The literature on the development of college students is discussed, and recommendations are offered for developing a course on student development theory and research. The following observations about the literature are considered: (1) the literature on the college student is actually two separate literatures, one focused on outcomes and the other on development, and there are few links to guide meaningful synthesis; (2) the literature is largely monocultural, focusing on white upper and middle class students at large residential research universities; and (3) there is a lack of process models that tie directly to specific theory and that can be used to guide practice on college campuses. The outcomes approach is more sociological and uses demographic data to assess broadly defined groups of students. The student development approach takes a more psychological approach and uses theories to identify developmental levels or tasks of students. It is suggested that in courses on college student development both bodies of literature be used. To locate readings on students who are not part of the dominant culture, readings from other disciplines such as counseling may need to be tapped. Included are 28 references. (SW)