PSYCHOLOGY MASTER'S THESIS ABSTRACT

Mallory Ruleford

Industrial/Organizational
December 2008
 

Effects of Class Size and Enrollment Growth Incentives on Faculty Performance
 

    While increasing enrollment projections may prompt colleges and universities to seek creative ways of expanding classroom usage, potential concerns should be investigated.  The present study examined the effects of an Enrollment Growth Incentive (EGI) program that was put into place at a Southern California community college.  Specifically, faculty members could earn extra money if they allowed enrollment beyond class baselines.  The study examined the impact of class size and EGI participation levels on the average class grade point average (GPA) and the average student ratings of instructors.  The study examined two datasets retrieved from a large community college in southern California.  The first dataset included 1,452 course sections and the other dataset included 295 course sections.  While the former data set was used to compute GPA analyses, the latter was used for analyses involving instructor ratings.

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