Over the past several decades, colleges and universities have moved away from the traditional chalk-and-talk lecture. Professors have experimented with a myriad of methods to engage students more fully. Some of the innovations that have been used have succeeded in improving student performance and satisfaction. In this paper we report the learning…

This dissertation explored the four-year college experience of first-generation and continuing-generation students at a small private institution. Using Astin's I-E-O model (1970), the following variables in the student experience were considered: precollege student characteristics (input); engagement in academic experiences, cocurricular…

Continuous quality improvement is the clarion call across all business schools which is driving the emphasis on assessing the attainment of learning outcomes. An issue that deems special attention in assurance of learning outcomes is related to consistency across courses and, more specifically, across multiple sections of the same course taught by…

Discusses ways to help students see that the pleasures of the text that led them into the study of language and literature can also lead them to rewarding work contexts. Considers curricular issues and the ways small college English departments make decisions about what to cover and what to leave out in an expanding discipline. Appends advice on…

This study compares the perceptions of social control among Black students at large universities with those at small, less complex educational settings. Findings indicate that student perceptions of social control are based on the size of the organization, the racial composition of administrators, and the span of control. (EB)

Examined perceptions of cheating held by 480 college students and 48 faculty members at 2 small colleges. Eighty-nine percent of students surveyed admitted they had cheated. Attitudinal variables were better at predicting cheating than were background variables. Faculty agreed on a definition of cheating yet did not agree on how to deal with…

The overall order of preference was Teacher--Socialite--Researcher--Administrator (the least preferred). This was in contrast to earlier findings on university students who placed Researcher ahead of Socialite. Female professors were consistently less preferred to male professors by college students of both sexes. (Authors)

Discusses results of the National Survey of Student Engagement, a $3.3 million project sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts which gauged the extent to which colleges encourage actual learning. More than 63,000 undergraduates filled out the questionnaire in spring 2000. Findings indicated that small and liberal arts colleges fared well in the…

The use/nonuse character of illicit drugs was essentially the same among students in a rural southern setting as had been previously demonstrated for more urbanized regions. Results suggest that the students responses were more of a male v female than user v nonuser phenomenon. (Author)

A study of 291 freshmen from "invisible" colleges and 239 from 6 prestigious colleges and universities and their parents investigated how the 2 sets of families with obvious different college preferences had made their choice. Geography, parental influence and approval, the "second choice" concept, and institutional…

A small liberal arts college's program of home visits for recruitment and admissions was evaluated. Forty students and several parents receiving home visits were classified by grades and eventual enrollment in the college, then surveyed. Results indicate the visits were the reason most applied. However, other factors were more strongly related to…

A study examined the kinds of skills that minority students felt prepared them for college and helped them to succeed. All 80 minority students enrolled at Illinois' Millikin University (enrollment, 1,800 students) were interviewed for 20 to 30 minutes each. Results indicated that: (1) students reported that English composition/writing classes,…

In 1982, Ursinus College instituted a new Freshman Advising Program (FAP), involving: a greatly expanded role for the advisor; postponement of the declaration of major; greater emphasis on student-centered developmental advising; a focus on the transition needs of freshmen; a focus on the problem of false starts and student encounters with…

A study of 20 first-year students at a small liberal arts college investigated the extent to which an adaptation of the Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire could predict student disillusionment with college. Results and implications for facilitating student adjustment are examined. (MSE)

Changes occuring in the student body of small private liberal arts colleges between 1975 and 1983 include shifts in college choice factors, the perceived importance of the school in getting a job after graduation, and cost considerations. Colleges must carefully develop new markets before crises occur. (MSE)