While many institutions have developed policies to address the myriad needs of Millennial college students and their parents, inherent in many of these initiatives is the underlying assumption that this student population is a homogeneous group. This book is significant because it addresses and explores the characteristics and experiences of…

Increasingly, colleges and universities are populated with nontraditional students with families, and family programs are a popular addition to traditional campus activities. Institutions are discovering that family programs encourage participation of these students in the college community and are good public relations. A variety of programming…

Some colleges have been able to create and maintain campus climates that promote educationally purposeful student behavior. The 14 "involving colleges" identified in a recent study provide unusually rich extra-classroom learning opportunities for undergraduates. Common cultural features of the institutions include strong institutional…

It is argued that if colleges and universities want involved alumni, they must begin during the student years. Activities and approaches to take during each of the four college years to help establish a mutually supportive relationship are outlined, and illustrated with examples from a variety of institutions. (MSE)

This report presents the viewpoints and arguments made during a meeting of higher education administrators who were assembled to discuss how college unions and student activities contribute to a sense of community on campus. The report compares how the union and activities profession views itself with how others perceive it, as well as relating…

The movement to enhance the freshman year experience by changing the way institutions treat, welcome, assimilate, support, and inform freshman students is discussed and illustrated. The potential importance of the movement to admissions officers and registrars is emphasized. (MSE)

This report presents viewpoints and arguments made during a meeting of higher education administrators who were assembled to discuss ways that Associations of College Unions-International (ACU-I) and its members can communicate the union's mission as campus community builder. The overall focus of the meeting comes from the Carnegie Foundation's…

Examines the decentralized and discipline-specific nature of graduate education and how it creates a unique and diverse climate for graduate students. The current population of graduate students is described, research on graduate students is described, focusing on four factors that influence the student environment and five types of student.…

Research conducted at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) provided comparisons for 1990, 1993, and 1996 of undergraduate students' satisfaction and participation at college. The survey instrument used was the College Student Experiences Questionnaire, which included measures of the amount of progress perceived by students in 23 different…

A study with 2,453 college students investigated the construct validity of the student commitment to institution as a factor in academic persistence. Results suggest factors such as institutional quality, practical educational utility, student-institution fit, and loyalty to institution were more predictive of persistence than similarity of…

Stresses experienced by college students at different educational levels are considered, along with ways that colleges can help reduce destructive forms of stress. After discussing how stress and coping are related, problems in defining stress and coping are considered, and models are proposed for understanding stress. Following an overview on the…

Mount Ida College (Massachusetts) has found the use of college administrators as mentors to students, complementing academic advising and faculty mentoring, to be an effective approach to strengthening the tie between first-year college students and their institutions. The impact has been noticeable in the campus culture as well as in student…

Orientation for first-year college students is important for students, parents, and the institution. It should fit institutional traditions, values, and culture, involve parents, be staffed by well-trained current students, and be carefully evaluated for improvement. Mississippi State University's program focuses on retention and is festive,…

This booklet offers a framework to help administrators understand the campus environment for minorities, and describes an approach to collecting the information needed to monitor change in that climate with an emphasis on the experiences and perceptions of minority students on campus and the need they express for a more hospitable campus.…

In a study of college students' experiences at a public, four-year comprehensive university, 10 students took photographs representative of their impressions of the university and discussed the underlying themes of the photographs in focus-group interviews. Several primary themes emerged, including perceptions about the physical environment,…