This chapter examines the existing literature in two major areas. A review of literature related to higher education's mission to educate for personal and social responsibility provides a rationale to refocus our collective attention on this important area of student learning and development. The chapter also reviews the current understanding…

The top priority for college and university administrators should be to ensure that their instructional programs, and thus their entire institutions, are managed in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Proper management of fiscal resources determines the degree to which institutions are open and affordable. Review of the current…

Historically, the primary role of financial aid was to increase educational opportunities for those with inadequate resources, yet more recently institutional aid is increasingly becoming based on criteria unrelated to financial need. Various political forces have reinforced the institutional tendency to redirect dollars from the mission of…

Summarizes current research on the role of the federal government in defining or enforcing the credit hour measure in higher education, focusing on the role of the U.S. Department of Education in shaping the credit hour system. The federal government shows interest in moving away from focusing on administrative matters to issues of academic policy…

Discusses the ways the credit hour has come to be used by public funding systems in higher education. The literature review shows that the credit hour has become a barrier to innovation and a way to create systemic inequities between institutions or sectors in resource allocation. (SLD)

Looks back at the chapters of this special issue to conclude that the credit unit serves as a universal translator that allows disparate activities to be translated by complicated institutions into a common language. However, it also contributes to bad habits in the academy, especially in relation to goals and assessment of student learning. (SLD)

Recommends strategies, based on current research into teaching and learning, that international students may use to improve their academic performance. (EV)

Discusses what the research says about the social challenges that international students face when leaving their homeland for school in the United States and highlights ways that colleges and universities can encourage the social success of international students. (EV)

Describes two significant theoretical approaches to service learning (philanthropic and civil) so that professors are aware of two different impulses that inform service learning. In addition, addresses three critical concerns about service learning: it takes too much time and too many resources, it should not be required, and it should be…

This introductory essay reviews the literature on commuter students' needs and experiences and compares several theoretical models that can be used to create environments, cultures, and structures that enable commuter students to become deeply involved in learning. Reports data that indicate the importance of increasing students' involvement to…

Reviews the history of higher education as both a professional field and a disciplinary field in light of the current relationship between researchers and practitioners. Suggests that it is necessary to balance the competing interests of theory and research with the practical requirements of practice and policy. Suggests a focus on integration for…

Identifies the most promising policies and practices for remedial and developmental education in postsecondary education based on research findings. Also reviews the research on developmental education outcomes and discusses policy issues in developmental education, such as whether the need for developmental education can be eliminated and who…

The accounts of several autobiographers concerning the graduate student experience reveal how students find meaning in their academic apprenticeships. Academic autobiographers, now speaking as teachers themselves. focus on what was given to them by their teachers when they were students. (MSE)

Draws on current research to note complexity of dissertation process within general context of students' graduate careers, by summarizing previous research on degree completion, analyzing tasks involved in completing dissertation, and considering implications for programs and faculty. Discusses importance of a positive faculty-student nexus of…

Ten pitfalls for financial analysts are described: information lags, misinterpreting trend data, data shortcomings, sample institutions' problems, misuse of panel ratings, using same indicators for private and public institutions, underdevelopment of conceptual framework, arbitrary financial health scales, shaky use of discriminant analysis, and…