Senior Native And Community College Transfer Student Engagement At Maryland Public Four-Year Institutions

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare and examine the perceived levels of engagement of senior native and community college transfer students at Maryland public four-year institutions. Specifically, the researcher sought to determine if there was a difference in the perceived levels of engagement using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) as a tool and the survey's five benchmarks of effective educational practice as the guide. The independent variable had two levels: native and community college transfer students. The dependent variables were the five benchmarks of effective educational practice. They are: (1) Level of Academic Challenge, (2) Active and Collaborative Learning, (3) Student-Faculty Interaction, (4) Enriching Educational Experiences, and (5) Supportive Campus Environment. Kuh's (2003) theory of student engagement provided the theoretical framework for examining these variables. Data from the seven Maryland public four-year institutions that participated in the 2010 and 2011 administrations of the NSSE were analyzed for this study. Inferential statistics were used to address the research questions and test the hypotheses. An alpha level of .05 was set. Descriptive statistics were used to better understand the independent variables. The results of this study, analyzed using independent sample t-tests, revealed there is significant difference in engagement between senior native and community college transfer students. This study contributes to the limited body of literature that compares and examines the engagement of senior native and community college transfer students at public institutions. Recommendations for professional practice and further research are provided.