Student satisfaction with the environments of five commuter colleges was studied at an eastern university. A reliable instrument was developed to profile 2,392 students' perceptions of 30 aspects of the college environment. To determine how student characteristics relate to their evaluations of the college environment, eight regression analyses were performed. Results indicated negative student perceptions of child-care facilities, parking, food, public transportation, a student center, and student activities. Regressing 15 student characteristics upon the environmental index scores showed the following: all students evaluated "pure" academic programs more highly than "applied" programs; nontraditional learners rated faculty and advising more highly than did traditional learners; blacks perceived academic support programs more positively than did non-blacks; and women saw the college culture more negatively than did men. For each of 124 questions, the correlation of the question with the scale score is presented, and results of the eight regression analyses are provided. It is concluded that the study provides a new instrument, a methodology, and empirical findings that promote understanding of the problem of matching college programs to commuter student needs. (Author/SW)