University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 12-1997 Students' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Tennessee Pre- Professional Program for the State's Black Residents from 1984 Through 1994 Ercille Hall Williams University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Educational Leadership Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Ercille Hall, "Students' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Tennessee Pre-Professional Program for the State's Black Residents from 1984 Through 1994. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1997. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3637 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Ercille Hall Williams entitled "Students' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Tennessee Pre-Professional Program for the State's Black Residents from 1984 Through 1994." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education, with a major in Educational Administration. George W. Harris, Jr., Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Katherine High, Phyllis Huff, Julia A. Malia, Grady Bogue Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Ercille Hall \Villiams entitled "Students' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Tennessee Pre-Professional Program for the State's Black Residents from 1984 Through 1994." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements fo r the degree of Doctor of Education with a major in Leadership Studies in Education. We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Accepted for the Council: STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TENNESSEEPRE-PR OFESSIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE STATE'S BLACK RESIDENTS FROM 1984 THROUGH 1994 A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Education Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Ercille Hall Williams December 1997 11 DEDI CATI ON This dissertationis dedicated to my parents Mr. Dennis CorneliusHall and Ms. EmmaLevy Gray Hall who havebeen my life-long teachers and mentors. 111 ACKN OWLEDGMEN TS This project has been a series of challeng ing experiences: hig hs, lows, and even keels. Recog nition goes to thosewho havebeen unfaltering in their supportof my efforts here. A sp ecial thanks goes to my loy al friends in the community and administrators, faculty , staff, and students atPellissi pp i State Technical Community Colleg e whowere encourag ing and confident thatI would complete thisproject. I am gratefulto the members of my doctoral committee, Drs. Georg e W. Harris, Jr., Grady Bog ue, KatieHig h, Phy llis Huff andJulia A. Malia for their leadership and guidance throug h this educationalprocess. I appreciate the love, patience and understanding of my husband, Eug ene Williams, and my son, Eddward DennisFaust. Without them, I could not have come this far. Most of all, I thankGod. IV ABSTRACT The 1984 Stipulation of Settlement of Geierv. Mc Wherter, the State of Tennessee's deseg reg ation case, mandated the development of a series ofprog rams thatwould provide access to the statepu blic hig her institutions for all of its residents. These initiativeswere developed to remedy the vestig es of a dual sy stem of hig her education thatpracticed leg al discrimination and seg reg ation. The Tennessee Pre-Professional Prog ram(TPP ), one of the deseg reg ationmandates, was desig ned to increase the representation ofblack Tennessee residents in the state-supp ortedprofessional schools of law and medicine. Under the state's dual sy stem of hig her education, these opportunitieswere non- existent for the state'sblack po pulation. Sp ecifically , the goal of TPPwas to increase the number of the state's black residentswho enroll in andgr aduate from Tennessee'sprofessional schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry,pharmacy, andla w. This researchproject was desig ned to evaluate TPP to determine its effectivenessin meeting its goals from 1984 throug h 1994 . Based on the evaluative indicators, this researchproject determined that TPPwas basically ineffectivein meeting its goal for the 10-y earperiod of study , in sp ite of a small percentag e ofpositive outcomes. The study also determined that theprog ramwas not an efficient use of tax dollars as it was op erated from 1984 throug h 19 94 . The study recommended that TPP be terminated and reestabl ished with similar goals under the auspices of the state professional schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy , and law. TABLE OF CON TEN TS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTI ON . 1 Statement of thePro blem . 5 Purpose of the Study . 7 Research Questions . 9 Significance of the Study ..... ..... ...... ... .. .. .... 10 Assumptions ...... .. .... � . 10 Limitations . 11 Definition of Terms ....................... .. ...... ... .. 12 Organizationof the Study .... ....... ...... ...... ....... 15 IT. REVIEW OF LI TERATUR E . ..... .... ....... 16 Introduction . 16 The Chronological Development andIm plementation of the TennesseePre- ProfessionalProgram from 1984 through 1994 ...................................17 1984 ............................................. 17 1985 .............................................18 1986 .............................................22 1987 .............................................22 1988 .............................................23 1989 .............................................24 1990 ............................. ................24 1991 .............................................25 1992 .............................................26 1993 .............................................26 1994 .............................................27 DesegregationPrograms that Address the U nderrepresentation ofMinorities in Higher EducationPrograms . 29 Alabama . ............. ........... .. ........ .. 30 Florida ...... ........ ... .. .. .. .... ... .. 31 Georgia ..... .............................. .... ..32 Kentucky ............. ..... ...... ......... 33 Louisiana . 34 Mary land .. .. ..... ... .. .... ... .. ..... ... 35 Mississipp i ...... ..... ...... ... ....... ........ 35 North Carolina . .... ... ..... ........ ... ...... 37 Pennsy lvania .. .... ... ... ... .. .. ........... 38 Texas . ....... ..... ... ... ..... ... ..... ..... 38 Virginia . 39 Evaluation Theories, Models, andMethodol og ies .. .. .. .. .. .. 40 Five EvaluationFrame works .......................... 41 Advantag es and Disadvantag es of the Five EvaluationFrame works .......................... 43 PublicRelations Evaluation ........................... 43 Ob jective-Based Evaluation ........................... 43 Accountability Evaluation ............................ 45 Experimental Evaluation ............................. 45 Decision-Oriented Evaluation ......................... 46 Consumer Evaluation . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 46 Client-Centered Evaluation ..................... ..... 47 Connoisseur Evaluation .............................. 47 Comprehensive EvaluationModel ..................... 47 Summary ...............................................51 Ill. METHOD ....................................... ......53 Research Desig n . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .53 Population Definition . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .54 Method of Collecting Data . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .54 Panel of Experts .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .57 Data Analy ses . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .58 IV. AN ALYSES AN DFIND I NGS .... .........................60 Presentation of Analy ses andFinding s ........................61 Unsolicited Data .........................................84 Summary ...............................................88 V. CON CLUSIONSAND RECOMMEN DATIONS .............95 Recommendations forPractice . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 102 Recommendations forFuture Research .. ......... .. ...... .. 103 REFEREN CES ........... .. .... .... ............... .......... .. .... 104 APPEN DICES ..................................................... 114 APPEN DIX A: APPR OV AL LETTER . .. .. .. .. .. 115 APPEN DIXB: INTERVI EW GU IDE............. .... 116 APPEN DIX C: LETTER TO TPP PARTICIPAN TS ..... 118 APPEN DIX D: LETTER TOPAN EL OF EXPERTS .. 119 APPEN DIX E: Geierv. Mc Wherter STIPULATI ON OF SETTLEMEN T .. .. .. .. .. .. 120 VI TA 142 LIST OF TABLES TABL E PAGE 1 Description of Deseg reg ationProg rams . 6 2 Headcount Enrollment forProfessional Schools of Law andHealth Sciences, Fall 1992 - Fall 1994 . 8 3 TennesseeHig her Education Commission Recommended Funds for Deseg reg ation Activities Fiscal Years 1991-1995 ......................................9 4 Tennessee'sProfessional Schools . 20 5 Five Evaluation Frameworks ...............................42 6 Advantag es and Disadvantag es of the Five Evaluation