Nicholas A. Bowman

Can 1st-Year College Students Accurately Report Their Learning and Development?:

Many higher education studies use self-reported gains as indicators of college student learning and development. However, the evidence regarding the validity of these indicators is quite mixed. It is proposed that the temporal nature of the assessment—whether students are asked to report their current attributes or how their attributes have changed over time—best accounts for students’ (in)ability to make accurate judgments. Using a longitudinal sample of over 3,000 first-year college students, this study compares self-reported gains and longitudinal gains that are measured either objectively or subjectively. Across several cognitive and noncognitive outcomes, the correlations between self-reported and longitudinal gains are small or virtually zero, and regression analyses using these two forms of assessment yield divergent results.

U.S. News & World Report College Rankings: Modeling Institutional Effects on Organizational Reputation

Processes of certification and evaluation are some of the most powerful institutional forces in organizational fields, and in the higher education field, rankings are a primary factor in assessing organizational performance. This article explores the institutional effects of the U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings on the reputational assessments made by senior administrators at peer universities and liberal arts colleges. In the estimation of structural equation models, we found that published college rankings have a significant impact on future peer assessments, independent of changes in organizational quality and performance and even of prior peer assessments of reputation.

The Development of Psychological Well-Being Among First-Year College Students

The first year of college constitutes a time of substantial transition for incoming students. For many traditional-age students, adjusting to college can include tasks that are as mundane as doing one’s own laundry for the first time, or as complex as finding meaning in one’s life and deciding on a future career. Clearly, students vary greatly in their ability to cope with and adjust to these new challenges, and some students face far more challenges than others. Those who adapt effectively to their new social and academic environment are much more likely to persist in college and ultimately earn a degree (Tinto, 1993). As a result, a great deal of attention has been paid to improving college students’ first-year experience (for an extensive review, see Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2004). A potentially important resource for successfully accomplishing this life transition is positive psychological functioning, otherwise known as psychological well-being (PWB). As Ryff (1989) has demonstrated, the skills and perceptions that comprise PWB are crucial for successfully engaging in meaningful relationships, navigating one’s environment, and realizing one’s fullest potential throughout the lifespan. In other words, PWB is important not only for students making the transition to college, but also for individuals at any age. This study explores the factors associated with PWB among incoming college students and the experiences that contribute to changes in PWB during the first year. CoNCeptuAl FrAmework

Disequilibrium and Resolution: The Nonlinear Effects of Diversity Courses on Well-Being and Orientations toward Diversity

Recent literature suggests that participating in college diversity courses contributes to numerous positive outcomes. However, dealing with diversity issues is a difficult and novel experience for many students; therefore, some of the benefits of diversity coursework may accrue only after taking multiple courses. In a large multi-institutional sample, students who take one diversity course generally do not show greater gains in well-being and orientations toward diversity than those who take no courses. However, students who take two or more courses experience substantial benefits. Moreover, these effects vary somewhat by race, family income, and gender. Implications for practice are discussed.

Experiencing the Unexpected: Toward a Model of College Diversity Experiences and Attitude Change

Although numerous studies have examined the relationship between college diversity experiences and student outcomes, very little attention has been paid to the mechanism(s) underlying this development. This paper proposes a model of the psychological process through which college diversity experiences affect student attitudes and examines that model empirically using a sample of 387 students who completed service-learning courses. Structural equation modeling analyses indicate that diversity interactions are associated with “experiencing the unexpected,” which then contributes both to a subjective sense of belief challenge and to attitude change. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Keep on Truckin’ or Stay the Course? Exploring Grit Dimensions as Differential Predictors of Educational Achievement, Satisfaction, and Intentions

In an ongoing effort to identify predictors of educational success and achievement, grit has emerged as a seemingly useful disposition. Grit is conceived as the combination of perseverance of effort and consistency of interest over time, but the predictive utility of these two dimensions has rarely been explored separately, and the limited research available has considered a small number of outcomes. This article draws upon three samples at two universities to examine the relationships between grit dimensions and various student outcomes. Multiple regression results indicated that perseverance of effort predicted greater academic adjustment, college grade point average, college satisfaction, sense of belonging, faculty–student interactions, and intent to persist, while it was inversely related to intent to change majors. Consistency of interest was associated with less intent to change majors and careers, but it was not significantly associated with any other outcome in the expected direction when controlling for other variables.

Does Socioeconomic Diversity Make a Difference? Examining the Effects of Racial and Socioeconomic Diversity on the Campus Climate for Diversity:

This article considers whether the socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate student body and experiences with cross-class interaction (CCI) are significantly related to cross-racial interaction (CRI) and engagement with curricular/co-curricular diversity (CCD) activities. Individual students who reported higher levels of CCI had significantly higher levels of CRI and CCD. While the socioeconomic diversity of the student body had no direct effect on student involvement in CCD activities or CRI, it had an indirect effect on these activities via CCI. In other words, a socioeconomically diverse institution is associated with more frequent interactions across class lines, which is associated both with more frequent interactions across race and greater involvement in CCD activities. Findings indicate that both socioeconomic and racial diversity are essential to promoting a positive campus racial climate and that racial and socioeconomic diversity, while interrelated, are not interchangeable. Implications for the campus climate for diversity are discussed.

Can College Students Accurately Assess What Affects Their Learning and Development

Informal (and sometimes formal) assessments in higher education often ask students how their skills or attitudes have changed as the result of engaging in a particular course or program; however, it is unclear to what extent these self-reports are accurate. Using a longitudinal sample of over 3,000 college students, we found that students were fairly inaccurate when reporting how their experiences with faculty and peers affected their own cognitive and personal development. These findings call into question the use of perceived influence measures, and they add to a growing literature on the validity of self-reported measures of learning and development.

Promoting Sustained Engagement with Diversity: The Reciprocal Relationships between Informal and Formal College Diversity Experiences

College diversity experiences have been praised not only for their role in promoting student growth but also for contributing to future engagement with diversity. However, the evidence supporting this latter claim is quite limited, often relying on cross-sectional analyses. This study examines whether and how students’ first-year diversity experiences predict their senior-year diversity experiences and finds that students’ positive and negative diversity interactions are both associated with greater participation in diversity coursework. Moreover, having negative diversity interactions is not associated with changes in positive diversity interactions or vice versa. All relationships are consistent regardless of students’ openness to diversity.

The Long-Term Effects of College Diversity Experiences: Well-Being and Social Concerns 13 Years After Graduation

Many college administrators and researchers assert that diversity interactions are critical for preparing young adults for a diverse society, but very little research has examined the long-term impact of these experiences. This study examines a longitudinal sample of college students (n = 416) who were followed into their mid-30s. Structural equation modeling analyses indicate that college engagement with racial/cultural diversity has a positive, indirect effect on personal growth, purpose in life, recognition of racism, and volunteer work 13 years after graduation.