AN ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF A STUDENT SERVICES COUNSELING PROGRAM ON NON-TRADITIONAL STUDENTS
Abstract
By the year 1990 the student body of American colleges and universities will be composed of approximately 50 percent non-traditional age students. The impact of adult students upon higher education in the coming decades will be substantial and the subsequent implications for the student services personnel are multifaceted. This study investigated the effects of a specialized counseling program on grade point average, retention rate, and college satisfaction level of non-traditional students. A pretest-posttest control group experimental design was employed. Seventy-two non-traditional students at a two-year, private liberal-arts college were randomly assigned either to the experimental or control group. Specialized counseling services were given to members of the experimental group. Career counseling was based on the results of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory and the School College Ability Tests (SCAT). Counseling and advisement were given on curriculum planning based upon the chosen area of study and SCAT scores. A financial aids program detailing sources of aid and application procedures was also a part of the program. Student ability was viewed as a possibly confounding variable. Analyses have indicated that ability as measured by the SCAT is significantly correlated with grade point average (r = .32 to .58). A 2 x 2 Chi-square analysis indicated a significant difference between the retention rates of students in the experimental group and students in the control group (Chi-square = 1.86). Four separate measures of student satisfaction were used in the ANCOVA procedures to test satisfaction levels, three of which indicated no significant differences. However, the Student Opinion Survey subscale indicating the students' use and evaluation of the college services suggested that students in the experimental group rated the college services significantly higher than students in the control group.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Adult education|Continuing education
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