The intent of a recent study was to extend earlier studies on college environments into the 1970's by examining the impacts of various aspects of the academic environment at 12 California colleges and universities. The effects are investigated of several aspects of the college environment on students' satisfaction with the college experience, personal development, value orientations, religious orthodoxy, and sociopolitical orientations. For each of these sets of variables, orientations of various college subgroups and changes as a result of college are examined; the variables were chosen for their practical significance as well as their inclusion in previous research. (Authors/MSE)