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

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.

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. -- 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


Awards
Nominated for Frederic W. Ness Book Award 2016 and Pierre Bourdieu Award 2015 and ASA Distinguished Scholarly Book Award 2016.



Book Information
ISBN 9780674979802
Author Daniel F. Chambliss
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Harvard University Press
Publisher Harvard University Press