This chapter provides information and resources for higher education professionals to better serve and support students who commute or live off campus and who may also have a disability.

Family members of new college students are often unsure what to expect and how to best help their students succeed in higher education. Focusing on the unique needs of commuter students, this brief guide describes typical challenges in adjusting to college, support services and opportunities offered by colleges and universities, and strategies…

This chapter provides information and recommendations for working with commuter students of color, along with several examples from practice.

As a first-year student entering college, commuting can be an added stress factor to an already overwhelming experience. It is important for students to receive support from their institution to create their own community. Without finding a community during their first year, students may feel isolated in their new academic environment and fail to…

This chapter explores components necessary for creating an institutionally based action plan that supports commuter student success.

This chapter reviews student services and community-building initiatives aimed at serving commuter students online.

Theory helps us understand commuter students and develop environments, policies, and practices that enhance their educational experience.

Faced with a growing demand for adequate policies and programs that meaningfully address sexual violence on campus, the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation requiring all post-secondary institutions to institute a sexual assault policy. The remaining provinces and territories do not have similar…

Student success in Ontario College is significantly influenced by the utilization of student services. At Niagara College there has been a significant investment in student services as a strategy to support student success. Utilizing existing KPI data, this quantitative research project is aimed at measuring factors that influence both the use of…

"College Quarterly" recently introduced a stream for academic and scholar-practitioner dialogue concerning student affairs and services. To contribute to the growth and enhancement of the field, scholars and scholar-practitioners are invited to contribute original pieces that advance scholarship and/or practice around facilitating…

Commuter students make up an overwhelming majority of the college student population. At the same time, the amount of research on commuter students is minuscule compared to that of residential students. The characteristics of the commuter student subgroup that is referenced in this chapter can be described as living independent of guardians or…

Increasing freshmen student retention and ultimately increasing their graduation rates continues to be a critical matter for institutions of higher education. Therefore, colleges and universities are attempting to understand the student service expectations of freshmen students as a primary mechanism to enhance matriculation rates. University…

College success requires more than the ability to master college-level academic skills. Students must learn to navigate an unfamiliar campus, satisfy bureaucratic requirements, meet new expectations (Shields, 2002), and engage in new types of interpersonal relationships (Dickie & Farrell, 1991). Academically vulnerable students--those who are most…

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is now six years post merger--time to reflect as the institution is now well settled. Modules are offered on multiple campuses, at various levels, ranging from entry level modules through to Ph.D. studies. This article attempts to identify the factors that lead to the successful progression of students to higher…

Describes an optional orientation program which provides a week-long live-in experience, along with a host of opportunities and experiences that support entrance into the university culture. (Author)