Today's parents are involved in college students' lives more than those of any previous generation. The purpose of this article is to help institutions constructively manage their relationships with parents, for the benefit of students, the institution, and the parents themselves. The author seeks to offer guidance to institutions in developing a…

The modern era of accountability--"Show me what you do matters, and do it quickly"--may discount it, but, according to this author, much of an education worthy of the name acts on "time release." Many of education's effects are gradual; they are also erratic, unpredictable, conditional, circumstantial, and, ultimately, subject to too many matters…

Many colleges and universities in the United States offer summer programs for their incoming students. While programs are structured and administered in a variety of ways and target various student populations, the most common type of summer bridge program aims to serve historically underrepresented students and students of low socioeconomic…

In this article, the author discusses how the creation of enrollment management organizations separate from traditional student affairs and academic affairs divisions have caused negative impacts on student learning. A relatively new organizational structure that first appeared in the mid-1970s, enrollment management has its roots in…

As a professor in a graduate program in college student affairs, the author thinks of herself as an expert on the college experience. For the past 12 years, she has taught courses and conducted research on college students, their learning and development, the campus environment, and trends in higher education. Like any good scholar, she makes it a…

Buffalo State College's search for a text for its common first-year reading program ended not in the selection of a book but in the creation of a multimedia CD. The CD guides discussion in first-year classrooms throughout the year, resulting in a meaningful intellectual experience for the school's diverse mix of students, faculty, and staff. The…

In this article, the author describes how she challenged her class to think critically about multicultural competence and to analyze objectively the liberal perspectives of Allan G. Johnson and conservative ideas of Dinesh D'Souza using Raechele Pope, Amy Reynolds, and John Mueller's characteristics of multiculturally competent student affairs…

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…

How can higher education faculty, staff, and administrators create campus environments that guide students in their development within chosen disciplines and careers as well as in ways that contribute to a common good? How can they help students find a sense of calling in life? What does it mean to cultivate a sense of purpose in students? Are…

The author's charge in this article is to focus particularly on the question of how an academic community can sustain itself and work productively and positively to achieve normally high aspirations for its students and all members of the community. Writing from the perspective of a longtime member of the Virginia Tech community, he begins with a…

One of the most pressing challenges when facilitating a conversation on human crises is the normalizing push to move forward and avoid living in the past. Unfortunately, when conversations about human crises are ignored or rushed through, the learning process is stunted. Students lose a valuable opportunity to develop empathy and cultural…

The aftershocks of the Virginia Tech incident have included numerous committee meetings, task forces, congressional hearings, and ad hoc debates focused on what went wrong and what educators can do to make their suddenly scary campuses safer. The issue of safety on their campuses has been thrust front and center. The author found it remarkable and…

Educating the student body on mental health involves outreach to groups not normally exposed to this information, including athletes, ethnic groups, residence hall inhabitants, fraternities and sororities, and international students. Frontline responders can help facilitate this outreach through initiatives that involve presentations by counselors…

After April 16, 2007, Hokies United needed to heal itself and the Virginia Tech community. "About Campus" editorial assistant Brianne MacEachran interviewed Steve Schneiter, a faculty co-creator of the campus group that has organized responses to tragedies since the events of September 11, 2001, about managing suffering, this time their own.…

When the author first came to Virginia Tech years ago, she realized that family was a value shared by administrators, faculty, and staff. Here, there is a deep caring and sense of responsibility for the well-being of students. As an instructor and a staff member of the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Office in the College of Liberal Arts and Human…