Designing first-year experiences for first-time in college students (FTICs) is challenging and the COVID-19 pandemic created additional issues for university professionals striving to support them. This article describes a unique interdisciplinary response that one Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) engaged in for creating an intervention plan to…

This essay is a discussion of the lived experiences of first-generation college students each August when they arrive on a college campus for the first time. The author's approach offers a reflective component for institutions of higher education to consider when creating support or programs for first-generation students as they navigate an…

Using data from "The National Study on Latino Male Achievement in Higher Education," the authors have spent the last few years seeking to understand how queer Latino men negotiate their familial relationships at selective colleges and universities. After completing a couple of studies, the authors now find it important to ask the…

Higher education demographics continue to shift, with students from various minoritized identities increasing in enrollment. Yet, retention, completion, and success rates remain scarce for these students. Current metrics uphold homophobic and transphobic binaries in the categorization of gender and sexualities prohibiting higher education…

In this article, the author explores how higher education and student affairs (HESA) administrators can conceptualize servingness by understanding the experiences of Black students, administrators, and faculty at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The author uses an organizational conflict lens to propose recommendations that could support HESA…

Despite tempting illusions of college campuses as bubbles removed from "the real world", college students are not immune to trauma in its many forms including sexual violence, racism, death of loved ones, car accidents, abuse, or natural disasters. In the best-case scenario, colleges and their administrators and faculty can be sources of…

Student persistence to graduation remains a critical measure of institutional success. Degree attainment is not only essential to the personal achievement of students arriving on campus each fall but has become a high-stakes measure for performance-based funding. It is telling, that even now, the pursuit of a college degree is characterized as…

Case Willoughby begins by recalling his experience as a Class Dean at Columbia University in New York City about eight miles north of the burning twin towers on September 11, 2001. He reflects that everyone in New York City had this horrible shared experience that made the city of wildly different people into one whole. The entire country was…

In this article Nancy Evans, a former faculty member, recalls her experiences during two major crises, a campus shooting and the 9/11 attacks. Through these difficult situations, she learned some strategies for supporting students during crisis. Now in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she shares some of these strategies. Additionally, guidance…

Seventy-five years after the publication of Abraham Maslow's seminal theory on the importance of basic needs (Maslow, 1943), it is now understood that food, housing, and security also matter for college students' learning and success. Sara Goldrick-Rab's (2016) "Paying the Price" cast a spotlight on basic needs insecurity in college,…

This article describes one Syrian student's experience coming to the United States to study at a private research university. Based on his time in the US, Musbah Shaheen asserts that the current practices of working with international students on college campuses contribute to the erosion of international students' cultural belonging. The ability…

Rural students are a unique population who tend to be overlooked on campuses, despite having hurdles to overcome that some argue are similar if not greater than their peers in urban areas. Rural students are more likely to graduate high school than urban and suburban students according to the NCES and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).…

Shonda L. Goward argues that conflating first-generation and low-income status elides the specific and significant barriers poor students experience. They may share the experience of not being familiar with the university system, but the challenges of food insecurity, jobs, and family responsibilities, along with a lack of a safety net, make it…

In this interview, Beverly Daniel Tatum, President Emerita of Spelman College, shares her views of higher education. She notes the historical importance of historically black colleges and universities to our current leadership in all areas of society, their importance in rural areas or other places with limited educational options, and their need…

Every institution is different, so educators should explore the concept of spatial cues at their institutions. Without serious consideration of space, many students' needs (and desires) will remain unknown and unaddressed. More than any time before, campuses must develop strategies to better understand students' diverse experiences and…