Higher education's principal reason for being is seen as that of developing student talents. This premise suggests that a high-quality institution is one that maximizes the intellectual and personal development of its students. Student involvement is seen as the cornerstone of academic excellence. (MLW)

When a college or university's identity is closely linked to its education mission, the quality of student life and the effectiveness of the educational program assumes much greater importance. The talent development view of excellence that emphasizes the educational impact of the institution on its students is discussed. (MLW)

This analysis of how college affects students is based on the largest nationwide study of student development ever undertaken, a ten-year effort by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program of the American Council on Education and the University of California at Los Angeles. Using longitudinal data from over 200,000 students and 300…