By many accounts, developmental writing courses in community colleges fail to teach students skills needed to be successful in college-level coursework. In the current study, an identity-based pedagogical approach aimed at Promoting self-Relevance, triggering identity Exploration, facilitating a sense of Safety, and Scaffolding identity…

This article presents the findings of a 75-participant phenomenological study that examined the relationship between students' expectations of their university experience and their perception of purpose development. A clear dichotomy emerged between those who had a "holistic" mindset and understood their university as a place to develop…

The number of Chinese students studying abroad has increased. Chinese international students have constituted the largest proportion of overseas students in New Zealand (Zhang, 2013). Little research has been done concerning those undertaking doctoral study. The study I have proposed to do thus intends to explore the experiences of Chinese…

The organization of institutions of higher education has been seen as operating with ambiguous purposes in vertically oriented structures that are only loosely connected. The rationale for this ambiguity is twofold: (1) to allow for creative thinking, and (2) to respect--and even encourage--the autonomy of different disciplines. But ambiguity of…

It is difficult to strike a balance between the demands placed on graduate students and those placed on graduate forensics assistants. The combination of duties as Graduate Forensics Assistants (GFAs)--baby sitters, confidants, teachers, travel agents, administrators, clerical workers, psychologists, proofreaders, authority figures, and finally,…

Predicts, using independent variables such as student effort and campus environment, how community college students perceive their gains in general education and personal and social development. Finds that quality and quantity of student effort, as well as a positive perception of the campus environment, were significant predictors regardless of…

This monograph offers a view into how students at one university regard their undergraduate education. The study is based on essays written by college seniors as part of a comprehensive assessment of general education at the University of Kansas. A sample of students completed a self-assessment, were interviewed by faculty, and were asked to…

This article offers a model of college student integration that emphasizes how students shape their college experiences by pursuing specific life tasks over others. A study of 311 first-year college students found that school persisters tended to focus more on academics during their first semester and social and personal needs during their second…

A longitudinal study examined the impact of undergraduate study on 3,942 arts and sciences students, as measured by change in their freshman and senior ratings of four Clark-Trow "educational philosophies": vocational, academic, collegiate, and nonconformist. Results indicated significant increases in academic and nonconformist…

In 1992, the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ) was administered in class to a randomly selected group of 1,062 students at the two-year regional campuses of Kent State University (KSU). Specifically, the study sought to provide information about the characteristics, experiences, involvement, gains, and satisfaction of…

This paper describes the results of a 5-year statewide follow-up study of first-time, full-time community college students in Kansas, and documents the academic and career progress of these students from first entry into college to subsequent experiences after leaving the community college. The study, which began with 640 participants from 17…