Religion/spirituality is a salient facet of identity for many college students, yet addressing issues related to spirituality/religion is contentious in many higher education institutions. Prior research has shown that various other facets of identity, including race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation, affect a student’s perception of campus climate, but religious/spiritual identity has not been examined in the same manner. Using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling, this study empirically tests the addition of religion/spirituality to the campus climate theory developed by Hurtado et al. (1999). Data came from the 2010 College Senior Survey administered by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. Results indicate that religious and spiritual identity have significant direct effects on the perception and other aspects of campus climate. Future research is needed to extend the understanding between religious and spiritual identity and the perception of campus climate.

This study was based on the premise that one outcome of education is ego development. The research was based on Jane Loevinger's theory that ego development is the central frame-of-reference through which people view themselves and their relationships with others. The study looked for evidence of ego development in adult students and for contributing factors, including academic environments. It compared the ego levels of students aged 35 to 55 at two higher education institutes and some experiences that are common to most colleges. The variables compared were based on Loevinger's levels of ego development and theories of academic environments of Moos, Pace, and Knefelkamp. The variables used were: ego development, type of school, background characteristics, relations with faculty, enthusiasm about school, opinions about academic environment and estimates of gains. The study was done in two stages. Five hundred forty students responded to a questionnaire on background characteristics and selected portions of Pace's Measuring the Quality of College Student Experiences. From this group, 150 students were mailed Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test and 85 were returned. Study findings provided an opportunity to expand the knowledge about the ego levels of adult students. Statistical analyses included chi-square and ANOVA. No statistically significant change in ego levels was found. No statistically significant differences were found between the ego levels of the students by schools or background characteristics. There were differences in how the two total populations responded to the questionnaire about school, environment and personal gains. Students attending the small liberal arts college indicated that they were more enthusiastic about college, felt that their school placed a stronger emphasis on both the subjective and objective outcomes of college. These students felt that their school placed a higher emphasis on interpersonal relationships. The students from the small liberal arts college were more likely to say that they had gained the most personally. Personal gains included development of values and standards, understanding of self, and the ability to work with others. These are characteristics that are indicative of ego growth. Recommendations included additional research into maximizing developmental environments of adult students and faculty education on adult development and learning styles.

One purpose of this study was to identify the social adjustment problems experienced by Nigerian students in land-grant universities in the United States. A second purpose was to predict the severity of these problems with age, sex, marital status, English language proficiency, ownership of transportation, academic status, previous international experience, duration of stay in the United States, and the source of financial support. A questionnaire of 28 items was sent to a sample of 500 Nigerian students in land-grant universities in the United States. Out of these 500, a usable return of 337 (67.4%) was realized. A factor analysis was applied to these 26 items, 8nd six factors were extracted (feelings of discrimination, feelings of belonging, establishing relationships, feelings of adequacy, feelings of loneliness, and absence of home news). The mean, standard deviation, and rank for each item were calculated. In addition regression equations were calculated in studying the relationship between the severity of the problems and students' demographic descriptions. Major findings were: 1. Out of the 28 problems identified in the questionnaire, there were seventeen problems which elicited high concern and eleven areas which elicited low concern. 2. Students with less English language proficiency, with no transportation, with longer duration of stay in the United States, and undergraduates tended to identify discrimination as a greater problem. 3. Those with less English language proficiency, those with no transportation, females, and those that are married or single living without a spouse or intimate friend tended to identify feelings of belonging as a greater problem. 4. Students with less English language proficiency, with no transportation, females, self-supported students, those with longer duration of stay in the United States, and undergraduates tended to identify feelings of adequacy as a greater problem. 5. Students with less English language proficiency, with no transportation, with longer duration of stay in the United States, younger, and self-supported students tended to identify establishing relationships as a greater problem. 6. The younger, undergraduates, females, and married or single students living without a spouse or intimate friend tended to identify feelings of loneliness as a greater problem. 7. The older, self-supported students, undergraduates, and those with longer duration of stay in the United States tended to identify absence of news from home as a greater problem. / Ed. D.

Growing out of the college retention research of Alexander Astin (1993) and Vincent Tinto (1975), this study examined differences in academic achievement and persistence of first-semester college freshmen who participated in Freshman Learning Communities (FLC), including a Living-Learning Community (LLC), and students who did not participate in a university-sponsored learning community. This study also explored variables that may moderate the relationship of learning community participation with academic achievement and persistence. Variables explored included: entry-level readiness for self-directed learning, gender, ethnicity, high school GPA, and SAT or equivalent ACT scores. Data was collected from 544 students at XYZ University using a pre/post university-developed instrument, the College Assessment of Readiness for Entering Students Intended (CARES-I), College Assessment of Readiness for Entering Students- Actual (CARES-A) and the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale/Learning Preference Assessment. Demographic and academic data were collected through the institution's Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis. There was a statistically significant difference in academic achievement for students enrolled in either a Freshman Learning Community or a Living Learning Community (df = 424, t = 2.32, p < .05) as compared to students not part of a freshman learning community. The learning community students had higher end-of-semester grades. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore the moderating variables that may influence the learning community effect on academic achievement. Only the pre-academic characteristic of students' entering high school GPA moderated the relationship of learning community participation and academic achievement (p < .05). / Chi-square analysis showed there was no relationship between participation in a learning community and enrollment in the second semester (p > .05).Logistic regression of variable relations determined that the variables of high school GPA and ethnicity were significant. In addition, there was an association between the variables of SDLRS scores, high school GPA, and end-of-semester GPA for students not part of a learning community. Finally, results from a paired samples t-test determined that there was a difference in the intended and actual social involvement for students enrolled in a learning community. / by Jodie Jae Koerner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.