Social-physical environments and people interact with and influence one another. The author describes an environmental assessment inventory which can be used to determine those aspects of the college environment which cause students to have problems and thus allows the counselor to intervene to modify the environment. (SE)

This report presents the results of a study that compared the attitudes of White university students toward African American students and discusses their perceptions about the classroom and campus environments. The study revealed that White students who had shared a dormitory room with a person of a different racial group and evaluated the…

The validity and reliability of aggregating individuals' perceptions of college organizational characteristics to more macro units of analysis were examined. The focus was the extent to which data collected in a national study met the internal consistency criterion for aggregating perceptual data to the institution level. The study assessed key…

The dimensions and consequences of college student attrition and features of institutional action to deal with attrition are discussed. Patterns of student departure from individual colleges as opposed to permanent college withdrawal are addressed. After synthesizing the research on multiple causes of student leaving, a theory of student departure…

Effective management of time is described from a cultural viewpoint, using examples from four case studies based on a one-year research project on college and university decision-making. Three dimensions of time in colleges and universities are important: formal/informal; historical; and seasonal/ceremonial. The environment, external…

The role of student affairs staff in small colleges is considered in eight chapters. Topics of discussion include: conditions facing small colleges, the small college ecology, the role of the student affairs division in providing leadership for institutional planning and research, examples of innovative programming that maximize scarce resources…

Concerns about college fraternities and sororities and student values are identified for student personnel administrators. It is noted that fraternities and sororities are exclusionary by practice, sexist in nature, and gender specific by design. They reinforce, without reexamining, the values that their members possess upon entering. Attention is…

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington administered a 1986 University Union Spring Survey to 404 residential and nonresidential students to monitor student preferences and to evaluate their satisfaction with selected aspects of services and programs within the student union. The results revealed that students considered notices in their…

Acknowledging that college life has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, this book tells parents what to expect as their children leave home. Beginning with the college admissions process, practical solutions are offered for specific problems. Topics covered include: basic issues every family should discuss before the student leaves for…

Elements of educational quality and ways in which quality is estimated are identified, with specific attention to conditions that are prerequisite to achieving high levels of quality in universities. The quality of a university may be estimated by examining prestigous institutions based on reputational studies, by quantitative descriptions of…

The influence of the concept of organizational culture on computer use by colleges and universities is discussed, and five case studies of anonymous northeast colleges are presented. Attention is directed to the extent and nature of the connections between computer use and organizational factors, both structural and cultural. Structural influences…

The idea that professional schools represent a sector where two particular sets of conflicting norms are clearly apparent is discussed. Teaching staff in university professional schools inhabit an ambivalent cultural world. Their dual mandate requires commitment to traditional academic norms and scholarship through the disciplines along with…

The programs and services colleges and universities must implement to effectively meet the needs of adult students are described in the following chapters: (1) "Applying New Perspectives to Educating Adults"; (2) "Understanding Adults' Life and Learning Transitions"; (3) "Moving In: Adults' Needs on Entering Higher Education"; (4) "Designing…

Serious budgetary and administrative questions concerning educational computing and technology confront liberal arts college administrators. What will be the impact of microcomputers and other technologies on a liberal arts education? Since monies are less and less apt to come from outside grants, especially for non-innovative institutions, and…

Student attrition and retention have been familiar terms in higher education for a long time. Recently, however, there has developed an increased awareness of the cost of attrition, both to students and to community colleges. Although research has not provided any solutions to the complex problem of attrition, studies have identified some basic…