Jennifer P. Hodges, Ph.D. Bucking the Trend: Balancing Work, Family, Commuting, and Academics.

Jennifer P. Hodges, Ph.D.

Bucking the Trend:Balancing Work, Family,

Commuting, and Academics

• College transition for Commuter students

• Brief summary of findings from 2012• Focus on financial concerns, hours

worked per week, and family obligations

• Interventions and Outcomes at The University of Akron

Session Overview

• Commuter Students– Defined by Jacoby (1989, 2000) as all students who do

not live in institution-owned housing on campus– Research has most often treated Commuter Students as

a homogeneous group and compared Commuters to Residential students to explore the transition to college

• Transition Challenges for Commuter Students– Involvement with Peers (Krause, 2006)

• In-person vs. Online Interactions

– Needs emerging from “The Act of Commuting” (Jacoby & Garland, 2004)

• Transportation challenges and need for expanded office hours

– Students must “Start Over” each term (Roe Clark, 2006)– Issues specific to Non-Traditional Age Students

Transition to College for Commuters

• “Commuter” Student vs. “Off Campus” Student– Distance from campus (Kuh et al., 2001)– Living with family members vs. living with others (Roe

Clark, 2006)

• Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Age Commuters– How to categorize traditional age students with “adult”

experiences (e.g., military service, marriage, parenthood)

• First Semester GPA– Highly Successful– GPA of 3.0 or higher– Successful – GPA of 2.0 to 2.99– Unsuccessful– GPA less than 2.0

Categorizing Commuter Students

The Assessment ProjectPrior Work

Demographic Factors

Non-Cognitive Measures

Behavioral/ Environmental

Cognitive Measures

Predicting Retention

Admissions controls which students come to your institution.…

…But, these are within your influence

MAP-Works Data Set

2010-2011 Participants

• 79 4-Year Institutions submitting over 133,000 students• Of those, 14,847 (11%) commute to school

Fall 2011 Fall Transition Survey

• 76% response rate

Fall 2011 Fall Check-Up Survey

• 46% response rate

Individual Student Profile

• 68 institutions provided fall term GPA• 59 institutions provided fall-to-spring persistence data

Findings from the Previous Study• Most high performing commuters were high

performing HS students• Slightly more low performing commuters reported low

levels of communication skills• Slightly more higher performing commuters reported

high levels of analytical skills

Cognitive Measures

• First-Generation commuters were less likely to earn higher GPAs

• Female commuters were more likely to earn higher grades than male commuters

• Commuters with no financial aid (and needing it) were at higher risk for poor grades

Demographic Factors

• Commuters with stronger institutional commitment perform higher

• Commuters with higher levels of academic integration perform higher

• Commuters with higher levels of discipline & self-efficacy perform better

Non-Cognitive Measures

• Commuters failing to spend sufficient amount of time studying earn lower grades

• Commuters attending their first-choice are slightly more likely to earn good grades

• Commuters with financial concerns or family obligations are more likely to perform poorly

Behavioral, Environmental,

Attitudinal

The Assessment ProjectFocusing Attention

Financial Concerns

Over 1/3 of unsuccessful commuters reported

higher levels of financial concern

To what degree are you confident that you can pay for: • Next term's tuition and fees• Monthly living expenses• Social activities with your friends

But a sizeable portion of successful commuters also report financial concerns

Interference from Work

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

32%

28%

23%

12%

12%

12%

56%

59%

65%

High interference Moderate interferenceLow interference

If Working, Interference Due to Work Schedule Conflicts

Nearly 1/3 of unsuccessful commuters report strong interference from work

But, nearly 1/4 of successful students also have work

interference issues

Family Obligations

None; 81%One; 9%

Two; 6%

Three or more; 4%

Number of Dependents in Home

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

45%

36%

34%

14%

16%

18%

41%

47%

49%

High interference Moderate interferenceLow interference

Regardless of dependents, are family obligations interfering with coursework?

Over 1/3 of successful and nearly half unsuccessful

commuters are strongly impacted by

family obligations

1 out of 5 commuter students have dependents at home under their care

Successful vs. Not Successful

Why can some students overcome issues and be successful in school while others

can’t?

Who are these successful students and what makes them different?

The Assessment ProjectFinancial Concerns

Financial Concerns and Outcomes

Strong

Con-cern; 27%

Moderate Concern; 41%

Low Con-cern; 32%

Fall GPA <

2.0; 27%

Fall GPA >=

2.0 < 3.0; 30%

Fall GPA >= 3.0; 43%

Commuters Experiencing Financial Concerns

Fall Term GPA

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

63.3%

91.3%

95.9%

Persistence

Strong Concern

Financial Need Being Met

No significant differences in financial need being met betweensuccessful and unsuccessful students

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

12%

12%

9%

11%

14%

15%

17%

17%

47%

44%

Not receiving aidand need it

About 25% need met About 50% need met

About 75% need met All or nearly all need met

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills

Peer Connections

Social Integration

Academic Self-Efficacy

Satisfaction with Institution

Academic Integration

Self-Discipline

Institutional Commitment

Advanced Academic Behaviors

Time Management

Living Environment

Basic Academic Behaviors

No

n-C

og

nit

ive

4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50

Fall GPA >= 3.0 Fall GPA < 2.0

Better Transition to College…For every transition metric, successful students report higher levels

than unsuccessful students

Largest discrepancy

is in Behavioral / Environmen

t areas

Unsuccessful Students withStrong Financial Concern

Please specify other factors that interfere withattendance or completing your coursework:

The Assessment ProjectWorking for Pay

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

64%

94%

97%

Fall GPA <

2.0; 25%

Fall GPA >=

2.0 < 3.0; 32%

Fall GPA >=

3.0; 44%

Work Interference and Outcomes

Commuters Experiencing Work Interference

Fall Term GPA

Strong interference

Strong; 26%

Mod-erate; 12%

Low; 61%

Persistence

Number of Hours Worked

Successful students work slightly fewer hours than unsuccessful students

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

19%

20%

30%

35%

51%

45%

10 or fewer hours 11 to 20 hours More than 20 hours

Analytical Skills


Peer Connections

Social Integration




Self-Discipline



Time Management

Living Environment


No

n-C

og

nit

ive

4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50




Largest discrepancy


t areas

Unsuccessful Students withStrong Work Interference


The Assessment ProjectFamily Obligations

Fall GPA <

2.0; 24%Fall

GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0; 29%

Fall GPA

>= 3.0; 47%

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 2.0 < 3.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

67%

93%

97%

Family Obligations and Outcomes

Commuters Experiencing Interference from

Family Obligations

Fall Term GPA

PersistenceStrong; 37%

Moderate; 17%

Low; 46%

Strong interference

Number of Dependents in Home

Successful students are slightly less likely to

have dependents in the home under their care

Fall GPA < 2.0

Fall GPA >= 3.0

70%

75%

13%

12%

16%

14%

No dependents One dependentTwo or more dependents

Analytical Skills


Peer Connections

Social Integration




Self-Discipline



Time Management

Living Environment


No

n-C

og

nit

ive

4.00 4.50 5.00 5.50 6.00 6.50




Largest discrepancy


t areas

Unsuccessful Students withStrong Family Obligations


Common Traits of Unsuccessful Commuters

Family Obligations

Work Interference

Financial Concerns

34%

38%

35%

41%

39%

29%

25%

22%

23%

<= 2 hours 2 to 4 hours 4+ hours

A sizeable group of unsuccessful students with strong concerns/obligations

spend 4+ hours per day relaxing/socializing

Family Obligations

Work Interference

Financial Concerns

27%

32%

28%

35%

35%

26%

38%

33%

37%


Need Time Management Training?

In an average day, how many hours do you spend relaxing or socializing?

Unsuccessful Students

Successful Students

Family Obligations

Work Interference

Financial Concerns

29%

36%

33%

31%

32%

30%

39%

32%

38%


Understand Impact of Studying?

In an average week, how many hours do you spend studying/coursework?

Unsuccessful Students

Successful Students

Family Obligations

Work Interference

Financial Concerns

50%

51%

53%

29%

28%

25%

21%

21%

22%


Over ½ of unsuccessful students with strong concerns/obligations spend very little time studying

per week

Quick Summary of Results

Male, First-Generation,

Part-time student

Less prepared for college work

Spending more time relaxing and less time

studying

Dealing with multiple concerns (financial, work,

family)

Struggling with Behavioral /

Environmental issues

Compared to Successful Students,Unsuccessful Students are more likely to be…

Turning Data Into Action

• What strikes you about this data? What conclusions could you make from this data?

• What suggestions do you have about engaging commuter students in discussions about how to organize their time?

• What structural changes and passive resources (those that students have to seek out) could your campus provide to enhance commuter student success?

• What intentional interventions could your campus initiate to enhance commuter student success?

Jennifer P. Hodges, Ph.D. Bucking the Trend: Balancing Work, Family, Commuting, and Academics.

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Transcript of Jennifer P. Hodges, Ph.D. Bucking the Trend: Balancing Work, Family, Commuting, and Academics.