Factor Gender Obs. Sig. level Males (N) Fenales (N) Socially Useful Work 65.01 (25) 60.19 (3) .7933 New Career Path 71.97 (54) 52.27 (9) .0503 Restlessness/Boredom 59.41 (66) 64.52 (9) .6312 First Career Accomplished 67.81 (44) 42.47 (6) .0455 * Avocational Interests 54.67 (15) 77.50 (6) .0987 Unmet Aspirations 60.99 (42) 85.00 (4) .1305 Promotion Opportunities 63.11 (36) 34.26 (3) .0695 Increased Autonomy 54.60 (43) 63.70 (6) .3769 Salary/Fringe Benefits 56.19 (52) 49.65 (4) .6735 Increased Authority 57.99 (40) 47.57 (4) .3827 Working Conditions 48.98 (55) 44.84 (8) .6491 Increased Prestige 40.23 (28) 77.78 (1) .1117 Relationship w/Peers 48.09 (16) 73.75 (2) .2479 Relationship w/Supr. 74.80 (49) 100.00 (6) .0517 Political Pressure 62.22 (24) 65.70 (5) .8204 Excessive Responsibility 57.43 (14) 60.67 (5) .8545 Resp. didn't equal Auth. 55.43 (27) 80.56 (3) .1419 Fannily Concerns/Crisis 64.53 (17) 60.89 (5) .8101 Health Concerns 72.92 (6) - 0 - - 0 - Geographic location 47.90 (30) 100.00 (2) .0185 * * Significant at .05 level II. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between Caucasians and all other ethnnicities combined. In Table 21 the mean percentile rankings for each factor are noted as well as the number of times each factor was checked. When setting the significance level at .05, the only factor in which a significant 84 HmsmH OO. an 8 “gamma O OHOH. HOV NOOO HONO NOOO 8383 uflampwooo OOOO. 5 8.8 5 OO.OO 38:8 fiHmmO OOON. HOV NOON HOHO OO.OO mHmflOEmmocB beam ONOO. HOV OO.OO HONO HONO amoeba HOaumv HOBO fiHHEHwSOmmm R8. 5 OO.OO HOHO NNOO fiHHHOHaaammm Emacs OOOO. HOV HOOO HONO OO.HO magma HSHOHHOO NOHO. E OO.ON HOOO HONN smegma £3 OEmammHsH OHOO. HOV O0.00 HOHO O0.00 mama OOH; OEHOHomHmm OmNO. AC NN.NO ANNV ON.HO meummnnH 8.0.8.83 OOOO. HOHO OO.NO HOOO NONO Homage wfifioz ONNO. HOHO O0.00 HOOO OO.HO bflofié 83805 OONN. HOHV OHOO ANOO NOOO Human m§\§HOO ONOO. HOHO OO.OO as NOOO H.883. Ommmmmfi NOOH. S O0.0N NO NO OOHHEOOOO 8385mm OOOO. HOHO NO 38 HO OSHOSHOOO “was OOOO. HNO OO.ON HOHO ONOO Susana Hmaommooé OOOO. 8O H0.00 ANOO O0.00 OBOHHHHSBO .838 name OOOO. HHHO ONOO AOOO NOOO Samuaamammmummm OOOO. HNHO ONON HHOO OO.HO HE .888 Bz OOOO. HOV O0.00 ANNO OO.OO x83 H38: OHHBBOO 9O EEO HH< 9O mfiHmmusmO H93 .OHO .BO mammogram 88$ fiwofifium an. 330mm mo EOEQBD HN mHOHmH. 85 difference occurs, between Caucasians and other ethnicities, is 'level of Authority Increased in New Position' . Caucasians tended to rank this factor higher than other ethnicities combined at the .05 level of significance . III. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of rea- sons for leaving the CSAA position between those former CSAAs who con- sidered their move to be voluntary and those who considered their move to be involuntary. By reviewing the data included in Table 22 no significant differ- ences can be seen between those former CSAAs who considered their move to be voluntary and those who did not. The investigator again used a .05 level of significance for this conclusion. IV. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of rea- sons for leaving the CSAA position among the three different measures of teunre in the field of student affairs. In Table 23 , the mean percentile ranks for the three different cat- egories of tenure in student affairs are listed. There was no signifi- cant differences of ranks in reference to length of tenure in the field of student affairs when applying a .05 level of significance. V. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of rea- sons for leaving the CSAA position anongst the six fields of employment which former CSAAs accepted subsequent to their CSAA position. The six fields of enployment for this study were: Student Affairs, Higher Education, Government, Business, Religion, and Other. In 86 OONO. HOV NN.OO AONO ON.HO OOHumoOH OHOOOHOOOO NOON. HNO ON.OO HOV OO.NO mammocoo OOHOOO HOOO. HNO OO.NN HONO OO.NO mHmHmO\mammocoo OHOOOO OOON. HOV NO.OO HONO NO.OO OOHHQOOOO.HOOOO O.OOHO NOHHHOHOOOOOOO OOOO. HHO OO.NO HOHO OO.OO NOHHHOHOOOOOOO m>Hmmouxm HONO. HOV ON.HN HONO O0.00 «Hummmmm HOoHOHHom SQ EONS H§ONN u§§§fi§§§§§ OOOO. HNO NO.HO HOHV OH.NO mummm OOH3.OHOOOOHOOHOO ONNO. HHO OO.ON HONO HH.NO meummmO OmmmouucH OOOO. HOV O0.00 HOOO NO.NO OOOHOHOOOO waaxupz OOON. HHO O0.00 HOOO ON.HO NuHuoeun<.OmmmmuuaH OONN. HNO OO.NO HOOO NO.OO OOHumamO mwaHuO\NumHmO - O - - O - HOOO NN.OO masseuse OmmmmuoaH ONOH. HHO OO OOH HOOO O0.00 mmHuHasumoaao OOHuoaOpm OOHN. HOV O0.00 HNOO ONOO 203832 “was OOOO. HHO OO.OO HONO ON.HO mummumucH HmcoHumooz< OONO. HOV OO.NO HOOO N0.00 OOOOHHanouO_HmmHmO ummHO OOOH. HNO OO.OO HOOO OO.HO .aOOmuom\mmmcmmmHummm OOOO. HHO HN.OO HNOO O0.00 spam mommmo.3mz NONO. HOV O0.00 HONO O0.00 xu93_HOOOOO_NHHOHoom sz SHSHHQEH g .OHmunHHHQH Hm>QH .me . moo cowumuoowmgo Houomm 95a ooQuoonu mo scenumhmowmcoo an whouomm mo 83.8980 NN mHnHmH. 87 953 How mxomno mo 533% 88.35 momofififime HH..H whoaaoz " muoz HNOO. HHNO OO.NO HOHO O0.00 HHO OO.OO common: OEOHOOOO NHOH. HOV O0.00 HNO O0.00H - O - 8888 fiHmmm ONOO. HOV O0.00 8O ON.NO HOV HONO OHOHHOEEOSO base NOHO. HOHO ONOO HOHO OO.NO HOV O0.00 misuse H98 38% DHHEHOSOOOO ONOO. HOV OO.HO HOV NNOO HHO O0.0 DHHHOHOEOOOO gammaxm OONN. HOHO OO.HO HOV OO.HO HNO O0.00 gamma HSUHHOO OOOO. HOS O0.0N HNHO ON.HO HOV OO.NH 8359a 5H3 OEmsmmHmm OOOO. HOV ONOO HOV O0.00 HOV ONOO H8O fie. OEQSHOOHQO HNOO. HOHO ONOO HNHO ONOO HNO ONOH «Omaha Ommmmmfi OOHO. COO ON.NO CHO OH.OO HOV OHHO mamaaoo wfixmoz ONOO. HNNO HH.OO HOHO OO.OO E OH.NO fiflofié 8.0.885 NOOO. AONO ONOO HOHO OO.OO HOHO OO.OO Human m§\§HmO OOOO. ANNO O0.00 HOHO OO.OO HOV NO.OO Enema 8.0.8.83 OOOO. HOHO O0.00 HNHO OO.NO S O0.00 mangoes SUQBE OOOO. HOHO NO.OO HNHO ONOO HHHO O0.00 803...qu owes HOOH. HHHO NH.NO HOHO NH.HN - O - Batman HOEHOSBO NOOO. 88 KO HOHO NO.HO HOV O0.0N OBOHHnHBSO “85.6 “map NONO. HOOO O0.00 HNNO O0.00 HOHO OO.NO SOEOOammammHummm OOHO. AONO OH.OO HNNO O0.0N HNHO OHOO fig 838 E2 OOON. HOHO ONOO HOV O0.00 HOV OO.ON vno; Haas NHHOHBO 88% OH mam» OH-O mama O EOE. who: ouch. meH Ho>QH .me . moo oHHooH. Houomm 8am? “SOB...” E magma .3 muouomm mo mvHHHmm 3383mm com: mo :03ng MN mHnHmH 88 Table 24 the mean percentile ranks of the factors for these areas of enployment are listed as well as each factor's observed level of sig- nificance. Since the fields of employment is a six level variable, it is nnot sufficient to state that there is a significant difference for a specific factor. It is not possible by simply reviewing this table to determnine which mean percentile rank in the specific fields are signif- icantly different fromn each other. The test for least Significant Dif- ferences (LSD) (Steele and Torie, 1980) was calculated for those fac- tors whose significance level was below .05. The factor 'Felt a General Source of Restlessness/Boredom' had an observed significance level of .0201. Employing the test of LSD, it was determined that significant differences for this specific factor were between the fields of Religion and all the following fields: Business, Government, Higher Education, and Student Affairs. The only exception was there was no significant difference between the fields of Religion and Other. Stated another way, there is significant dif— ference between the ranks for this factor by those former CSAAs who accepted subsequent enployment in the field of Religion as compared with all of the other listed fields with the exception of Other. Another factor which had an observed significance level of less than .05 was 'Purpose of First Career Accomplished' . Employing the ISD test, significant differences were found between the field of Re- ligionn and each of the following fields: Business, Other, Higher Ed- ucation, and Student Affairs. No significant difference of mean per— centile ranks was found between the fields of Government and Religion. Significant difference of mean percentile ranks was found between the fields of Government and Businness. All other comparison of the mean new“; you mxoooo mo 55.3me 3835 mommfinHmee 5 whoa—52 ”mooz Hm>mH mo. 05 um 3533.?me $5035 a NONO. HNO O0.00HNOO ON.OO NNO ON.OO HHO O0.00 NOV HO.OO HOHO O0.00 . coHumooH UHOOOHOOOO NOON. - O - - O - - O - - O - NOO OO.NO HNO ON.OO mammocoo OOHOm: ONOO. HOV O0.00 HHO O0.0N NOV ON.OO - O - HOV O0.00 HOV OO.OO 4” OHOHHO so Ocumucoo NHHEOO NHOO. NOV OH.OO HNO O0.00 HOV O0.00 - O - NOV OH.NO NHHO OO.HO NOHNOOHOO H8Om Oo:_OHO NOHHHOHOOOOOQO NOOO. NOV O0.00 HHO O0.00 NNO OO.OOH HHO OO.OH HNO NO.NO HOV ON.NO NOHHHOHOOOOOOO m>HmmmoxO O OONO. HNO HOOO,~ - O - NHO OO OO NNO NO.ON HOV NH.NO HHHO O0.00 musmmmmm HOUHOHHON OOOO. HOV NH.ON HOV N0.00 HOV OO.OO NHO ON.OH NOHO O0.00 HOHO O0.0N HOOHBOOOO OOH; OHOmcoHumHmO NOON. HNO ON.OO HHO NN.NN HNO OO.OO - O - NOV OO.HO NNO OO.OO OOOON OOH; OHOOOOHOOHOO OOON. HOV NO.HO NHO OO ON NOV HH.OO HOV ON.OO HOHO O0.00 NOV O0.00 OOHOOOHN OmmmmmocH NOHO. HOHO H0.00 HOV OH.OO HOV HH.HO HNO OO.ON HNNO HH.HO NNNO NO.HO OOOHOHOOOO OOHONOO ONOO. HOV OO.OO HOV ON.OO NOV OO.OO HOV HH.HO HOHO OO.NO HHHO OO.OO NOHOQOOOO.OOOOOOQOH OONO. HNO O0.00 HOV O0.00 HOHO OO.OO NOV ON.ON HOHO OO OO HOHO OO.OO OOHOOOOO OOOHOONNHOHOO OOON. HOV O0.00 HOV OO.OO HOV OO.NN HNO O0.00 HONO OO.OO HHHO OO.OO .OeocoO=<.OmmmmmucH OOOO. NOV O0.00 NNO O0.00 HOV OO.NO HOV NN.OO HHNO O0.00 HNO OO.ON OOHOHOOOHOOOO coHOOEOmO O NNOO. NOV ON.ON HOV ON.OO HOV OO.OO - O -. HOHO OO.HN HNHO HO.NO :oHOOHHOOO Omen: OOOO. HOV O0.00 HOV OO.OO HNO NO.HO HHO N0.00 HOV ON.HO HOV O0.00 OOOONOOOH HOcoHOmUOOO a HOHO. NOV OO.OO HNO OO.OO NOV HN.OO HNO O0.00 HONO OO.HO HOV O0.00 OOOOHHOOOQQO HOOHOO OOHHO O HONO. HOV OO.NO NOO H0.00 HOV OO.NN NOV OH.NO HHOO HH.OO HNHO HO.NO .eoowu0ONOOOOOOOHOOmO NOON. HOV NN.NO HOV OO.ON HHHO OO.NO HNO HH.HO NNOO NO.NN NNO OO.OO OOON mmmumo gmz NHOO. HNO ON.OO HHO OO OOH NOV N0.00 - O - HOHO O0.00 NOV OO.ON sup: HOOOOO NHHOHOOO umfio EHOHHOO OOOESO “52.98 .E NEON: Omaha. “Baum Hm>mH .OHO .OOO OHOHO “cause ”.85ng mo 3on agoomosm .3 muouomm mo NOV—cum 33833 :82 mo 83.3950 ON mHnHmH. 90 percentile ranks of the various fields were found not to be signif- icantly different. The factor 'Aspirations Not Met by Former Position' had an ob- served significance level of .0377. The significant differences of mean percentile ranks were fomd to be between the field of Religion and the fields of Business and Student Affairs. Also, the mean per- centile ranks of the field of Higher Education for this factor were found to be significantly different when coupared with those ranks of the fields of Business and Student Affairs. The last factor that contained some significant differences at the .05 level was 'Political Pressures in Fonner Position were Exces- sive' . It was found that mean percentile ranks for the field of High- er Education was significantly different when compared with both the fields of Student Affairs emd Government. Discussion of Research Hypotheses. The main thrusts of the research questions were to determine the major factors that influenced former CSAAs to leave their CSAA positions and then to study any significant differences annng the rankings of the factors by selected personal characteristics . In reference to the first research hypothesis, it seemed that men and women agree with their rankings of influential factors with the exception of the factors 'First Career Accomplished' and 'Geographic location' . A difference in the rankings for the factor , 'First Career Accomplished' , is not Stu-prising if it is related to the literature of mid-life development. Neugarten and Gutman (1958) found that during mid-life , men perceive this period as a time to experiment with talents 91 not yet eIployed while women are becoming more achievement oriented in their careers. Thus men may be more willing to bring closm‘e to their first career and begin another, while men are striving to further de- velop their first career choice. As mentioned earlier, the significant difference between men and women in respect to the factor 'Geographic location' may be coincidental since only two women in the sample includ- ed this factor in their rankings and then gave it their highest ranking. Although Gross (1978) concluded from his review of the literature that ethnicity had a major effect on the entrance and retention in the student affairs field, there was only one factor which had a signifi- cant difference in its mean percentile rankings for this dependent vari- able. It seems that Caucasians placed a higher importance on obtaining an increased level of authority than merbers of minority groups. Unlike the studies by Driskill and Dauw (1975) , this investigator found no significant differences between the rankings of those individ- uals who voluntarily or involuntarily left their positions. Thus this particular hypothesis was not supported by the research. The fourth hypothesis studied the independent variable of tenure in the field of student affairs. Again, no significant differences were found among the mean percentile rankings for the factors . As men- tioned in Chapter One, it was hypothesized that there may be a signif- icant difference related to tenure in the field since significant dif- ferences were found in a previous study by Shaw (1970) in relation to different administrative positions within the field of student affairs and level of acadenic preparation of CSAAs . The hypothesis that contained the most significant differences was that which dealt with subsequent fields of employment. Regarding 92 the factor, 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' , members of all fields with the exception of 'Other' were significantly more influenced by this factor than those individuals who were in the field of Religion. Other significant differences were found in respect to the factor 'Pur- pose of First Career Accomplished' . Former CSAAs who accepted subse- quent positions in Religion placed a higher importance on this factor than people in the fields of Business, Other, Higher Education, and Student Affairs. Also it was found that former CSAAs currently in the field of Government placed a higher mean percentile ranking on this factor than those cnurently employed in Business. When studying the effects of the subsequent fields of enployment it was determined that two different groups significantly differed in their rankings from other employment groups in respect to the factor 'Unmet Aspirations' . Former CSAAs now employed in Religion and Higlner Education placed more emphasis on this factor than those employed in Business and Student Affairs . Finally the last factor which included significant differences was 'Excessive Political Pressure' . Former CSAAs now employed in the field of Higher Education felt that this was more of an influential factor in deciding to leave their former CSAA position than those currently employed in Government and Student Af- fairs . Other Resgnnnses Noted by Former CSAAs At the conclusion of the list of the possible influential factors, two additional spaces were added . Respondents were encouraged to in- clude in their rankings any factors that they felt were influential but were not included in this list of 20 factors. Since all of the 93 respondents did not have the opportunity to consider these 'other' additional factors , the rankings of those respondents who noted 'other' factors were not included in the previous sections pertaining to influ- ential factors . There was a total of 10 respondents who noted additional factors which influenced their decisions. Their answers can be divided into three categories . Five wanted to return to their former careers , typ- ically teaching . Another three respondents wanted to further their education and return to the academic environment as a student. The re- maining respondents experienced unusual circunstances in their profes- sional career such as the closing of their institution. areas: In this chapter, the results of this study were presented in three major sections. In the first part, Personal Clnaracteristics of Former CSAAs, very few differences from previous studies of CSAAs were noted. The second section focused on the Career Deve10pment of Former CSAAs. Again it was found that the former CSAAs did not markedly differ in their career histories from those individuals who had been studied while currently holding the CSAA position. It was determined in this study, that trends are developing as to the fields of employment prior to accepting positions in the field of Higher Education subsequent to their former CSAA position. The final section of this chapter studied the factors which in- fluenced the former CSAAs ' career decisions . The primary influential factors were suggested by erploying three different statistical ap- proaches . Factors which consistently were included in each of the 94 statistical approaches were: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Super- visor' , 'Exploration of New Career Path' , and 'First Career Accom- plished' . In this same section the conclusions for the research hy- potheses for this study were reviewed. CHAPTER FIVE SUMVIARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECIPMENDA’I'IONS Introduction This chapter contains a summary of the study and conclusions re- lated to its research questions and hypotheses. Also included in this chapter are recommendations in regards to professional preparation of CSAAs and recamendations for further study. Snmmary of the Study Background and Purposes The need for this particular study evolved fromn a concern of the paucity of research related to the career development of professionals in the field of student affairs. Specifically the studies to date had all concluded with the Chief Student Affairs Administrator's (CSAA) po- sition (e.g. , Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students). It was found by reviewing the literature in this field that CSAAs were of the average age of 44 and yet had a tenure in their CSAA positions of approximately four years . Thus it was concluded that many former CSAAs had probably accepted some type of enployment subsequent to the CSAA position. By studying a sample of professional staff members who had at one time held the position of CSAA and had since accepted an- other employment position it was hoped that a more carplete understand- ing of the career development of former CSAAs could be obtained. The purpose of this study was three-fold: 1) To provide descrip- tive information on the various personal/professional characteristics 95 96 of former CSAAs; 2) To identify the enployment positions accepted by former CSAAs subsequent to their CSAA positions; and 3) To determine the factors which influenced these former CSAAs to leave their posi- tions as CSAAs. Two general research questions guided the development of the study. First, what were the primary reasons why former CSAAs left their CSAA positions? Second, were the reasons for leavirng this position specific to selected personal/professional characteristics and/or the field of their subsequent employment? From these research questions , five hy— potheses were developed and tested. They were as follows: I. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between men and women. II. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between Caucasians and all other ethnicities. III. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position between those CSAAs who con- sidered their move to be voluntary and those who considered their move to be involuntary. IV. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position among the three different measures of tenure in the field of student affairs (1 = less than 5 years; 2 = 5 to 10 years; and 3 = More than 10 years). V. There will be a difference in the mean percentile rankings of reasons for leaving the CSAA position amongst the six fields of em— ployment which former CSAAs accepted subsequent to their CSAA position. (The six fields are: Student Affairs, Higher Education other than 97 Student Affairs, Government, Business, Religion, and Other.) Methods and Procedures As previously stated, the saIple for this study was composed of former CSAAs who had already left their CSAA positions. Members of the sample were determnined by comparing the 1977-78 and 1978-79 edi- tions of the Directory of Higher Education Institutions. After their present addresses were located, each member of the sanple was mailed a questionnaire. This survey contained two parts . In Part I , biograph- ical inquiries were related to three main areas: personal character- istics, acadenic background, and employment history. In Part II of the survey participants were asked to select and rank in order of influence the factors which were involved in their decision to leave their former CSAA position. Of the 267 individuals who were sent this questiornnaire, 166 re- sponded, resulting in a response rate of 68%. By using the Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test, it was determined that the respondents were rep- resentative of the sample in respect to gender, and affiliation, and type of former institution. The data in Part I of the study was analyzed by using descriptive statistics , that is, percentages , medians , means , and standard devia- tions. In order to respond to the study's research questions and hy- potheses, the 20 factors in Part II of the survey were analyzed using three different statistical approaches . First , the total number of times each of the 20 factors was ranked, regardless of rank, was cal- culated. Second, the number of times each factor received the ranking of ' 1' (most influential) was determnined. The third approach involved 98 calculating the mean percentile rank for each of the 20 factors. Be- cause none of the three statistical approaches adequately analyzed the data, the results from each of the approaches were studied collectively. Fin' S The results of this study were grouped into three mnaj or categories: personal characteristics of respondents , their career development , and factors influencing their career decisions . Personal Clnaracteristics l. The median age for the former CSAAs was 44.4 years. Although the median age for women was 46.5 years and for men, 44.1 years, this difference was not significant at the .05 level. The respondents left their former CSAA positions typically at the age of 41.6 years. This was the median age for the sample. A large majority of former CSAAs were Caucasians (84.34%) , while 6.02% were Black, 3.01% Hispanic, 1.21% American Indians, and .60% Asian. The percentage of respondents who did not complete this item totaled 4. 82%. Overall, 79. 52% of the former CSAAs indicated that they were mnarried, while 19.88% of the respondents reported that they were single. When gender was considered, 76. 92% of femnale former CSAAs and 9. 29% of the male former CSAAs were reportedly single. The most frequently highest earned academnic degree for the sample was the Doctorate (53. 01%). Male former CSAAs more often earned a Doctorate (55.00%) while female former CSAAs typically earned a Master's degree (57.69%). 99 Career Development 1. Half of the former CSAAs (50%) had been in the field of student affairs for more than 10 years. Of the male former CSAAs, 51.43% reported they had been in the field for more than 10 years while the plurality of female former CSAAs (46. 15%) indicated their tenure in the field to be from five to 10 years. The range for tenure in the former CSAA position was one to 28 years with a median average of 5.4 years. The median number of positions held by former CSAAs in the student affairs field was 2.1 positions. The range for this item was from one to six positions. The majority (55.42%) of the former CSAAs held enployment positions in the student affairs field prior to accepting their former CSAA position. The second most popular field of employment prior to the CSAA position was higher education faculty (12.05%) . The largest group of former CSAAs (42. 77%) accepted positions in higher education (other than student affairs) subsequent to their former CSAA position. Of this group, 26.76% accepted a faculty position, 64.79% accepted administrative posts, and 8.45% became college or university presidents. The second most popular field of subsequent enployment was student affairs. Of the 40 respondents (24.10% of the sample) who stayed in this field, 29 (72.50%) accepted other CSAA positions and 11 (27.50%) accepted other types of positions within this field. At the time of this study, 62.65% of the former CSAAs had accepted only one enployment position subsequent to their former CSAA posi- tion. 100 The mnaj ority of former CSAAs (83. 13%) considered their employment move from the former CSAA position to be a voluntary one. Factors Influencing Career Decisions 1. When summing the number of times each of the 20 factors was ranked, regardless of rank, the most popular items with their frequencies were: ‘Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' (75); 'Exploration of New Career Path' (63); 'Better Working Conditions' (63); 'Better Salary/Fringe Benefits' (56); 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' (55); and 'First Career Accomplished' (50) . The factors which appeared to be most influential when only the number ‘1' ranking was considered were: 'Unsatisfactory Relation- ship with Supervisor' (28); 'Exploration of New Career Path' (18); 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' (15); 'First Career Accomplished' (l4) ; and 'Unmet Aspirations' (l4) . Wnen the mean percentile rank for each factor was calculated the most influential factors were: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' (77.55); 'Exploration of New Career Path' (69.15); 'First Career Accomplished' (64.77); 'More Socially Useful Work' (64.49); 'Fanily Concerns or Crisis' (63.71); and 'Unmet Aspira- tiorns' (63.08) . When. examining the results of the three statistical approaches collectively, three factors are consistently listed as being very influential. They are: 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Super- visor ' , 'Exploration of New Career Path' , and ' First Career Accom- plished' . The two significant differences between the ranking of factors by were 101 men and those by women were in respect to the factor 'Purpose of First Career Accomplished' and 'Geographic Location' . Male for- mer CSAAs gave the first factor a higher ranking than female for- mer CSAAs; while women who included 'Geographic Location' in their rankings placed a higher enphasis on it than men. The only factor in which there was a significant difference in the rankings by Caucasians and other ethnicities was 'Increased level of Authority' . Caucasians tended to rank this factor higher than the other ethnicities combined. There was no significant difference between the factor rankings of those former CSAAs who considered their enployment move to be vol- untary and those who did not. There were no significant differences among the factor rankings in respect to tenure in the field of student affairs. When the subsequent field of enployment was considered in relation to the rankings of the 20 factors , significant differences were found. Members of certain subsequent fields of employment dif- fered in their rankings regarding the factors: 'Feeling of Rest- lessness/Boredom' , 'First Career Accomplished' , 'Unmet Aspira- tions' , and 'Excessive Political Pressure'. Conclusions Based upon the findings of this study, the following conclusions reached. When developing this study it was noted that the average age of current CSAAs was between 40 and 49 years (Ayers , et al. 1966; Ingraham and King, 1968; Foy, 1968; and Studer, 1980). The 102 findings of this study on former CSAAs were consistent with this past research. Both populations that were studied, that is, current and former CSAAs , were typically middle-aged. Knowing that events that occur during mniddle age are common to both popu- lations, what causes a person to actually clnange a job or career at this time? It is concluded that the reasons why some individ- uals leave their former positions is related to the factors for mid—life career change. The findings of this study support the belief that a career change is normally a long-term build-up of both positive and negative factors (Orth, 1974) . The most influ— ential factors in this study included both negative and positive factors , for example, 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Super- visor' and 'Exploration of New Career Path' . Thus it is not suf- ficient to state that certain CSAAs left their former positions because they were middle-aged and had to confront certain events , for the mnaj ority of CSAAs experienced this . Rather , their reasons for leaving these positions are related to the factors of mid-life career change as noted in the literature by Erikson (1963) , Orth (1974), and Murray, Powers, and Havinghurst (1971). Certain enployment trends are becomning evident in respect to the fields of employment prior to the CSAA position. Since 1966, the percentage of CSAAs coming fromn within the field of student af- fairs has increased. Ayers, et al. (1966) reported 33% of their sample had been in student affairs before accepting a CSAA posi- tion; Foy (1968) reported 50%; and Studer (1980) found that 64% of his respondents had been in student affairs prior to being a 103 CSAA. The findings of this study support this trend. Before ac- cepting the CSAA position, 55.42% of former CSAAs had been in the field of student affairs; 12.00% had been members of the faculty; and 10. 84"o had been administrators in areas of higher education other than students affairs. A trend in the opposite direction was found in reference to the mmber of CSAAs who were faculty members immediately prior to ac- cepting a CSAA position. In 1966, Ayers, et al. reported that as many as 25% of their sample were fromn the faculty. This percent- age decreased to 18.2% in 1968 in a study by Foy and further to 10% in Studer's study in 1980. Thus it can be concluded that since, over the past 15 years more CSAAs have been selected for this position from within the field of student affairs and less from the faculty , professional preparation and experience are in- _ creasingly important in the selection of CSAAs than in previous years . Since two-thirds of this study's sample (66.87%) accepted subse- quent positions in either student affairs (24.10%) or higher edu- cation (42. 77%) it was concluded by the investigator that CSAAs have acquired either through their academic preparation or profes- sional experience, skills that can easily be applied to many areas of higher education. Because one is educated for and experienced in the field of student affairs does not mean one is unqualified for positions in higlner education outside the specific field of student affairs such as other admninistrative or professorial posi- tions . 104 4. Although 83. 13% of the sample indicated that their career change was considered voluntary, it is not safe to conclude that their career change was well planned. The negative aspects of the major influential reasons, that is, 'Unsatisfactory Relationship with Supervisor' , 'Feeling of Restlessness/Boredom' , and 'Unmet Aspira- tions' could have been of sufficient influence for people to sim- ply decide to leave their positions without necessarily giving careful consideration of the long-term effects of their new posi- tion. Another finding which lends support to this conclusion is that already approximately 37% of this sample have accepted more than one position subsequent to their former CSAA position. Recommendations Regarding Professional Preparation of CSAAs The results of this study suggest that the preparation of student affairs professionals , whether that development be in the form of for- mnal academnic education or in- service training , be reviewed. Based on this study, the investigator believes that two areas need to be more fully addressed in the professional preparation of CSAAs. It seems that current academnic programns in student affairs teach career development theories yet help the new professional apply these theories only to the college students they will be serving. Little em- phasis is placed on studying the career developmental needs of future professionals in the student affairs field. More enphasis should be placed on the individual professional's self awareness, knowing one's current needs and interests , and knowing how to match these with career positions (Schlossberg, 1975). As Super (1957) has stated, it is very important that adults acquire vocational mnaturity rather than just 105 vocational adjustment. Professionals should have the ability to cope with career developmental tasks with which one is confronted and not just react to these situations. Another area of concern is the relationship of student affairs and higher education. Most would agree that student affairs is a part of a larger field of higher education. It seems to the investigator that often student affairs professionals do not include in their pro- fessional preparation and/ or development a thorough understanding and appreciation of this larger field. It is recommended that more time be spent on studying and understanding the various other arenas in higher education, such as faculty development, business affairs, institutional development, and governance. Onne positive result of such study would be the enhancenent of the working relationship between student affairs and the other components of higher education. Keeping in mind that the results of this research project indicat- ed that the majority of former CSAAs accepted subsequent enployment in higher education, it would seemn that such study of higher education would aid the former CSAAs in mnaking this career transition in the fu- ture. Recommendations for Further Study In concluding this study, the investigator has listed below five suggestions for further research related to this study. 1. A longitudinal research project, with purposes similar to this study, should be conducted to study former CSAAs over a longer span of time. This study's sample was comprised of individuals who left their positions during a reasonably stable year in the 106 national economy as believed by the investigator. It would be interesting to note if over a long period of time if former CSAAs shifted their immediate subsequent enployment fields or left their CSAA position for reasons different than those determined by this study. The state of the national economny at the time of the study may affect a person's decision to leave a position. Another concept which also could be studied by such a longitudinal research project could be curricule changes in the academic prep- aration of student affairs professionals. These changes may also influence career development . This study focused on the characteristics of former CSAAs, their subsequent enployment , and their reasons for leaving their former CSAA positionn. It is suggested that another research project be conducted to study not 'why' these individuals left their former positions, that is, not what factors influenced them to change positions, but rather, 'how' they left. The new study could focus on how the person mnade the transition, what support they did or did not receive from family and/or colleagues , how long it took to make the transition, and how their self image was affected by the change. This research project, studying how people cope with these changes, would be a contribution to the fields of student affairs and mid— life development . Although the median age for this sarple of former CSAAs was 41.6 years, it was also determined from this study that the modal age 107 was between 35 and 39 years. It is recommended that another hy- pothesis be studied to see if there are significant differences in the mean percentile rankings of influential factors among three age groupings: those former CSAAs who were under the age of 35; those between the ages of 36 and 54; and finally, those over the age of 55. It is hoped that by studying this independent variable more support could be given that these influential factors are truly related to mid-life career development. The present study was investigative in nature and as a result some of the findings, that is, significant differences in ranked fac- tors by subsequent fields of employment, could not be compared to the literature since past studies on the career development of former CSAAs were not known to the investigator. It is recarmend- ed that further research be conducted to study the significant differences , in relation to the influential factors , among the various fields of subsequent enployment. Bibliography BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayers, A. , Tripp, P. , & Russell, J. Student services administration in higgr education. (U.S. Department of HEW, Office of Education No. FS . : . Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1966. Beusse, W. E. An examination of the impact of adult developmental stages on role strain, affective and behavioral reactions. Unpub- lisheci doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1980. Brim, O. G. Theories of the male mid-life crisis. Counseling Psychologist, 1976, 6 (1), 2-9. Brooks, G. D. , & Avila, J. F. The chief student personnel administrator and his staff: a profile. NASPA Journal, 1974, ll (4), 41-47. Crookston, B. B., & Atkyns, G. C. A study of student affairs: the prin- cipal student affairs officer, the functions, the organization at anerican colleges and universities 1967-1972. Storrs, Cormnecticut: University of Connecticut Research Foundation, 1974. (Technical Report No. 3) Downie, N. M., 6: Heath, R. W. Basic statistical methods. New York: Harper & Row, 1974. Driskill, T. M. , & Dauw, D. C. Executive mid-career job change. Persormnel Journal, 1975, 54, 562-564. Dutton, T. B. An exploratory investigation of selected assmptions and beliefs of student personnel administrators: a preliminary report. NASPA Division of Research and Publications. Portland, Oregon: NASPA, 1968. Erikson, E. H. Childlnood and society. New York: W. W. Norton, 1963. Erikson, E. H. Identity: youth and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton, 1968. Englehart, M. D. Methods of educational research. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1972. Foy, J. E. Career patterns of student persormnel admninistrators. Unpub- lished dissertation, Michigan State University, 1969. 108 109 Ginzberg, E. Toward a theory of occupational choice: a restatenent. The Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 1972, 2_0 (3), 169-175. Gould, R. L. Transformations: growth and change in adult life. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1978. Gross, L. J. Characteristics of student personnel workers: a review (zf)the research. Journal of College Student Persormnel, 1978, 19 3 , 231-237. — Heald, J. E. Mid-life career influence. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 1977, 2_5 (4), 309-312. Heistand, D. L. Changing careers after thirty-five. New York: Colnmbia University Press, 197T. Hodgkinson, H. L. Adult development: implications for faculty and administrators. Educational Record, 1974, 55 (4) , 263-274 Ingraham, M. , & King, F. P. The mirror of brass: the compensation and working conditions of college and university administrators . Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1968. Kerlinger, F. E. Foundations of behavioral research (2nd ed.) . New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc. , 1973. Kulnlen, R. G. Developmental changes in motivation during the adult years. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed.), Middle age and aging. Clnicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968. Levinson, D. J. The seasons of a man's life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978. Pendenhall, W. Introduction to statistics. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Carpany, Inc. , 1966. Murray, J. R., Powers, E. H., & Havinghurst, R. J. Personal and situ- ational factors producing flexible careers . The Gerontologist , 1971, E (2), 4-12. National Center for Educational Statistics. Directory of higher educa- tion institutions, 1978—79. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979. Neugarten, B. L. Adult personality: towards a psychology of the life cycle. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed.), Middle age and agi1_ng. Clnicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968. Neugarten, B. L. The awareness of middle age. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed.) , Middle age and agigng. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, I968. Neugarten, B. L. Time, age, and the life cycle. The American Journal 110 of Psychiatry, 1979, 136, 887-93. Neugarten, B. L., & Gunman, D. L. Age-sex roles and personality in middle life: a thematic apperception study. Psychological Mono- ggaphs, 1958, fl, No. 17. Norman, W. H. , & Scaramella, T. J. (Eds.), Mid-life, developmental and clinical issues. New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers, 1980. Orth, C. D. How to survive the mid-career crisis. Business Horizons, 1974, _11, 11-18. Roberts, B. H. Mid-career change: smoke or fire? Not available in hard copy due to marginal iegibility of original docunent. 1973 . (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 128741) Roberts, B. H. Middle-aged career drop-outs: an exploration. Paper presented at the Armnual Meeting of the GerontEIogical Society, Louisville, October, 1975. Schlossberg , N. K. Breaking out of the box: organizational options for adults. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 1977, 2_5 (4) , 313-318. Schlossberg, N. K. Career development in adults. American Vocational Journal, 1975, _5_0, 38—41. Schlossberg, N. K. , Troll, L. E. , & Ieibowitz, Z. Perspectives in counsel' adults issues and skills. Monterey, California: Brook—s7Coie 5511' slang 5. , 1978. Shaw, D. 0., 6: Osburn, H. G. Comparison of methods for combining in- complete sets of rank-order data. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1970, _5_4 (6), 526—532. Shaw, W. B. A study of attrition among selected former student person- nel workers . Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State Unfiersity, 1970. Sinick, D. Counseling older persons: careers, retirement and dyigng. Human Sciences Press, 1977. Steele, R. G. , 6: Torrie, J. H. Principles and procedures of statis- tics. New York: McGraw—Hill Book Company, 1980. Studer, J. D. Career patternns, job satisfaction, and perception of needed preparation of chief student persormnel admfinistrators . Un- published doctoral dissertation, The Ohio State University, 1980. Super, D. E. The psychology of careers. New York: Harper 6: Row, 1957. Stper, D. E. Vocational maturity in mid-career. The Vocational Guid- ance Quarterly, 1977, _2_§_ (4), 294-302. 111 Upcraft, M. L. Role expectations for college personnel adnninistrators in large universities. Unpublished doctoraI dissertation, Michigan State University, 1967. Warwick, D. P., & Lininager, C. A. The sanple survey: theory and practice. McGraw-Hill, 1975. Weisborg, H. F. , & Bowen, B. D. An introduction to survey research and data analysis. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1977. Wilcox, P. Counselingfor second careers. Paper presented for class requirement, 1978. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 160 174) Wilensky, H. L. Orderly careers and social participation: the impact of work history on social integration in the mniddle mess. American Sociological Review, 1961 a, _ZQ, 521-539. Zambrano, A. , & Entine, A. A guide to career alternatives for aca- demnics. Washington, D.C.: Change Magazine Press, 1976. APPENDIX A ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT é‘eXlCo n9 Box 4149/ Las Cruces. New Mexico 88003 _e A Telephone (505) 6461921 Lu v.4 Z. =::: In 04/ ,3 [V535\ a January 8, 1982 Dear a We are currently conducting a survey to study the career patterns of those individuals who have formerly held a position as a Chief Student Affairs Administrator. By comparing two editions of the Directory of Higher Education Institutions (1977- 78 and 1978-79) it was noted that you no longer were employed as the at _ This survey is being distributed to you and other Chief Student Affairs Administrators (CSAAs) who left their positions during this time. As you may be aware, there are few studies on the career patterns of Student Affairs professionals. The information gathered on this topic concludes with the position of CSAA, e.g., Vice President of Student Affairs or Dean of Students. Only two studies have been located which address a CSAA's anticipated professional move. We hope to contribute to this literature by studying the career paths of those individuals who left a position as a CSAA and by examining the reasons for their change in employment. Completion of this survey should not take longer than fifteen minutes. You will not be identified by name in the study and all information collected will be kept in the strictist confidence. The first sheet of the survey will be discarded before any tabulation or analysis is begun. In the directions for completion of the survey you are asked to complete biographical information and then rank the influence of factors which may have been related to your job and/or career change. It is our hope that you will complete the enclosed survey and will assist with our study. Through your participation, we hope to offer those currently in Student Affairs 3 more thorough understanding of the career development of professionals in this field. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Penelope H. Wills Dr. Louis C. Stamatakos Associate Director Professor of Higher Education Student Development Michigan State University Encl. 113 The information on this sheet will be kept separate from your responses to the attached survey. Since this is an anonomous questionnaire, the number in the upper right-hand corner will be used only to insure that a second questionnaire is not sent to you. If you would like to receive a summary of the results of this study, please complete the information below. Your Name (First) (M.I.) (Last) Address (Street) (City) (State) (Zip Code) Please return this sheet and the survey in the enclosed, self-addressed, stamped envelope. Upon receipt, we will separate this sheet from your responses to the survey. Thank you for your assistance. 114 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDY OF THE CAREER DEVELOPMENT OF FORMER CHIEF STUDENT AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATORS I. Please complete the information in Sections A, B and C. A. ) Biogaphicnl lnfognlation 1.0) Birthdate: ' 2.0) Sex: Male Female Month / Day / Year 3.0) Marital Status: Single Married 4.0) Number of Dependents: 5.0) Ethnicity: Am. Indian Asian Hispanic Anglo Black—- Other (please explain) B . ) Agademic Preparation 6.0) Please provide the following information regarding your academic preparation. Name of Degree Year Awarded Major Field College/University Bachelor's Masterrs Doctorate Other C . ) Professional Background 7.0) Beginning with your present position, list all full-time work experience for the past twenty years. If additional space is needed use space on page 4. Title of Position Emplover Dates of Employment (From) (To) (Continued on next page) 115 8.0) How many years have you been employed in the field of Student Affairs? Less than five years Five to ten years More than ten years 9.0) How many years were you employed in your former position as a Chief Student Affairs Administrator? (years) 10.0) At what age did you assume your former position as a Chief Student Affairs Administrator? 11.0) At what age did you leave that position? The following questions are related to the position which you accepted subsequent to leaving your former position as Chief Student Affairs Administrator. 12.0) State the title of the position which you accepted subsequent to your former position of Chief Student Affairs Administrator? 13.0) Is your present position the same as the position which you. listed in Item No. 12.0. Yes No If you answered 'No', please state the title of your present position: 14.0) Do you consider your present position to be in the field of: Student Affairs Higher Education (other than Student Affairs) Government Business Religion Other (please explain) 15.0) How long have you been in your present position? (years) 16.0) Do you consider your career/job change to be a voluntary one (e.g., wanted to locate a job which was more congruent with your present desires) or an involuntary one (e.g., reduction of work force, removal from prior position?) Voluntary Involuntary (Continued on next page) II. |3> 116 In the following section there is a list of various factors which may affect a person's decision to change jobs or careers. These factors have been derived from the literature in career and adult development. Step 1. In Column 'A', please check the items which influenced your decision to leave your former position as the Chief Student Affairs Administrator. Step 2. After checking all items which influenced your decision, in Column '8' rank the checked items in the order of their influence, i.e., '1' being most influential, '2' being second most influential, etc. Only rank those items which you checked in Step 1. In: New position seemed to offer more socially useful work Desired to explore new career path Felt a general source of restlessness and/or boredom in former position Purpose of first career was accomplished Wanted to become more involved with avocational interests Aspirations were not met by former position There were more promotion opportunities in new position Autonomy was increased in new position Salary/fringe benefits were better in new position Level of authority was increased in new position Working conditions in new position seemed better New position offered more prestige Relationship with peers in former position was not satisfying Relationship with supervisor in former position was not satisfying Political pressures in former position were excessive Level of responsibility in former position was excessive Level of responsibility in former position did not correspond with authority There were family concerns or crisis Health necessitated less responsibility Geographic location of new job was desirable Other (please explain) Other (please explain) (Continued on next page) 117 The ranking of factors often does not completely offer a full explanation of the reasons for career decisions. In narrative form please state why you decided to leave your former position as a Chief Student Affairs Administrator. Thank you for your assistance in completing this questionnaire. Please return this questionnaire and the attached sheet in the enclosed enveIOpe and send to: Office of Student Development Box 4149 New Mexico State University Las Cruces. New Mexico 88003 APPENDIX B ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT DEVELOPMENT V‘\e)(|Co Box 4149/Las Cmces, New Mexico 88003 g I; Telephone (505) 646-1921 g r: (WA‘J- Iveae‘ February 1, 1982 To Whom It May Concern, Within the past three weeks you were sent a questionnaire for the "Study of the Career Development of Former Chief Student Affairs Administrators." As we mentioned in our previous letter, we hope that you will take time to complete our survey as we are trying to conduct one of the first studies involving former Chief Student Affairs Administrators. If you do not plan to complete the questionnaire which was mailed to you, please check the appropriate box and return it to us. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Pen ope H. Hills Dr. Louis Stamatakos Associate Director Professor of Higher Education Michigan State University enc 119 Regarding the questionnaire for the "Study of the Career DeveIOpment of Former Chief Student Affairs Administrators", I do not plan to complete it because. [:] I prefer not to be a respondent. I miSplaced the questionnaire, please send another copy to me. please send another copy so I can complete it. C] I never received my copy of the questionnaire, [:1 Other Thank you for your assistance. APPENDIX C Column 1-3 16 17 18 19-20 21 22-23 24-25 120 Mess Observation Code Affiliation of Institution Type of Institution Size of Institution Age of CSAA Birthdate of CSAA Sex of CSAA Marital Status # of Dependents Ethnicity Highest Degree Earned Highest Degree Related or Net Related to Student Affairs # of Positions in.Student Affairs Years in.Student Affairs Years in.CSAA Position Age When.Accepting CSAA Position Translation as is 1 = PUblic 2 = Private 1 = 2 year 2 = 4 year as is (in.hundreds) as is as is (last two digits) 1 = Male 2 = Famale 1 = Married 2 = Single as is 3 = Hispanic 4 = Anglo 5 = Bladk 6 = Other 1 = Badhelor 2 = Masters 3 = Doctorate 4 = Other 1 = Yes 2 = No as is 26-27 28 29 30 31 32 33 121 Age When Leaving CSAA Position # of Positions Accepted Subsequent to CSAA Position Is person still a CSAA Field of Present Position Is present position same as subsequent position Years in Present Position Was move voluntary or involuntary as is as is 1 = Yes 2 = No 1 = Student Affairs 2 = Higher Education 3 = Government 4 = Business 5 = Religion 6 = Other 1 = Yes 2 = No as is Voluntary APPENDIX D 122 OONONuDN o-dt‘fiN (‘1 mm me mm OOOO OOOOOO—‘OO— OO .— ~O --OOO O \T-‘Iflw—‘M —‘ —* O O N --4 O O O —-4 O O O N O O N N N --I O O \C \D o—i O t") C". In O —£ In -' O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O v-l O O -‘ In on N <7 -i w c If) In —-4 \f‘. —-l FIG —I CQQNMQM N m m to Q LP. N~ _— N— OOOOOOOOOOOO u—. A V Cd N OONOMOO'fi—‘ON—IO Nx‘? F‘ N M U‘. N O 0‘ C5 NMCMOQMMOM O OOOHOOC-d cmcmmmmmmmm—ammmqmfic m —l MNNN N -1 O \C c— (‘3 O—‘O—IOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOO OOOOOOOOHOOOOOCOOOO-d OOMOO N—oefi—nONNN ~~OOOOO mmoowox OO—IOOOOOOO m O \D N P, CO OOOO OOOOOOO~ — mmx‘rx'me mm QI-nx'fOI-fim—t—t Lfl q~ mg mg m :oflumocq omsumuxoo: mznmosco Lugmm: Hmwuu no mcumocou mamas; .Lu:< Amoco no: pwp .coamez >ufifiwnwwccammm m>wmmmoxm manned»; Anewufific; poww>nmgnm cuwz Lazmcowuraoz meow; Lufi3 dwcmsomumaom owwumoum pommouosfl mccfiufipzou wcthoz zufiuosus< pammouoc~ mufiuocmm masque \ shadow xEcc0u5< ccmmouUCH m50wumufigm< cofiuosc»; anewucuficm< Doss: mummumucfi flccowumoo>< pmzmwgaficoo< uwoumu umuwm I'll- III In mHeDOH ~_ <3 in n m m. N N m.¢ O H ex on N in \D \o in m in mxccz m: mEouH you mowocosvouu Ln 0 .—I ~ "mxcmm soropom\mmmcmmo~umox some poonnu 302 xu03 #:ucm: afiflswccm