Volume 37, Issue 2

This book is a welcome addition to the growing literature in higher education that is concerned with the pursuit and achievement of quality. The authors cast their project within the new and seemingly intractable environment of higher education: increased competition for enrollments, revenues, and the public's confidence and support. In this context, colleges and universities search for ways to generate revenue and differentiate themselves from competitors in their appeals to students and parents. Many institutions have tried approaches such as management by objectives, strategic planning, value-added, assessment, and reengineering to address the challenges posed by the rapidly changing higher education landscape.

"Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. If investigates invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike passivity and sets us at nothing and contriving....Conflict is a sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity." -- John Dewey. Conflict - the opposition of contraries - has long served as an essential component of learning and understanding in higher education. The deepest learning is almost always a confrontation between established beliefs and new ways of knowing, a friction of minds meeting.

Much of what is said and written about African American men emphasizes the negative image that stigmatizes this population. Whether reinforced through popular culture's music and video, or through high profile crimes, the constant message presented to all segments of society is that this is a violent and endangered species. Reasonably, higher education struggles with its perceptions of African American men, even though we verbalize our commitments to diversity and community.

Women student affairs professionals were surveyed to determine their satisfaction with the student affairs profession, their perceptions of sex discrimination and career satisfaction. The effects of age, race, relationship status, and parenting status on career satisfaction and perceived discrimination were also investigated.

Large financial aid awards cost universities far more per credit hour than do small awards. Large awards frequently are necessary to attract the most talented students and seem also to encourage persistence toward a degree. Distributing smaller awards to a larger number of students may generate more net revenue but conversely may not contribute to the pool of intellectual captial on campus and may not enhance the overall retention rate.

Faculty, parent, and student expectations for due process protections in student disciplinary hearings increase as the potential severity of the sanction increases. The results of this research much be interpreted with caution, however.

With the increase in HIV among young people comes an increase in number of the college students living with HIV and AIDS. This qualitative study looked at the college experience of five of these students, paying particular attention to how the HIV/AIDS diagnosis affects the social and academic life of a college student. The results indicated that an HIV diagnosis can influence the intrapersonal growth and development of college students and uncovered the importance of trust in and access to knowledgeable on-campus health and student affairs professionals.

Randomly selected students at a southeastern, urban university were surveyed by telephone about their involvement in college and their employment experiences. Results indicated that students who worked 30 or more hours per week were less involved with campus activities than students who were not employed or were employed fewer than 30 hours. Students with larger work schedules also stated that they believed their work schedule negatively impacted their academic progress. Students who did not work indicated that they had more frequent interactions with faculty and were more likely to establish an important relationship with faculty. These relationships were evaluated as important in helping the student remain at this college.