Dennis E. Gregory

State Funding Limitations and Community College Open Door Policy: Conflicting Priorities?

Recent national budget shortfalls in the United States have caused many states to evaluate various ways to cut their budgets—including cutting education expenditures—while community college enrollments have continued to explode. The combination of these 2 factors threatens the traditional open door policy of public community colleges.

The Clery Act and Its Influence on Campus Law Enforcement Practices

Three hundred seventy-one members of the International Association of College Law Enforcement Administrators responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the influence of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act on campus law enforcement practices. The majority of respondents credit the Act with improving crime reporting practices, and some law enforcement officers credit the Act with improving the quality of some programs and services. Most, however, do not think the Act has done much to reduce campus crime or to change student behavior.

Perceptions of Safety by On-Campus Location, Rurality, and Type of Security/Police Force: The Case of the Community College.

This study examined Virginia community college students’ perceptions of campus safety. A survey of 11,161 students revealed the crimes students most feared being a victim of while on the community college campus and the areas in which they felt the most and least safe. The research also demonstrated the effect of certain variables had on students’ overall perception of campus safety. The variables studied included student demographics, the presence and type of security personnel, and the rurality of the campus setting. The campuses with the highest and lowest degrees of perceived safety were then further studied via case studies to gather detailed information, which may assist college administrators and policymakers in improving campus safety on community college campuses.

Review of "Student engagement in higher education: Theoretical perspectives and practical approaches for diverse populations"

It was a delightful assignment to read and then write a book review for Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations. This valuable book deals with a variety of topics related to ways in which student affairs professionals, faculty and others may develop programs for, and assist in, the development of students studying in American higher education institutions. The editors and the chapter authors approach the term “diversity” in an appropriately broad manner and include chapters not only on those underrepresented groups that are normally thought of when the term diversity is used, but others including student athletes, commuter students, transfer students and those from minority religious groups. With this broad perspective, the chapter authors were able to engage in discussion of issues, populations and problems facing many students and much of higher education.

Affirmative Action: From before "Bakke" to after "Grutter".

Affirmative action as a policy to solve past racism has existed since the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century. Since its inception there has been controversy as to whether affirmative action can stand legal scrutiny. If it can, then under what circumstances and for what programs may it be used? Since the Bakke case in 1978, a variety of lower federal courts have sought to determine whether diversity is a compelling state interest in higher education admissions and other related programs, or whether race may even be used as a factor in admissions. The recent Grutter and Gratz cases have helped to clarify those issues, but they have left many questions to be answered by policy makers and the courts. Since the Grutter and Gratz decisions, new challenges have been raised to affirmative action. This article describes the history of affirmative action, describes the controversies and current status of the law with regard to public postsecondary institutions admissions policies, and raises several issues about which admissions and student affairs professionals in general should be concerned.

The Student Handbook, Federal Law and Electronic Technology

The student handbooks of colleges and universities, as well as other documents such as the college or university catalog, housing manual, and now perhaps the institutional web pages, are perceived by most authorities to be part of an ongoing contract between the institution and its students (Buckner, 1988; Correnti, 1988; Shur, 1988; Weeks and Davis, 1993; Kaplin and Lee, 1995; Hoekema, 1996). In these publications, the institution provides information about programs, services, student-institutional obligations, and campus regulations. Students are expected to read these publications and learn the material within. Handbooks today range from traditional rulebooks to institutional efforts to share with students the broad options that are available to them in terms of campus organizations and other co-curricular activities and resources.