An authoritative, comprehensive guide to the first year of college, Challenging and Supporting the First Year Student includes the most current information about the policies, strategies, programs, and services designed to help first-year students make a successful transition to college and fulfill their educational and personal goals.
The first year of college represents an enormous milestone in students' lives. Whether attending a four-year or two-year institution of higher education, living on campus or at home, or enrolled in a highly selective school or a college with an open-admissions policy, students are challenged in unique and demanding ways during their first year. Although many students rise to the challenges they face, for some the demands are too great. Retention rates beyond the first year are disappointing: one third of first-year students seriously consider leaving college during their first term, and ultimately one half of all students who start college complete it. What are the factors that impact students during their first year? How can the academic and social experiences of first-year students be optimized? What can we do to improve retention rates to maximize the number of students who complete college? Improving the First Year of College employs a variety of perspectives from leading researchers and student-service providers to address these questions and examine the first year of college. This volume also highlights the development of learning communities and coaching, as well as how technology impacts students' first year. Perhaps most important, the book provides examples of "best practices," as determined through research by leaders in the field, to permit educators to draw on their experiences.
Prepares readers to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse college student population This is a timely and comprehensive overview of key theories of student development that illustrates their application across a range of student services with diverse student populations. It is distinguished by its focus on nontraditional student populations including adults changing careers, parents, veterans, and international students. The book examines relevant theories of cognitive, ethical, moral, and personality development and theories of identity development in terms of ethnicity, gender, and ability. Also covered are theories relevant to disability issues, LGBT identity issues, and to choice of career and major/degree. Unique to the text is information on how theories can be applied, beyond understanding individual students, to student groups and to guide the coordination of student affairs services across the campus. Engaging case vignettes immerse readers in diverse perspectives and demonstrate the application of theory to a wide range of student types and issues. The book covers the history and development of each theory along with its strengths and limitations. Also included are useful suggestions on how to best assist students with current challenges. Reflective questions concluding each chapter help students to reinforce information. An insightful text for courses in college student development in relevant graduate programs and for student affairs professionals who wish to enhance their abilities, this book reflects the realities of contemporary college student life and student affairs practices. Key Features: Applies student development theories primarily to non-traditional college students Presents chapter-opening/closing examples reflecting student diversity Explores the strengths and limitations of each theory Describes how theories can be applied in varied student affairs settings and in broader contexts of student affairs Includes instructor’s resources
After fifteen years of teaching anthropology at a large university, Rebekah Nathan had become baffled by her own students. Their strange behavior—eating meals at their desks, not completing reading assignments, remaining silent through class discussions—made her feel as if she were dealing with a completely foreign culture. So Nathan decided to do what anthropologists do when confused by a different culture: Go live with them. She enrolled as a freshman, moved into the dorm, ate in the dining hall, and took a full load of courses. And she came to understand that being a student is a pretty difficult job, too. Her discoveries about contemporary undergraduate culture are surprising and her observations are invaluable, making My Freshman Year essential reading for students, parents, faculty, and anyone interested in educational policy.
Wild parties, late nights, and lots of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Many assume these are the things that define an American teenager’s first year after high school. But the reality is really quite different. As Tim Clydesdale reports in The First Year Out, teenagers generally manage the increased responsibilities of everyday life immediately after graduation effectively. But, like many good things, this comes at a cost. Tracking the daily lives of fifty young people making the transition to life after high school, Clydesdale reveals how teens settle into manageable patterns of substance use and sexual activity; how they meet the requirements of postsecondary education; and how they cope with new financial expectations. Most of them, we learn, handle the changes well because they make a priority of everyday life. But Clydesdale finds that teens also stow away their identities—religious, racial, political, or otherwise—during this period in exchange for acceptance into mainstream culture. This results in the absence of a long-range purpose for their lives and imposes limits on their desire to understand national politics and global issues, sometimes even affecting the ability to reconstruct their lives when tragedies occur. The First Year Out is an invaluable resource for anyone caught up in the storm and stress of working with these young adults.
When a global crisis impacts nearly every industry, education is always one of the most impacted as students and faculty must frantically try to maintain their educational programs throughout uncertain times. Beyond the educational courses themselves being shifted online or to hybrid approaches, there must be a focus on the impact on students as well. With newfound ways of learning, new online environments, and new methods for teaching, students are greatly impacted by the changing face of education. The traditional ways in which students have been served and assisted have changed rapidly, and to make matters even more challenging, students must handle both living in a time of crisis while adapting to swift educational transformations. The dissemination of best practices and maintaining student success during global crises is an area of research that is not only growing in interest but is critical in pandemic times. Strategies for Student Support During a Global Crisis reflects on how educational professionals have worked with students during global crises, how serving and teaching students have been impacted, and the best practices for student success in both online education and hybrid formats. The chapters will include topics such as mentoring models, teaching methods, educational technologies, teacher insights, academic support services, and more. This book is ideal for educational professionals, leaders, school administration, teachers, teacher educators, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the best strategies for supporting students and promoting student success during global crises.
This book is for incoming and first year college students who are ready to make the most of their college experience, beyond what you might hear at at orientation. This book is a combination of the super secret insider tips to college that either us authors learned themselves, or they kept hearing from their campus leadership programs. From classroom seating tips, to self-care techniques, to scoring the perfect campus job, this book is your insider's guide to college success that most likely won't be told to you at orientation. You'll notice that the size, layout, and interactive sections of the book are all designed to make this book be your ultimate college field-guide that you can squeeze into a backpack or coat pocket. Read straight through, or thumb to a topic that's most relevant to you. College can be one of the most exciting times in your life and with our field guide in hand, you're already well on your way to going from first-year student to first year success!
Teaching First-Year College Students is a thoroughly expanded and updated edition of Teaching College Freshmen, which has become a classic in the field since it was published in 1991. The book offers concrete suggestions about specific strategies and approaches for faculty who teach first-year courses. The new edition is based on the most current research on teaching and learning and incorporates information about the demographic changes that have occurred in student populations since the first edition was published. The updated strategies are designed to help first-year students adjust effectively to both the academic and nonacademic pressures of college. The authors also help faculty understand first-year students and show how their experiences in high school have prepared3⁄4or not prepared3⁄4them for the world of higher education.
An NPR Favorite Book of the Year Winner of the Critics’ Choice Book Award, American Educational Studies Association Winner of the Mirra Komarovsky Book Award Winner of the CEP–Mildred García Award for Exemplary Scholarship “Eye-opening...Brings home the pain and reality of on-campus poverty and puts the blame squarely on elite institutions.” —Washington Post “Jack’s investigation redirects attention from the matter of access to the matter of inclusion...His book challenges universities to support the diversity they indulge in advertising.” —New Yorker “The lesson is plain—simply admitting low-income students is just the start of a university’s obligations. Once they’re on campus, colleges must show them that they are full-fledged citizen.” —David Kirp, American Prospect “This book should be studied closely by anyone interested in improving diversity and inclusion in higher education and provides a moving call to action for us all.” —Raj Chetty, Harvard University The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In this bracing exposé, Anthony Jack shows that many students’ struggles continue long after they’ve settled in their dorms. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This powerfully argued book documents how university policies and campus culture can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why some students are harder hit than others.
