Shouping Hu

The Effects of Student-Faculty Interaction In the 1990s

This study examined the effects of student-faculty interaction on student satisfaction and on a range of self-reported learning and personal development gains associated with attending college of 5,409 full-time undergraduates from 126 four-year colleges and universities. Findings show that the frequency of student-faculty interaction increased from first year through the senior year. Although its net effects were trivial, such interactions had substantial positive effects on studentsÕ efforts in other educationally purposeful activities, which had non-trivial effects on their estimated gains and satisfaction.

Being (Dis)Engaged in Educationally Purposeful Activities: The Influences of Student and Institutional Characteristics.

The self-reported experiences of 50,883 undergraduates at 123 institutions were analyzed using a multinomial hierarchical model to identify individual and institutional characteristics associated with varying levels of student engagement in educationally purposeful activities. Parental education and student academic preparation were positively associated with higher levels of engagement. White students were generally less engaged than students from other racial and ethnic groups whereas men were more likely to be either disengaged or highly engaged compared with women. Students at public institutions and research universities were less engaged than their counterparts at private colleges and other institutional types. Individual student perceptions of certain aspects of the institutional environment affected engagement in complicated ways.

Diversity Experiences and College Student Learning and Personal Development

Using responses to The College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) from 53,756 undergraduates at 124 American four-year colleges and universities, this study examines the effects of interactional diversity experiences on a range of desirable outcomes for White students and students of color in different types of higher education institutions. Though White students had less contact with students from different backgrounds, such experiences positively affected the self-reported gains for both Whites and students of color at all types of colleges. These effects differed in magnitude, however, for White students and students of color, depending on the respective outcome measure and institutional type.

Student Persistence in a Public Higher Education System: Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences The past two decades witnessed some fundamental changes in American postsecondary educational finance (McPherson & Schapiro, 1991, 1998; Orfield, 1992; St. John, 1994; Slaughter & Leslie, 1997). The federal government shifted the means of fulfilling the commitment to equal opportunity in postsecondary education from primarily using grants to mainly using loans (St. John, 1994). State support for public colleges and universities decreased as an overall trend across the United States (Callan & Finney, 1997). This policy shift at the state level was alleged to lead to the sustained increase in the tuition charges in public institutions (Paulsen, 1991). At the institutional level, concerns about student enrollment have triggered the bidding war in recruiting and retaining academically well-prepared students. Thus, tuition pricing and the awarding of financial aid increasingly play the role as institutional levers in enrollment management (McPherson & Schapiro, 1998). As a result of these policies, the burden of paying for college was shifted from the general public to individual students and their families (Callan & Finney, 1997; Mumper, 1996). Educational attainment for minority and low-income students is a particularly important issue in the new financing environment (Baker & Velez, 1996; Carter & Wilson, 1996; Orfield, 1992). On the one hand, numerous studies suggest that minority students are competitively disadvantaged in access to higher education, choice of colleges, and degree completion in American post-secondary education (Baker & Velez, 1996; Carter, 1999; Carter & Wilson, 1996; Castle, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). On the other hand, economists consistently confirm the high earning premium of college degree recipients in the labor market compared to nonrecipients (Becker, 1992; Murphy & Welch, 1992; Leslie & Brinkman, 1988). If the policy changes have disproportionally negative effects on educational attainment of minority students, then the economic a nd social well-being of minority students and society as a whole will inevitably be imperiled. Previous studies confirmed that students indeed respond to college tuition prices and financial aid awards (Heller, 1997, 1999; Leslie & Brinkman, 1988). Research also indicates that minority students are more sensitive to prices and less willing to use educational loans (Kaltenbaugh, St. John, & Starkey, 1999; St. John, 1991; St. John & Noell, 1989). Further understanding of the influence of financial aid awards on persistence by diverse groups can help inform policymakers and institutional administrators about strategies that can equalize opportunity and improve institutional diversity. This study assesses the impact of policy shifts in financial aid in a state higher education system on within-year persistence by different racial/ethnic groups. There are strong theoretical arguments that ability to afford continuous enrollment is best measured within year (Carroll, 1987; Dresch, 1975). Traditional college-age students often reflect on the academic and social aspects of their college experience between years, when they return home, which is a good reason why some researchers consider year-to-year persistence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980, 1991). However, analysts who have compared within-year and year-to-year persistence models have found that the within-year is generally better at measuring the effects of student aid (Somers, 1992; Somers & St. John, 1997), but both approaches have value. This article examines student within-year persistence in a state public higher education system. We focus on persistence of African Americans and Hispanics, and use White students as a comparison group. S pecifically, we try to answer these research questions: (1) Did changes in the combination of federal and state aid programs affect the adequacy of financial aid awarded to students from diverse groups in persisting in the state higher education system? …

The Influence of Student Engagment and Sport Participation on College Outcomes Among Division I Student Athletes

This study examined factors related to student athletes’ engagement in educationally purposeful activities and the impact of their experiences on cognitive and affective outcomes. We found that background characteristics have little influence on the extent to which student athletes engage in educational activities; however, engagement had positive effects on college outcomes.

Maximizing What Students Get Out of College: Testing a Learning Productivity Model

This study tests a learning productivity model for undergraduates at four-year colleges and universities using hierarchical linear modeling. Data were from 44,238 full-time enrolled undergraduates from 120 four-year colleges and universities who completed the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) between 1990 and 1997. Perceptions of the campus environment influenced student learning productivity by affecting institution-level student effort, learning efficiency, and student gains. Student affairs professionals and other educators can promote higher levels of student learning by helping to create environments that enhance learning efficiency and engage students in educationally purposeful activities.

State Policy and the Affordability of Public Higher Education: The Influence of State Grants on Persistence in Indiana

The coordination of state finance strategies has been widely advocated as a means of maintaining affordability in public colleges and universities. This article examines the influence of state grants on equalizing opportunity for persistence among full-time resident students in Indianas public system of higher education. The findings indicate that the state has maintained a commitment to a balanced approach to higher education finance, with increases in state grants that corresponded with tuition increases in the middle 1990s. This investment has been sufficient to equalize opportunity to persist.

Aptitude Vs. Merit: What Matters in Persistence

Edward P. St. John is Professor and Program Chair in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program, Indiana University at Bloomington, and is Director of the Indiana Education Policy Center. His research focuses on equity and related policy issues in both K-12 and higher education. His current books include Reinterpreting Urban School Reform: A CriticalEmpirical Review (coedited with Louis Miron for SUNY Press) and Refinancing the College Dream: Affordability in the New Higher Education Market (coauthored with Eric Asker for Johns Hopkins University Press). Ada Simmons is the Associate Director of the Indiana Education Policy Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program at Indiana University. Her research focuses on student persistence in higher education with emphasis on financial factors, student involvement, and study patAptitude Vs. Merit: What Matters in Persistence

College Student Engagement and Early Career Earnings: Differences by Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Academic Preparation

Using longitudinal data from the 2001 cohort of applicants to the Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) program, the authors examined scaled measures of academic and social engagement in relation to labor market earnings to test whether the economic value of student engagement among high-achieving students of color differs by student characteristics. Results confirm that academic and social engagement during college had differential effects on early career earnings. Findings suggest conditional effects of student engagement on labor market outcomes, providing evidence for individual and institutional decisions and theory building related to the lasting influence of student engagement in college.

Toward a Greater Understanding of the Effects of State Merit Aid Programs: Examining Existing Evidence and Exploring Future Research Direction

In this chapter, we examine the effects of state merit aid programs on student educational decisions and educational outcomes for the policy states. We argue for the need to broaden the perspectives to reflect the interests of students, states, and the country as a whole in order to gain a greater understanding of the effects of state merit aid programs in a context of increasing national need in enhancing student educational attainment and international competitiveness. We discuss some theoretical and methodological issues in studying the effects of state merit aid programs and suggest some future research directions.