Description

The population o f college students is unique in the sense that many developmental transitions are occurring. Balk (2001) maintains that establishing independent lives, fonning intimate, long term relationships, and developing an identity tliat is stable and focused are all developmental transhions and challenges that college students encounter. An individual's personality is thought to play a large role in how he responds to different situations. Student's responsibili{y is the key to all development and learning. Research has demonstrated that college outcomes ai-e tied to the effort that students put into their work and the degree to which they ai'e involved with their studies and campus life. At the same time, irresponsible students diminish their collective academic life. Within an individual classroom, the behavior of even a few highly irresponsible students or, worse, a large number o f passive, disaffected students can drag a class down to its lowest common denominator. For an institution, the erosion o f an academic ethos can lead to a culture that is 4 stagnant, divisive, and anti-intellectual.