Student Academic Services: An Integrated Approach (review)

Education policy makers have grown increasingly concerned that too many high school graduates are minimally qualified for postsecondary education. Low college graduation rates show that higher education is doing little to redress this readiness problem (Choy, 2002). Linked to these concerns is a growing emphasis on assessing student learning outcomes and applying best practices to create conditions for success. The proliferation of educationally effective practices—including first-year experience programs, learning communities, and supplemental instruction on campus—suggest that institutions have increased efforts to enhance student success. However, despite the growth of such programs, more can be done to improve the quality of these initiatives. Student Academic Services: An Integrated Approach offers a comprehensive presentation of the critical information that institutions need to develop academic programs that foster student success. The book also emphasizes the centrality of student academic services to the mission of higher education.

Gary Kramer and his associates bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the topic of student academic services. Among the thirty-five contributors are long-time practitioners and originators of these programs while others are scholars of student learning and development in higher education.

The book is organized into three parts and 20 chapters. The three chapters in Part 1, "Taking a Strategic Approach to Student Development," set the context by defining student academic services, discussing their history and evolution, and presenting an overview of current practices. Particularly important is Chapter 2, which explicates the importance of adopting a student-centered approach, treating students holistically, and creating a learning-centered organizational culture. These perspectives serve as the main themes for all subsequent chapters. Chapter 3 introduces the integrated approach advocated in the book's subtitle through an illustration of the interrelationship of student academic services for the purpose of enhancing institutional retention efforts.

Although Chapters 4-12 in Part 2 diverge from the presentation of an integrated approach by offering separate treatments on the contributions of functional units, including enrollment management, orientation, and career planning, most chapters emphasize the delivery of interconnected services and effectively use case studies and institutional examples to further illustrate this approach.

Part 3 returns to the important theme of integration by discussing how service units can collaborate to promote student success. The chapters in this final section address such important challenges as increased heterogeneity in the student body, responding to the diverse needs of students, and integrating technology into service delivery. They also present broad models for developing student-centric organizations. The concluding chapter offers recommendations for leadership and making a qualitative difference in student academic services in the future.

Out of the full spectrum of issues related to an integrated approach, the chapter on assessing students' readiness for learning is particularly important for institutions to fully understand. Texas's and Minnesota's state college and university systems, as examples, have responded to concerns about student success by assessing the reading, writing, and mathematics skills of entering students, establishing minimum standards for access to college-level courses, and creating developmental education courses and support structures to enhance students' academic skills. An increase in college graduation rates depends on addressing the needs of students who are underprepared for college-level work. However, developmental education is not just a concern for less selective colleges and universities. Even selective institutions have recognized the importance of enriching the learning environment for all students.

A second important theme throughout describes the need to examine organizational culture. Academic support services that continue to act as isolated units, that function within a bureaucratic culture resistant to cooperation, or that are reluctant to change must assess how these features fail to respond to student needs. Finally, the learning organization model outlined in several chapters offers a helpful framework for understanding the elements of an integrated approach to academic services.

The main theme of this book, reinforced in...