What Matters in College?

From the author of Four Critical Years--a book the Journal of Higher Education called the most cited work in higher education literature--What Matters in College? presents the definitive study of how students change and develop in college and how colleges can enhance that development. Based on a study of more than 20,000 students, 25,000 faculty members, and 200 institutions, the book shows how academic programs, faculty, student peer groups, and other variables affect students' college experiences.

Introduction to the Paperback Edition xi

Preface xix

The Author xxix

1 Studying College Impact 1

2 Environmental Variables 32

3 Assessing Environmental Effects: A Prototypical Example 83

4 Personality and Self-Concept 105

5 Attitudes, Value, and Beliefs 141

6 Patterns of Behavior 165

7 Academic and Cognitive Development 186

8 Career Development 245

9 Satisfaction with the College Environment 273

10 Summary of Environmental Effects 312

11 Effects of Involvement 365

12 Implications for Educational Theory and Practice 396

Resource A: Multiple Correlations at Selected Steps 438

Resource B: Longitudinal Changes in the Weighted and Unweighted Samples 442

References 447

Index 457

"An essential addition for the library of any college administrator, faculty member, or student affairs professional. It cuts through many of the myths in higher education with data-driven observations and conclusions. It is one of the best of its kind on the market. If you are invloved in the higher education enterprise, it is a must." ALEXANDER W. ASTIN is professor of higher education and director of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. He lives in Los Angeles. What Matters in College? presents a study of how students change and develop in college and reveals how colleges can enhance that development. The book shows how a range of variables--including academic programs, faculty, student peer groups, and much more--affect students' college experiences. It examines more than 190 environmental characteristics of institutions and details how these factors can have an impact on students' personality and self-concept, patterns of behavior, values and beliefs, academic and cognitive development, career development, and satisfaction with the college environment. Presents the results from the definitive study on how students are changed by their college experiences.From the author of Four Critical Years--a book the Journal of Higher Education called the most cited work in higher education literature--What Matters in College? presents the definitive study of how students change and develop in college and how colleges can enhance that development. Based on a study of more than 20,000 students, 25,000 faculty members, and 200 institutions, the book shows how academic programs, faculty, student peer groups, and other variables affect students' college experiences.