Volume 48, Issue 3

Student affairs stands at a pivotal point in time and within its own history. By increasingly encouraging interdisciplinary learning across the curriculum, our profession is well positioned to help students understand the multiple purposes of higher education, including both the practical and the transcendent. Addressing these twin purposes is the only way our students can become citizens of the world and effect social change, just as each generation before them has done.

U.S. universities are witnessing an influx of student veterans who have been under chronic stress, have suffered injuries, and currently exhibit symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This study utilized quantitative survey data to test a model of what causes alienation on campus among student veterans. We then present quotations from student veterans describing the types of situations they find alienating. The results have direct implications for how student affairs professionals may help veterans succeed in college.

The present study examined the nature and correlates of 252 student service members’/military veteran and civilian college students’ drinking motivations. Data was collected via electronic survey. Results revealed no differences between military affiliated and civilian students in mean levels of alcohol motivations; however, the links between alcohol motives and problem drinking differed for these two groups of students. Specifically, coping motivations were linked to problem drinking for student service members’/veterans but not civilian students.

This study described student veterans’ navigation of college re-enrollment. Fifteen participants interviewed at one institution were less likely to seek academic support and more inclined to pursue social support in the form of associating with fellow veterans with whom they felt more comfortable. They downplayed or hid their veteran status from campus community members. Recommendations for acknowledging and supporting student veterans are discussed.

There is limited research about the validity and reliability of civic engagement indicators. This study examines the measurement invariance of a Civic Values construct based on students’ responses on the 2000 Freshman Survey and 2004 College Senior Survey, which are both part of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). Results show that eight items best estimate Civic Values, and these items are stable across time points. Also, Civic Values are more diffuse during students’ freshman year and more correlated during their senior year. Explanations about elements of the collegiate environment that may affect growth on the items that measure Civic Values are also discussed.

This mixed methods study assessed a first-year course for international students, entitled the U.S. Education and Culture, at a large Midwestern public institution. The quantitative results indicated that participation in the course improved students’ academic skills, psychosocial development, understanding of social diversity in the U.S., use of university resources, and academic and social engagement. The qualitative analysis identified challenges faced by participants, their sources of motivation, the acculturation process, psychosocial development, and strategies for success.

This media feature discusses one example of using a course blog as a feminist digital space to disrupt traditional learning and teaching paradigms within a higher education seminar.