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ERIC Number: ED332744
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1991
Pages: 109
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Description and Survey of a Cohort of Community College Students with Explanations of their Perceived Satisfaction, Goal Attainment, and Personal Growth. Final Report to the Ford Foundation.
Starrfield, Susan
A study was conducted in 1989 at South Mountain Community College (SMCC) to identify first-time college students who had earned 12 semester hours of transferable credits at SMCC since 1984 and to identify the students within this group who actually transferred. Once these students were identified, they were described in terms of age, ethnicity, sex, grade point average (GPA), entry status, marital status, high school graduation status, goal upon SMCC entrance, number of Maricopa Community College District colleges attended, credits earned at SMCC, developmental credits earned at SMCC, and college-level credits earned. In addition, their progress was tracked through their enrollment history at SMCC and in the district, transfer information provided by state colleges and universities, and telephone interviews focusing on student satisfaction with services and programs and their educational and occupational activities and goals. From the 628 new incoming students who entered SMCC in fall 1984, 92 were identified as having completed more than 12 credit hours at SMCC in college-level courses. Of this group, 12 were identified as transfer students by the universities (7 Arizona institutions), and 32 agreed to participate in the telephone survey. Selected findings included the following: (1) before attending SMCC, 46.9% of students had primarily been working and 31.3% had primarily been attending high school; and 78.1% were working full-time at the time of the survey; (2) 31.3% indicated that it was very likely or somewhat likely that they would transfer to a four-year institution within the next five years, while 40.6% indicated that it was at least somewhat likely that they would earn a four-year degree over the same time period; and (3) students tended to be satisfied or dissatisfied in equal proportions with their goal achievement at SMCC, with goal strength and GPA the best predictors of perceived goal achievement. A series of recommendations and a literature review are included. (JMC)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Ford Foundation, New York, NY.
Authoring Institution: South Mountain Community Coll., Phoenix, AZ.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A