Fostering students' personal and social responsibility is central to the historical purposes of liberal education and a key emphasis of many campus mission statements. Despite widespread agreement among faculty and administrators about fostering students' personal and social responsibility, national surveys suggest that many do not believe that…

This research sought to investigate student success using psychological sense of community as a guiding theory with the intention of providing information that could be applied in a university setting. Policy makers, researchers, and practitioners involved with higher education need programs for student success that are both efficient and…

This article reports a study that examines the efforts of one school--Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania--to improve student writing in first-year learning communities by promoting so-called process-based writing pedagogy outside of writing classes. Administrators encouraged instructors of subject-matter classes to integrate the…

The emphasis on engaging students in high-impact educational practices is increasing in higher education. Since its release in 2008, "High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter" has been the go-to report for campuses seeking guidance to help their students "reap the full benefits--economic, civic,…

As far as the authors are aware, there is no published information that assesses the beliefs of students regarding global health issues. The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to assess students' baseline knowledge and beliefs regarding issues in global health and second, to evaluate the effectiveness of a new global health course by…

Analysis of survey data collected at a liberal arts college suggests that faculty perception of assessment as a scholarly activity has a significant relationship with willingness to engage in assessment. This finding indicates the importance of focusing on the scholarly nature of assessment when encouraging faculty participation in assessment…

The purpose of this study was to explain the process and implementation of an outcomes-based general education program at a public, doctoral/research-extensive institution from the perspective of faculty. The theory that emerged explains how different causal, intervening, and contextual conditions interact with and affect the phenomenon of general…

This article reports the results of a quantitative matching study investigating the impact on first-year students of a two-semester learning community. Results indicate a statistically significant association between LEAP participation and academic performance measured by retention, GPA, and time to graduation. Participation was associated with…

Black and commuter students are disadvantaged when it comes to higher education. Although black students are enrolling in college more than they did in previous years, fewer are earning degrees compared with their counterparts. Research asserts that students who live on campus are more engaged compared with students who commute. This is troubling…

Henry W. Sams served on the editorial boards of "College English," "College Composition and Communication," and the "Journal of General Education." He was able to influence the kinds of articles on composition and rhetoric being published throughout this period, and he and his colleagues increased broad awareness of rhetorical study. The present…

This article uses the case of Michigan State College (MSC) to reconsider understanding of reform in the general education movement. Using the lens of MSC, the author argues that reform in the general education movement operated in a matrix of influence that involved educational research, philanthropy, and (both inter- and intra-) institutional…

General education reform provides strategic opportunities for departments. This article analyzes reform at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, illustrating how departments could use the reform process to clarify their strategic planning, align with institutional goals, and steer the university closer to departmental objectives. (Contains 1 table.)

This article discusses the development of a scale informed by the construct of emotional intelligence designed to measure student development outcomes identified as co-curricular goals. Supervisors, staff, and coaches provided firsthand accounts of student development outcomes at a small, private, liberal arts work college, generating data on…

The "WVEB" Mathematics Project is a collaborative program offering college-level courses to high school students. Results of a matched-pair study comparing on- and off-campus students in algebra indicate that both sections show a significant gain in score on the math "ACT" test, with no difference in gain found between sections. (Contains 7…

This article addresses the importance of leadership in general education reform, using three case studies. We argue that campus leadership that fosters collaboration, trust, and a sense of stewardship among constituents is more likely to be successful in the challenging task of substantially reforming general education curricula.