In this article, the author describes a powerful counter to the content-delivery approach to higher education.

Louis V. Macias reminds us that educators' attitudes toward first-generation students have a great impact on their eventual success … or failure. Are you serving the best interests of your students with an inspirational, success-oriented mind-set that considers all of their capabilities?

In recent years, many institutions have developed residential living-learning communities that aim to involve faculty in promoting peer-to-peer learning and furthering students' scholarly interests in a residential setting. A special type of living-learning community--the residential college--has been embraced by many: Harvard University; the…

Since 2006, 19 institutions across the United States have been trying to figure out how to work smarter through their participation in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. Drawing on data from the first year of the study, the robust, mixed-methods study the authors report in this article evaluated growth in the first year of…

Students' life circumstances need not marginalize them. The author's students--Margot and Steve--missed out on her full support because she assumed they had lots of support of their own, given their race and the socioeconomic status she assigned to them. She focused on their papers, not their lives. The complicated areas of students' lives don't…

In this article, the author describes a story about Bernie, who found a strong mentoring relationship with a faculty member--a sympathetic ear, a willing advisor, someone who cared about whether he stayed or left the institution. The story points to the power of advising, communicating, and mentoring in student success and persistence to…

Perhaps a decade ago, accreditation agencies might have been satisfied with a list of student learning outcomes and some evidence that students achieved them. More and more, accreditors request evidence of "improvement". It is not enough to merely demonstrate that what one is doing works reasonably well; one must also show that he or she invests…

Belonging to a personally meaningful community of learners is a powerful predictor of a student's retention and academic success. Being part of a community that is intentionally built on recognizing, valuing, and learning from the diversity within that community can further deepen students' understanding of self, others, and the global community…

Like many of the author's colleagues in higher education, he has long maintained that their work is primarily about forging personal connections within their campus communities by engaging students in a variety of learning activities. He fervently believes that learning must be broadly conceived to include an array of cognitive, social, and…

In this article, the author shares her research findings on the differences between how men and women respond to college. She explores some of the cornerstones of the undergraduate experience--living away from home, interacting with faculty, being academically engaged, and learning about diversity--and how they contribute in unique ways to women's…

Faculty-in-residence programs aim to strengthen the intellectual climate in residential facilities. This article presents the author's reflections on nine years of living in a residence hall as a Faculty-In-Residence (FIR) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The author shares an insider's observations on the role he played as a…

An academic advisor who has built a one-on-one relationship with a student over an extended period is in an ideal position to become a partner in helping shape the advisee's academic experience. In this article, the author discusses using the guiding principles of the Learning Partnerships Model (LPM) to reshape academic advising. The three…

According to General Schwarzkopf, great leaders do not stand in front of a platoon and see a platoon. They see 44 individual soldiers, each with his or her own values, goals, and skills. Schwarzkopf encouraged educators to get to know each soldier so that they could effectively tailor their motivation techniques to the individual soldier.…

This author relates how, as a college student with an invisible disability, his experience affected his awareness of students with similar challenges and how educators can serve these students better. Henning shares his story in hopes that it will affect others' awareness of these students' challenges. To help students with hidden disabilities, he…

After forty-nine years of watching and working in higher education, Arthur Chickering has determined that three R's truly are fundamental to helping students learn. In stark contrast to the traditional set, Chickering's three R's challenge educators to recognize, respect, and respond to wide-ranging individual differences among diverse learners.…