This book is organized into nine chapters. First the authors provide a historical overview of historically black colleges or universities (HBCUs), examining their founding as well as the role of African Americans, missionaries, and industrial philanthropists in their development. They also look at how these institutions have changed over time,…

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the transition experiences of one group of high school students (N = 75) as they began attending one alternative pathway: an Early College High School program on a community college campus. A four-part conceptual framework of college readiness provided a structure from which to explore the…

Building on their important findings in "The Source of the River," the authors now probe even more deeply into minority underachievement at the college level. "Taming the River" examines the academic and social dynamics of different ethnic groups during the first two years of college. Focusing on racial differences in academic performance, the…

Finnish universities are about to enter a period of radical change. This paper considers the reforms expected of a new Universities Act currently before parliament and a set of institutional mergers. When passed, the new act will provide universities with independent legal status, change their relationship with the government in several ways,…

Community-engaged scholarship (CES) is gaining legitimacy in higher education. However, challenges of institutionalizing and sustaining it as a core value remain. Significant barriers exist for faculty choosing to incorporate CES into their teaching and research. Faculty development programs are a key mechanism for advancing faculty skills as well…

Background/Context: Twenty percent of first-year students in public 4-year institutions and 42% of first-year students in public 2-year institutions in the United States enroll in remedial courses. Yet despite widespread remediation across U.S. colleges and universities, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about how remedial courses develop…

Colorado State University (CSU) is located in Fort Collins, which is a midsize city of 134,000 situated in Northern Colorado at the western edge of the Great Plains and at the base of the Rocky Mountains. CSU's total enrollment is approximately 25,000 students. The Division of Student Affairs comprises 30 departments organized into programmatic…

The concept of organizational culture is defined, and its relevance to higher education is explored, along with possible approaches for uncovering organizational culture on a college campus. The literature on higher education includes examples that apply the concept of organizational culture, or the implicit values, beliefs, and ideologies of…

This study investigated the congruence between students' perceptions of their peers and their perceptions of the institutional environment. Significant differences were found between students' perceptions of their class peers and the environment on four factors. (Author)

Reasons why it is difficult for deans and department heads to be creative are identified. While some deans and department heads are not creative in thinking and acting, others are creative but their creativity is not readily discernible. Their work is often slow and undramatic, consisting of tasks such as gradual position reallocations and shifts…

The effect of unpredictable resources on organizational performance in higher education was examined, along with whether some management strategies are more successful under conditions of relative predictability or unpredictability. Perceptions of administrators about institutional resources and performance were studied, along with the effects of…

A study gathered information to assist as guidance in planning gender communication awareness programs that were appropriate to the St. Olaf (Minnesota) college campus. Subjects, 92 female and 96 male faculty, 133 female and 136 male staff, and 100 students in the sophomore, junior, and senior classes filled out questionnaires designed to provide…

The renewal of institutions and maintenance of excellence in the uncertain future are discussed, based on research with 335 four-year universities and colleges. In examining the function of paradox in adaptation and renewal, it was found that individuals who can simultaneously focus on opposites, or paradoxes, are tolerant and flexible.…

This presentation is a review of the literature on the assessment of standardized test scores in black colleges. Divergent points of view exist relative to the misuse and use of standardized test scores for the sole purpose of admission of black students. Some misuses of the American College Test (ACT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are noted,…

Attention within counseling psychology has broadened in the last decade to include the larger community within which an individual exists. Measures of the eight elements of community identification by Roberts (1980) were administered to students on two residence hall floors. The group on one floor served as an experimental group and explored in…