Examining the Impact of Minority Student Participation in Culturally Based Clubs and Organizations at Community Colleges

Abstract

While there has been an increase of minority students looking to obtain degrees or certification in higher education, there has been a continued performance gap among minority students who attend community colleges. According to Chen (2018), minority students are overrepresented in terms of enrollment at community colleges but underrepresented among completers. The needs of underrepresented students are unique and community colleges are revitalizing various resources to restructure and redesign their student programs. This research examined the relationship between minority student involvement in culturally based clubs and organizations and their perception of marginality and mattering at their institutions. Data were collected using the College Student Experience Questionnaire (Gonyea, Kish, Kuh, Muthiah, & Thomas, 2003). The results of this study found that there was a significant, positive, moderate relationship between minority students’ involvement in clubs and organizations and their experiences with cultural diversity. There was no significant relationship between age, gender, generational status, and minority community college students’ interactions with peers and faculty members from diverse backgrounds.