When Heather Berg arrived at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2011, she was struck by the seemingly posh lifestyle many of her fellow students enjoyed. Now finishing her second year, she has friends who also felt that culture shock at first. But it's been hard to find them, and to speak candidly with anyone about the impact of money--or…

Inside campus libraries and dormitory rooms, thousands of students connect to the Internet not only to study with online systems like Blackboard but also to watch movies and TV shows on Netflix. Computers, smartphones, wireless printers, tablets, iPods, Xboxes, handheld gaming systems, e-readers, smart TVs, Blu-ray players--students now bring an…

At Middlebury College--and on campuses throughout the country--class is coming out of the closet. Long hidden from view, economic status is emerging from the shadows, as once-taboo discussions are taking shape. The growing economic divide in America, and on American campuses, has given rise to new student organizations, and new dialogues, focused…

The sale of bodily goods or services--"body commodification"--is nothing new among college students. But strides in medical technology, the encroachment of market values on all facets of life, and the reach and culture of the Internet have combined to create a fertile environment for people who want or need to exploit the value of their skin or…

This article profiles A.C. Grayling, a British intellectual who pioneers a new model for college. In his role as founder of the New College of the Humanities, Britain's newest and most controversial institution of higher education, A.C. Grayling could have chosen among several titles. The senior academic officer at most English higher-education…

With goals of fostering an intellectual atmosphere, building relationships, and increasing students' involvement on campus--and, ultimately, their rates of retention--universities around the country, including Elon, Michigan State, and Southern Methodist, are looking to residence life. House systems, residential neighborhoods, and living-learning…

American-style summer programs in China, catering to Chinese-born students, have taken American universities by surprise. They are yet one more player in the complex and often opaque Chinese education industry, an industry in which American colleges are finding themselves increasingly entwined. These programs have become a booming enterprise,…

Providing college students with free textbooks is no easy task. That seems to be the major lesson from several efforts to produce e-books that are low-cost or free to help reduce students' costs. Money pressures, slow adoption by professors, and quality concerns stand in the way as these projects hope to rival traditional publishing. Take Flat…

The e-mail drill was one of numerous mind-training exercises in a unique class designed to raise students' awareness about how they use their digital tools. Colleges have experimented with short-term social-media blackouts in the past. But Ms. Hill's course, "Information and Contemplation," goes way further. Participants scrutinize their use of…

Who hasn't at least once had the feeling of being remade through music? Who is there who does not date a new phase in life to hearing this or that symphony or song? But does music constantly provide revelation--or does it have some other effects, maybe less desirable? For those who teach, the question is especially pressing. Students tend to spend…

Western Michigan University is building an innovative program to make welcome those students who were raised in foster care and to help them earn their diplomas without having to shoplift or trespass over the holidays. Many of the students have comfortable apartments on the campus, and a hall was kept open over the holiday break for dorm residents…

Walter Fortson never expected to finish college, especially as inmate 819161D at the Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility, in Hunterdon County, N.J. A few years ago, he chose to be a crack dealer to support his family and his reckless spending habits. He thought he was too smart to get caught, until one day in 2008 when he made a bad move. He…

College students are a generally healthy lot. But as they grow heavier each year, reflecting the national rise in obesity rates, campus officials are trying to promote healthier habits--and, they hope, mitigate the impact of a sobering trend. More than one-third of college students have a body-mass index, the main measurement for obesity, that…

Few students are as frustrating to a teacher as those who are bright, literate, and interested--but who don't utter a word in class. The author was such a student herself. There are undoubtedly many reasons for muteness. For the author, the major factor was background. Shy students are not necessarily lazy or indifferent or hopeless. Most of the…

No matter the college, a class in the principles of microeconomics is likely to cover the discipline's greatest hits. The author attends three economics courses at three colleges, and finds three very different approaches. In this article, the author discusses three colleges' different approaches that shape learning in Econ 101.