Rishi Sriram

Learning at any time: Supporting student learning wherever it happens

A new residential college and a faculty-in-residence program demonstrate how student affairs educators and academic faculty at one institution have collaborated to create transformational learning experiences for their students.

A tale of three campuses: Unearthing theories of residential life that shape the student learning experience

Frank Shushok Jr., T. Laine Scales, Rishi Sriram, and Vera Kidd share some initial thoughts about responses to their Campus Residential Experience Survey. Do you recognize your institution?

Rethinking Intelligence: The Role of Mindset in Promoting Success for Academically High-Risk Students.

This study utilized an experimental pretest-posttest control group design to determine if changing the way academically high-risk college students view intelligence affected their academic effort and achievement when compared to students in a control intervention. Results indicated that students taught to view intelligence as malleable reported significantly higher levels of the multivariate variable academic effort and the univariate variable study skills than did the students who were directly taught study skills. No significant difference in GPA was found between the two groups. Implications for future research and current practice are discussed.

Reclaiming the "Scholar" in Scholar-Practitioner

Abstract Scholars and practitioners continuously espouse the importance of research in student affairs work. This study empirically examined student affairs professionals’ engagement in research. Results indicated that professionals desire to engage research, but struggle to do so regularly. Gender and education are not factors in level of research engagement, but job level is. Graduate students reported significantly higher research engagement than did full-time professionals.

What Contributes to College Students’ Cheating? A Study of Individual Factors

To better understand the multiple individual factors that contribute to college cheating, we undertook a multivariate analysis of a national sample of 2,503 college students. Our findings indicated that demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, socioeconomic status, and year in college), character qualities (e.g., lack of self-control, others-oriented life purpose), college experience (e.g., academic preparation, extracurricular activities involvement, and working), and student perceptions and attitudes (e.g., attitude toward academic cheating, perception of faculty’s actions against cheating and cheating environment) are all significantly associated with academic cheating.

The Development, Validity, and Reliability of a Psychometric Instrument Measuring Competencies in Student Affairs

Abstract The study of competencies in student affairs began more than 4 decades ago, but no instrument currently exists to measure competencies broadly. This study builds upon previous research by developing an instrument to measure student affairs competencies. Results not only validate the competencies espoused by NASPA and ACPA, but also suggest adding a new competency and dividing some existing competencies into separate ones. Competency strengths, competency weaknesses, and implications for current practice and future research are discussed.

Examining the Usefulness of a Points System in a Residential College

Leaders of higher education value student engagement because of its measured effects on student outcomes such as retention and academic success. To increase engagement, institutions implement measures such as living-learning programs, which combine the residential experience with an academic focus (Arboleda, Wang, Shelley, & Whalen, 2003; Zhao & Kuh, 2004). Institutions also employ residential colleges based on the early structures of Oxford and Cambridge (O’Hara, 2012; Ryan, 2001). To encourage and measure engagement, some residential colleges utilize a variant of a points system, which tracks attendance at community events and other forms of involvement. A points system is (a) a measure of the physical involvement of students (which activities they take part in) and (b) a potentially motivating factor for involvement. There are potential benefits and drawbacks to a points system. It is possible that students who desire to earn rewards or avoid punishments associated with a points system will experience increased extrinsic motivation, leading to psychological engagement as a by-product of their physical participation. However, it is unclear whether such a system can effectively benefit intrinsic motivation in addition to measuring physical participation (Deci & Ryan, 2002).

The Future of Residence Life and Student Affairs in Christian Higher Education

ABSTRACT The future of Christian higher education is not certain, and faith-based institutions will need to continue to convince prospective students that the experiences they offer are worth the investment. What is missing in the discussion of what makes Christian higher education special is the transformational experience provided outside of the classroom. To this end, residential life and student affairs in Christian higher education is an area of untapped potential critical to the future of these campuses. When taking into account the lost role of service in the professoriate, the research on the impact of living on campus on student success, and the research on the importance of student-faculty interaction, it becomes evident that residential communities can be transformed into environments that offer an integrated, holistic education that is vital to the mission of Christian institutions.

Learning about Learning

OUR SOCIETY IS OBSESSED with the concept of intelligence. Parents want to know if their children are smart. Schools try to detect the intelligence of children so that they can separate them into “gifted and talented” programs on one end of the spectrum and remedial programs on the other. Employers want to know if they are hiring the smartest people. Colleges, however, may be the place in our society where our obsession with intelligence peaks. In Are You Smart Enough? Alexander Astin offers a blunt critique of this obsession:

The association between religion and self-reported academic honesty among college students

Abstract Current research yields inconsistent findings about the association between religious variables and academic cheating among college students. In this study, we investigated possible reasons for this disagreement by examining whether, and to what extent, three particular religious variables: religious identity, affirmation of importance and religious services attendance, are associated with academic honesty among college students. Specifically, we utilised a sample of 2503 American college-aged students from Gallup® daily tracking survey and used analysis of variance (ANOVA) to address the proposed research question. Research findings indicate that religious service attendance is positively associated with academic honesty among college students. Specifically, students who attend religious services more frequently are less likely to be engaged in academic misconduct than students who attend less frequently. This finding remains consistent when other important factors such as student attitudes toward cheating and gender were included in the analysis.