Lately there has been a great deal of discussion about the importance of measuring a college's "return on investment." Is the point of a college education quantifiable results or personal and intellectual growth? In pursuit of answers, "The Chronicle" asked a selection of higher-education leaders. Phyllis M. Wise, Chancellor of…

Are athletics a positive or negative educational force? The viewpoint widely shared across academe is that participation in intercollegiate athletics has a positive impact on students and contributes to learning and moral development. Often, this notion is captured in the phrase "character development," a shorthand way to describe the individual…

Students at American colleges and universities do become more advanced in their global perspective taking along all three dimensions--cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. Their degree of involvement in a number of cocurricular activities and their perceptions of the campus community are correlated with their level of perspective taking on…

Recent studies of academic leadership confirm what many academic leaders know from personal experience: academic leadership is a complex and demanding role with significant stress and high burnout and turnover rates (Brown, 2002; Brown and Moshavi, 2002). In the light of these issues, an exploration of the nature of academic leadership and its…

Student-athletes were studied over 4 years at a highly selective liberal arts college and an Ivy League university. Students spending 10 or more hours per week in athletic activities had lower entering academic credentials and academic self-assessments than non-athletes, but the academic performance of athletes was not below what would be expected…

A community school is more than a traditional school. It is a set of deliberately formed partnerships that provide the supports and opportunities that are important to students, families, and the surrounding community. Community partners can include health and social service agencies, family support groups, institutions of higher education, youth…

This project report from Frostburg State College, the Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) of Appalachian Maryland, and other area colleges and boards of education is presented in three sections. In the introductory section, three project stages are defined: (1) analysis of existing needs surveys and institutional responsibilities for…