The Millennial Generation Comes to Health Professions Program

We begin by framing the discussion of today’s generation of college students today in the context of the popular literature on generational differences. We next characterize young adults today based on the literature on college student development and summarize research on characteristics of college students today as they support or refute popular characterizations of the Millennial Generation. We conclude with a set of implications for today’s generation of students in Health Professions Education.

Date and Time

Tuesday, May 20, 9:45-11:15 a.m.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Identify student behaviors characteristic of the Millennial Generation.
2. Distinguish between developmental and generational characteristics.
3. Change selected instructional procedures based on literature on college students today.

Presenter

Darwin D. Hendel, Ph.D.

Dr. Hendel is an Associate Professor of Higher Education, and Chair, Department of Educational Policy and Administration, College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota.  He is also affiliated with the Postsecondary Education Research Institute (PERI), created in 1999 to raise public awareness of critical policy issues in postsecondary education, conduct research on college students and institutional retention practices, critique existing and proposed policies, and facilitate discussions about policy development through its research and dissemination activities.

He has worked in the fields of institutional research and academic administration in several settings at the University of Minnesota.  After moving into the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, he coordinated academic program approval processes, led the institution’s accreditation self-studies in 1986 and again in 1996, and facilitated the development of institutional level performance measures and institutional strategic planning efforts. The two courses he most frequently teaches are “Higher Education in the U.S.” and “College Students Today.”

He has a B.A. in mathematics and psychology from St. John’s University (1967), and
a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota (1972).  His research interests are as follows: institutional research, planning and performance; student performance, retention and satisfaction; and evaluation of teaching and measurement of learning