In this article, the author illustrates how three campuses have, in their own way, attempted to bring coherence to the student experience and enrich that experience by more closely matching what was promised to what each student actually experiences while enrolled. Fulfilling students' expectations that were purposefully articulated in the mission…

This study aims to determine the relationships between key student behaviors and the institutional practices and conditions that foster student success. To do so, student-level records from different types of colleges and universities are merged to examine the links between student engagement and two key outcomes of college: academic achievement…

Some colleges have been able to create and maintain campus climates that promote educationally purposeful student behavior. The 14 "involving colleges" identified in a recent study provide unusually rich extra-classroom learning opportunities for undergraduates. Common cultural features of the institutions include strong institutional…

Some campuses have a "special" feel about them. Students are quick to mention that they cannot imagine a better place for them personally or--for that matter--any better setting for a college or university. The college has become their home away from home, the place they'd rather be than any other. Generations of graduates return for reunion…

Uses examples from different types of colleges and universities to describe how three clusters of institutional properties (mission, philosophy, culture) work together to influence behavior of students, faculty, and administrators. Offers four suggestions for consultants who wish to incorporate appraisals of institutional character in their work.…

The purpose of this study was to determine the contributions of student effort, campus environments and institutional culture to student learning in three types of institutions: small residential colleges; large residential universities; and universities located in metropolitan areas. Data sources were qualitative assessments of 13 campus cultures…

Recent research and critiques of affirmative action in college admissions raise questions about popular approaches for enhancing learning outcomes, suggesting that a diverse student body is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for experiencing diversity, creating supportive learning environments, or fostering desired outcomes of college.…

Using a sample of 738 students from 4 metropolitan universities--University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Louisville (Kentucky), University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Wichita State University (Kansas), data from Pace's College Student Experience Questionnaire, and a modified form of Pascarella's general causal model, a study…

Analyzed self-reported experiences of undergraduates to identify characteristics associated with student engagement. Parental education and student academic preparation were positively associated with higher levels of engagement. Whites were generally less engaged, and men were more likely to be disengaged or highly engaged. Students at public and…

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)

Examines the effects of interactional diversity experiences on a range of desirable outcomes for White students and students of color in different types of higher education institutions. Though White students had less contact with students from different backgrounds, such experiences positively affected the self-reported gains for both Whites and…

Tests a learning productivity model for undergraduates using hierarchical linear modeling. Perceptions of the campus environment influenced student learning productivity by affecting institution-level student effort, learning efficiency, and student gains. Student affairs professionals can promote higher levels of student learning by helping to…

This study examines the relationships between participating in learning communities and student engagement in a range of educationally purposeful activities of first-year and senior students from 365 4-year institutions. The findings indicate that participating in a learning community is positively linked to engagement as well as student…

This study compared the experiences of women attending women's colleges with those of women attending coeducational institutions. Analyses of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) from random samples of female first-year and senior students from 26 women's colleges and 264 other four-year institutions were conducted. Women at…

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…