Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses Educational Foundations & Leadership & Dissertations Winter 2008 The Impact of Participation in a Virginia Community College Orientation Program Course on Student Engagement, Satisfaction, Academic achievement, and Retention Wendy L. Tighe Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/efl_etds Part of the Community College Education Administration Commons, Community College Leadership Commons, and the Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Recommended Citation Tighe, Wendy L. "The Impact of Participation in a Virginia Community College Orientation Program Course on Student Engagement, Satisfaction, Academic achievement, and Retention" (2008). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Dissertation, Educational Foundations & Leadership, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/f6j6-td67 https://digitalcommons.edu/efl_etds/198 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Educational Foundations & Leadership at ODU Digital Commons.
It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@odu. THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION IN A VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE ORIENTATION PROGRAM COURSE ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, SATISFACTION, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND RETENTION by Wendy L. May 1992, Christopher Newport University M.
August 1995, Old Dominion University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December 2008 Dennis Gregory (Director) Jaime Lester (Member) 11 ABSTRACT THE IMPACT OF PARTICIPATION IN A VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE ORIENTATION PROGRAM COURSE ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT, SATISFACTION, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, AND RETENTION Wendy L. Tighe Old Dominion University, 2008 Director: Dr. Dennis Gregory Participation in an orientation program course and several student engagement and satisfaction factors have been identified as positively related to desirable student outcomes. This study explored student engagement, satisfaction, academic achievement, and retention for students based on their enrollment in an orientation course at Tidewater Community College (TCC) in Virginia.
This study used a cross-sectional, static group comparison secondary data analysis approach to explore four research questions. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) data used for this study came from the TCC spring 2005 Community College Student Report (CCSR) this study determined whether or not participation in an orientation course at TCC significantly impacted student engagement, satisfaction, academic achievement, and retention, and supported or challenged previous empirical evidence on the subject, especially the four-year university and college research abundantly available. The data was factor analyzed and explored using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings yielded significant results in terms of student engagement, satisfaction, academic achievement, and retention at the community college level.
Orientation participants interacted more with faculty and used academic support iii services (peer or other tutoring, skill labs, financial aid advising) than students who did not participate in orientation. Students who participated in orientation were significantly more likely to use. Also, students who participated in orientation reported that the institution encouraged them to spend significant amounts of time studying, offered the support services needed for success at this college, encouraged contact with students from different economic, social, and racial or ethnic backgrounds to expand appreciation of their peers, the primary objectives of the course. On the measure for student satisfaction, students appear to get along better with their peers and faculty than they do with the administrative personnel and offices, regardless of participation in orientation.
This study contributed to the gap in the research literature on community college students, particularly concerning participation in orientation. Several recommendations are provided for future research and practice. iv © 2008, by Wendy L. Tighe, All Rights Reserved.
V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Opportunity and achievement are seldom endeavored or accomplished by a single individual alone. Completion of this major milestone in my life was only possible thorough the support and encouragement of my committee, professional and conscientious mentors, and understanding family and friends. First, I would like to acknowledge the professional guidance of my committee, each providing their exceptional expertise and assurance throughout the process. Thank you for investing your time and energy and for your genuine interest in this research.
Through each discussion, revision, and review, new insights were learned. Although tears were shed at times, they were always followed with laughter and moving forward. My professional and positive mentors and friends also made this dissertation possible. A special thank you to Carol, Patricia, Linnie, Sonya, Judy, Stephanie, Linda, Julian, and my cohort brothers and sisters and special friends of Bill's - "We're in this together!" Thank you for cheering me on when the going got tough and inspiring me through those though, but needed moments.
A special thank you to Tidewater Community College (TCC), especially Kurt Aasen, TCC's Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness, and Dr. Deborah DiCroce, TCC's President, for providing the CCSR and student data, to make this study possible. In conclusion, I want to acknowledge my special ones and family, especially my husband, John, and two children, Johnathan and Katherine. Thank you for your understanding, love, and support through this journey.
Mom and Dad, thank you for inspiring in me a love of life-long learning and a desire to continue vi my education and help others to do the same. You've always wanted me to get the most out of my educational experience. As usual, I learned a lot more about life and learning than represented in these pages throughout this journey. Perhaps, we all did through the process, and I believe that is what REAL learning and the dissertation process is all about.learning about life and applying what we've learned and gained to a new experience to get through it.
In many ways, my advisors, family, friends, mentors, doctors/nurses, and angels placed in my life by God, did for me what I couldn't do for myself during those moments of trial and tribulation. Although I receive the degree for this work, I believe this collaborative assistance and support, made it possible to complete my degree. Most sincerely - thank you to all who helped me - you know who you are, even if your name is not spelled out in the proceeding page or I neglected to thank you personally - your kind spirit, words of encouragement, and reminders to think positive thoughts kept me moving forward, even when I felt it was not fast enough - you reminded me that it was movement, in the right direction. Such acknowledgments come straight from my heart.
These are my words of encouragement to those who are reading this - we all need each other. When given the opportunity to help someone, we may really be serving as an angel for that person. After what I have learned through my own experience, I would not want to turn down such an opportunity if given the chance to serve as someone's angel. And I believe we can be virtuous in our work as Administrative Angels trusted in Leadership capacities to help our future students.
With God's help - ANYTHING is possible! Best wishes to all.© vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF T A B L E S x Chapter I. I N T R O D U C T I O N 1 BACKGROUND ON ORIENTATION PROGRAMS 4 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 7 DEFINITION OF TERMS 9 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 12 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 13 PARTICIPANTS, METHODOLOGY, AND DESIGN 13 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 15 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 16 RELATION TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP 20 CONCLUSIONS 20 II. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 22 ATTRITION AND RETENTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION 23 EVOLUTION OF ORIENTATION 24 THE CURRICULUM 28 IMPACT OF ORIENTATION COURSES AND SEMINARS ON STUDENTS 32 THEORETICAL FOUNDATION 35 CHALLENGE AND SUPPORT 36 INVOLVEMENT 37 SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC INTEGRATION 38 USING SECONDARY DATA 42 ORIENTATION COURSES AND STUDENT OUTCOMES 43 STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND SATISFACTION 45 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 53 RETENTION 62 STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES AND CHARACTERISTICS 63 PARTICIPATION IN ORIENTATION 65 PERSISTENCE/GRADUATION 73 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 75 III. R E S E A R C H M E T H O D S 79 COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT SURVEY OF ENGAGEMENT 81 viii Chapter III Cont.
Page RESEARCH DESIGN 85 SAMPLE AND POPULATION 86 ORIENTATION COURSE 87 INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT 89 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND DATA ANALYSIS 89 RESEARCH QUESTION 1 90 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 92 RESEARCH QUESTION 3 93 RESEARCH QUESTION 4 93 VALIDITY 94 LIMITATIONS 98 CONCLUSIONS 100 IV. R E S U L T S 101 DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE 101 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTION 1 105 STUDENT FACULTY INTERACTION 106 USE OF STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES 109 INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT 115 EXTRACURRICULAR INVOLVEMENT 118 ACADEMIC PREPARATION 120 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTION 2 122 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTION 3 127 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTION 4 129 SUMMARY 131 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 133 RECOMMENDATIONS 136 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 136 PRACTICE 140 DISCUSSION AND ADDITIONAL IMPLICATIONS 142 REFERENCES 148 APPENDIXES A. CATEGORIES AND ACTIVITIES OF A TYPICAL ORIENTATION PROGRAM 170 B.
ORIENTATION RESEARCH SUMMARY: COMPARING COURSE PARTICIPANTS AND NON-PARTICIPANTS 171 C. ORIENTATION RESEARCH SUMMARY: STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND STUDENT SATISFACTION WITH CAMPUS AND INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 172 IX D. COMMUNITY COLLEGE SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT: COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT REPORT 2005 173 E. CCSSE CONSTRUCT DEFINITIONS 181 F.
TCC DATA SHARING AGREEMENT 183 G. ODU DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS DEFENSE APPROVAL 184 VITA 185 x LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Single Items Measures 80 2. Demographic Comparison of Orientation Participants and Non-participant with TCC Overall Spring 2005 Population 102 3.
Properties of the Student Engagement Scale Measuring Student-Faculty Interaction 107 4. Comparison of Student-Faculty Engagement Overall Mean 108 5. T-Tests on Student Engagement Indicator: Student-Faculty Interaction 109 6. Properties of the Student Engagement Use of Support Services Scales 110 7.
Comparison of Use of Student Support Services Engagement Scale 1 Overall Mean Ill 8. Comparison of Use of Student Support Services Engagement Scale 2 Overall Mean 112 9. Comparison of Use of Student Support Services Engagement Scale 3 Overall Mean 113 10. T-Tests on Student Engagement Indicator Constructs for Use of Support Services 114 11.
Properties of the Student Engagement Scale for Institutional Support for Learners 116 12. Comparison of Institutional Support Engagement Overall Mean 117 13. T-Tests on Student Engagement: Institutional Support 118 14. Comparison of Extracurricular Activities Engagement Overall Mean 119 15.
T-Tests on Student Engagement in Extracurricular Activities 120 16. Comparison of Academic Preparation Engagement Overall Mean 120 17. T-Tests on Student Engagement in Academic Preparation Activities 121 18. Comparison of Student Satisfaction with Peers, Faculty, and Administrative Personnel Offices Overall Mean 123 19.
T-Tests on Student Satisfaction with Peers, Faculty, and Administrative Personnel and Offices 124 20. Comparison of Overall Satisfaction with the Institution Overall Mean 125 21. T-Tests on Students' Overall Satisfaction with Institution and Educational Experience 126 22. Comparison of Academic Achievement (CGPA) Overall Mean 128 23.
T-Tests on Student Overall CGPA 129 24. Student Retention Pearson Chi-Square Test 130 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Orientation is one of the most common intervention strategies used by institutions to promote retention and success of new college freshman (Brawer, 1996). Brawer (1996) found that intervening through orientation programming impacted student retention and success rates, regardless of race, sex, age, academic major, entrance examination scores, and employment status. This is especially important because Cohen and Brawer (2003) underscored the lack of control most community colleges have regarding student retention and persistence, stating that the varied reasons many students withdraw from college are often "beyond the college's control.
retention might be enhanced if actions were taken [early] to integrate the students with the college" (p. Cohen and Brawer (2003) elaborated on this element of control and noted that the ideal orientation program is a sustained and coordinated effort, fully supported by the entire campus community, based on sound concepts of student development and knowledge of how much college environments influence student[s], inclusive of many different resources and interventions, timed and ordered in an organized fashion, evaluated for its effectiveness and influence, and coordinated by a central department or chair (p.