In this retrospective account of their scholarly work over the past 45 years, Alexander and Helen Astin show how the struggle to achieve greater equity in American higher education is intimately connected to issues of character development, leadership, civic responsibility, and spirituality. While shedding some light on a variety of questions…

This paper describes a comprehensive set of 12 new measures for studying undergraduate students' spiritual and religious development. The three measures of spirituality, four measures of "spiritually related" qualities, and five measures of religiousness demonstrate satisfactory reliability, robustness, and both concurrent and predictive validity.…

Presents a student development theory based on student involvement, which refers to the quantity and quality of the physical and psychological energy students invest in their college experience. Discusses implications for practice and research. (JAC)

Originally published in March/April 1996, reviews the interconnections between two national reports, "Involvement in Learning," and the "Student Learning Imperative." Focuses on the issue of shared values and demonstrates how student affairs professionals can utilize the most recent research to realize the full potential of the…

In order to assess the impact of different college environments on student development and to provide a source of current, readily available information about college students, the American Council on Education (ACE) has undertaken a large-scale program of longitudinal research on the higher educational system. The program will be based primarily…

The 3 papers in this report cover different aspects of a longitudinal research program undertaken by the American Council on Education (ACE) to assess the impact of different college environments on student development. ACE plans to create a comprehensive file of data on students and institutions of higher education which will be updated annually.…

Recently, higher education policy and practice has become dominated by materialism, individualism, and competitiveness, at the expense of attention to the affective aspect of student development and, in a broader perspective, to the emotional and spiritual divisions that threaten humanity. Higher education can and should be more constructive. (MSE)

One of the most remarkable things about the human consciousness is that each of us has the capacity to observe our thoughts and feelings as they arise in our consciousness. Why shouldn?t cultivating this ability to observe one?s own mind in action,becoming more self aware or simply more "conscious" be one of the central purposes of education? Even…

An institution that exists primarily for its own sake--that identifies itself primarily in terms of its resources and reputation--compromises its capacity as an instrument for improving society. Colleges need to transcend their institutional egos and concern themselves with their impact on students and society. (MLW)

A study examined the impact of the Corporation for National Service's Learn and Serve America Higher Education program, a service learning consortium, on 3,540 students from 42 participating colleges and universities, focusing on three areas of student development: civic responsibility, academic development, and life skills. Course-based service,…

Examines the impact of service participation on undergraduate student development based on data collected from 3450 students attending 42 institutions with federally funded community service programs. Results indicate that participating in service during the undergraduate years substantially enhances the students' academic development, life skill…

Values and beliefs that govern educational practices are discussed, as is an alternative value perspective more consistent with the spirit of reform suggested by national reports. Reputational and resource views of excellence are described. Curriculum, teaching, grading, testing, and faculty personnel policies are discussed. (MLW)

Higher education's principal reason for being is seen as that of developing student talents. This premise suggests that a high-quality institution is one that maximizes the intellectual and personal development of its students. Student involvement is seen as the cornerstone of academic excellence. (MLW)

When a college or university's identity is closely linked to its education mission, the quality of student life and the effectiveness of the educational program assumes much greater importance. The talent development view of excellence that emphasizes the educational impact of the institution on its students is discussed. (MLW)

Three presentations from the Third National Conference on Assessment in Higher Education are included. In "Assessment and Human Values: Confessions of a Reformed Number Cruncher," Alexander W. Astin, focuses on measuring education productivity, assessment lessons from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, a talent-development…