By examining Hispanic students both currently and formerly enrolled at a private, Hispanic-serving Institution located in the Southwestern region of the United States, this study attempts to understand the factors that lead to Hispanic undergraduate persistence to graduation. Adapting Bronfenbrenner's theoretical approach, this study explores…

Originally published in November 1987, discusses the literature in terms of eight non-cognitive variables affecting black student life: self-concept, realistic self-appraisal, understanding and dealing with racism, community service, long-range goals, strong support person, leadership, and nontraditional knowledge. Recommends actions for student…

This document reviews research on the factors affecting the retention of adult students, discusses the relevance of some attrition models for adults, and presents strategies for helping adults adapt to the university and for adapting the university to adults. Reviewing factors affecting retention, the digest says that student characteristics,…

The concept of student-institution fit is described and linked to a conceptual framework that emphasizes the interactive relationship between student and campus environment. Attention is also directed to how enrollment managers can utilize a systematic approach to optimize levels of fit between student and campus with a goal to recruiting and…

This document stresses the increasing awareness in higher education of the impact student/environment transactions have upon the quality of educational life and details a model and design process for creating a better fit between educational environments and students. The ecosystem model uses an interdisciplinary approach for the make-up of its…

Study estimated the influence of college on students' academic and social self-concepts within the structure of a causal model. Separate estimations of the model were conducted for Black and for White men and for women. (RB)

The concept of student-institution fit in higher education and conceptual foundation on which it is based is clarified. The concept of fit is linked to enrollment management by a model for operationalizing the conceptual and theoretical construct such that levels of fit can be more effectively managed. (Author/MLW)

First of a 2-part series concerned with: different types of inferential errors, single- vs. multi-institutional studies (MIS), longitudinal vs. cross-sectional data, statistical designs, measurement error effects, and measuring student-environment interaction effects. The best data is obtained from longitudinal MIS on student inputs and outputs,…

The ecosystem model is a design process utilizing an ecological approach. The manual presents processes developed and used during on-site campus applications of the model. It illustrates how work on a micro-level ecosystem project can be divided into stages, with instructions for accompanying discussions and process procedures for each. The manual…

While any method of data collection is subject to certain unique types of systematic errors, the investigator has available several techniques for detecting such errors or for minimizing their effects on his conclusions. (Author/JB)

Student characteristics related to out-of-class interactions with faculty were studied. Interviews with 26 undergraduate students focused on the following topics: students' college and life goals, interpersonal relationships, relationships with faculty, undergraduate activities, self-image, approach to education, and feelings about college. A…

During the last decade, there has been growing interest and research in environmental assessment. One environment that has received special attention is the university environment. Since environments are seen to relate to a person's growth and development, it follows that environments that maximize the match between students' needs, goals, and…

The cycle of student stress is identified and used to design a more suitable programming and helpful environment. (Author)

Using a sample of 460 university students, multiple discriminant analysis indicates that of four variable sets (including perceptions of university goals, academic climate, academic environment, and academic alienation), perceptions of climate and feelings of alienation exert more influence on students' attachment to the university. (Editor/LBH)

Reports on a study of college students (N=276) that tested a model to identify a goodness of fit between students and educational environments. Findings indicate the importance of motivating students to engage in reciprocal relationships with their learning environments to enhance human capital skills. (RJM)