College impact, student impact: A reconsideration of the role of students within American higher education

Abstract

American college students tend to be viewed in terms of inputs and outcomes, due in part to the assessment movement and long-standing interest in college impact. A more complete view is one in which the relationship between students and the college environment is both reciprocal and dynamic. This ecological perspective portrays students as actively shaping their educational environments, with these environments simultaneously providing the potential for transforming the individual. Data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) are used to explore the ecological perspective.