Volume 45, Issue 1

This study advances our knowledge of students’ online self-disclosures by examining a random sample of students’ Facebook profiles at a large, public research University in the Northeast. A quantitative content analysis revealed that the vast majority of students had a Facebook account and very small proportions restricted access of their profile to University staff. Substantial proportions of students’ profiles contained contact information, course schedules, positive references to the University, and pictures of students’ consuming alcohol. Detailed implications for practice are discussed.

Drawing on Sanford’s notions of challenge and support, coupled with Tinto’s theory on retention, this quantitative investigation sought to measure the association between supportive relationships and success in college for a sample of Black men. Results suggest that supportive relationships are associated with higher levels of satisfaction but not academic achievement as measured by grades. Implications for future policy, practice, and research are discussed in the context of academic and student affairs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of curricular-based interventions housed within first-year success courses on alcohol expectancies and high-risk drinking behaviors. Specifically, we longitudinally assessed 173 students enrolled in one of ten first-year success courses, including five that received the alcohol intervention and five that did not. We then created a series of models accounting for demographic information (i.e., gender and self-reported expected grade point average), the pretest scores for the six outcome measures, and the intervention effect (i.e., whether students received the intervention or not). ANCOVA results showed that the intervention was effective in reducing high-risk drinking behaviors and alcohol expectancies for students enrolled in the success courses that received the intervention. Implications for student affairs practitioners and higher education scholars are discussed.

What needs do veterans bring to campus? Little is known about this emerging student population. The researchers interviewed 25 students who served in the current Iraq and Afghan conflicts. This was a multicampus study, with the sample derived from three geographically diverse universities representing northern, southern, and western regions of the United States. Using a model of adult transition by Schlossberg as a guiding theory, a grounded theory epistemology was used to generate a conceptual framework for understanding students who are making the transition from wartime service to college. Findings and implications will help institutions organize a holistic approach for assisting veterans and improving their chances for success.

Analyzing interviews with 18 Asian American female undergraduates, this study seeks to understand how participants viewed the sorority system at a predominantly White institution in the Southeastern United States. Drawing from critical race theory, I argue that the ways in which women perceived and experienced both acceptance and marginalization in the Greek system testify to the complexity and subtlety of racial politics on campus. While women generally perceived sororities as open access, they also reported instances in which race mattered, such as the presence of status hierarchies within the sorority system and the underrepresentation of women of color in sororities.

This study was conducted because limited research has occurred in the area of co-curricular student learning outcomes assessment, which has resulted in confusion within the student affairs profession on how to develop and implement assessment plans. The purpose of this study was to examine high-quality assessment practices of student affairs divisions at three different research institutions in order to advance the value, usefulness, and understanding of learning outcomes assessment within the student affairs profession, so more student affairs divisions may begin assessing the co-curricular. Those student affairs divisions selected for this study represented assessment models with significant experience in successfully implementing assessments of student learning and development. These mature student affairs divisions who have substantial experience in successfully implementing their assessment plans were important to examine closely so that others can learn from their experiences.This study found that those student affairs divisions that participated in this study fostered a shared commitment to assessment. It became apparent that there are four levels of professional commitment to each student affairs division’s assessment initiative. Those four levels of professional commitment included: vice presidents, directors/coordinators of assessment, assessment committees, and unit-level professional staff.This research clearly indicates that successful assessment of student affairs learning outcomes requires the understanding that units are experts in their particular field; therefore, a decentralized model of assessment, facilitated by a coordinator or director, is most appropriate in student affairs. This study also explores the most commonly used assessment methods in student affairs, as well as student affairs efforts to collaborate in the assessment process. Moreover, this study investigates how student learning outcomes assessment results are used to enhance the student co-curricular experience. Finally, this study highlights the assessment successes and challenges identified by each of the three institutions that participated in this study.