This article extends an invitation to fellow civic engagement educators and others to reflect on how an eclectic and personal selection of great works of literature raises and illuminates some of the critical questions surrounding the concept and practice of civic engagement. Through literature we can explore the implications of various ideas and…

Academic integrity policies and processes vary from institution to institution and between countries. The last 30 years has seen increased attention on policies that provide a process focused on educating students and reintegrating those who cheat into their institutions rather than punitive and permanent sanctions, such as expulsion.

"Cancel culture" can be used in punitive ways to withdraw financial or intellectual support from those whose perspectives are deemed offensive. Some suggest disengaging from authors, artists, donors, institutional founders, and others whose histories and perspectives are problematic. However, what do student affairs professionals do…

Developmental complexity, in particular developing an internal voice, is one of the foundations of character development. Here the author describes developmental complexity, its evolution over adolescence and young adulthood, how it links to character development and the five strategies to promote it, and how learning partnerships are one form of…

Higher education carries the potential to transform the troubled state of affairs--from political discord to social injustice--evident in U.S. society. Benefits to the public good can be realized to the extent that college helps students develop a framework for ethical decision making, socially responsible leadership, compassionate engagement with…

Purpose, a long-term commitment to goals that are meaningful to the self and contribute beyond the self, is associated with academic and vocational success, resilience, and psychological and physical well-being throughout life. Supporting college students' purpose development requires understanding that purpose is a driving life commitment not…

Spirituality in higher education has received increasing attention in the last two decades, but the association of spirituality with religiousness creates challenges. As an alternative approach to spirituality, this study proposes a scale to measure the closely related concept of students' authenticity. Using a large-scale, longitudinal dataset,…

The design framework of the value education model integrates natural sciences (NS), social sciences (SS), Islamic religious education (IRE), and extracurricular activities. This model is an effort to lay the foundations of the correct educational philosophy in a curriculum that contains the values, morals, and ethics that students should possess…

In this article, we introduce the four component model (FCM), which describes both the internal processes that play distinct roles in the production of moral behavior and their associated sets of relevant, teachable skills. We use this model as an analytic framework to examine college students' moral character experiences reported in the Wabash…

The extent to which sports build character is an increasingly contested topic, and scholarship has recently been focused on how coaches may (or may not) facilitate character development in their programs. Although existing literature examines coaches in youth sport and "big-time" college athletic programs, research on coaches in smaller…

This article encourages the application of cultural competency as a factor in the development of character in college students. Student affairs practitioners can help students explore cultural competency's two general components: awareness of one's own culture and knowledge of the cultural identities of others. Educators can advocate for such…

In this article, the authors argue that colleges and universities have an ethical obligation to respond to the problem of cheating in a way that honors higher education's duty to facilitate students' moral and civic development. After the authors compare and contrast the punitive versus developmental approach to cheating, they explore the promise…

A paucity of literature exists on the processes of character development within diverse contexts. In this article, the authors use the United States Military Academy at West Point (USMA) as a sample case for understanding character development processes within an institution of higher education. The authors present a discussion of relational…

College is a significant time for moral development. This research examines how undergraduate students at two U.S. universities, one faith-based and one independent, understand the meaning of living an ethical or moral life. Findings reveal that moral and ethical questions are relevant to students' lives and suggest that many have a fairly…

This research study explored how college student leaders operationalize humility in their actions and what leads individuals to act with situational humility. Using a grounded theory approach, the researcher examined the process of humility development. Based on the data collected, three main themes emerged: Faith and humility go hand in hand, a…