More students are demanding that their college experiences address the core questions of meaning and purpose. "Helping College Students Find Purpose "provides a theory-to-practice model of meaning-making. Through a how-to approach, this resource presents a series of concrete steps for applying the theory and practice of meaning-making to teaching, leading, administering, and advising. This guidebook provides the background knowledge and tools necessary to create a meaningful community by encouraging faculty and administrators to act as mentors to students.

College life is considered as a meaningful journey. Students acquire a fundamental understanding of their new opportunities, working with many good role models. Thematically organized, this book, Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges of College Students, brings various perspectives by focusing on the importance of psychological contextaexamining how colleges, universities and their social environments, and ways in which college students become who they are, how they grow, and how they reach the full potential. The authors integrate empirical research throughout the book to present a meaningful story of both psychological and educational research and its applications to college students' daily lives. Teaching pedagogy, student-centered learning, and lives in context enrich our insights and bring exploration of the ways in which college means us as a part of the lifespan. Both of our authors' professional and personal experiences enable us to provide realistic examples of how to apply necessary skills we describe in the book. It will also yield pertinent information about the college experience, and review the issues that apply to a campus setting. It is our attempt to help remedy the problem of why college students have difficult times as a major concern, although college faculty and staff do their very best to keep schools and classrooms safe, organized, positive, and productive. We hope this book will provide necessary tools for many current and future college faculty and staff and that those individuals who desire to belong our academic life.

Despite the many strides that have been made in diversity, equity, and inclusion, many educational systems across the world continue to struggle with equality in education for all students regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status. This struggle within education inevitably negatively impacts society, as only select groups are given the opportunity to excel. It is essential for school systems to be proactive when dealing with student learning outcomes and student retention for all student populations. Using Self-Efficacy for Improving Retention and Success of Diverse Student Populations discusses the best practices in supporting students during their educational journey and examines the current efforts to improve student retention. Covering topics such as computing education, academic counseling, and student success prediction, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for faculty and administrators of both K-12 and higher education, pre-service teachers, teacher educators, school counselors, sociologists, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Two young women, dormitory mates, embark on their education at a big state university. Five years later, one is earning a good salary at a prestigious accounting firm. With no loans to repay, she lives in a fashionable apartment with her fiance. The other woman, saddled with burdensome debt and a low GPA, is still struggling to finish her degree in tourism. In an era of skyrocketing tuition and mounting concern over whether college is "worth it," Paying for the Party is an indispensable contribution to the dialogue assessing the state of American higher education. A powerful expose of unmet obligations and misplaced priorities, it explains in vivid detail why so many leave college with so little to show for it. Drawing on findings from a five-year interview study, Elizabeth Armstrong and Laura Hamilton bring us to the campus of "MU," a flagship Midwestern public university, where we follow a group of women drawn into a culture of status seeking and sororities. Mapping different pathways available to MU students, the authors demonstrate that the most well-resourced and seductive route is a "party pathway" anchored in the Greek system and facilitated by the administration. This pathway exerts influence over the academic and social experiences of all students, and while it benefits the affluent and well-connected, Armstrong and Hamilton make clear how it seriously disadvantages the majority. Eye-opening and provocative, Paying for the Party reveals how outcomes can differ so dramatically for those whom universities enroll.