Volume 39, Issue 4

Student personnel professionals are beginning to have key roles and increased involvement in distance learning programs, by administering distance education systems and supporting distance student adjustment, learning, and development. This article presents a work sample exercise for use when interviewing and hiring college student personnel administrators for professional positions in distance learning programs.

While African women and women of African heritage share many similar experiences, their continental separation causes them to have many differences. However, examining the collective experiences of African and Black women of African descent can help frame discussions about ethnic, racial, and gender identities. Central to this discussion is the question: How can African and Black American women connect to share their experiences and engage in mutual learning? World travel is one way for women to experience such an identity connection.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perceived needs of incoming freshmen on a newly created instrument, The Freshman Survey. The instrument contains four scales with items related to personal/emotional, social, academic, and career needs. Freshmen indicated higher pre- and post-orientation needs on the academic and career scales. Females indicated higher pre-orientation needs than males on the personal/emotional, social, and career scales. Blacks/African Americans had higher pre-orientation social and academic needs than Asian/Pacific Islander students, which were also higher than White/Caucasian Students. Implications for uses of the instrument are also included.

The purpose of this article is to articulate the means by which the professionalization process in our college student personnel program at a private, church-related institution is operationalized. Discussed are the religious mission, how it is translated into the program goal of professionalism, and what implications the process has for other institutions.

To determine academic performance and retention patterns, 229 African American freshmen men at a historically African American, private liberal arts college in the Southeast were surveyed about their adaption to college using cognitive and noncognitive measures. Predictions generated by 14 independent variables were compared to the students’ actual academic performance (i.e., grades and academic probation) and retention (i.e., staying in school). Statistically significant relationships were between high school grades, high school rank, and several noncognitive variables and students’ academic performance and retention. Suggestions for admission, extended orientation programs, and increased faculty and peer support are discussed.

The effects of on- and off-campus living arrangements on students’ openness to diversity were examined using data from 502 first-time-college students at a major research university in the Midwest. Results indicated that living on campus was directly associated with significantly higher levels of openness to diversity than was living off campus. Living in a Freshman Interest Group was indirectly related to greater openness to diversity through students’ relationships with their peers. No significant indirect effects were found for living in a traditional residence hall or a sponsored learning community.