Student Support Resources: Books for Faculty and Staff

"The national conversation asking 'Are students college-ready?' concentrates on numerous factors that are beyond higher education's control. [This book] flips the college readiness conversation to provide a new perspective on creating institutional value and facilitating student success. Instead of focusing on student preparedness for college (or lack thereof), this book asks the more pragmatic question of what are colleges and universities doing to prepare for the students who are entering their institutions? What must change in an institution's policies, practices, and culture in order to be student-ready? Clear and concise, this book is packed with insightful discussion and practical strategies for achieving your ambitious student success goals. These ideas for redesigning practices and policies provide more than food for thought: they offer a real-world framework for real institutional change."

"This book presents a dynamic coaching model that helps college students become self-regulated learners by improving their goal-setting, planning, time management, and organizational skills. Ideal for use with students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, and other challenges, [the] approach incorporates motivational interviewing and emphasizes practical problem solving. User-friendly features include numerous concrete examples, sample dialogues, and print and online resource listings."

"A leading African American historian of race in America exposes the uncomfortable truths about race, slavery, and the American academy, revealing that leading universities, dependent on human bondage, became breeding grounds for the racist ideas that sustained it."

"To maintain competitiveness in the global economy, United States policymakers and national leaders are increasing their attention to producing workers skilled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Given the growing minority population in the country, it is critical that higher education policies, pedagogies, climates, and initiatives are effective in promoting racial and ethnic minority students’ educational attainment in STEM. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) have shown efficacy in facilitating the success of racial and ethnic minority students in STEM."

"Synthesizes over 1,800 individual research investigations to provide a deeper understanding of how the undergraduate experience affects student populations. Contains findings accumulated between 2002 and 2013, covering diverse aspects of college impact, including cognitive and moral development, attitudes and values, psychosocial change, educational attainment, and the economic, career, and quality of life outcomes after college."

"The central goal of this book is to document the Latino experience in the world of academia, focusing primarily, but not exclusively, on first-generation Latino students in higher education, delineating the dynamics of the educational journey, while situating their experiences within the ethnic community, the overall American society, and the international community. The text focuses on ethnic realities including Latino student access to higher education, retention, graduation rates, and career success; analysis of historic trends; extensive review of prior empirical studies; a holistic portrayal of education in the U.S.; a qualitative study conducted in an institution of higher education in Texas, placing the stories of participating Latino students in theoretical context; vivid documentation of historically entrenched racial ideologies in American education; exploration of potential solutions to historical and contemporary barriers confronting Latino students; development of a model of empowerment for Latino students; information for the establishment of a balanced educational system; accountability of higher education institutions; review of revolutionizing education in the midst of current globalization; and venturing into the future of Latino education in the overall American experience."

"We all know that higher education has changed dramatically over the past two decades. Historically a time of exploration and self-discovery, the college years have been narrowed toward an increasingly singular goal - career training - and college students these days forgo the big questions about who they are and how they can change the world and instead focus single-mindedly on their economic survival. In The Purposeful Graduate, Tim Clydesdale elucidates just what a tremendous loss this is, for our youth, our universities, and our future as a society. At the same time, he shows that it doesn’t have to be this way: higher education can retain its higher cultural role, and students with a true sense of purpose - of personal, cultural, and intellectual value that cannot be measured by a wage - can be streaming out of every one of its institutions."

"A guide for significantly improving student learning and institutional performance in the rapidly changing world of higher education. Written by recognized experts in undergraduate education, this book encourages college and university leaders to rethink current practices that fragment the student experience, and to focus on creating powerful, integrated undergraduate learning for all students. Drawing from their own deep experience and the latest research, the authors reveal key principles that enable institutional change and enhance student outcomes in any higher education setting. Coverage includes high-impact practices for engagement, the importance of strategic leadership, the necessity of setting and maintaining high expectations, and insight on fostering excellence through systematic planning."

"Bridges theory to practice in order to better prepare practitioners in their efforts to increase the success of Black male students in colleges and universities. In this comprehensive but manageable text, leading researchers J. Luke Wood and Robert T. Palmer highlight the current status of Black men in higher education and review relevant research literature and theory on their experiences in various postsecondary education contexts. The authors also provide and contextualize innovative, actionable strategies and solutions to help institutions increase the participation and success of Black male college students."

"In this comprehensive volume, research-based chapters examine the experiences that have shaped college life for Black undergraduate women, and invite readers to grapple with the current myths and definitions that are shaping the discourses surrounding them. Chapter authors ask valuable questions that are critical for advancing the participation and success of Black women in higher education settings and also provide actionable recommendations to enhance their educational success. Perspectives about Black undergraduate women from various facets of the higher education spectrum are included, sharing their experiences in academic and social settings, issues of identity, intersectionality, and the services and support systems that contribute to their success in college, and beyond."

"In an increasingly diverse United States, minority and low-income students of all ages struggle to fit into mainstream colleges and universities that cater predominantly to middle-income and affluent white students fresh out of high school. Anchored in a study conducted at twelve minority-serving institutions (MSIs), Educating a Diverse Nation turns a spotlight on the challenges facing nontraditional college students and highlights innovative programs and practices that are advancing students’ persistence and learning... Illuminates such initiatives as collaborative learning, culturally relevant educational programs, blurring the roles of faculty, staff, and students, peer-led team learning, and real-world problem solving. It shows how these innovations engage students and foster the knowledge, skills, and habits they need to become self-sustaining in college and beyond, as well as valuable contributors to society."

"Challenges the way we conceive of college access, retention, and success for underrepresented students writ large. Specifically, through presenting an in-depth, qualitative case study on six Latin@ students transitioning to a public, predominantly White university, it examines what the institution does, or doesn’t do, to meet the needs of these students. This book seamlessly combines the topics of college access and the transition to college for underrepresented students; it offers a comprehensive review of what we already know about underrepresented students in college and how they get there; it challenges some of this existing literature; and throughout, it weaves in the compelling voices and experiences of the study’s focal students and staff members tasked with supporting them."

"Examines Latina/o college student leadership and leadership development in higher education. This edited collection examines emerging frameworks, empirical research, leadership models, essays, and promising practices from the perspectives of scholars, educators, practitioners, and activists. Latina/o student leadership is analyzed through the lens of various institutional contexts (e.g. large research institution, community college, Hispanic-serving institution) as well as diverse intra-institutional contexts (e.g. academic, student organizations, student government, fraternities and sororities). The focus on theory and practice within various contexts, combined with an emphasis on student voice, helps provide deeper insight into how Latina/o students experience leadership in higher education, as well as how to promote and support the leadership development of Latina/o college students."

"In an era of skyrocketing tuition and mounting concern over whether college is 'worth it,' Paying for the Party is an indispensable contribution to the dialogue assessing the state of American higher education. A powerful expose of unmet obligations and misplaced priorities, it explains in vivid detail why so many leave college with so little to show for it. Drawing on findings from a five-year interview study, Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton bring us to the campus of “MU,” a flagship Midwestern public university, where we follow a group of women drawn into a culture of status seeking and sororities. Mapping different pathways available to MU students, the authors demonstrate that the most well-resourced and seductive route is a 'party pathway' anchored in the Greek system and facilitated by the administration. This pathway exerts influence over the academic and social experiences of all students, and while it benefits the affluent and well-connected, Armstrong and Hamilton make clear how it seriously disadvantages the majority."

"Explores existing literature and research on religious minorities on American college campuses, discusses the challenges and needs of religious minorities on campus, and provides best practices and recommendations. Providing a foundational, nuanced approach to religious minorities in the American college context, this important resource will help educators at colleges and universities promote religious pluralism and tolerance to support student learning outcomes and campus inclusion among students of diverse religious backgrounds."