June Pierce Youatt, Wyl McCully, and Sue A. Blanshan describe an innovative, collaborative approach to making on-campus life more accessible to students at Michigan State University.

On a Thursday night in December 2010, a Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) first-year student stepped in front of a train and killed himself. Because it took some time for the news to reach campus and be confirmed, the student was "funeralized," as they say in the South, and buried before his professors or peers could be informed. That left…

While student veterans share characteristics with other student populations, they also bring to campuses a host of unique gifts and challenges whose impact can be profound, not only on the vets themselves but also on the institution and the individuals who work with them. Therefore, college professionals should proceed with humility and caution as…

This article discusses the emergence of a "postsecular age" in American higher education: an age in which the academic study and practice of spirituality is alive and well. This emerging age stands in contrast to the centuries-old secular age with its origins in the empirical revolution of seventeenth-century Europe. In the secular age, objective…

There is likely no campus facility where students spend more time than a residence hall--not the student union, an academic building, or an athletic facility. Especially on a residential campus, where students may spend two, three, or more years living in residence, the potential impact of campus residential environments on student learning is…

Academic coaching can be a crucial step in helping students transition to college. Coaches work with students to be strategic in establishing and achieving their academic goals as well as becoming engaged on campus. At the University of South Carolina, academic coaching is defined as a one-on-one interaction with a student focusing on strengths,…

In this article, the author contends that to understand the concern over student mental health, one must first consider what students are reporting about themselves. Students with mental health issues are intellectually capable; rising numbers of accepted students with diagnosed psychological conditions confirm this. However, many conditions…

In this article, the authors argue that campus communities must play a more active role in developing financial literacy than they currently do--and not just by providing counseling in moments of emergency. They argue that financial literacy, as a life skill, as a requisite to citizenship, and as a critical intellectual competency, is an essential…

In this article, the authors report on a successful collaboration between academic and student services that resulted in a Rutgers University Byrne Seminar on social entrepreneurship. The course, entitled "The Business of Doing Good: Combining Business Practices with Social Activism," was designed to inspire the next generation of change makers,…

The term "helicopter parents" typically involves parents--most often, mothers--who "hover" over their children to shelter them from stress, resolve their problems, and offer unwavering, on-the-spot support and affirmation. The recipients of this attention are the generation who have had their play dates managed and have been fed a steady diet of…

Everyone at some point has asked the question "Why do bad things happen to good people? Even while asking it, most know that finding an answer to this question is not likely in their future. People's best responsible action, then, is to manage their risks to prevent future bad things from occurring, to the greatest extent possible. Risk…

Georgetown University has developed an innovative approach to addressing student health and wellness issues through curriculum infusion--a collaborative pedagogy that introduces real-life health issues faced by college students into their academic courses.

The academy plays a significant role in male students' experience of gender. In this article, the authors explore how educators can effectively support healthy and productive gender identity development among college men. Their goal is to provide insight into how campus cultures convey and reinforce lessons about what constitutes "normal"…

Many campuses are adopting freshman learning communities (FLCs) in order to boost retention. FLCs take many forms, but they typically involve enrolling small groups of students in two or more classes together during their first semester in order to create community and promote academic and social involvement. At Georgia State University, a large…

This article describes the author's cross-pedagogical approach to co-teaching with student affairs colleagues. The central goal of this approach is to help students create meaning for their lives. The author also gives an account of an incident that occurred in one seminar and illustrates the benefits of a crossover approach.