'Must-Have' From Pew: Millennials Are Really Different

A must-have for college and university planners. The Pew Research Center is out with a brand new study of Millennials. You'll find the Executive Summary here, with plenty of links, including to a PDF download of the entire report.

Related, the SCUP Portfolio: Make Way for Millennials: How Students Are Shaping Learning in Higher Education. In it, many SCUP authors write about Millennials and how they are shaping campus facilities and programs.

From the Pew Executive Summary:

They are more ethnically and racially diverse than older adults. They're less religious, less likely to have served in the military, and are on track to become the most educated generation in American history.

Millennials are on course to become the most educated generation in American history, a trend driven largely by the demands of a modern knowledge-based economy, but most likely accelerated in recent years by the millions of 20-somethings enrolling in graduate schools, colleges or community colleges in part because they can't find a job. Among 18 to 24 year olds a record share -- 39.6% -- was enrolled in college as of 2008, according to census data.

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Regional SCUP Events! Enjoy the F2F company of your colleagues and peers at one of three SCUP regional conferences this spring:

• March 14–16: Baltimore, MD
• March 24–26: Cambridge, MA
• April 5–7, San Diego, CA

The Inheritance of Millenial Students: What They will Inherit from their Campus Experience — What Legacy Will They Leave

Students need to see examples from society’s leaders of actions to address urgent sustainability challenges in order to motivate them to take actions of their own.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

Millennial students can be inspired to create a legacy for future generations by the recognizable actions of campus planners to create more sustainable campuses through smart growth planning, green buildings, transportation planning, and energy- and water-efficiency retrofits. This article describes policies, programs, and projects at The University of British Columbia; presents student concerns about the future and their reactions to campus initiatives in sustainability, and discusses recent research regarding student responses to green buildings on campuses in Canada.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, The Inheritance of Millenial Students: What They will Inherit from their Campus Experience — What Legacy Will They Leave, v37n1, pp. PAGES, by AUTHORS. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

The Inheritance of Millenial Students: What They will Inherit from their Campus Experience — What Legacy Will They Leave

Students need to see examples from society’s leaders of actions to address urgent sustainability challenges in order to motivate them to take actions of their own.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

Millennial students can be inspired to create a legacy for future generations by the recognizable actions of campus planners to create more sustainable campuses through smart growth planning, green buildings, transportation planning, and energy- and water-efficiency retrofits. This article describes policies, programs, and projects at The University of British Columbia; presents student concerns about the future and their reactions to campus initiatives in sustainability, and discusses recent research regarding student responses to green buildings on campuses in Canada.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, The Inheritance of Millenial Students: What They will Inherit from their Campus Experience — What Legacy Will They Leave, v37n1, pp. 49–58, by Freda Pagani. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

Colleges and Universities Want to be Your Friend: Communicating via Online Social Networking

Like it or not, communicating via online social networking sites is what millions of young people do each day.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

This article presents a compilation of data regarding the role of online social networks within campus communities, specifically for nonacademic purposes. Both qualitative and quantitative data methodologies are used to provide a unique perspective on a constantly evolving topic. Interviews of students and administrators allow for candid discussion, while primary and secondary data offer an understanding of current use and trends within the realm of online social networking. Theories of self-esteem and interpersonal communication are integrated throughout the article.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, Colleges and Universities Want to be Your Friend: Communicating via Online Social Networking, v37n1, pp. 35–48, by Tamara L. Wandel. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

Let’s Hear from Students

Since this issue is all about students, we thought you might like to hear from some.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

This special two-part series on student life would not be complete without a student perspective. What do real, live, individual students from the Net generation think, experience, dream, and plan? Are they as “wired in” as Mark Milliron describes in his article? Is communication strongly linked to technology as outlined by Tamara Wandel? How do student characteristics affect teaching and student learning (John Tagg), student services (Simone Himbeault Taylor), and a student’s overall college experience (Freda Pagani)?

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, Let's Hear From Students, v37n1, pp. 32–34, by Claire L. Turcotte. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

What's Past is Prologue: The Evolving Paradigms of Student Affairs

Is the traditional framework for student services getting creaky? Consider these varied paradigms within which to plan the future of student services.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

The purpose of this article is to frame—and reframe—the work of student affairs. Evolving paradigms have defined and advanced this work, which is dedicated to total student development and the betterment of society. The article promotes integrative learning as a new framework for student affairs. This paradigm, grounded in theory, research, and practice, crosses all boundaries of what, where, how, and with whom learning occurs to advance cohesive and synergistic student-centered learning. To live into this seamless model, student affairs professionals must go beyond the “what” to living into the “so what” of their work as educators and reflective practitioners.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, What's Past is Prologue: The Evolving Paradigms of Student Affairs, v37n1, pp. 23–34, by Simone Himbeault Taylor. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

Changing Minds in Higher Education: Students Change, So Why Can't Colleges?

Click here to comment on this PHE article!

The problem today is that when students change, colleges don't have to because they camouflage and conceal the evidence that could guide change.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

College students have changed dramatically, and the skills needed for productive employment have changed as well. But colleges and universities have been slow to respond, often innovating in only small ways while leaving the core practices of undergraduate education the same. This article examines the barriers to transformational change in higher education in five categories: structure, information, incentives, finance, and culture. It suggests that the initial approach to overcoming these barriers involves generating better information in the form of feedback concerning student learning processes and outcomes.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, Changing Minds in Higher Education: Students Change, So Why Can't Colleges?, v37n1, pp. 15–22, by John Tagg. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

Please share your comments or links to related resources.

Building a New Generation of Learning: Conversations to Catalyze Our Conversation

Our newest generation of learners: If we build it, they will come; if we build it well, they—in the broadest sense of the word—will learn.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

Rather than focus primarily on the next generation of learners, the authors argue we are best served to focus on building out our on-ground and online infrastructures for a new generation of learning—blending multiple learning modes, technologies, and techniques over the course of the next 15–20 years to serve the diverse array of students from multiple generations that will be coming our way. They offer seven catalytic conversations to start this process on the topics of blended learning, mobility, gaming, social networking, holographics, analytics, and a renewed focus on the human touch.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, Building or a New Generation of Learning, v37n1, pp. 7–14, by Mark David Milliron, Kathleen Plinske, and Coral Noonan-Terry. You can read the entire article here.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

'Millennial' or 'Net Generation' Students and Their Impact on the Development of Student-Centered Facilities

This is the first of two themed issues of SCUP's journal that examine both the evolving student and the changing learning and living experience. This first issue focuses on key questions surrounding today's students: What do we know about them? What can we observe in their lifestyle and learning tendencies that would have an impact on learning experience design perspective? In the second issue, we will investigate how higher education institutions are responding to these changes. . . . To accomplish this purpose, we strive first to create a broad understanding of this context of change. We then explore the changes in programs, physical facilities, and environment that have and are being planned in response to these trends.

Read the full article here. Then use this blog's capability to comment or share additional, related resources. Thanks.

From the October–November–December 2008 issue of Planning for Higher Education, this "SCUP Links Blog" post provides an opportunity for you to share comments or additional resources/links about the focus of the article, 'Millennial' or 'Net Generation' Students and Their Impact on the Development of Student-Centered Facilities, v37n1, pp. 5-6, by John A. Ruffo. You can read the entire article here. It is an introduction, by Guest Editor John Ruffo, to the overall concept of this two-part, themed issue of Planning.

Note that this issue of Planning is the first of a two-part themed volume with the overall title, Student Life. The second part will be published in January 2009. Assembled, the two parts will be available in late January 2009 for purchase as a single PDF document for your quick and easy reference.

College Students' Mental Health a Growing Concern

Read this and other items, including full reference citations, in SCUP's Trends in Higher Education (PDF; August 2008)

Observation

The mental health of students attending college is increasingly becoming a cause for concern, in both the US and Canada.
• Campus shootings appear to be simply the most visible sign of a population that is reporting more depression, anxiety, and major psychological disorders. The rate of students reporting ever being diagnosed with depression has increased from 10 percent in spring of 2000 to 16 percent in spring of 2005.
• Over 90 percent of campus counseling center directors report that the recent trend toward greater numbers of students with severe psychological problems continues to be true on their campuses with 8.5 percent of enrolled students seeking counseling in 2007.

Our Thoughts

The number of students who seek and need mental health services is only likely to rise. Increased awareness and decreased stigmatization for treatment contribute to this trend, but don’t explain it all. How can campuses provide appropriate help?
• The ratio of counselors to students is 1 to 1,969. While smaller schools have better ratios, there are clearly not enough counselors to address the needs of students.
• Ironically, the passage of the new GI bill is only likely to exacerbate the problem as veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan return to college with an increased likelihood of stress related disorders and physical disabilities

What are your thoughts? Please comment.

Community College Showdown: "Undocumented" Students

This case study from the League for Innovation is abstracted from its forthcoming publication, Student Services Dialogues: Community College Case Studies to Consider by R. Thomas Flynn and Gerardo E. de los Santos.

During recent years, the issues surrounding the presence of undocumented immigrants in the United States have had daily political and media coverage. They generate very disparate responses, depending on the political persuasion of the observers. One group of undocumented immigrants has special issues with respect to community college student services: young people whose undocumented parents brought them to the United States as children and who have received some or all of their formal education in American public schools. Many of them aspire to continue their education at a community college. A critical question arises regarding their residential status for purposes of tuition determination. They may have lived in the community for a dozen years and graduated from a local high school. Many states would require that they register as nonresident out-of-state students since they are not documented immigrants. Many of these potential students cannot afford that level of tuition, and they are ineligible for federal financial aid. Much of their economic and career future may depend on their ability to access the community college.

The Changing of the Professoriate Begins . . . Baby Boomers Retiring

This interesting article examines the potential impact of a professoriate that is "less liberal," but doesn't fully take into account changing mores - especially with regard to cultural changes that used to be considered liberal but are now mainstream. For example, is "work-life balance" liberal or conservative?

At a conference titled “Generational Shockwaves,” sponsored in November by the TIAA-CREF Institute, Joan Girgus, a special assistant to the dean of faculty at Princeton, underscored how these sorts of concerns were increasingly on the minds of younger faculty members. Universities need to focus more on the “life” side of the work-life balance “because faculties historically were almost entirely male and the wives took care of the family side,” Ms. Girgus said. “I don’t think we can do that anymore.” Ask Ms. Goldrick-Rab if she believes there is a gap between her generation and the boomers, and she immediately answers yes.

Report Takes Aim at ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype of Asian-American Students

"How does it feel to be a problem?" is a pretty strong way to begin a research report. The New York Times writes:

The report, by New York University, the College Board and a commission of mostly Asian-American educators and community leaders, largely avoids the debates over both affirmative action and the heavy representation of Asian-Americans at the most selective colleges. But it pokes holes in stereotypes about Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the perception that they cluster in science, technology, engineering and math. And it points out that the term “Asian-American” is extraordinarily broad, embracing members of many ethnic groups.

A PDF of the full report is available here.