Digest No. 03 – August 2017 – CIC Digest of Recent Research

Digest No. 03 - August 2017

Troubling Changes in Capital Structures at Small Private Colleges

This article focuses on problems associated with long-term debt at smaller private colleges and universities used to fund large capital projects, such as the construction of new academic buildings or residence halls and the renovation of existing facilities. James Dean Ward explains that colleges and universities use various methods to fund capital projects such as major gifts, grants, reallocation of currently available money, withdrawals from endowment, borrowing, and issuing bonds. The choice of how institutions fund their projects, depends on the debt adversity each college sets for itself. Some institutions elect to use debt to fund capital projects. Ward issues a caveat to smaller private colleges, stating, “tuition-reliant, less wealthy and highly leveraged institutions are in danger of being overcome by financial deficits” (p. 58).

A Breath of Fresh Air: Students’ Perceptions of Interactions with African American Faculty

Kathleen M. Neville and Tara L. Parker raise the question: how do students describe their interactions with and perceptions of African American faculty members? They assert that knowledge of the ways undergraduate college students perceive African American faculty members may provide an “important reason to diversify the professoriate” (p. 349).

Fostering Academic Success of First-Year Students: Exploring the Roles of Motivation, Race and Faculty

This article by Josipa Roksa and Sarah Whitney focuses on the influence of academic motivation, racial group membership (African American and white), and faculty members’ interest in student learning and development (student-centeredness) on first-year academic success. Roksa and Whitney are interested in whether higher levels of academic motivation benefit the first-year academic performance of African American students more than white students. The authors also analyze the interaction between academic motivation and racial group membership and its relationship to first-year academic performance across varying degrees of faculty student-centeredness. An increased understanding of factors that influence college student success in the first year results from empirical attention to these foci.

Racial Inequality in Critical Thinking Skills: The Role of Academic and Diversity Experiences

Roksa et al. seek to identify aspects of the college experience that may shape racial differences in the development of critical thinking skills during college. The authors place their research within the context of the literature on racial inequalities in such matters as college access and college completion. They also note that inequalities in learning outcomes have received little attention in the literature. Nevertheless, a few studies report inequalities in the development of critical thinking skills for African American students (Arum and Roksa 2011; Flowers and Pascarella 2013) and Hispanic students (Kugelmass and Ready 2011) However, these studies failed to identify specific college experiences that shape these racial disparities in the development of critical thinking skills. In their study, Roksa et al. focused attention on specific aspects of the college experience that may lead to racial disparities in the development of critical thinking skills.

Evaluating the Impact of Crime and Discipline on Student Success in Postsecondary Education

Amie M. Schuck situates serious violent crime rates and disciplinary action within the context of college student success. She asserts that violent crimes committed on or around college campuses can have both direct and indirect effects on the academic achievement of students that may lessen their chances of graduating within four years of their initial enrollment. Violent crimes include offenses against individuals such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated battery. Schuck asserts that victims of such violent crimes may experience both psychological trauma and physical injury. She posits that fear of crime also results from violent crimes. Fear of crime generates feelings of vulnerability that can affect both victims’ and non-victims’ willingness to participate in college activities important to their academic success and graduation. Based on these formulations, Schuck posits that the greater the serious crime rate at or near a college or university, the lower the institution’s graduation rate.