With the parents of today’s college students challenging traditional policies and philosophical approaches to student development, administrators must develop a consistent and coordinated message that meets their changing needs.
This sourcebook provides readers with a rationale and a strategy for working with parents of college students. Several themes emerge. This chapter identifies some of these themes and suggests titles for further research, many of which were already noted in the individual chapters.Several chapters highlight the changing demographics of the undergraduate student population as well as the changing dynamics of their families. Institutions must pay attention to the institution-student-parent relationship to assure accuracy and consistency of messages, policies, and programs. In addition, institutions must assess how well they provide for the needs of students with various backgrounds, needs, and experiences. On many campuses, today' s students do not look like the students of the past. Likewise, families are dramatically different. Although this sourcebook emphasizes the challenges associated with this increasing diversity, institutions must assess how successfully policies and programs support the academic experience of all students. This singular focus on academic success should transcend the differences inherent in today' s student populations.Two especially salient books provide insights for practitioners seeking to learn more about the changing nature of student demographics and values. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, no. 94, Summer 2001
of the OU UK's Institute of Educational Technology report here on research into the reading skills of incoming first year undergraduate students. The research demonstrates both that in an open entry undergraduate programme difficulty is experienced by a significant proportion of students in reading academic texts, and also not surprisingly that this impacts negatively on student success.
T he Text and Readers Programme of theInstitute of Educational Technology (IET) has tested the reading skills of a sample of students starting their studies in the Open University at foundation course level. The sample was structured to include approximately 10 per cent of these entering students, with equal numbers from the five foundation courses (Arts, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science, Technology) and from four levels of 'educational qualifications on entry'. It is the first time that large-scale direct measures of a basic skill have been taken of Open University students.The text materials were sent out to 3,000 students; just over 2,000 completed forms were returned. The use of a postal test for literacy measurement is an innovation, though the nature of the tests is well established by precedent. The data has now been collated and analysed. Results suggest that many entering students may have difficulty reading academic texts with adequate comprehension. The results also show significant differences between students grouped by faculty, by level of educational qualification, and by age.At final registration there is a significant correlation between test scores and students' survival on their courses. The progress of the cohort of students sampled was monitored throughout their foundation year.
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