This dissertation examined to what degree traditional students were impacted by the institutional core values at a Southern Baptist college. The subjects of mission statements, core values, and college impact were defined. Special attention was given to the eight institutional core values being examined in this study. The current study was conducted at Georgetown College. Located within the eleven state region that is encompassed by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accrediting agency, Georgetown College is a member of the Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools. The goal of Georgetown College, broadly defined, is to provide a quality educational program within the context of a values-based Christian atmosphere. The sample of the current study included all the traditional freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Georgetown College at the beginning of the fall semester of 2003. Data gathering consisted of two concurrent lines of inquiry: similarities and differences in students' agreement with the institutional core values. These lines of inquiry were analyzed according to four specific areas of interest including students' class year, gender, ethnic background, and religious affiliation. A value statement index was created for use in this study. The core values of community and integrity were rated by the students as the most important values in the study. The Christian core values showed a general increase among almost all of the students from the freshmen to the senior year. The core values concerning diversity and cultural enrichment programs were rated as the least important values in the study. The presence of a Christian community was determined to be the key ingredient for Southern Baptist colleges to impact positively the value systems of their traditional students. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.

The study was designed to describe policies, programs and staff assignments in higher education institutions related to student religious groups and campus ministers. The study replicated research done by George Jones in 1968.The population of the study consisted of 509 four-year tax-assisted state colleges and universities in the United States but was later adjusted to 467 institutions. A questionnaire was sent to the administrative heads of the student affairs office or student personnel office. The number of usable questionnaires returned was 288, which constituted a 62 percent return.The following hypotheses were generated for statistical treatment:Hypothesis I.--There is no significant difference between the percentage of means of recognizing ministers assigned to serve public four-year colleges and universities in the Jones study and the current study.Hypothesis II.--There is no significant difference between the percentage of duties of advisors to religious councils recognized by public four-year colleges and universities in the Jones study and the current study.Hypothesis III.--There is no significant difference between the percentage o` university staff serving as liaison with campus ministers in the Jones study and the current study.Significant regional differences were found for Hypotheses I and II but no significant regional differences were found for Hypothesis III.The findings in the following summary are based upon the data of the study.Policies that allow recognition of student religious groups on campus were reported by administrators to exist at 43 percent of the institutions of higher education. For student religious organizations to be recognized or accredited the university administration consistently required the groups to file an application, secure approval for the constitution and to arrange for a faculty advisor or sponsor.The religious council was used by 20 percent of the administrators as a means of relating to the student religious groups and religious workers. A council of campus ministers that served as liaison with the religious workers was reported by 37 percent of the administrators.On 53 percent of the campuses, a university staff person was designated as liaison with the campus ministers. The director of student affairs was identified as the person most often responsible for religious coordination.The respondents reported that 43 percent of the religious group growth on campus was with the evangelical Christian groups. The administrators reported that 40 percent of the change in the campus ministry was with the loss of the radical and militant image of the student religious groups.Only 6 percent of the respondents reported threatened lawsuits because of religious coordination policies of the public colleges and universities in the United States.

Little research has been conducted to show the relationship between short-term study abroad/mission experiences and the faith development of those who engage in them. Christian colleges and universities utilize these experiences to help develop their students' faith. This research analyzed the relationship between a Christian college student's experience in a one-month study abroad/mission experience and his or her faith development and maturity.The research was conducted with 171 students from a Christian university, including 72 students (study group) who spent one month in the university's study abroad/mission program and 99 students (control group) who took classes on campus during the same time period. The development of the student's faith was measured by three instruments: 1) a six question qualitative survey given to the study group; 2) the Faith Maturity Scale (FMS) published by the Search Institute; and 3) Growth in Mature Faith Index (GMFI) published by the Search Institute.The quantitative data analysis indicated no significant differences between pre- and post-scores for the FMS and GMFI; but the research did find changes that were significant on some of the question items between the two groups, such as the SAM participants becoming more accepting of people with different religious beliefs. Inflated research alpha levels (for multiple testing) were of concern for the researcher, as was the ceiling effect (pre-trip levels above the highest national levels for any age group) with the Christian college student population. Qualitative data indicated that the Study Abroad Mission Students developed in their relationship with God and their service to others. / School of Continuing Education and Public Service

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between religious commitment, spiritual well-being and psychological well-being in college students. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS) were administered. Also frequency of church attendance was assessed. Canonical Analysis was used to investigate the data from 425 participants to determine if there is relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. A statistically significant relationship was found between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. The following describes the nature of the relationship. First, participants who experience existential well-being tend to be self-accepting and to a lesser extent have mastery of their environment and a purpose in life. Second, participants who experience existential well-being and to a lesser degree, religious well-being tend to accept themselves, have a purpose in life, possess mastery of their environment, positively relate to others, feel they are growing personally, and are autonomous. This study provided evidence of a relationship between religious/spiritual well-being and psychological well-being. Implications and limitations of the study, as well as recommendations for future research are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

ABSTRACT ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF STUDENT INVOLVEMENT IN CAMPUS MINISTRY ON RETENTION AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS: A MIXED METHOD STUDY Robert Mark Rasor, Ed.D. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017 Chair: Dr. John David Trentham This thesis is a continuation of the Student Involvement Theories proposed by Alexander Astin and Vincent Tinto. The examination of involvement in a campus ministry and the examination of students who began their college careers at a two-year institution of higher learning represent the unique contribution of this study. Retention and academic success are challenges faced on most college campuses. The problem is especially acute on the campuses of two-year institutions. Students, parents of students, and college administrators are all seeking ways to improve retention and academic success. This sequential, mixed methods study assessed the impact of student involvement in a campus ministry, primarily Baptist Collegiate Ministry, on retention, completion and academic success. Students who began their college education on a two-year college campus and who were involved in the Baptist Campus Ministry were asked to complete a survey regarding the degree of involvement in the ministry and their academic success and subsequent college completion or departure. Follow-up interviews were conducted with select students to gain further insight into student perceptions. KEYWORDS: Academic success, Alexander Astin, Baptist Collegiate Ministry, campus ministry, community-college, completion, first-time, full-time freshman, graduation, higher education, integration, marginality, persistence, student retention, student involvement, two-year college, Vincent Tinto.

Two hundred twenty individuals participated in the present study from a university population. The study examined the relationship among attachment styles to caregivers, relationship with God, depressive symptomology, and depressive experiences. Attachment theorists have suggested a connection between childhood attachment to caregivers and current attachment to God through the idea that individuals have "working models" that form how they interpret present relationships. For the most part, the results of the current study supported the idea of correspondence between attachment to caregiver and attachment to God. Individual attachment styles to caregivers matched their attachment style to God. However, when caregiver religiousness was included as a moderating variable, results supported the theory of combined compensation-correspondence for those with insecure attachments to caregivers. Individuals with insecure attachment to caregivers were more likely to compensate for their insecure attachment bonds through participation in religious activity, whereas their internal, private relationship with God corresponded with their previous insecure attachment bonds. Individuals with insecure attachment to caregivers were more likely to endorse symptoms of depression and report introjective, but not anaclitic, depressive experiences. With respect to attachment to God, introjective depressive experiences were positively related to both anxious and avoidant attachments, whereas, anaclitic depressive experiences were positively related only to anxious attachment to God. Anxious attachment to God was found to partially mediate the relationship between insecure attachment to caregivers and depression symptoms. Finally, attachment effects were similar across gender, ethnicity, and age, with some notable exceptions.

Spirituality is a topic of growing interest for college students and scholars and yet personal accounts of spiritual development among college students remains limited. This study investigated the spiritual development of seven traditional-aged, University of the Pacific students in their senior year of course study. Interviews were conducted using an interview guide. Participants were requested through chain sampling techniques. Interviews were used to gain knowledge about the experiences students have that contribute to the ways in which they define spirituality and how those experiences affected them personally. Responses from interviews of Pacific students will be compared to Fowler's Stages of Faith and the work of Parks, Chickering and other's conclusions made regarding how students and people across generations and cultures develop a sense of meaning and purpose.

This study was aimed at exploring the impact of spirituality on the well-being of students at Rhodes University in South Africa. The study was conducted within a qualitative research paradigm deploying an interpretive phenomenological analysis strategy for data analysis. The study involved a sample of four female Honours students who were all active Christians. The selected students were interviewed to elicit their experiences of spirituality and how this related to their everyday lives. The study used semi-structured interviews in order to get as much information as possible from the small sample of research participants. Data generated in this study was processed, presented and interpreted inductively and hermeneutically in order to identify emerging superordinate themes. This study found that spirituality was experienced as having a positive impact on well-being by all the four students. The study revealed that belief and faith in God amongst the students resulted in enhanced and positive experiences of hope, optimism and compassion which provided the students with a deeper sense of meaning of life and a source of direction in difficult times. The study further showed that participants experienced spirituality as a regulatory mechanism shaping their lifestyles and behaviours. Participants viewed their spirituality and religiosity as a source of social support helping them to cope with distressful situations. The findings of this study are consistent with the findings of previous studies done in the field of psychology and spirituality. The fact that this study has shown that spirituality and religion has a positive impact on student’s well-being may mean that University administrators and psychologists may find the study interesting and valuable

Despite recent scholarly interest in college students' spirituality and spiritual development, as well as research indicating that students are interested in spirituality and have a strong desire to integrate spirituality into their lives, few researchers have addressed the spiritual experiences of gay and lesbian college students. Utilizing a phenomenological qualitative approach, I explored the spiritual experiences of nine gay and lesbian college students at two religiously affiliated universities in the southwest region of the United States. The ages of the participants ranged from 19 to 23, with a mean of 21. There were five female, three male, and one gender queer participants. Seven participants identified as white, while the other two participants identified as Hispanic. I identified three major themes related to their lived experience of spirituality: (1) spiritual quest characterized by struggle and pain, (2) finding reconciliation and acceptance, and (3) the importance of support from the university, student groups, friends, and family. Implications for practice included the importance of establishing an official recognized student organization to support gay and lesbian students, creating spaces for personal reflection, meditation, prayer, and solitude as well as safe spaces, the need for educational and outreach programs for faculty, staff, and students, and an evaluation of institutional policies the might negatively impact gay and lesbian students. Suggestions for future research are discussed including the exploration of the impact that faculty members have on students' spiritual growth.

Why do Christian college students participate, or not, in local churches while they attend Christian colleges? This study was designed to investigate and help answer this question through an analysis of selected factors that influence evangelical college students' intensity of involvement in local churches during their college years. Because most Christian liberal arts colleges and evangelical Christian churches share the common mission of assisting in students' spiritual development, this study was designed to help these institutions in understanding the declining participation of students in local churches, according to most current research. Since one might assume that more students who attend evangelical Christian colleges would participate in local churches, the current research focused on full-time undergraduate students attending Christian College Consortium-member schools. Several independent variables were selected and analyzed to determine if they made a significant impact upon the student's intensity of involvement. Data was gathered electronically using the Local Church Involvement Survey (LCIS), an on-line instrument created by the researcher for this study. Besides standard demographic variables, other independent variables studied included: student friendships, student relationships with ministry leaders, student leadership in church and college ministries, student opportunity for intergenerational involvement, student opportunities for ministry in church and college settings, and student perceptions of church and college commitment to students' spiritual development. Data from 1025 surveys revealed a participation rate much higher than national averages, according to precedent literature. Nearly all of the independent variables and demographic variables studied made a statistically significant impact upon students' intensity of involvement in local churches, the exceptions being gender, classification in school, college opportunities for ministry, and housing situation. The strongest positive correlations existed between intensity of involvement and opportunity for student leadership, the student's perception that the local church genuinely cares for their spiritual growth, and the church's offering of significant ministry opportunities. The standard deviation between the LCIS scores was large and the mean and median scores were somewhat modest. / This item is only available to students and faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you are not associated with SBTS, this dissertation may be purchased from <a href="http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb">http://disexpress.umi.com/dxweb</a> or downloaded through ProQuest's Dissertation and Theses database if your institution subscribes to that service.