This study examined the unique and joint contributions of engineering students' classroom and out-of-class experiences on the development of two sets of skills central to students' successful performance as engineers: analytical and group skills. Although the study focuses on engineering, the conceptual underpinnings and criterion measures are…

This article reports the effects of program characteristics and faculty activities on students' experiences and, ultimately, the development of students' analytical and group skills. Data come from nationally representative samples of 4,330 seniors, 1,243 faculty members, and 147 engineering program chairs on 40 campuses nationwide. Findings…

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…

Theories concerning dimensions and dynamics of college student development and theories about how colleges exert influence on student change are reviewed. The models deal principally with growth among traditional undergraduate students. The theories of Chickering, Perry, Kohlberg, and Loevinger address the nature, structure, and processes the…

This study contributes to the reconceptualization of student personnel work by examining the views of college and university presidents on the goals of student affairs programs, and by determining the views of chief student affairs officers of their program goals. (Author/LA)

Discriminant analysis was separately employed for men and women in order to determine the independent personality dimensions that discriminate among the four Clark-Trow student types. Two significant discriminant functions placed the male vocational, nonconformist, academic, and collegiate types in positions that are essentially consistent with…

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…

The territorial imperative ought not to threaten the well-being of a species. For faculty and student affairs, symbiotic relationships must be sought through a redefinition of territories, and through recognition that territories are not mutually exclusive. For student affairs, one route to new ground is through research. (Author/PC)

A study examined the rate of college students' perceived social and actual academic development during the freshman and sophomore years and the influences on that development. (Author/MSE)

A study investigated the extent to which 210 college students' learning orientations were shaped independently and jointly by their academic and nonacademic experiences. Findings indicated that the two kinds of experience each made statistically significant and unique contributions to gains in intellectual orientation after controlling for…

A LISREL analysis indicated that students' academic integration level in each of the four years had a direct effect on reported academic skill development in that year and an indirect effect on reported growth in succeeding years. Social integration was influential only in the junior and senior years. (Author/MLW)

The way that college students' levels of academic and social integration influenced their reported personal development during 4 years of college was investigated. The question of whether the types of influences on growth varied from one year to the next was also studied. During the summer of 1980, a sample of freshmen completed a questionnaire…

A study examined whether students' perceptions of their growth are related to their college experiences (after controlling for their precollege characteristics), whether the amount of development varies over the first three years of college, and whether the influences perceived in personal development vary from one year to another. (Author/MLW)

This study examined whether African-American students who attend historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have different experiences and perceive the campus climate differently than African American students who attend predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The study also examined whether differences in experiences and perceptions of…

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…