Most of the research on the effects of college on students that examines the influences of institutional characteristics--what Pascarella and Terenzini ("How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research". San Francisco: Jossey-Bass 1991) called "between-college" effects--indicate that the descriptors typically used…

Nearly all quantitative analyses in higher education draw from incomplete datasets-a common problem with no universal solution. In the first part of this paper, we explain why missing data matter and outline the advantages and disadvantages of six common methods for handling missing data. Next, we analyze real-world data from 5,905 students across…

This study sought to estimate net differences between first-generation and other college students in their academic and nonacademic experience of college, and to estimate the net differences between first-generation students and their peers after two years of college in select cognitive, psychosocial, and status attainment outcomes. (Contains 16…

Comparison of 825 first-generation college students and 1,860 traditional college students in 23 diverse institutions after completion of 1 year found first-generation students differed from others in both entering characteristics and college experiences. Although traditional students made greater net gains in reading, the groups gained similarly…

Theories concerning dimensions and dynamics of college student development and theories about how colleges exert influence on student change are reviewed. The models deal principally with growth among traditional undergraduate students. The theories of Chickering, Perry, Kohlberg, and Loevinger address the nature, structure, and processes the…

The way that college students' levels of academic and social integration influenced their reported personal development during 4 years of college was investigated. The question of whether the types of influences on growth varied from one year to the next was also studied. During the summer of 1980, a sample of freshmen completed a questionnaire…

A study examined whether students' perceptions of their growth are related to their college experiences (after controlling for their precollege characteristics), whether the amount of development varies over the first three years of college, and whether the influences perceived in personal development vary from one year to another. (Author/MLW)

Conceptual and methodological recommendations for enhancing research on the influences of college on students are offered, including isolating net college effects, studying the timing of change, estimating college effect sizes, examining direct and conditional effects, and the potential benefits of qualitative approaches. Areas for future inquiry…

Peer interactions and cognitive outcomes during college were studied at 23 institutions. Models of college impact are reviewed. Peer interactions include course-related and other activities occurring inside and outside classroom settings. Outcomes for three years are reported. Data support a strong positive effect of peer interactions on cognitive…

This paper reports the effects of program characteristics and faculty activities on students' experiences and, ultimately, the development of students' analytical and group skills. Data come from nationally representative samples of 4,330 seniors, 1,243 faculty members, and 147 engineering program chairs on 39 campuses nationwide. Findings…

A review of more than 3,000 books, monographs, journal articles, papers and other reports was conducted to discover what kinds of design, measurement, and analytical lessons have been learned as a result of the enormous volume of college-impact-on-student studies that have been published in the last 20 years and to determine how these lessons…

Salient findings of six studies assessing the construct validity of Tinto's model of college student attrition are described. The studies are based on three independent data collections over a three-year period and indicate the students' informal contacts with faculty are consistently related to subsequent persistence/withdrawal decisions.…

Possible methods of student attrition research are the autopsy or retrospective study, the longitudinal study and the cross sectional study. The autopsy study is least valuable but can be effective when modified and combined with the other two, depending on the resources of the college. (JAC)

Originally published in March/April 1996, examines the research literature examining the effects of students' out-of-class experiences on academic, intellectual, or cognitive learning outcomes. Identifies those aspects of students' out-of-class experiences over which student affairs professionals have some control through policy or programmatic…

Little is known about how students become involved in the various dimensions of student change and development as they make the transition from work or high school to college. This paper describes the results of a series of focus-group interviews with 132 diverse, new students entering either a community college; a liberal arts college; an urban,…