There is rapidly growing research on the multiple benefits of nature-based experiences. Some institutions of higher education have incorporated these types of experiences in areas such as building design, travel offerings, residential programs, green spaces, field trips, wellness centers, and freshman orientation programs. Unfortunately, urban…

The American Talent Initiative's Student Success Research Grant Program supported research studies aimed at deepening our understanding of the institutional practices and strategies that can improve student success at high-graduation-rate institutions. The findings will offer actionable recommendations for supporting lower-income students, while…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand transfer students' experiences of their transition to a private four-year college in Brooklyn, New York, one with an approximate enrollment of 1100 undergraduates. Of particular focus are the students' experience of a Transfer Seminar required of transfer students in their first semester…

Many community colleges offer a "student success" course--also known as College 101 or Introduction to College--as a means to help incoming students transition to college and become successful. The typical course is meant to provide key information and address important non-cognitive skills and behavioral expectations with the goal of…

In this article, the author explains a high-impact role-playing pedagogy developed at Barnard College called "Reacting to the Past," which she uses to introduce first-year and general education students to feminist history, current feminist issues, and feminist pedagogy.

In response to strikingly low completion rates in public 2-year colleges, including for students who are well-prepared academically, most community colleges across the country offer student success courses as one approach to improving outcomes for students. Some colleges have begun to revise these courses in response to research indicating that…

Over the years, a number of interventions aimed at increasing student engagement and performance have been implemented in higher education. Some of these, labeled high-impact practices (HIPs), when done well, have led to documented evidence of student success. Two approaches that have been identified as HIPs--first-year seminars and learning…

Ideal for faculty and administrators looking to blend business education and the liberal arts, this toolkit combines exemplary syllabi from 26 leading institutions with step-by-step strategies to advocate successfully for curricular innovation. Conceived with comprehensiveness in mind, these resources cover both inspiration and implementation for…

This article documents the conception and development of a tool for providing academic and counseling support to meet the needs of minority adult students in an urban community college environment. Specifically, the tool is a course having as its base the proper assessment of student needs and the revision of the syllabus to fit those needs.…