The One Extremely Important Characteristic That Every College You Apply to Must Have. The Ability of a College to Engage You is Necessary for You to Achieve Your Best Outcomes

#085 – This is the third episode in a series that deals with some of the most common misconceptions about college admissions.

On the previous two episodes we talked about the fallacy of the “Best-College Rankings” and what research shows is the connection between the level of selectivity of a college or university and the quality of education students receive in those institutions. Spoiler alert, there is no connection!

On this episode, we conclude with a presentation of what different types of research show is the one characteristic that all the schools that have allowed students to enjoy the best outcomes is, namely, engagement.

I had an opportunity to reminisce about three professors in my college career who were very engaging and played a very important role in the person and the professional I became. They are, Dr. Nabil Razzouk, Dr. Folrence Pollard, and Dr. Krone, whose name escaped me during the recording of the episode.

Schools that allow for students to connect with professors and the school in meaningful ways, provide students with the best opportunity to succeed.

Jankel presents six ways in which engagement happens.

We also talk about the importance of engagement as students create a group of questions to ask as they attempt to create a list of colleges to which they will apply.

In all, this episode cites 13 different research articles and books written on this subject.

Links to resources mentioned on this episode:

ChallengeSuccess White Paper: A “FIT” OVER RANKINGS: Why College Engagement Matters More Than Selectivity

Challenge Success – A non-profit affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education. We provide schools and families with proven strategies that promote well-being and engagement with learning in order to transform the student experience into one where all kids can create their own paths to success.

Mayhew, M. J., Rockenbach, A. N., Bowman, N. A., Seifert, T. A. D., Wolniak, G. C., Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2016). How College Affects Students: 21st Century Evidence that Higher Education Works (1 edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Astin, A. W. (1997). What Matters in College?: Four Critical Years Revisited. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Bruni, F. (2016). Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1991). How college affects students: findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol. 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Berger, J. B. (2002). The influence of the organizational structures of colleges and universities on college student learning. Peabody Journal of Education, 77(3), 40–59.

Rocconi, L. M. (2011). The impact of learning communities on first year students’ growth and development in college. Research in Higher Education, 52(2), 178–193.

Pike, G. R., Smart, J. C., & Ethington, C. A. (2012). The mediating effects of student engagement on the relationships between academic disciplines and learning outcomes: An extension of Holland’s theory. Research in Higher Education, 53(5), 550–575.

Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2011). Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Johnson, M., & Kuennen, E. (2004). Delaying developmental mathematics: The characteristics and costs. Journal of Developmental Education, 28(2), 24.

Stump, G. S., Hilpert, J. C., Husman, J., Chung, W., & Kim, W. (2011). Collaborative learning in engineering students: Gender and achievement. Journal of Engineering Education, 100(3), 475–497.

Trowler, P., & Trowler, V. (2010). Student engagement evidence summary. The Higher Education Academy.

Gallup Inc. (2014). Gallup-Purdue Index Report 2014.

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