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...factors students attending Guilford Technical Community College well as two other factors related to student success: study patterns and student involvement. The study compares these factors across three different groups of students: current students, graduates, and students who had recently left the institution prior to completion.
Introduction
Community colleges are facing increased pressure to educate students who come to them academically unprepared. The educational literature suggests that certain demographic characteristics, study patterns and campus involvement factors are more likely to put students at risk of not attaining a degree or program completion (Bonham & Luckie, 1993; Mohammadi, 1994; Price, 1993; Windham, 1994). The GTCC Foundation funded this study at Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in order better to understand the factors related to student persistence and success.
The first section of the paper briefly compares demographic risk factors at community colleges and four-year colleges using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. This section also examines three GTCC cohorts with respect to demographic risk factors with emphasis on how the cohorts differ from each other on each demographic risk factor. The second part analyzes the three cohorts with respect to study patterns at GTCC. The third part evaluates campus involvement outside class at GTCC for the three cohorts. Finally, repercussions of demographic risk factors, study patterns, and campus involvement are analyzed and recommendations made, including suggestions for further research on student persistence.
The study attempted to compare three different GTCC student cohorts across the areas of demographic risk factors, study patterns, and campus involvement. We were particularly concerned with the following questions: What are the major demographic risk factors that differentiate the three cohorts? How is persistence at the community college related to study patterns among the three cohorts? To what degree is campus involvement important in persistence at GTCC?
The composition of the community college student body is unique compared to other institutions of higher education. To serve the diverse community college student population, one must understand student needs when developing policies, programs, and services. This study of GTCC students was carried out in order to promote better planning for student services and curriculum. The study was designed to examine three cohorts of GTCC students. The first group was composed of students who attended GTCC for a minimum of one semester but did not return to, or graduate from, GTCC during fall 2001. The second group is a representative sample of current curriculum students who were selected to complete the Faces of the Future survey during fall 2001. The final sample included students who attained a degree or completed a program during the 2001/2002 academic year.
Methodology
Design and Survey Administration
Three surveys currently administered by the GTCC Office of Institutional Research and Planning or the GTCC Educational Support Services staff were used in collecting data for this study. Demographic risk factor data were obtained from the college database for the respondents to the three surveys. In order to understand additional factors influencing student success, questions were included in the three surveys to gauge participation in activities outside class at GTCC as well as student study patterns. These additional questions were adapted from a study by Rau and Durand (2000). By asking the same questions of the three different populations, it was possible to make comparisons among them.
The 2001 Non-Returning Student Survey was primarily based on a survey design required by the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) Office to assess student satisfaction ratings as well as other information on students who did not return from the previous year. The staff of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning administered the 2001 Non-Returning Student Survey by mail in October 2001. Of the 2,665 students enrolled in fall 2000 who did not return for fall 2001, 201 had moved, making the survey undeliverable. A total of 2,464 surveys were delivered, to which 367 students responded. This provided a response rate of 14.9%, which is considered sufficient, based on the NCCCS requirement of a 10% response rate for the survey to be considered statistically valid. Because of the involvement with the grant project, funds were provided for incentives to return the survey. Those who returned the survey were...
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