In characterizing college and university environments, there have been 4 general approaches to measurement: "environmental press," individual characterization, demographic characteristics, and individual behavior. Despite different means of measurement, there are some general similarities in the results that indicate that college environments may be characterized by their degree of intellectualism, humanism and estheticism, vocationalism or pragmatism, and sense of community. Analyses of studies suggest certain tentative conclusions. First, certain types of institutions--denominational, junior colleges, state universities, etc.--tend to have quite similar profiles. Secondly, many pieces of the college environment fit together in ways that do not correspond to common organizational categories. For instance, the degree of success of independent study programs may depend upon the amount of responsibility that students are given in non-academic areas. Further studies of college environments need to explore additional dimensions and directions. There are different contents of inquiry and methods of approach for such studies. This type of inquiry may be labelled the study of "climates"--namely, the particular combination of causes associated with a specific result. (DS)