November 1, 2006

Student Affairs Leader - November 1, 2006 - Full Issue PDF
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Seven Parent Populations Your Institution Might Be Alienating
When working with parents of students, your between-the-lines messages matter.

Honors Colleges Help 2-Year Students Transfer
The idea of honors colleges at community colleges has gained momentum over the past decade. While about half of the United States’ 1,200 community colleges have honors courses or programs, some campuses are taking the concept further by creating separate curricula for students who enroll separately from other students.

The Limited Reach of Harvard’s Early-Action Decision
There’s no denying that Harvard created a buzz by announcing that it would drop its nonbinding early-admissions program next year. But the effect of this announcement might be limited to only a small part of the higher education world. In addition, changes over the past few years indicate that this latest news is part of a maturation of thinking about early admissions, rather than an unexpected and irrevocable rejection of it entirely.

Two Key Steps in Addressing the Sophomore Experience
Nearly all universities are familiar with the sophomore slump, the result of the unique aspects of the second-year experience that leave sophomores at risk for inappropriate behaviors, falling GPAs, and persistence difficulties. This is the problem that a committee at Miami University has set out to address. The university is currently considering two major recommendations from the committee designed to make the second year a more positive experience.

‘Parent’ or ‘Family’ Programs?
In an effort to make parent programs more inclusive of guardians, grandparents, stepparents, siblings, and other people who might assume a parental role in students’ lives, some institutions are renaming their “parent” programs to “family” programs. It’s a good idea, but it isn’t right for all institutions--a lot depends on an institution’s population and mission.