Suggests that the disparity between staff expectations and actual reality is related to misunderstandings about how student affairs units are supposed to function. Presents seven stress management measures to help staff members cope with and take advantage of seemingly inexplicable situations. (JAC)

The way that the concept of culture has been used in the higher education literature to account for certain aspects of faculty life is examined. Culture is defined as the collective, mutually shaping patterns of norms, values, practices, beliefs, and assumptions that guide the behavior of individual faculty and groups and provide a frame of…

The ethos of a college or university is a belief system widely shared by faculty, students, administrators, and others. Colleges with an ethos of learning share three themes: (1) a holistic institutional philosophy of learning; (2) an involving campus culture; and (3) a climate encouraging free expression. A learning ethos must be cultivated…

Based on existing data about colleges and universities and their students, a study examined the factors in the college environment that contribute to or inhibit students' character development. Results indicate that colleges that take character-building seriously invest significant human and financial resources. A six-step agenda outlines what…