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Benefits of Student Involvement

Involvement in a student organization is just one of many ways for UF students to get involved on campus. Research indicates that there are numerous benefits to involvement and reveals that students who are involved:

Furthermore, involvement offers students the opportunity to connect with peers and university faculty and staff members.

Involvement References

Astin, A.W. (1977). Four Critical Years. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Astin, A.W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 297-308

Astin, A.W. (1985). Achieving Educational Excellence. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Astin, A.W. (1993). What matters in college. Liberal Education, Fall Issue, 4-15. Baxter-Magolda, M.B. (1992.). Co-curricular influences on college students’ intellectual development. Journal of College Student Development, 33, 203-213

Cooper, D.L., Healy, M.A. and Simpson, J. (1994). Student development through involvement: Specific changes over time. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 98-102

Fenzel, L.M. and Hessler, S.P. (2001) Predictors of the Adjustment of First-Year Students to College: The role of early involvement and type of residence. Summary paper prepared for the Roundtable, The Freshman Year: Transitions and Adjustments, at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, April 14, 2001, Seattle, WA.

Flowers, L.A. (2004). Examining the effects of student involvement on African American college student development. Journal of College Student Development, 45(6), 633-654 Gellin, A. (2003). The effect of undergraduate student involvement on critical thinking: a meta-analysis of the literature 1991-2000. Journal of College Student Development, 44(6) 746-762

German, R.E. (n.d.) Co-Curricular Involvement Characteristics of Bowling Green State University Honors Students. Unpublished manuscript.

Hernandez, K., Hogan, S, Hathaway, C. and Lovell, C.D. (1999). Analysis of the literature on the impact of student involvement on student development and learning: More questions than answers? NASPA Journal, 36(3), 184-197

Hoffman, J.L. (2002) The impact of student cocurricular involvement on student success: Racial and religious differences. Journal of College Student Development, 43(5), 712-737.

Huang, Y. and Chang, S. (2004) Academic and cocurricular involvement: Their relationship and the best combinations for student growth. Journal of College Student Development, 45, 391-406.

Kuh, G.D., Schuh, J.H., Whitt, E.J. & Associates (1991). Involving colleges: Successful approaches to fostering student learning and development outside the classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lewis, M. (2003). Forget classrooms: How big is the atrium in the new student center? The Chronicle of Higher Education, 49, 44.

MacKay, K.A. and Kuh, G.D. (1994) A comparison of student effort and educational gains of Caucasian and African-American students at predominately white colleges and universities. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 217-223.

MacKinnon-Slaney, F. (1993). Theory to practice in co-curricular activities: A new model for student involvement. College Student Affairs Journal, 12(2), 35-40.

McCluskey-Titus, Phyllis. (2003). Assessing what students learn from involvement in campus activities. Campus Activities Programming, March, 49-52

Merriam-Webster Dictionary Retrieved October 12, 2005 from http://www.m-w.com.

Morgan, W. (2001). A journey through adult student involvement on campus. Journal of Student Affairs, 10, 287-293

Pascarella, E.T. and Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How College Affects Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pascarella, E.T., Terenzini, P.T., and Wolfe, L. (1986). Orientation to college and freshman persistence/withdrawal decisions. Journal of Higher Education, 57, 155-175

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