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The problem of this study was to analyze institutional cocurricular goals, objectives, programs, and activities and determine institutional cocurricular needs of international graduate students at North Texas State University. The purposes and objectives of this study were twofold: first, to explore the differences between perceived and desired institutional cocurricular goals, objectives, programs, and activities and, second, to analyze and interpret the data from two different positions, "perceived as existing" and "should be existing."

Institutions of higher education have long been regarded as centers of knowledge creation and dissemination. Although, more recently, colleges and universities are facing greater accountability for student learning as a result of crippling student loan debt projections and staggering retention rates. Critical thinking is in the company of many skills found to be deficient in college graduates. Simultaneously, critical thinking is among the most sought-after qualities among employers (National Association of Colleges & Employers, 2017). This problematic dichotomy presents a need to better understand how critical thinking is being taught in college. Much of the literature focuses on critical thinking as an outcome of classroom instruction while the impact of out-of-class experiences is largely neglected. This survey-based study employed the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) to identify which out-of-classroom experiences have a singular and collective effect on critical thinking dispositions among graduating seniors at a public 4-year institution. Participation in internships, study abroad, service-learning, living-learning communities, club leadership, club membership, and employment was studied. The study offers promising data that suggest seniors are, in fact, disposed to critical thinking upon graduation. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that several out-of-classroom activities had a positive effect on at least one critical thinking disposition. Among them were research with faculty, club membership, and employment. Interestingly, studying abroad was found to have a negative effect on students’ disposition toward intellectual curiosity. Only two out-of-classroom experiences were found to have a combined effect on critical thinking disposition—conducting research with faculty and holding employment for more than 20 hours per week. Findings of this study have implications for faculty, staff, and administrators alike. Looking ahead, institutions are encouraged to enhance students’ learning opportunities by leveraging student employment, incentivizing faculty-student research, and partnering with local employers. / Educational Leadership

This study investigated the impact of cocurricular activities on leadership development. College graduates recognized as community leaders were selected from three communities in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Through survey and interview techniques, the leaders were asked to reflect on high school and college experiences that led to their development as leaders. The study included a focus on differences in experiences of male and female leaders. Developmental influences such as family, mentors, global experience, and the cocurricular activities engaged in during high school and college were explored. Title IX had no impact on increased opportunities for women in this group of participants, as only two female participants were in college in 1972. Results of the study include the importance of mentors, the strength of high school teachers and cocurricular activities, and the weak influence of college cocurricular activities. High school activities most frequently reported to have influenced leadership development include student government, group music experiences, athletics, and church youth groups. College activities with the most impact include resident hall living and internships. Gender differences in experiences include women's lack of identified community mentors and the importance of a college internship experience for women. Opportunities for men's participation in sports in high school and college as well as their descriptions of community mentors provided different learning experiences for men. Recommendations include a call to higher education to develop a more comprehensive and integrated approach to leadership education. Teaching mentoring skills to future K-12 education professionals as well as college faculty and administrators is recommended to higher education. Student Affairs preparation programs have a role to play in training future professionals how to plan meaningful leadership learning opportunities for students on campus and through distance education. Applying the best practices in experiential education will move college cocurricular activities to a higher level in achieving student learning outcomes. Accreditation bodies are also called to include such criteria in the evaluation of leadership education programs. The community leaders in this study offered leadership development advice to college students including becoming lifelong experiential learners, giving back to community, and preparing broadly for the future.

This study analyzed how three award-winning divisions of Student Affairs are using assessment to show evidence of student learning and development at their institutions. There is a movement in U.S. higher education toward increased accountability through outcomes assessment. Institutions are called upon to demonstrate effectiveness in their programs and services and to provide evidence of student learning and development in the curricular and co-curricular environments. To date, there is little research on how Student Affairs uses assessment to show that students are learning and developing as a result of participating in its programs, services, and activities. Findings and discussion from this study revealed (a) conditions and strategies for building and sustaining a culture of learning outcomes assessment in divisions of Student Affairs; (b) promising practices in planning, designing, implementing and using student learning outcomes assessment in Student Affairs; and (c) ways that Student Affairs contributes to student learning and development in the co-curricular and curricular environments. Implications of this study show also how selected divisions of Student Affairs are addressing the call for increased accountability in higher education and suggest that Student Affairs plays an integral role within institutions of higher education for student learning and development.

University educators are concerned with student leadership development in order to generate much-needed leaders in every aspect of society. This sequential mixed methods study found that students who participate in a university co-curricular outdoor education leadership training program, combined with the experience of leading a wilderness backpacking trip, had increased leadership self-efficacy. Empirical evidence was found to support leadership development, as well as the effectiveness and importance of university co-curricular outdoor education leadership training programs. This research is significant to educators for determining priorities in providing resources and designing effective co-curricular programs to create tomorrow's leaders.

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