For more than 30 years now, the author has benefited in his professional practice in student affairs from having attended some terrific graduate programs. His lack of knowledge of certain topics wasn't necessarily his programs' fault. Maybe the information was presented, but he wasn't ready to take it in. Or perhaps certain topics weren't…

There are times when passion for a job is seriously tested by the circumstances and conditions of the work. The accumulated effect of long hours, increasing demand for services, shrinking budgets, intractable issues, litigious environments, and what seems at times like incessant bashing of higher education for political purposes can lead to…

Colleges have added managers and support personnel at a steady, vigorous clip over the past 20 years, new research shows, far outpacing the growth in student enrollment and instructors. Support staff--like budget analysts, computer specialists, and loan counselors--nearly doubled from 1987 to 2007. Meanwhile, jobs for instructors increased by only…

Graduate school is gaining a reputation as an incubator for anxiety and depression. Social isolation, financial burdens, lack of structure, and the pressure to produce groundbreaking work can wear heavily on graduate students, especially those already vulnerable to mental-health disorders. Studies have found that graduate school is not a…

In the author's role as an academic dean, she frequently meets with students on probation who have not yet learned how to fail and are consequently paralyzed academically. One of the most pivotal skills for a student who wishes to succeed in the academic arena is the ability to fail well. "Good failing" requires the strength to make use of a…

Community-college students, like students anywhere, begin to form their impressions of an institution the instant they set foot on its campus. And often what they find during those first few weeks can determine whether they come back for more, or turn heel and leave. Findings from a new study may offer some clues as to why those who leave do so,…

Don't drink too much, download pirated files, light candles, or prop open doors. Warnings like those pervade the weighty work of admonition known as the student handbook. However, Allen J. Bova wonders, "Who ever reads that?" So Mr. Bova, director of risk management and insurance at Cornell University, tried to reach students with a…

This article describes Hanover College's Early Alert Team, an early-alert program that seeks to identify students' academic, social, or personal troubles as soon as they surface. The team's five members gather information about students from all corners of the campus and then devise strategies to help them. The early-alert system has not only…

Last summer Congress passed the new GI Bill, and the president signed it into law. Americans can take great pride in such a program, one that helps veterans attend college after they return home. However, few are aware that many of those veterans will also encounter a variety of non-financial problems that require substantial adjustment as they…

The fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University this month were shocking yet familiar. For the second time in 10 months, a student with a record of mental-health problems went on a killing spree at a large public university. Ever since a disturbed student fatally shot 32 students and professors at Virginia Tech last April, college…

There are 11,000 or so people in Kentucky who came within a course or two of earning a college degree, but never did. Almost half a million more took a few college courses but then dropped out. Now educators are trying to lure back those erstwhile students to finish what they started. Over the next 12 years, Kentucky wants to double the number of…

Colleges that turn to Facebook as a creative way to reach out to students may run into a roadblock. This article presents how the officials of Ursuline College found that out. Facebook is a popular online social-networking service that is created for individual profiles only. The Ursuline College used Facebook to help students find both…

Drawing on his personal experience applying to an elite university and working with low-income students at Smith College, the author outlines the assets and challenges low-income students bring to these schools. He discusses the conditions necessary for such students to achieve in an elite environment, focusing on the following four…

Describes how more colleges are synthesizing their various online offerings and support services into a single Web site. (EV)

This article describes Fisk University's drive to improve its graduation and retention rates. Fisk's six-year graduation rate is more than 10 percentage points above the national average for four-year institutions. Seventy percent of Fisk alumni go on to graduate or to professional schools. No other institution produces as many black doctorates in…