Aggregate survey responses collected from students are commonly used by universities to compare effective educational practices across program majors, and to make high-stakes decisions about the effectiveness of programs. Yet if there is too much heterogeneity among student responses within programs, the program-level averages may not…

Happiness is an important indicator of well-being, and little is known about how it changes in the early adult years. We examined trajectories of happiness from early adulthood to midlife in 2 Canadian longitudinal samples: high school seniors followed from ages 18-43 and university seniors followed from ages 23-37. Happiness increased into the…

While the importance of institutional mission is acknowledged within the higher education community, there is a lack of empirical evidence investigating how missions are experienced. Using survey data from students and faculty, this study investigates perceptions of mission engagement at religiously affiliated and independent institutions.…

This study used data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) to examine how student background characteristics, student engagement, and institutional characteristics correlate with the frequency of interactional diversity among community college students. Given the current lack of research on interactional diversity among…

Poor motivation is commonly cited as a concern when interpreting results from low-stakes standardized tests administered to postsecondary students. This study investigates the associations between test administration procedures and students' self-reported effort and performance on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), an open-ended test of…

This study examined the differing conclusions one may come to depending upon the type of analysis chosen, hierarchical linear modeling or ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. To illustrate this point, this study examined the influences of seniors' self-reported critical thinking abilities three ways: (1) an OLS regression with the student…

Given the increasing racial diversity among American college students and society, it is critical to promote meaningful interracial interactions during college. Although a burgeoning literature demonstrates the link between interracial interactions and an array of student outcomes, some important issues have been largely overlooked. Most research…

"Thriving in Transitions: A Research-Based Approach to College Student Success" represents a paradigm shift in the student success literature. Grounded in positive psychology, the thriving concept reframes the student success conversation by focusing on the characteristics amenable to change and that promote high levels of academic,…