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Student Success in College

“Student Success in College describes policies, programs, and practices that a diverse set of institutions have used to enhance student achievement. This book clearly shows the benefits of student learning and educational effectiveness that can be realized when these conditions are present. Based on the Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) project from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, this book provides concrete examples from twenty institutions that other colleges and universities can learn from and adapt to help create a success-oriented campus culture and learning environment” (Amazon summary).

Chapter 1: Student Engagement

• Why would calculated graduation rates increase from 4 years to 6 years?
• What other items would need to change to increase graduation rates?
• Can student success be narrowed down to all academic or out-of-class activities? What would constitute a balance between them?
• Can a blueprint be created to ensure student success?

Chapter 2: Living Mission Statement and Lived Educational Philosophy

• How can a mission statement aspire student success?
• How can an institution align their espoused and enacted mission statements?
• How can a shared language be created?
• How is respect for faculty taught and encouraged?
• What role can peer evaluation play? Benefits?
• What are the similarities and differences between mission and vision statements?
• What value do common reading programs add to student persistence?
• Which highlighted programs enumerated by the 20 DEEP colleges is most appealing? Why?
• How can educational change be quickly implements on larger campuses?
• How can institutions help motivate faculty and students to change?
• How do mission statements “guide thought and action on a daily basis” (p60)?

For other learning styles: MBTI Learning Styles – A Practical Approach Available in paperback; Kindle; and pdf versions

Chapter 3: An Unshakable Focus on Student Learning

• What defines effective teaching?
• What is a “systematic use of active and collaborate pedagogies” (p69)?
• How can collaborative learning be successfully used in large classes?
• How do you teach students how to get the most out of active and collaborative learning experiences?
• How do the physical arrangements of a classroom encourage active learning?
• Define active and collaborate learning. Are they absolutes or varying degrees of implementation?
• How does students teaching students increase learning?
• How can passion be developed?
• What is the relationship between passion and commitment?
• How can institutions intellectually meet students where they are?
• How does the total personal development (p78) of a student impact learning?
• How can educators build on student strengths?

Chapter 4: Environments Adapted for Educational Enrichment

• What is a “place conscious” (p92)?
• How do rituals and ceremonies create a learning culture?
• What is a rich natural environment?
• How can physical spaces be arranged to promote student engagement without a large investment of resources?
• How does the location of the student center on campus emphasize the institution’s values?
• How can physical student centers cross multi-cultural boundaries?
• How can community relations be strengthened?

Chapter 5: Clear Pathways to Student Success

• How can a positive environment promote student success?
• What is the point of mantras?
• How are an organization’s values communicated to students?
• How is a community created on a large college campus?
• How can students be encouraged to converse about intellectual purposes?
• How can relationship be developed between students and faculty?
• How can students participate in the faculty hiring process?
• How do traditions and rituals create culture and a common language among students?
• How are high expectations transmitted to students?
• How do traditions band students together and to their alma mater?
• How does trust impact student success?
• What role do comprehensive exams play?
• How does the “story” of the institution create a culture?
• How do rewards and celebrations buoy up students? Buoy up faculty? Administrators and staff?

Chapter 6: An Improvement-Oriented Ethos

• How do vision statements impact retention rates?
• How can faculty be motivated to increase student contact?
• How can a university balance research and teaching responsibility for faculty?
• How does listening contribute to student success?
• How can Wofford’s example (p142) of integrating new learning and teaching practices be implemented in your organization?
• How can competition between universities be detrimental to student success?
• How can financial dilemmas strengthen an educational community?
• How can student focus groups improve learning?

Chapter 7: Shared Responsibility for Educational Quality and Student Success

• How do small gestures generate large returns?
• How does leadership equally distributed contribute to student success?
• How can institutes get their administrators on the same page?
• How can universities align talent and opportunities?
• What benefits do exchange programs for faculty and students provide?
• How do you promote students to take responsibility for their own learning?
• How can faculty and staff empower students?

Chapter 8: Academic Challenge

• If an individual is not academically challenged what can the individual do?
• Does academic rigor promote deep learning?
• How do we create high expectations for learning?
• How can more out-of-classroom intellectual opportunities be created and encouraged for students?
• How can more writing skills be emphasized in science courses?
• What pieces of literature would you recommend that all freshmen read prior to coming to campus?

Chapter 9: Active and Collaborative Learning

• How do we encourage students to become intensively and actively involved in their education?
• How to teach active learning?
• How do you encourage students to aspire to active learning?
• How do students learn from each other?
• How does faculty-student relationship build active learning?
• How do you increase more frequent and meaningful interactions between faculty and students?
• How does serving in the community enhance learning for students?
• How does involving student in the curriculum development increase learning and retention?

Chapter 10: Student-Faculty Interaction

• What is the value of student-faculty learning experience?
• How does physical contact increase psychological connection?
• How can your institution motivate and encourage faculty and student interactions?
• How can you let students know what their feedback and input is valuable?
• What new technologies increase faculty student relations?

Chapter 11: Encouraging Educational Experiences

• What does diversity in the classroom teach students?
• Why is it important to stamp out racism?
• How are learning styles related to race?
• What is your diversity goal?
• What is the value of study abroad?
• How would you describe a life-changing experience?
• How can technology help an understanding of diversity?
• How can you increase opportunities for student to discuss learning experiences?
• How can experiential learning be promoted among student without receiving college credit?
• How can leadership opportunities be developed?

Chapter 12: Supportive Campus Environment

• What resources are needed to support and create student success?
• How can colleges provide a supportive advising climate if a central advising center cannot be created?
• How can colleges create community and family atmospheres on large campuses?
• What would be the value of an administrative mentor?
• What small gestures can you implement?
• How do peers support first year students?
• How can social support be encouraged and developed among new students and continuing students?
• What unique needs do commuter students have?
• What unique challenges do international students encounter?
• How does the “Wabash Man” bridge the gender gap?
• What purpose would requiring students to live in dorms achieve?
• How does assigning students to live in halls compare to learning communities?
• What is the propinquity principle?
• How can large campuses shrink their footprints – both physically and psychologically?

Chapter 13: Principles for Promoting Student Success

• How does a mission statement promote student success?
• Compare/contrast a mission statement with a living mission statement.
• How can organization create a dense web of student success oriented activities?
• How does culture create a common language?
• How can colleges create a unique environment?
• What impact did the Hawthorne effect have on the research in this book?
• In what ways do both parties win by using students as workers?
• How can technology be used to increase student -faculty content? Both in quantity and quality?
• How can institutions generate school pride?
• If physical spaces are not conducive to faulty-student interactions, what can be done?
• What is the optimal balances between research and teaching for faculty?
• How does diversity impact student success?

Chapter 14: Recommendations

• How can institutions accurately monitor an alignment between their efforts and mission?
• How can institutions inspire student to gain and build a vision of their academic success?
• How can you challenge student and faculty perceptions?
• What annual themes would promote academic excellence?
• How are high expectations established?
• How can student-faculty relationship be encouraged?
• How can institutions ensure budgets are contributed to appropriate programs and areas which benefit student success?
• How can learning experience be arranged beyond the classroom?
  How can different points of views and opinions be encouraged?
• What is an ILP? How can students be encourage to compose one?
• How do students learn about the culture campus?

Epilogue: Sustaining Effective Education Practices

• Why do the pervasive approaches bring higher graduation rates?
• What benefits do research opportunities provide undergraduate students?
• What are the benefits of required students to live on campus?
• What role does reflection play in organizing, implementing and sustaining student success?
• How can educators emphasize active, inquiry-based experience?

By Tracy Atkinson

Tracy Atkinson, mother of six, lives in the Midwest with her husband. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and a master’s in higher education. Her passion is researching, studying and investigating the attributes related to self-directed learners. She has published several titles, including Calais: The Annals of the Hidden, Lemosa: The Annals of the Hidden, Book Two, Rachel’s 8 and Securing Your Tent. She is currently working on a non-fiction text exploring the attributes of self-directed learners: The Five Characteristics of Self-directed Learners.