Contents

Abstracts of Papers Presented at the ASHE Annual Meeting

Articles

Altbach, Philip G.
• Introduction: Students: A Changing Constituency at the Heart of the Academic Enterprise
  Subjects:
  • College students -- United States.

Astin, Alexander W.
• The Changing American College Student: Thirty-Year Trends, 1966-1996
  Subjects:
  • College freshmen -- United States -- Attitudes.
  • College students -- United States -- Longitudinal studies.
  • Educational surveys -- United States.
  Abstract:
  Three decades of change in American college students--as reflected in the responses of more than 9 million freshmen who have participated in the Cooperative Institutional Research Program since 1966--highlight the effects of the women's movement: Compared to freshmen in the late 1960s, today's men and women are much more alike in their educational aspirations, career plans, attitudes, and values. Implications of these and other trends for higher education and for the larger society are discussed.

Levine, Arthur.
Cureton, Jeanette S.
• Student Politics: The New Localism
  Subjects:
  • College students -- United States -- Political activity.
  • College students -- United States -- Attitudes.
  Abstract:
  College students and administrators reveal that undergraduates have lost faith in the nation's social institutions, distrust government, and reject well-known political leaders. Students are issue oriented and desire change. Confident in the efficacy of their generation, they have chosen to act locally in the community and on campus, where consumerism is a growing reality. Although campus activism is on the rise, its dominance by small affinity groups, its local focus, and its peaceful, consumer tactics hide the strength of this 1990s reality.

Pascarella, Ernest T.
Terenzini, Patrick T.
• Studying College Students in the 21st Century: Meeting New Challenges
  Subjects:
  • College students -- United States.
  • College students -- United States -- Attitudes -- Research.
  • Educational surveys -- United States.
  Abstract:
  The confluence of several demographic, institutional, economic, and technological changes may not only alter fundamentally the way we think about what it means to go to college but also change the methodologies we now use to assess the impact of college. In this article, we outline and discuss the implications of four such forces: the changing undergraduate student population, the increasing importance of community colleges, shrinking financial support for higher education, and the rise of information technology.

Tinto, Vincent.
• Colleges as Communities: Taking Research on Student Persistence Seriously
  Subjects:
  • College dropouts -- United States.
  • College dropouts -- Research.
  • Community.
  Abstract:
  What would our colleges and universities look like if we took seriously the research on student persistence? What reforms in organization and pedagogy would we pursue if we used the findings on the impacts on college on students' persistence as a guide for our thinking? This paper argues that colleges and universities would be best served by reorganizing themselves in ways that promote greater educational community among students, faculty, and staff.

Bischoping, Katherine.
Bell, Stephen.
• Gender and Contradictory Definitions of University Accessibility
  Subjects:
  • College attendance -- Canada -- Sex differences.
  • College attendance -- United States -- Sex differences.
  • College students -- Attitudes -- Sex differences.
  Abstract:
  Studies of the relation of gender to university accessibility produce mixed results that call the very definition of "accessibility" into question. This study focuses on how gender mediates students' satisfaction with their university (a key factor in student retention). The study concludes that behavioural and attitudinal operationalizations of accessibility can lead to contradictory results and explores the practical implications of these findings for university administrators and researchers.