Residency in a college dormitory during the freshman year of college positively influences educational and personal growth and academic persistence. The mediating effects of relationships with peers and the ambiance of the intellectual community are noted. (JD)

In a replication of an earlier test, frequency of student/faculty contact was found to be related positively to students' academic, intellectual, and personal growth, even after precollege differences were controlled. Quality of contact was related only to personal and intellectual development. (Author)

Investigates the perceptions of first-year, undergraduate women at 23 two- and four-year colleges. Results indicate several negative relationships between perceived chilly climates and women's cognitive growth. Negative relationships were more pronounced for women attending two-year colleges than for their counterparts at four-year institutions.…

Summarizes some of the major findings from the first year of the federally funded National Study of Student Learning. Discusses the implications of those findings for higher education policy and practice.(Author)

Describes the analytical procedure, contextual analysis. Suggests ways to use it to assess the group effects of residence arrangement on student development. Provides an empirical example that shows how contextual analysis may be used to identify the specific dimensions underlying residence group influences on freshman academic performance.…

Argues for the importance of systematically studying the effects of community colleges on students. Research findings are reported on the following effects: attaining a bachelor's degree, labor market returns, economic returns, and developmental impact. Concludes that community colleges may be fostering student talent with the same degree of…

This study, part of the National Study of Student Learning, sought to determine the extent to which college students' development of internal locus of attribution for academic success during the first year of college was influenced by institutional characteristics, students' academic experiences, and their social/non-academic experiences. The…

Ten popular myths about higher education's effect on students are questioned. Issues include: test scores in assessment of college impact; college effect on student development; institutional resources/prestige and quality; two-year college attendance; educational quality at historically black colleges; teaching methods; faculty research; teaching…

This study, done at Syracuse University in 1975, investigated the multidimensional differences in freshman perceptions and experience of the academic and non-academic aspects of college associated with varying amounts of informal contact with faculty. Discriminant analysis indicated that factor dimensions, termed Interest Value, Practical Appeal…