This chapter provides an overview of social justice as both process and outcome. It introduces a working definition for social justice that is equity-focused rather than deficit-focused. This first chapter sets a foundation for examining social justice practices in the context of university housing programs.

Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) play a key role in diversifying the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics workforce. This chapter provides an overview of a funded National Science Foundation (NSF) grant program that incorporates learning and work in an effort to address racial/ethnic underrepresentation in the field of…

This chapter describes and discusses implications of the experiences of student affairs leaders--the challenges and the opportunities, the obstacles and the joy--for understanding and facilitating student affairs leadership.

This chapter describes the historical development of learning communities within American higher education. We examine the forces both internal and external to higher education that contributed to and stalled the emergence of learning communities in their contemporary form.

Although assessment has been an integral part of the development and expansion of learning communities, much of the assessment was focused on investigating student satisfaction, retention, and graduation. This chapter provides a case study illustrating one learning community's efforts to create assessments focused on student learning.

This chapter explores the practices of learning communities designed for specific, underserved student populations, highlighting on-campus examples and culminating with a synthesized list of core practices from these "inclusive" learning communities.

As the college population in the United States rapidly diversifies, leaders of successful campus suicide prevention programs are recognizing the importance of targeting specific groups of students. Recent estimates from the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that in 2008 more than one-third (36.7 percent) of college students…

This chapter describes the historical and contemporary theoretical underpinnings of learning communities and argues that there is a need for more complex models in conceptualizing and assessing their effectiveness.

This chapter discusses assessment and evaluation of multicultural initiatives by exploring two efforts implemented at a small, liberal arts college.

The growing diversity and changing demographics within the United States increases the importance of students developing skills to engage across identity difference. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how a pre-employment course for student staff members is used as a multicultural intervention training to provide students with the…

This chapter provides an overview of undergraduate STEM initiatives for underrepresented minorities and women, as well as a description and critical analysis of one comprehensive federally funded initiative at a research-intensive university.

The transition from college to whatever lies ahead can be exciting and scary for students. How the transition experience unfolds for students will be the result of a combination of factors including individual circumstances, how the student responds to change and unknown expectations, and how well they are prepared and informed for their…

Institutions of higher education address the transition from after-college life in a variety of curricular approaches. Articulation agreements provide greater transferability of courses from one college to another, thereby easing the transition for students. Career courses, which are typically taught by career center staff, are a common offering…

Transitioning from college can be a process in life that fills students with trepidation. They may experience feelings of uncertainty and anxiety over issues related to transferring to another college, going on to graduate school, entering military service, or moving into the world of work. Recognizing that these topics may cause distress to their…

As students face the transition to after-college life, whether it be to further education or to the workplace, their choice of classes can determine how well they are prepared. Students obtain a broad knowledge of various subjects through general education classes and more specific knowledge through their particular discipline or major, and often…