Based on existing data about colleges and universities and their students, a study examined the factors in the college environment that contribute to or inhibit students' character development. Results indicate that colleges that take character-building seriously invest significant human and financial resources. A six-step agenda outlines what…

The State University of New York-Plattsburgh is examining the total impact of the college experience on its students with standardized tests to measure academic achievement and student surveys to measure attitudes about learning, their own experience, and the institutional environment. (MSE)

The development of the Greek system on college campuses as brought about an evolution of a unique student culture within higher education. Most of the research on the Greek experience does not acknowledge the presence of Black fraternities and sororities although these organizations have over 90 years experience on campuses. This paper describes…

A study drew on observation and interview data to examine the early encounters of traditional-age first-year students with campus bureaucracy, focusing on their definitions and coping strategies. Though frustrated by lines, impersonal treatment, and "runarounds," most accepted bureaucracy with superficial equanimity. Results help explain how…

Homosexual and bisexual students at an urban commuter university (N=33) evaluated academic and student services and commented on areas of needed improvement. Results suggest that these students experience harassment on campus and are ambivalent about the responsiveness of student services. Most students did not utilize many student services'…

Individual profiles from an ethnographic study of gay/bisexual male students at Pennsylvania State University are presented, focusing on the experience of coming out while in college. Issues discussed include the relationship of language, culture, and power in shaping experience; overt student actions as political statements; and efforts to open…

The mission embraced by urban universities creates an environment for intellectual inquiry and purposeful societal action equal or superior to the notion of "collegiate ideal." They have expanded the concept of place, encompassing society in general and the urban community in particular, by maintaining a commitment to educating urban populations…

This study explored the interaction of multiracial identity development and college campus contexts in the experience of 24 biracial or multiracial college students attending three institutions an Ivy League university, a Catholic university, and a liberal arts college. The study applied qualitative grounded theory as framed by postmodern racial…

A study with 101 college freshmen indicates that freshman experience promotes increasing intellectual complexity for both sexes, but more for males than females. Analysis of student expectations and perceptions of environments shows subtle differences that may account for differential growth, suggesting some approaches to creating equitable…

A study of data from 4,784 1971 college freshmen tests partially supports the hypothesis that college origins and college experiences are more likely to be influential on later occupational status for students entering law than for the student population as a whole. (MSE)

A study of 42 Eastern Michigan University freshmen, both academically at risk (n=18) and of average ability, found that at-risk students had higher academic self-concepts than their average-ability counterparts, but the groups had similar educational and vocational aspirations. (MSE)

In response to an emerging anti-intellectualism on campus, Saint Lawrence University (New York) instituted an interdisciplinary first-year course built around themes of community and identity. The effort is designed to stimulate intellectual development, bring faculty and students into closer contact, and blend academics and student life. (MSE)

A study used the College Student Experiences Questionnaire database to examine whether a "chilly classroom climate" exists for women students in higher education, and if so, whether faculty behavior contributes to this environment. Results show female students were not experiencing this climate, and reported college experiences and gains…

Despite campus tensions and varying student attitudes, gay students are coming out increasingly within the fraternity system. An anthology of personal accounts of gay students in fraternities around the country indicates the diversity of experiences and reasons for joining fraternities. (MSE)

A study of adjustment of Latino college freshmen and sophomores used data from a longitudinal survey and a questionnaire on student adaptation to college. Results show that dimensions of the campus climate and common transitional experiences affect all forms of student adjustment in the first year. Implications are found for further college…