The Effects of Completing a Capstone Course on Student Identity

Abstract

Students do not come to identify with a particular version of the college student role overnight. Instead, they must go through a multistage process, involving the learning of and identification with that role. This process occurs over time and can vary in terms of the different dimensions of meaning associated with the same version of college student. This article examines the effect of participating in a senior capstone course on undergraduates' identification with a particular university-promoted version of college student and discusses the implications of the findings for assessment and curricular development