Colleges and universities face the challenge of fostering a learning environment for students who lack self-awareness, have little experience with higher level thinking, approach learning as passive recipients, and experience the traditional college academic environment as foreign to their lifestyle. College and university administrators as well as individual faculty must recognize that the solutions call for systemic changes that address both the learning culture and adopt effective learning strategies. Key practices that may be used by faculty to foster effective learning of passive, disaffected students are developing a shared vision, articulating well defined academic proficiency, formative assessment, and multiple instructional methods. While challenges will certainly persist, these practices will directly address the current dysfunctional gap between high school and postsecondary education.