Volume 41, Issue 1

The focus of this article is to develop a framework for understanding the change process related to collaboration between academic and student affairs. A national survey of collaboration between student and academic affairs was conducted. Structural and cultural theories of change were used to examine the research questions. The findings indicate that combined models are best able to guide student and academic affairs collaboration. The study results suggest that universities and comprehensive institutions need to pay particular attention to structural strategies and obstacles.

This article describes an alternative method for the study of first-year students’ impressions of their first-semester experiences in higher education. Using an innovative, phenomenologically-oriented, individual-environment interaction technique, a sample of undergraduates from a public four-year comprehensive university were asked to take a series of reflexive photographs, representative of their impressions of the university, describe in writing the reasons why the photographs illustrated their experiences, and discuss the various underlying themes of their photographs in subsequent focus-group interviews. This reflexive photography technique breaks the study subjects away from the typical researcher-oriented quantitative technique and allows for a more open and creative analysis of student perceptions. Our research revealed a number of primary themes including perceptions about the university’s physical environment, interactions with faculty, interactions with other students, student support services, and career counseling and preparation for the future with a level of detail and university specificity not available through quantitative techniques alone.

Logistic regression is employed to develop a model that seeks to provide information to enhance early identification of freshmen at risk of attrition. The early identification is accomplished shortly after freshman orientation. The dependent variable of interest is the binary and nominal variable of persistence. Students who proceed from freshman matriculation to graduation without ever having dropped out are classified as persistors, and freshman matriculates who leave college either temporarily or permanently are classified as dropouts. The independent variables employed to predict attrition include demographics; high school experiences; and attitudes, opinions, and values as reported on a survey administered during freshman orientation. The model and its results will be presented along with a brief description of the institutional intervention program designed to enhance student persistence.

This study examined the extent to which racial differences existed in self-reported intellectual and social gains between African American and White college students at predominantly White institutions. Taking into account the influence of an array of intervening variables, African American and White students reported significantly different intellectual and social gains in college. Implications for student affairs professionals are discussed.

As a result of a recent student needs and satisfaction survey, a Midwestern health professional school conducted a phenomenological study to better understand the students' perceptions toward diversity within their institution. The specific purpose of the climate assessment was to explore, through the perceptions of the students, the diverse cultural and racial climate of this Midwestern health professional institution. Students defined diversity broadly and five themes identifying students' needs in regards to diversity emerged: 1. The need for students to be respected, no matter what their difference, by the faculty and their peers. 2. The need for students of color not to be stereotyped and to be treated with respect. 3. The international students' need to not feel so isolated. 4. The need for the students to not be gender stereotyped. 5. The questioning of the need to diversify faculty and, more importantly, upper level administration.

This study suggests that residence hall students at a predominantly White university perceive the racial climate of residence halls differently depending on their cultural group. White, African American, Latino, Native American, biracial, and international college students were included in this study. In each instance where there were significant differences in students' responses regarding racial climate, the statistical significance was between White and one or more of the cultural minority groups. There were no significant differences found in the responses of any of the ethnic minority groups.

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in alcohol abuse, sexual behaviors, and academic integrity among Greek and non-Greek students at a small, churchaffiliated, liberal arts campus; and further, to compare any differences between Greek men and Greek women. The results of this study were then compared to previous findings at larger, public universities. Results indicated that Greek students tend to experience more problems related to alcohol abuse, were more likely to fabricate sources, but were similar to non-Greek students in their neglect of safe-sex behaviors and in their frequency of cheating on exams. Both Greek men and Greek women reported more alcohol use than their non-Greek counterparts, and Greek men reported more use and more negative secondary effects of alcohol than Greek women. The results provide partial support for considering institutional context when examining the effects of student subcultures such as Greek organizations.

The authors propose a model that describes the process of acquiring and retaining new members in an established group or organization. The model also provides a means of analyzing processes and “tools” employed to attract and inform nonmembers. In addition, analysis of processes and tools can be used to optimize their effectiveness for the purposes of acquiring and retaining membership. The model may be employed to analyze a variety of situations where nonparticipating individuals become willing participants, increasing the likelihood of their becoming members.

This paper reviews the literature on the changing mental health needs of today’s college students and the challenges posed by both the growing number of students with serious psychological problems on campus and the increase in the number of students seeking counseling. The implications of student mental health problems for students, faculty, staff, and the institution are discussed, as well as some strategies for responding to the surge in mental health needs on college campuses.

Three hundred seventy-one members of the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the influence of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act on campus law enforcement practices. The majority of respondents credit the Act with improving crime reporting practices, and some law enforcement officers credit the Act with improving the quality of some programs and services. Most, however, do not think the Act has done much to reduce campus crime or to change student behavior.