This article explores the ways faculty and student affairs professionals can impact the student experience, particularly for Students of Color. Experiences at two institutions illustrate how developing deeper relationships and broader perspectives make a significant difference not only for students, but also for those who teach and support them.…

Too often educators pay too little attention to the psychological and emotional impact subject matter has on students. Teaching effectiveness would be greatly enhanced if educators would consider students' affective reactions to material delivered in courses, workshops, and other collegiate learning experiences.

This article reviews how psychology research has defined beliefs, values, and attitudes (BVAs); how they relate to each other; and how they may be influenced, especially in the academic setting. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the nature of and the interrelationships between BVAs, (b) discuss their relevance to the academic…

Over the past several years, there has been a resurgence of interest in--and reconceptualizing of-- character education in primary and secondary schools across the United States. An important question, then, is how this new emphasis on character development at the K-12 level impacts the work of university faculty and student affairs professionals.…

Faculty, student affairs professionals, and most importantly, students, are paying the price as institutions of higher education increasingly operate in a top-down manner with an over-emphasis on the bottom line. The corporatization of higher education creates lopsided reward (and punishment) systems for faculty, unreasonably stressful…

A professor and a group of student leaders initiated the Actively Caring for People (AC4P) Movement to establish a more civil, compassionate, and inclusive culture by inspiring intentional acts of kindness. This article explores the AC4P Movement in a first-year residence hall at Virginia Tech and a second-year residence hall at University of…

In the late 19th century, faculty members on American college campuses turned their attention away from life outside the classroom, a responsibility they had assumed from the earliest days of the colonial college. The result was the establishment of a field known familiarly today as "student affairs", which focuses on the work of…

Most college faculty care about the characters of their students, especially when it comes to questions of honesty. But can students today be trusted not to cheat when completing papers and exams, and not to do so for the right reasons? In section one of this article, the author reviews some of the leading research on cheating behavior, and in…

Pluralism and engagement with diverse religious, secular, and spiritual worldviews can contribute significantly to college student growth and civic engagement. But these concepts can be difficult to measure in the framework of student learning. This article describes a process and product undertaken by Elon University, Interfaith Youth Core, and…

The author argues that the excessive desire for a teacher's or mentor's feedback is not exclusive to the current "iGeneration." She suggests that one of the responsibilities of educators is teaching students to be less hesitant to make their own judgments. She then calls upon current teachers and administrators to model reasonable self-reliance to…

Colleges and universities are places where students are immersed in course work and planned activities outside the classroom, where habits based on values and character can be formed. Whether working with students to achieve learning outcomes specifically related to academic courses or helping them work through the consequences of a conduct issue,…

How can evangelical Christian colleges prepare their students to lead lives of Christian faith in a postmodern world characterized by cultural heterogeneity? Fallibilist Christian spirituality is presented as an orientation that empowers students to be receptive to the insights of diverse perspectives while maintaining their personal faith…

Contrary to expectation, an academic leftist advocates for students in the military, having observed these students' consistently excellent performance over 12 years of teaching philosophy and humanities. This excellence is attributed to the development of character and the acquisition of virtue, offering lessons for teachers and students alike.…

The purpose of the article is to discuss the glittering, bejeweled, daring, illegitimate stepsister of questionable character in the collegiate environment: the department of athletics. The author argues how this stepsister might become legitimate if the product of athletics were viewed and valued differently. An argument is presented that if…

For the past 40 years, Alverno College faculty, staff, and students have collaborated in the creation of an integrated learning and assessment model that requires students to demonstrate, and faculty to assess, eight core abilities: Communication, Analysis, Problem Solving, Valuing in Decision-Making, Social Interaction, Developing a Global…