Uses students' responses from the dialogues of a town hall meeting to examine the beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge about racial and cultural diversity at a mid-size, predominantly white university. Four major themes emerged: perceptions about race, stereotypical beliefs about cross-cultural interactions, uncomfortable campus climate, and…

Parents are demanding greater inclusion in issues relating to campus safety and security. This article examines the historical evolution of relations between parents, students, and universities, discussing two pieces of key legislation and describing strategies to optimize common interrelationships between parents and institutions. (Contains 14…

References the work of Stone and Archer (1990), in which challenges that counseling centers would face in the 1990s were identified. Assesses the extent to which 67 counseling center directors heeded the recommendations of Stone and Archer over a five-year period. Positive increases in adherence were obtained for 53.5% of the recommendations with…

Study tests the degree of support for flexible due process in campus disciplinary hearings. Focuses on whether faculty, parent, and student expectations for due process protections vary based on the severity of the potential outcome. Results indicate that respondents expect due process protections to increase as the severity of the potential…

The accounts of several autobiographers concerning the graduate student experience reveal how students find meaning in their academic apprenticeships. Academic autobiographers, now speaking as teachers themselves. focus on what was given to them by their teachers when they were students. (MSE)

Reviews legislative mandates and demographic trends that address the issue of access for students with disabilities enrolling in higher education. Discusses the importance of the student affairs profession in assuming leadership for creating learning environments that are inclusive, diverse, and affirming, in order to change the experience of…

Considers the design of campus learning environments in response to the influx of students with disabilities. Proposes the creation of environments of ability, that is, environments capable of responding to differences. Argues that educators must encourage policies, practices, and programs that secure, include, involve, and invite all students,…

Studies students from 18 four-year institutions to estimate the unique impact of college racial composition on African American students' openness to diversity during college. Evidence suggests that the racially homogeneous environment of historically Black colleges does not inhibit growth in African American students' openness to racial,…

Four-hundred three randomly selected college students were interviewed using a modified version of the Core Survey to assess alcohol consumption and its related problems. Path analysis supported the viability of two models. When controlling for individual characteristics, perceptions of peer drinking predicted alcohol use, which predicted alcohol…

Examines relationships with parents and personality as predictors of university adjustment among 419 first-year college students. Results reveal that relationships with parents predicted 8% to 35% of the variance in the dependent measures; personality factors increased the percentage of explained variance to 20% to 56%. Practical applications are…

Lists recent ERIC resources that show how community college transfer students perform on a number of measures, including grade point average, student satisfaction, and social adjustment to the different culture of four-year institutions. States that the citations will aid administrators and scholars, as well as counselors attempting to prepare…

In a study of 715 undergraduates, White students reported higher cultural congruity, more positive perceptions of the university environment, and more positive help-seeking attitudes than racial and ethnic minority students. A cultural context variable cluster accounted for help-seeking attitudes for females and both socioracial groups.…

Organizational change in college academic administration and structure is discussed, with attention to both the programs of study and the organizational units. The ideas of Miles and Snow on organizational adaptation are examined, along with the literature on organizational analysis in higher education over the past 20 years. Three main ideas of…

Institutional research that examines the influence of organizational and administrative factors on student learning may be critical in improving educational performance. The role that institutional researchers might play in reducing semantic confusion and enhancing understanding of how colleges and universities improve student learning is…

A recently released National Institute of Education publication about the state of U.S. undergraduate education that gives 27 suggestions for their improvement is summarized and discussed. A number of criticisms are offered, including lack of documentation. (MSE)