The faculty composition in U.S. higher education has changed significantly over recent decades (AAUP, 2020; Hurlburt & McGarrah, 2016b; Schuster & Finkelstein, 2006). What was once a faculty model dominated by tenured and tenure-track faculty has shifted to majority contingent. As of 2020, contingent faculty composed nearly 70% of the…

The Luther College Concert Band has enjoyed nearly 150 years of success. International tours, regional tours, concerts, service to the college and recording projects aided the success of this small college band that retained its Lutheran, liberal arts identity. Published documents exist about the Luther College band before 1948 but no…

Grinnell College participated in ACRL's [Association of College and Research Libraries] first cohort of Assessment in Action (AiA), undertaking a mixed-methods action research project to assess the effectiveness of librarian-led research literacy sessions in improving students' research skills. The quantitative data showed that the quality of…

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…

By just about every objective measure, the $88-million in debt that Wartburg College has carried since late 2005 poses a risk. The college's debt load--twice the amount that it takes in annually from tuition and other revenue--has raised red flags with its accreditor, alarmed some faculty members, and left Wartburg with a credit rating just one…

Unique opportunities exist on small campuses for all professionals to interact without boundaries. The traditional boundaries of classroom learning and student life cease to exist; student life professionals often function as teachers, and academic affairs professionals are encouraged to support students outside the classroom. This partnership…

The policies and practices of small college counseling centers have been neglected in the literature at a time when campus mental health services are under scrutiny. A national sample of 181 small campus counseling center directors responded to the Iowa Counseling Center Survey-Revised. Their responses were compared with information about large…

Liberal arts colleges occupy a unique place in the landscape of higher education. Whether defined, as David Breneman has, as an exclusive group of about 200 schools that award a large percentage of their degrees in traditional liberal arts fields, or as a more inclusive group of baccalaureate institutions, liberal arts colleges focus on…

A study tested the hypothesis: The greater the amount of philanthropic income per dollar of tuition, the smaller the fraction of bachelor's degrees in occupational fields. Findings support the contention that a college's tuition dependence is associated with its tendency to adjust its curriculum to match student consumer preferences. (MLW)