According to the 2017 American Community Survey, more than 1 in 5 US residents speak a language other than English at home, and many are nonnative-English speakers (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Among this fast-growing population, nonnative-English-speaking (NNES) college students are significantly underserved and underresearched (Kanno &…

A substantial proportion of college students have always worked while pursuing their college degree. However, despite decades of research on working college students, very little consensus has emerged about the effect of work on college student development. This study analyzes Wabash National Study (WNS) data from 2,931 first-year students at 19…

Liberal arts colleges have prided themselves on providing students with a quality undergraduate education among a scholarly community who are interested in their holistic development. Past research has found students who attended liberal arts colleges more frequently experienced Chickering and Gamson's (1987, 1991) good practices in undergraduate…

This paper demonstrates that pretest-posttest designs provide more information than is commonly assumed. What is typically overlooked is that even when the posttest is the outcome measure, such designs also reveal if different interventions or experiences account for variations in pretest-posttest gains. (Contains 12 references.) (GCP)

With statistical controls in place for confounding influences, students' involvement in diversity experiences during college had statistically significant positive effects on their scores on an objective, standardized measure of critical thinking skills. However, different diversity experiences influenced critical thinking for students in…

Peer interactions and cognitive outcomes during college were studied at 23 institutions. Models of college impact are reviewed. Peer interactions include course-related and other activities occurring inside and outside classroom settings. Outcomes for three years are reported. Data support a strong positive effect of peer interactions on cognitive…

Originally published in March/April 1996, examines the research literature examining the effects of students' out-of-class experiences on academic, intellectual, or cognitive learning outcomes. Identifies those aspects of students' out-of-class experiences over which student affairs professionals have some control through policy or programmatic…

Originally published in January 1989, reviews a longitudinal study that compared changes in critical thinking over a one-year period between matched groups of college and non-college students. Results indicate that students who attended college for one year scored higher in critical thinking than the matched group of students who did not attend.…

Findings of this three-year longitudinal study, based on 172 African American students, suggest that attendance at an historically Black college significantly enhances the intellectual growth of African American students. The findings held for both standardized, objective measures of reading comprehension, and for self-reported measures of gains…

Researchers examined three issues: gender and ethnic differences in terms of preferences towards collaborative learning; effects of collaborative learning on student outcomes; and determinants of openness to diversity. Results showed that exposure to collaborative learning practices influenced positively each of the outcomes under study. (Contains…

Extends previous research, which investigated relationships between female students' perceptions of a "chilly campus climate" and cognitive outcomes in the first year of college, by examining those relationships through the junior year. Results, implications, and limitations of the study are discussed. (Author/GCP)

Summarizes some of the major findings from the first year of the federally funded National Study of Student Learning. Discusses the implications of those findings for higher education policy and practice.(Author)