Who has access to higher education today? At what financial and personal cost? Based on what conditions and criteria? How do students describe and interpret their experiences? And how can institutions facilitate and constrain successful participation and completion?

These research studies extend current understandings of what it is to be a student in higher education by embracing the dynamic relationship between students as agents and institutions as living structures which impact on their lives. Focusing on the diverse experiences of today’s non-traditional and traditional students, researchers explore how and why institutional rhetoric of inclusion, engagement, gender, and access may or may not be reflected in the reality of students’ experiences. Student Affairs moves from theory to application by suggesting realistic strategies for addressing the challenges surrounding the interrelation of students and institutions.

Each essay analyzes issues of access and participation in programs ranging from community college developmental studies to graduate studies. As a whole, this collection is a testament to how much institutional change has occurred in the social organization of postsecondary education, and how much more change is required to meet the challenge of equitable access and inclusion.

Students and scholars of higher education, educational policymakers, and current secondary and undergraduate students and their parents will find this book essential reading. The results, implications, and recommendations offered in each chapter will be readily transferable throughout North America and beyond.