The course presents an opportunity to read the book, gain an understanding of college life, and further expand knowledge of student affairs practice through course discussion and interaction. Reading the cases can assist resident life staff, faculty, administrators, parents, and others working with students the means to understand the experience of college students. The book also gives voice to college occupants not fully represented in the higher education literature.

Course Outline:
Each week of the course will entail a reading and discussion of a chapter in the book. The first week will discuss the methodology (constructivist inquiry) used to generate the case studies. Subsequent weeks will involve a reading and discussion of the individual cases. The chapters will define the course topic (e.g., alcohol related death of a residence hall student, student suicide, acquaintance rape, adult child of an alcoholic, tri-racial identity, and class issues in the academy) for that week.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, the participants will have

• Expanded their understanding of college life,
• Increased their knowledge of critical issues on college campuses,
• Shared ideas for practice, intervention, and programs to be used by student affairs educators,
• Considered ideas for training professional and para-professional staff on critical campus issues,
• Interacted with other campus participants to share knowledge, insights, and perspectives, and
• Gained a vicarious experience of issues facing college students.

Participant Expectations:
Students will be expected to read the chapters, prepare questions and discussion topics for the instructor and other course participants, and respond to the discussion questions provided on the discussion board. Participants can significantly add to the knowledge of course participants by offering insights (e.g., ideas for practice, suggestions for interventions) through the discussion board.

The optimum course experience can be gained by being an active, regular participant in the discussion. This commitment will entail a minimum of five hours a week on course activities including reading, discussion preparation and participation. All discussion will be asynchronous.

Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful completion of the course.

Instructor Bio:
Kathleen Manning,, an Associate Professor, has taught at the University of Vermont since 1989 in the Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) graduate program. Since 1997, she has been the coordinator of the HESA program. In 1992, she received the Kroepsch-Maurice Award for Teaching Excellence, a University-wide teaching award. During the 2002-2003 academic year, she will undertake a Fulbright Fellowship at Beijing Normal University in China. Dr. Manning conducts research and writes in the areas of organizational theory, qualitative research methodology and cultural pluralism. Published books include Rituals, Ceremonies and Cultural Meaning in Higher Education (2000), Giving Voice to Critical Campus Issues: Qualitative research in student affairs (2000), and Enhancing the Multicultural Campus Environment (1992, co-authored with Frances K. Stage). She currently has book contracts with Jossey-Bass to publish Emerging Competencies in Student Affairs (co-authored with Patrick Love and Sandra Estanek) and Brunner-Routlege to publish Diverse Research Approaches and Methods Applied to the College Environment (co-edited with Frances K. Stage). Dr. Manning has a Ph.D. in higher education with a minor in anthropology from Indiana University; a M.S. and Ed.S. in counseling and student personnel services from the State University of New York at Albany; and a B.A. in biology from Marist College.