Professors continue to use movies to encourage students to critically reflect upon why they are in college, to discuss the challenges they face, and to think about how they act out what they learn. Classic films about awakening experiences in young adults are described and considered for their potential as learning tools. (JDM)

Parental role in society is changing, which in turn changes parents' relationships with their children. This article considers how this impacts a student's experience and needs in college. Suggestions are presented on new ways to think about the role of campus staff in the parent student relationship. (JDM)

Increasingly students are coming to campus with a range of experience in community services and are often ready for an expanded role. Some may consider ways to improve or reform the institutions where they serve. This article discusses the role of the campus in building on a student's experience in order to provide more ambitious programs. (JDM)

In considering how diversity training can transform students' thinking about themselves in relation to people who are different, Otterbein College redesigned a diversity training workshop. It took into account student cognitive development and used direct experiential learning. This article presents one example of diversity training that impacts…

Since the mid-1960s, the work of Alexander Astin--Allan M. Cartter Professor of Higher Education at the University of California-Los Angeles and director of the Higher Education Research Institute--has served as both bellwether for and mirror of the American college and university system. He was there to study and shed light on the student…

Most college and university mission statements identify creativity as an important institutional commitment, and most educators would agree that the ideal student is complex and creative. Yet how do students view creativity and what impact might those views have on their ability to accomplish what educators hope for them? In this article, the…

Matt Sheahan was an excellent college student. When he was in his sophomore year, he was on the dean's list and he found how easy it was for him to coast through college. By senior year, he had already had a radio show, a million friends, and credit cards he paid off at the end of each month. He was also one of the few people who came into college…

College students have a long and rich tradition of working on the front lines to effect change. Activist students of color have turned their attention to other students in need of personal, communal, and academic support. New research chronicles this powerful approach. (Contains 3 notes.)

In this article, the author describes how the orientation staff at the University of Louisville used a unique blend of play and student learning to engage more students more deeply in their orientation experience as they learn the basics for success in college. This approach to orientation is based from Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John…

Shifts in federal financial aid policies over the past two decades have made college attendance increasingly difficult for the nation's poorest students. Furthermore, once these students do enroll, they lag far behind their more economically advantaged peers in graduation rates. Because financial aid increasingly emphasizes loans over grants, many…

Team members of Project DEEP (Documenting Effective Educational Practice) spent almost two years immersing themselves in the daily work of twenty campuses. The common denominator of these institutions is that they all have participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and have scored better than predicted across some or all of…

Some construction projects that colleges and universities have recently undertaken--residence halls, dining halls, student centers, athletic and recreation centers--have attracted significant criticism. Critics have taken issue with the proliferation and design of buildings intended to structure the use of students' free time and attract…