Decision support for the management of admissions to academic programs

Subjectivity plays an important role in academic assessment. Integration of information obtained by the academic administrators, no matter how objective its basic character, remains a subjective process. The limitations of human judgment have major implications for the decision making process in the academic profession. Fortunately, new tools based on theories and concepts in applied psychology, policy sciences, computer oriented data handling and graphic displays, and multiple regression analyses have made it possible to investigate the parameters of the judgment process. This enables the assessment of the role of subjectivity in decision-making. This chapter introduces social judgment theory as a potentially useful theoretical and methodical basis for understanding subjectivity in academic administration. A computerized procedure is described for identification, measurement and reporting of judgmental sources of administrative decisionmaking. A specific example of analysis is offered in the context of the assessment of applicants to a program of study.