CRUCIAL ISSUES AND A SURVEY OF ACADEMIC LEADERS

This paper studied the relationship between faculty diversity and educational quality, academic integrity, and institutional effectiveness. The study sought to determine if there were significant differences among educational leaders on whether regional accreditation should be used to promote faculty diversity, and what variables accounted for any significant differences that existed. The study used a survey questionnaire mailed to the chief academic officers of 346 four-year colleges and institutions in the Southern accrediting region; 160 responses were received. Eight variables were tested: race, sex, years in academia as an administrator, years as faculty, level of familiarity with accreditation, level of interest in accreditation literature, racial predominance of student body, and private-public institution type. The study found that race of respondent was the most significan