This article describes the processes and procedures the University of Saint Joseph used to conduct a systematic assessment of mission-related student-learning outcomes found in the General Education curriculum, and thus assess how well the institution was fulfilling its Mercy mission. The assessment showed student learning strengths and gaps and…

The University of St. Joseph, a Mercy institution, was founded during the Great Depression to provide women a gateway to higher education for careers in fields that would serve the well-being of society. Recently, the institution has undergone changes to modernize its organizational structure. Consistent with its commitment to educate people of…

Much of the concern of Catholic identity revolves around students' experiences of Catholicism at Catholic colleges and universities. Given this concern, it is surprising how little attention has been focused on student perceptions of Catholic identity. In the spring of 2013, the author gathered data from more than 1,000 students at over 20…

Peer ministry is often a vital component of campus ministry offices at Catholic colleges and universities. In order to determine the effectiveness of peer ministry in contributing to a student's faith development as well as her or his abilities to integrate faith intentionally and reflectively into everyday life, data were collected from…

Despite the massive amounts of research conducted on the effect of college on students, almost no empirical work has been done on whether students grow in compassion during their undergraduate studies. Designed to address this gap, this longitudinal study of more than 500 students found that the majority demonstrated change in compassion across…

This article provides a history of the founding and maturation of the Association for Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASACCU). It is the story of a group of lay and ordained student affairs professionals from Catholic colleges and universities who were inspired by the vision of "Gaudium et spes" and "Ex corde…

This study uses the socially responsible leadership and leadership efficacy scales in the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) to examine leadership programs at one Catholic campus, and their influence on socially responsible leadership and leadership efficacy. Examining students that identified as involved in 14 campus leadership…

The 2013 factory collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh is a painful reminder that labor issues in the apparel industry are abundant and troubling. Catholic colleges and universities (CCUs) are confronted with the reality that many apparel manufacturers can operate in stark contrast to the vision of economic justice found in Catholic social thought…

The "DePaul Mission and Values Inventory" ("DMV") was validated based on the mission, identity, and values of a large, urban, Catholic, Vincentian institution. We examined the suitability of the "DMV" at a small, suburban, Catholic, Franciscan university. A sample of 275 undergraduates (218 women, 57 men:…

This article reports a case study of seventeen faculty leaders teaching at a Catholic university who responded to a questionnaire concerning academic freedom and its practice in classroom speech. Situating the responses within a heuristic model, this article offers a portrait that provides insight into how these faculty leaders define academic…

This study examines emerging trends among those members of the Millennial generation who have dedicated a significant portion of their young-adult lives to the study of philosophy and theology at Catholic colleges and universities. Our analyses suggest that the number and percentage of Millennial undergraduates who earned degrees in philosophy or…

Centers and institutes are innovative venues at which colleges and universities organize and facilitate research, service, and scholarly exploration. The purpose of this article is to highlight the center and institute phenomenon in the context of Catholic higher education and identify ways in which these entities work to strengthen Catholic…

Catholic colleges and universities (CCUs), particularly those of moderate selectivity, are especially vulnerable to changes in the external environment. In addition to external forces, values from the academic tradition as well as those from an institution's Catholic heritage contribute to change efforts at CCUs. This study uses the lens of…

The current longitudinal study of the most successful Catholic universities in the United States identifies the prevalence of four advancement models of communication that have contributed to make those institutions successful in their philanthropic efforts. While research by Grunig and Kelly maintained that the two-way symmetrical model of…

Students who self-identified as activity leaders of one (n = 30), two or more (n = 21), or no campus extracurricular clubs (n = 34), completed measures on the institution's mission and values as well as its school sense of community ("SSOC"). Analyses indicated a main effect for race on "SSOC" and a subscale emphasis on diversity, such that…