A study of school administrators' perceptions of institutional services for African American students in Louisiana's public colleges and universities, 1994

The Inventory assessed the perceptions of administra tors in Student Affairs, Academic Affairs, Student Support Services-TRIO, Financial Aid, Counseling, Admissions and Registration, Basic Studies, and Minority-Multicultural Affairs. The survey examined their perceptions of institutional services to meet the needs of African American students enrolled in Louisiana's public colleges and universities. Institutional services examined included: counseling, sensitivity of professors, financial aid, and programs for low achievers, high achievers, freshmen, commuter students, and campus residents. The participants were selected and they were asked to respond to a researcher-developed-and-validated questionnaire. Eighty-nine percent (n = 70) of the administrators returned the questionnaire. Analysis of variance was used to determine if variations in organizational placement of the administrators were related to their perceptions of various services provided to address the needs of African American students. A factor analysis was conducted with all eight dependent variables in order to group them according to their respective commonality. The study findings showed significant differences between administrators' perceptions regarding counseling services, sensitivity of professors, programs for freshmen, and financial aid services. There were no significant differences in administrators' perceptions of programs for low achievers, high achievers, commuter students, and campus residents. There was a distinct difference in administrators' perceptions based on their organizational placement regarding institutional services to meet the needs of African American students in Louisiana's public colleges and universities. It was recommended (1) that more minorities be hired in line administrator positions, such as academic affairs, admissions and registration, and financial aid, to create greater empathy between the institution and African American students in Louisiana's public colleges and universities; and (2) that further research be conducted to determine why discrepancies exist between line and socially oriented administrators