Young K. Kim

Outcomes of a Christian College Education: A Comparison of CCCU Students' Gains to the National Aggregate.

This study examined the patterns of college experiences and outcomes among 3,501 students attending colleges or universities that belong to the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). As part of the CCCU-sponsored Comprehensive Assessment Project (CAP), 25 member institutions collected data from their first-year students using the Freshman Survey from UCLAs Cooperative Institutional Research Project in 2004 and assessed those same students as seniors in 2008 using the College Senior Survey. The study analyzed the data and compared the findings with a national sample of private colleges during those same years. Although the results generally reflected gains over the four years of college in terms of students’ degree aspirations and social awareness, this positive change was more pronounced among the CCCU students compared to their national aggregate counterparts. In contrast, CCCU students appeared to have relatively fewer gains in their interpersonal abilities during college than did the national aggregate. In particular, CCCU students tended to be less engaged with their peers and less involved with diversity-related activities while in college than did the national aggregate. Additionally, while CCCU students had more informal and social interactions with faculty, they reported having lower levels of course- or research-related interaction with faculty than did their peers at other private institutions. A discussion of the association between specific college experiences and three college outcomes—academic self-esteem, interpersonal ability, and social awareness—concludes the article.

Latino College Students at Highly Selective Institutions: A Comparison of Their College Experiences and Outcomes to Other Racial/Ethnic Groups

This study examines unique patterns of college engagement and outcomes among Latino undergraduate students attending highly selective institutions in comparison with those from other racial/ethnic groups. The study also identifies predictors of select college outcomes—that is, cognitive, affective, and civic outcomes—for this population. Findings did reveal not only the unique patterns of college experiences and outcomes among Latino college students but also student background characteristics and college environments that contribute to their college outcomes.

The Impact of College Students’ Interactions with Faculty: A Review of General and Conditional Effects

This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the literature relevant to the effects of student-faculty interaction among undergraduate students, including general and conditional effects, and proposes a research agenda that will improve our understanding of the theoretical and practical implications of the impact of college students’ interactions with faculty. We begin our review by examining theoretical frameworks used in the current research on the impact of student-faculty interaction. We then highlight the methodology used in these studies, both quantitative and qualitative. Next, we discuss empirical findings on the impact of student-faculty interaction. Finally, we offer conceptual and methodological recommendations for future research on this topic.

Effects of Campus Climates for Diversity on College GPA Among Latinx Students at Selective Universities: An Examination by Gender, First-Generation College Status, and Immigrant Status

The authors examine the impact of negative campus climates for diversity on the grade point average of 4299 Latinx students attending selective institutions and also investigated whether such impact differed by students’ gender, first-generation status, and immigrant background. Franco and Kim investigated climate for racial/ethnic diversity, socioeconomic diversity, gender diversity, and immigrant backgrounds, with particular emphasis on examining the origins of negative climates (e.g., faculty, staff, and students). The results suggest that students were the most frequently identified source of negative campus climates for diversity. The perceived negative climates for diversity had a significant effect on GPA for female, US born, first-generation, and non-first-generation Latinx college students; yet, the directional effect on GPA differed depending on the type of negative campus climate for diversity.

Racial Differences in the Effects of Campus Climate on Sense of Belonging at Public Research Universities

In this chapter, the authors examine the effect of campus climate on sense of belonging and how the effect differs by race/ethnicity among college students at public research universities. Findings show that sense of belonging and perceptions of campus climate vary by students’ racial/ethnic backgrounds and that the effect of perceived campus climate on sense of belonging is also conditioned by students’ race/ethnicity. The chapter highlights unique challenges experienced by African American men in college who are less likely to feel a sense of belonging on campus and tend to perceive a less positive campus climate compared to their peers. The authors offer recommendations for higher education institutions attempting to cultivate a more positive campus climate and heightened sense of belonging among diverse students.

High Expectations, Strong Support: Faculty Behaviors Predicting Latina/o Community College Student Learning.

Abstract: In this study we investigated the extent to which faculty interaction contributed to Latina/o student perceptions of their learning, using a sample of 10,071 Latina/o students who took the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. Findings were disaggregated for men and women, but results were quite similar between the 2 groups. Frequent high-quality interaction with faculty contributed strongly to student learning, with the strongest predictors being students working hard in response to faculty expectations and faculty being available to students.

Civic Attitudes Development Among Undergraduate Students at American Research Universities: An Examination by Student Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status

This chapter examines ways in which large public research universities can enhance the civic outcomes of undergraduate students. Using data from the 2010 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES), this chapter investigates the college experiences that contribute to students’ civic attitudes development and how these contributing college experiences differ by students’ gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The results of this study underscore not only the ways in which a variety of college experiences at research universities might be effective in the development of civic attitudes for undergraduate students but also how different student subgroups might benefit more or less from those experiences.

Unique Patterns of Cognitive Outcomes for Undergraduate Students at Southern Baptist Colleges: A Comparative Analysis

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of growth in cognitive outcomes among students attending Southern Baptist universities, as compared to their peers at other Council of Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), Catholic, and nonsectarian institutions, and to identify the college experiences that contribute to cognitive development. Using data from the College Senior Survey, inferential analyses revealed that students enrolled at Southern Baptist colleges and universities had significantly higher levels of academic self-concept and perceived cognitive skills than students enrolled at other types of Christian institutions. In addition, regression analyses showed that the Baptist sample yielded some unique patterns as to which college experiences contributed to cognitive outcome development among students.