PARENT EXPECTATIONS OF COLLEGIATE TEACHING AND CARING

This exploratory research determined parent expectations of their traditionallyaged student’s postsecondary institution with an investigator developed and validated survey entitled the PECTAC (Parent Expectations of Collegiate Teaching and Caring). The PECTAC instrument was predicated upon a culling from relevant literature to reflect topics and issues related to the teaching and caring functions of a private and religiouslyaffiliated Midwestern university. Parent participants were asked to provide basic demographic information in addition to ranking each item based on perceived importance. A web-based survey software package was used to collect data from 475 participants. Dependent variables of parent gender and first-time college parent status were used to investigate differences between and among various sub-populations. The findings from the study allowed for claiming the following: female parents expected significantly more from the university with regard to caring and teaching functions; status as a first-time college parent was not perceived to be of notable importance; and parents considered the caring functions to be of greater importance than the teaching functions. Advisor: Sheldon L. Stic