Davidson, T.L. & Thompson, M. H. Evaluation of Anderson College Career Services with the Professional Standards of  the National Association of Colleges and Employers: Governance and Management

Summary

 Anderson College is a private, coeducational, four-year Christian liberal arts institution affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, offering degree programs at the undergraduate level.   Courses in the major field of study and the bachelor’s degree programs allow students to explore in depth an area of study that interests them and provides much of the preparation needed for their future career.  The college has over 1200 students enrolled, typically from more than twenty states and fifteen or more countries.  The Office of Enrollment Services reported in October of 1999 that there were 1,242 students enrolled.  Enrollment consisted of 986 full-time and 256 part-time students evenly divided between men and women while over 14% are minorities.  The purpose of Anderson College is to provide, within a Christian community, a quality liberal arts education for a diverse student body that will prepare graduates for both a livelihood and a rewarding life.  The community of Anderson, having given birth to the College, has nurtured and supported the institution throughout its history.  In turn, the College has provided intellectual, cultural, and recreational opportunities for the citizens of the Anderson area, and has made a significant contribution to the economy of the community.

Nature of the Problem

The department of Career Services at Anderson College is relatively new.  The college hired its first full-time director in 1997.  Prior to the full-time appointment, several part-time professionals occupied the director’s position.  Administration has never considered evaluating Career Services in accordance to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).     Two primary reasons an evaluation has never been conducted at Anderson College are as follows: (a) The college recently became a member of the association in 1997, and (b) the college never had a full-time professional staff to explore the areas of strengths and weaknesses. Evaluating the department will assist administrators to determine if they in accordance to the standards established by NACE.  The director must know when it is necessary to incorporate change, and most importantly, the college must determine if Career Services is in compliance with the standards established by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).   SACS is a private, non-profit, voluntary organization established for the purpose of setting standards and improving education in the colleges and schools of the South (Kilgore College, 2000).  The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) framework for evaluating career services is included in the Professional Standards for College and University Career Service (NACE, 1998, p.1).

Summary

The course of school finance reform in the U.S. has changed dramatically in the last three decades due to court cases that brought into question the constitutionality of state school finance system.     Within each state constitution is a required public education system described with terms such as "ample, 'basic, ' 'general, ' ' efficient, ' 'thorough,' or 'uniform'" (Berhman and Terman 7).  Yet the educational obligations entailed in these words has generally bee vague.  This vagueness fostered many different opinions on what constitutes ample, basic, general, etc. in terms of educational opportunities.   Because of these differences of opinion many state supreme courts have had to make decisions regarding whether all students within that state were receiving an adequate and / or equitable education. 

During the 1970's, school finance reform became a major educational issue.  As evidenced in the Pauley v. Kelly case in WestVirginia and the Seattle School Districe v. State in Washington, this reform came about because of questions regarding the constitutionality of state school finance systems.  These questions had to do with the different interpretations of what constituted an adequate and / or equitable education and whether or not all students were receiving this type of education.

Many believe that financial resources have a lot to do with adequacy and equity in educational systems.    The new standard for testing the constitutionality of traditional methods of school finance, known as the doctrine of fiscal neutrality, proved to be very beneficial in court cases declaring school finance systems unconstitutional.  It was first used in the California case Serrano v. Priest and subsequently used in other states to help in providing all students with adequate and equitable school resources.

 
Emery, C.R. & Thompson, M.H. A 1990's Exploration of Dow Theory Variations and Accompanying Spread and Straddle Strategies in the Chicago Board Options Exchange Derivative Market. Submitted to South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities Consortium

Summary

The dream of the technical-market analyst is that just by studying the previous actions of the market, a magic mathematical formula or heuristic can be developed to predict future movements.  The best-known technical theory is the Dow Theory which suggests that the market average reflects the fundamental facts and all the emotions and judgments of the millions of participants.  Dow observed that by analyzing the primary, intermediate and minor trends within the marketplace, one can predict the future (Freman, 1982).      Similarly, Joesph Granville, a technical analyst and leading market personality of the 1970s, offers his belief that the future can be charted by stating, "Past market behavior reflects individual as well as group psychology and is the best predictor future behavior" (Grandville, 1976).  Predictors that were particularly popular were moving average trend lines, point-and-figure charting, three-point reversals, support and resistance calculations, up/down comparisons, momentum and money flow indicators, put/call ratios, and various volume/price signals.  The academic and computer based research of the '70s, however, began to demonstrate that no trends or signals existed that accurately predicted future market activity (Whitman & Shubik, 1979).

While that may be true, several Wall Street analysts developed a predictive computer trading system based on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) volume and a Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) price filter that was 87% accurate at predicting the future movements of the market during the 1986-1989 timeframe (including the October, '87 crash).      Specifically, the system suggested that a buy/sell signal occurred whenever the NYSE volume exceeded 200 million shares and the DJIA changed by more than 20 points.    This system formed the basis for using some extremely profitable hedge (straddle and spred) strategies in the Chicago Board Options Exchange derivative market (Emery, 1999).  Unfortunately, that signaling heuristic is no longer valid.    Today's NYSE has five times the volume and index volatility.  The fundamental principles of the Dow Theory, however, are still valid.   In fact, they may be more valid today than in the early 1900s, because the computer trading of mutual and insurance fund managers controls the market.  Furthermore, the increased volatility of the market makes it more ideal for profitable spread and straddle strategies in derivative markets.  As such, the purpose of this study is threefold.   First, develop a signaling heuristic that would have predicted market movement over the last three years with 75 percent accuracy.  Second, using the heuristic, develop a straddle and spread strategy that would have provided at  least a 25 percent annualized return on investment for the last three years with minimal risk.  Third, test the heuristic and hedge strategies in an internet stock market simulation.

Davidson, T.L. & Thompson, M.H. Formative Committee for the Development of Electronic Resume as a new tool in the job search for Anderson College students: Societal Factors Affecting Education-Practicum

Summary

Some literature suggests that the use of the electronic resumes has increased the students’ ability to broaden their job search.  If the use of electronic resumes proves to be successful at Anderson College, this may add to the college plans to purchase new equipment in Career Services.  

College students must master an effective approach to the job search in the twenty first century.  The purpose of this study was to develop an Electronic Resume Workshop that would teach students how they can use traditional job search approaches and electronic resumes to broaden their job search.  Developing an Electronic Resume Workshop encouraged students to utilize this new tool in their search.The research question was:  What specific content should be included in an electronic resume workshop designed to prepare Anderson College students for the job search?

The procedures began with a literature review that examined an increase in students’ use of technology in the job search, electronic resumes, job posting on web boards, employers’ use of web data bases and institutional designs of on-line job searches.     Interview questions for college/university professionals were developed and submitted to the formative committee for review.  The formative committee reviewed the interview questions that included format and content of the questions.  The summative committee validated the interview questions.  A member of the college assessment office reviewed and validated the feedback forms for both summative and formative committees.  There were ten interview questions validated.  The three categories were general, workshop, and follow–up questions.     Criteria were developed to guide the development of the electronic resume workshop.  After receiving feedback and suggestions from the formative committee, a rough draft of the workshop was presented to the committee, revised, and then presented to a summative committee for product validation.