How College Works

by Daniel F. Chambliss, Christopher G. Takacs

Overview

A Chronicle of Higher Education “Top 10 Books on Teaching” Selection
Winner of the Virginia and Warren Stone Prize

Constrained by shrinking budgets, can colleges do more to improve the quality of education? And can students get more out of college without paying higher tuition? Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs conclude that the limited resources of colleges and students need not diminish the undergraduate experience. How College Works reveals the surprisingly decisive role that personal relationships play in determining a student's collegiate success, and puts forward a set of small, inexpensive interventions that yield substantial improvements in educational outcomes.

“The book shares the narrative of the student experience, what happens to students as they move through their educations, all the way from arrival to graduation. This is an important distinction. [Chambliss and Takacs] do not try to measure what students have learned, but what it is like to live through college, and what those experiences mean both during the time at school, as well as going forward.”
—John Warner, Inside Higher Ed

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674979802
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	02/19/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Daniel F. Chambliss is Eugene M. Tobin Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Hamilton College.

Christopher G. Takacs is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

1 The Search for a Solution 1

2 Entering 17

3 Choosing 40

4 The Arithmetic of Engagement 67

5 Belonging 78

6 Learning 104

7 Finishing 134

8 Lessons Learned 154

Appendix: Methods 177

Notes 183

Acknowledgments 201

Index 205

Editorial Reviews

The book shares the narrative of the student experience, what happens to students as they move through their educations, all the way from arrival to graduation. This is an important distinction. [Chambliss and Takacs] do not try to measure what students have learned, but what it is like to live through college, and what those experiences mean both during the time at school, as well as going forward.

Inside Higher Ed - John Warner

How College Works is a wonderful book—both rigorous and a pleasure to read. A core insight shines through—the reminder that even with the proliferation of technology, human interactions remain central to most students’ college experience.

Richard Light

There is a lot to like about How College Works.

Change - Mary Taylor Huber

The book shares the narrative of the student experience, what happens to students as they move through their educations, all the way from arrival to graduation. This is an important distinction. [Chambliss and Takacs] do not try to measure what students have learned, but what it is like to live through college, and what those experiences mean both during the time at school, as well as going forward.
— John Warner Inside Higher Ed

There is a lot to like about How College Works.
— Mary Taylor Huber Change

How College Works is a wonderful book—both rigorous and a pleasure to read. A core insight shines through—the reminder that even with the proliferation of technology, human interactions remain central to most students’ college experience.
— Richard Light, author of Making the Most of College

From the Publisher