Date of Award
12-1-1971
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in instructional salary costs per student credit hour of major program offerings that are common among the four state colleges in North Dakota and identify the factors which contributed to these cost differences. Dickinson, Mayville, Minot and Valley City State Colleges were the four institutions which were examined in the study. The ten major areas which were common at the four institutions were: art, biology, business education, chemistry, social science, mathematics, English, music, physical education and professional education.
The data pertaining to the information on instructional salary, class enrollment records and faculty activity were taken from the information supplied by each institution to the North Dakota Higher Education Facilities Commission. The selection of different factors which contribute to the differences in costs were determined from related research. The factors with the greatest influence on cost differences within and among the colleges were determined by statistical analysis.
The analysis of variance was the statistical method applied to determine significant differences in inter-institutional and intra- institutional cost comparisons. On the basis of the .01 level of significance there was no significant difference in student credit hour instructional salary cost between the four state colleges in the selected curricula. The same level of significance was used to determine a significant difference in cost between the ten major areas. The coefficient of correlation was used to determine the factors which correlated significantly with student credit' hour instructional salary costs. The level of significance chosen for the analysis was the .01 with an r of .380. Five factors exceeded the determined limit. Student credit hours produced, weighted average size class, number of small classes, average size of upper division classes and hours spent on outside school activities were the five factors which exceeded the limit.
The setwise regression analysis was an analytic method used to determine the set of factors which accounted for the greatest percentage of student credit hour instructional salary costs. The statistical technique eliminated one set at a time according to the effects the set had on increasing student credit hour costs in a regression procedure. Contact hours and credit hours were the set of factors with the greatest influence on student credit hour instructional costs.
Student credit hour instructional salary costs and factors effecting these costs were used as the basis for recommendations. Included in the recommendations of this study were:
1. The reduction of staff in the Art Department at Dickinson and the major in art at Mayville be reduced to a minor.
2. The reduction of the major in music at Mayville to a minor and the deletion of the major in music at Minot.
3. The following faculty members should be required to return to graduate school to improve their academic preparation: the faculty on the physical education staff at Dickinson, Mayville and Minot; the business education faculty at Valley City; and the English faculty at Minot.
4. The average salary for faculty teaching in Minot's Art, Physical Education and English Department and the physical education faculty at Mayville and Dickinson be raised to a level equal the salary at other institutions.
A final recommendation of this study was that additional research be initiated concerning other curricula in all state institutions including the two universities by the same process used in this study.
All recommendations projected in this study must be viewed in light of their limitations. It was not the intent of this study to use standard credit hour instructional salary cost as the sole criteria for the evaluation of an institution or a major area. Other variables must be considered before making final decisions.
Recommended Citation
Grooters, Larry L., "A Study of Program Offerings and Factors Effecting Instructional Salary Costs in Major Curricula at the Four State Colleges in North Dakota" (1971). Theses and Dissertations. 3510.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/3510