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The explanation and prediction of academic achievement is an important area of research in educational psychology. The prevalence of research efforts in this area reflects the fact that many decisions reached in the modern educational system are based upon predictions of school success. Such decisions include choosing the optimal time for entering school, selecting the appropriate type of school or academic track, being accepted at a certain college or university, or the choice of a particular field of study. Because these decisions can greatly influence the life of a young person, a period of careful consideration often precedes the final decision. Parents and students often seek counseling. Institutions such as schools and colleges have developed special entrance tests, and base their recommendations or decisions upon systematic diagnostic data. The estimation of a candidate's probability of future academic success is a central aspect of the decision-making process, regardless of whether the process involves personal decisions or institutional decisions (Cronbach &

This study reviews the literature on academic environments with particular reference to the academic department which is seen as the most important factor in the teaching and learning environment. Departmental environment characteristics as identified by faculty and by students are described. For students the most important are:--Student-Faculty Relationships;-Interest and Engagement in Teaching; and -Satisfaction with Instruction. Differences between teaching and between learning environments are explained, especially differences between social science and natural science departments. These differences reflect the interaction between discipline, personal styles of faculty and students, and faculty-student relationships. Student academic satisfaction seems to be heavily dependent upon the relationships between students and faculty. Student achievement in relation to students' perception of the academic department seems to be dependent on the degree of their adaptation to the department. The studies reviewed clearly show that there are differences between departments. They also show that these differences may be explained not only by differences with regard to the characteristics of the academic discipline concerned, but also by differences concerning student-faculty relationships, faculty interest in students and teaching and the interaction between these factors. Teacher and student satisfaction and student achievement are affected by these variables.

Recent developments in the field of causal analysis make it possible to test theoretically or empirically based models. The study reported applies the method of path analysis to the problem of predicting the achievement, the drop out rate and satisfaction of university students. Besides providing explanations of the problems investigated the technique indicates what remedial measures might be used.