An analysis of faculty attitudes and perceptions toward nontraditional undergraduate students in degree-granting programs of journalism and mass communication

The problem of this study was the attitudes and perceptions of Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors regarding non-traditional undergraduate journalism majors. Also considered were current higher education enrollment trends and their potential influence on journalism programs. A seventy item validated questionnaire was developed and mailed to 490 randomly selected journalism educators teaching in programs affiliated with the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC). Three hundred-ninety-two (80 percent) returned usable questionnaires. Findings obtained from the responses to the items on the questionnaire were statistically analyzed using a binomial t test.; No statistically significant differences were found when comparing the attitudes and perceptions of Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors.; The following conclusions were drawn on the basis of the findings of this study and the review of literature which had determined an enrollment decline forecast for the early- to mid-1990s of up to 35 percent in higher education.; Findings and conclusions of the study included: (1) The three groups had a positive response of 65 percent in their attitudes and perceptions regarding recruiting and retaining non-traditional students. (2) The three groups had a positive response of 77 percent in their attitudes and perceptions regarding teaching non-traditional students. (3) The three groups had a positive response of 73 percent in their attitudes and perceptions of perceived knowledge of teaching non-traditional students. (4) The three groups had a positive response of 53 percent in their commitment to non-traditional students. (5) The three groups had a positive response of 83 percent in their attitudes and perceptions of university related functions necessary to enable non-traditional students to attend classes and complete the requirements for graduation.; A combination of the five areas of the study shows the average positive responses of the three groups to be above 70 percent. This served as an indication that the majority of those participating in the study had positive attitudes and perceptions towards non-traditional undergraduate journalism students. This was also indicated in the Review of Literature as well as by their comments on the survey questionnaire.