Canonical research and identity-evasive best practices have pushed Student Affairs Professionals (SAP) to limit the applicability and effectiveness of involvement for a swath of the student body. By examining the push for involvement on college campuses, it is imperative to critically examine the impact traditional forms of student engagement have…

Peer mentoring programs have repeatedly shown that peer-to-peer support is a vital part of the transition process for new college students. Sometimes, what a student needs most in those imperative years is someone who can identify with them and provide the advice needed to get them to the finish line. In August 2019, the University of Nevada, Las…

Based on Nancy Schlossberg and her colleagues' extensive interviews with 100 retired adults, Susan Komives describes six predominate pathways retirees took to make meaning of this new transition in their lives. These pathways identified people as continuers, adventurers, easy gliders, involved spectators, searchers, and retreaters. Using the…

Are athletics a positive or negative educational force? The viewpoint widely shared across academe is that participation in intercollegiate athletics has a positive impact on students and contributes to learning and moral development. Often, this notion is captured in the phrase "character development," a shorthand way to describe the individual…

Belonging to a personally meaningful community of learners is a powerful predictor of a student's retention and academic success. Being part of a community that is intentionally built on recognizing, valuing, and learning from the diversity within that community can further deepen students' understanding of self, others, and the global community…

In the last issue of "About Campus," the author outlined the research studies that she presented with Eric J. McIntosh, Denise Nelson, and Shannon Pothovenin in 2009, which led to the creation of the Thriving Quotient, a reliable and valid 35-item instrument that measures the changeable psychological qualities in students that affect their ability…

In this article, the author shares his own learning on the challenges and the responsibilities as a student and as an instructor in the process of engaged learning. The author shares that his hope of telling his experience is to prompt educators to think about teaching and learning in ways that challenge some traditional assumptions about students…

Violence prevention groups on college campuses, in schools, and in communities are increasingly aware that violence against women cannot end unless men take an active role in stopping it, and the failure of many men to take the issue of violence against women seriously cannot be overlooked. At the University of South Carolina (USC), collaboration…

For years, educators and politicians have sought to foster a sense of hope among students--a hope that moves them beyond cynicism about society and incite them to envision better days ahead. Yet as Princeton University professor of religion and author Cornel West discusses in his 2004 book "Democracy Matters", many students today are…

For years, educators had complained that college students were apathetic, that their turnout at the polls was pitifully low, that they didn't seem to care about national politics. Despite MTV's Rock the Vote campaign in the 2000 election, students didn't show up to vote in any numbers that gave everybody the reason to be hopeful about the nation's…

Many people saw the 2004 presidential election as an opportunity for students to engage in democracy in a fundamental and concrete way--by registering to vote and participating fully in the electoral process. The first national post-election study of college student turnout in the 2004 presidential election, conducted by the Center for Information…

Engagement has become a buzzword in higher education. Research by Alexander Astin, George Kuh, and others has demonstrated that engagement in campus life contributes to students' learning, increases their satisfaction with their college experiences, and reduces the likelihood that they will drop out. The kind of engagement that transforms a person…

This article details how one student's passion for teaching and interest in the Civil Rights Movement led to the creation of a unique learning community on wheels. (GCP)

Claims that the major obstacle to active learning techniques comes from students. To free class time for active learning, students must take on the responsibility for learning factual information on their own. Looks at ways to explain the benefits of active education and to orient students in this approach. (RJM)

Offers a former U.S. president's reflections on service and its role in higher education. Discusses personal experiences that shaped his views on service and examines ways in which colleges and universities can promote student service learning. Outlines some of the skills gained through service work and covers other issues. (RJM)