Digest No. 12 – March 2024 – CIC Digest of Recent Research

Digest No. 12 - March 2024

Institutional Approaches to Civic Engagement

Living on campus is associated with greater civic engagement outcomes, including ROTC enrollment, Peace Corps volunteering, and number of community service hours. Some evidence is provided to suggest that private institutions offer significantly higher numbers of civic engagement activities than public institutions, even though public institutions often have more of a focus on civic engagement in their mission statements. Finally, liberal arts colleges were ten percentage points more likely to require a service-learning course as part of the curriculum than were research institutions.

High Impact Practices and Civic Engagement

Regardless of degree earned, civically engaged 26-year-olds continue to take courses for college credit. During college, the most civically engaged college graduates participated in a community-based course project, received mentorship as part of an academic program experience, were involved in a college internship or co-op, and performed research with a faculty member. Participating in these high impact practices helped all graduates civically engage after college, especially those that were less civically engaged in high school.

On- and Off-Campus Work and Civic Outcomes

Students who work on campus for up to six hours each week experience civic gains in ways that off-campus work does not stimulate; institutional efforts should be directed towards ethically expanding programs like Federal Work Study and other mechanisms for providing more on-campus work opportunities.

How Sustainable Are Mental Health Interventions for Students?

There is a high probability that students who present with a mental health concern will require more than a single round of treatment. Face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapies appear to have longer-lasting effects on commonly experienced concerns like depression, and treatments usually remain effective for three to six months.

Should Counselors Be Trained in Cultural Adaptations?

Cultural adaptations of standard psychological treatments can enormously improve their efficacy, especially if the student population receiving treatment is culturally diverse.

Internet-Based Psychological Interventions that Work

While internet-based psychological interventions are not sufficient replacements for in-person therapies in the treatment of student mental health disorders, they can be a cost-effective alternative, potentially reducing strain on university psychological service providers.

Effects of Meditation, Yoga, and Mindfulness on Student Mental Health

Meditation, yoga, and mindfulness may be an inexpensive way to reduce the incidence of moderate to severe mental health concerns like depression, stress, and anxiety in student populations. They may also offer a more welcoming and less stigmatized environment for students who wish to avoid scrutiny over their mental health decisions.

Preventing Faculty Burnout

Faculty burnout is increasingly common and has severe consequences for both faculty and their institutions. Leaders are strongly urged to assess anonymously faculty wellbeing and prioritize reducing workload and making other improvements where indicated.

Global Higher Education Outcomes and Finance

As enrollment climbs and enrollees present more diverse needs and preferences regarding how, when, and how fast they engage with course material, institutions need to consider proactively how they can best reach and teach such audiences. Successful pedagogical strategies include but are not limited to: competency-based online courses, flipped classroom structures, and strong partnerships with industry counterparts.

Did the Recession Impact Student Success? Relationships between Finances, Staff, and Institutional Type on Retention

In times of economic uncertainty, Baccalaureate-only, private institutions did not fare well in terms of first-year student retention. Institutions that allocated resources directly toward instruction reported higher retention rates than those that diversified spending across other administrative and academic support services.