Books by Richard J. Light

How campus communities of every kind can transform themselves from good to greatBecoming Great Universities highlights ten core challenges that all colleges and universities face and offers practical steps that everyone on campus-from presidents to first-year undergraduates-can take to enhance student life and learning.This incisive book, written in a friendly and engaging style, draws on conversations with presidents, deans, and staff at hundreds of campuses across the country as well as scores of in-depth interviews with students and faculty. Providing suggestions that all members of a campus community can implement, Richard Light and Allison Jegla cover topics such as how to build a culture of innovation on campus, how to improve learning outcomes through experimentation, how to help students from under-resourced high schools succeed in college, and how to attract students from rural areas who may not be considering colleges far from their communities. They offer concrete ways to facilitate constructive interactions among students from different backgrounds, create opportunities for lifelong learning and engagement, and inspire students to think globally. And most of the ideas presented in this book can be implemented at little to no cost.Featuring a wealth of evidence-based examples, Becoming Great Universities offers actionable suggestions for everyone to have a positive impact on college life regardless of whether their campus is urban or rural, private or public, large or small, wealthy or not.

Do students who work longer and harder learn more in college? Does joining a fraternity with a more academic flavor enhance a student's academic performance? These are just some more than fifty examples that Richard Light, Judith Singer, and John Willett explore in this lively, nontechnical sourcebook for learning about colleges and universities.

How can a scientist or policy analyst summarize and evaluate what is already known about a particular topic? This book offers practical guidance.

What choices can students in America make and what can teachers and university leaders do to improve more students' experiences and help them make the most of their time and monetary investment? Light and his colleagues explore these and other questions in ten years of interviews with 1,600 Harvard students.