This study analyzed a variety of departmental and student outcomes data obtained from faculty and graduating seniors in 27 academic departments at a Research II University. The purpose was to answer two questions: (1) does a strong research orientation by an academic department promote or hinder student learning and growth? and (2) are differences…

This study examined the prevalence and impact of student attitudes tolerant toward or supportive of sexual aggression including date rape on college campuses. Data for the study come from the 1985 and 1989 Freshman Surveys involving a total of 89,070 male and female college students. Among the findings were the following: (1) students who oppose…

The literature on personal development, student involvement and satisfaction is reviewed in the following categories: the warrant for personal development as a desirable college outcome; conceptual and theoretical foundations of personal development; empirical research on personal development during college; the undergraduate experience;…

Indices and manifestations of quality in undergraduate education are considered and a four-part framework is developed. Context indices represent institutional characteristics that remain relatively stable over time (e.g., expenditures per student and size of student body), while input indices reflect characteristics of entering students (e.g.,…

Models that have appeared in the student attrition literature in the past decade and behavioral models from the social sciences that may help explain the dropout process are examined, and an attempt is made to synthesize a causal model of student attrition. The models of Tinto, Spady, and Rootman in the area of student attrition, and models of…

Discusses sexual harassment in the academic environment. In nine articles discusses issues in development and implementation of sexual harassment policies, informal grievance procedures, and counseling techniques for dealing with sexual harassment. Presents survey results documenting harassment on college campuses and an annotated listing of…

Presents an overview of uncertainties and challenges facing academics in the late 1990s. Discusses postmodern attacks on conventional assumptions about knowledge, decline of academic disciplines, increasing demand for vocational relevance, new modes of virtual pedagogies, diversification of education and training, transition to mass higher…

If colleges and universities were to examine closely the results of research on student persistence, they would find several ways to change their academic organization to promote greater educational community among students, faculty, and staff, including supporting connected learning experiences; reorganizing the first year of college; and…

Examines the response of American students to library instruction and provides an overview of the educational milieu in which it functions. Topics covered include library instruction in primary and secondary education; the academic environment; the need for academic library instruction; staff considerations; and content, methods, audiences, and…

Identifies a number of centrifugal pressures currently splintering universities which raise questions about academia's sense of community. Uses the analogy of smashing the atom to explore these pressures. Cites increasing numbers of temporary and contract workers which brings about a division of labor that affects the nature of academic discourse…

A study was conducted to investigate the role of the community college in the lives of students and staff, and to examine the relationship between organizational structure and institutional culture. The study methodology involved in-depth interviews, questionnaire surveys, and observations at one State University of New York community college, and…

Educational practice and barriers to full participation of Alaska Natives in postsecondary education were examined in an ethnographic study begun in October 1980 by the University of Alaska. Focus was on the institutional placement, organization, and functioning of gatekeeping encounters within the university, primarily the central Fairbanks…

Psychologists have long been interested in the causes of student success or failure in college. In the late 1950's, investigators began to examine behaviors beyond the cognitive realm as crucial elements in the student's adaptation to college life. Research on adolescents' transition from high school to college identified several components of…

Increasing public dissatisfaction with the cost and quality of higher education is creating pressure for fundamental change. Higher education is not as certain to produce a higher standard of living as it used to be, and costs are rising faster than the rate of inflation. Declining state contributions to higher education have shifted the financial…

It is suggested that the value of education is due to student life more than to college instruction. Samplings of studies of college life are delineated for the validity of student traditions as a field of research, and the aid of sociologists and anthropologists is solicited. (Article originally published in 1935.) (AF)