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Commuter students research

Table of ContentsAbstract.......................................................................................................................................................2

Acknowledgements.....................................................................................................................................2

The Problem................................................................................................................................................2

Literature Review........................................................................................................................................3

Procedures..................................................................................................................................................4

Results.........................................................................................................................................................5

Summary, Conclusions, And Implications..................................................................................................13

Table of Tables..........................................................................................................................................16

Table of figures..........................................................................................................................................16

References.................................................................................................................................................17

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact that commuting has on the academic

performance of Wentworth students. In addition, this report seeks to determine what measures

Wentworth had undertaken to address this issue, and what options they should continue to do so

in the future. Research for this paper involved interviewing Wentworth administrative officials

and distributing surveys to Wentworth commuter students.

Acknowledgements

Our group would like to thank Joan Giblin, Director of New Student Programs, and Jozef

Trezepacz, Assistant Director of First Year Experiences. Both of these officials provided us with

details regarding Wentworth’s First Year Experience seminar and the perceived gap between

commuter and residential GPA’s. We would also like to thank Alan Whittemore, Institutional

Researcher at Wentworth, for supplying our group with the average GPA’s for both residential

and commuter students. This data specifically dealt with the last three years, from Fall 2006 to

Spring 2009.

The Problem

In our first group meeting this semester, our group did some internet research on the

effects of commuting to school. Based on our literature review, it became clear that many experts

in the academic field believed that commuting had a negative impact on a student’s academic

performance. Based on this evidence, our group assumed that this pattern also applied to

Wentworth students, although we continued to do research to determine the accuracy of this

theory.

In working on this issue, our group focused the bulk of our efforts on two main questions:

- What measures had Wentworth undertaken to improve commuter students’ academic

performance?

- What programs could Wentworth implement or adjust to further improve the academic

performance of its commuter students?

In addition, throughout our research process, our group constantly tried to uncover hard data that

either proved or disproved the theory that commuting had a direct and negative impact on

Wentworth commuter students. After nearly two months, our group was finally able to obtain

this information from Mr. Whittemore.

Literature ReviewDuring the initial stages of our project, our group was able to find several articles and

studies that dealt with issues relating to our topic. In a report for the National Institute of

Education, Ernest T. Pascarella writes that students who do not drop out of college “were more

likely to live on campus, to spend more weekends on campus and to be involved in more

informal social activity with peers.” Regarding the issue of commuter students’ relationship with

the college environment, Amy Tenhouse references a 1993 study which found that commuters

often times fail to bond with faculty and residential students, negatively impacting their

academic performance.

A sizable portion of our literature review contains studies that offer solutions to issues

closely related with our topic. For example, Marcus Simmons states in the Spring 2006 issue of

College Quarterly that students participating in a “study skills course earned higher grade point

averages than similar students on [academic] probation who did not take the study skills course.”

Another source, written by a college professor, recommended that library instructional programs

that emphasize “access to information [and] basic use and research strategy” should be

implemented for the benefit of commuting students. A study authored by a Queens college

professor noted how the university’s Freshman Year initiative helped new students adjust to

college though “freshman courses or reserved seats in an introductory course”. Though our

literature review may contain articles that do not specifically address the focus of our project, it

does feature research that is relevant and helps to answer our research objective.

ProceduresTo answer our research questions, are group interviewed with Joan Giblin, Director of

New Student Programs, and Jozef Trezepacz, Assistant Director of First Year Experiences. The

topics discussed in this interview included the perceived GPA gap between residential students

and commuters, the integration of commuters into Wentworth student events, and the programs

and classes used to boost commuter academic performance. The answers given in this were

typed onto a Micosoft Word Document and also recorded on tape.

In addition, our group was also able to enlist the help of Alan Whittemore, Institution

Researcher for Wentworth. Mr. Whittermore was able to supply our group with average GPA’s

for both commuter and residential students. These figures were based over a three year span,

starting in the Fall 2006 semester and extending to the end of the Spring 2009 semester.

Our group gathered the bulk of our information through surveys distributed to commuter

students. This survey took approximately two weeks to finish, as our group rigorously edited and

revised the survey during this time period. These changes were prompted either by group

consensus or by the opinions and advice of our professor. The final version that was distributed

to the Wentworth student body contained 10 multiple choice questions, plus an additional short-

answer question positioned at the end of the survey. This last question allowed students to briefly

address any issues not mentioned in the survey.

The survey was distributed to students on the dates of Monday, November 9 and

Thursday, November 12. To maximize audience response, our group primarily focused on the

student lounge located in the basement of Beatty Hall. On November 12, we expanded our

distribution process by also handing out surveys in the pool room (located next to the Beatty Hall

student lounge) and to two outdoor areas. Specifically, the first site was located directly outside

of Beatty Hall. The second location was on the side of the street opposite the Annex Central

building, located directly at the end of the crosswalk.

On November 9, group members Aamer Abualula and Michael Harris jointly distributed

roughly 30 surveys over the span of one hour. This process was met with a 100 percent response

rate. In addition to passing out blank surveys, both students simultaneously collected completed

surveys during this time period. Before handing out a survey, students were asked if they were

commuter students. In they responded in the affirmative, they were then asked if they would fill

out our group’s survey. If the respondents agreed to this request, Mr. Abualula would then hand

them a copy of the survey. Approximately five to ten minutes later, both Abualula and Harris

would return to collect the survey, which Harris would store in a folder. This process was again

repeated on the 12th, with Harris again collecting the group’s combined responses.

Soon afterward, all copies were handed over to Sean Noble, who proceeded to enter all

the survey information into the Microsoft Excel program. This allowed are group to determine

how students answered responded to each survey question. Essentially, we now know the overall

percentage breakdown for the answers to our survey.

ResultsBelow are the results our group obtained from our student surveys:

Figure 1 How long is your commute to school?

Figure 2 commuters with gap over 1 hour

Figure 3Activities done during gaps

Figure 4 how does the gap impact your focus?

Figure 5 How often commuter don't bring textbooks to campus?

Figure 6 Time spent weekly on non-academic activities

The following six graphs involved questions that asked students to rank how much commuting

negatively affected them in a variety of areas. The questions used a a scale of 1 to 5, with one

having the least amount of impact and 5 the greatest.

KEY

1=BLUE 2=RED 3=GREEN 4=PURPLE 5=LIGHT BLUE

Figure 7 meeting with members for group projects

Figure 8 Arriving to class on time

Figure 9 meeting with professors regarding academic performance

Figure 10 taking major role in group projects

Figure 11 Tutoring from CTL

Figure 12 Acquiring notes from other students due to absences

Figure 13 Semester long study program/ how often woul you attend

Figure 14 What is your GPA

The data provided by Mr. Whittemore to our is shown below:

KEY

1=BLUE 2=RED 3=GREEN 4=PURPLE 5=LIGHT BLUE

Table 1 Comparison between resedent students GPA and commuter students GPA

Fall 2008 – Spring 2009 Semesters

Student Category GPA Students in Category

Residential Students 2.897 990

Commuter Students 2.784 1474







Summary, Conclusions, And Implications

Our group’s research yielded a whole host of results. Some of these results were

expected, yet others were fairly surprising. Both Mr. Trezepacz and Ms. Giblin, for example,

believed that Wentworth’s internal research showed a gap between residential and commuter

performance. However, instead of finding a noticeable gap in academic performance between

residential students and commuters, the information we obtained from Mr. Whittemore proved

that there is only a negligible difference in terms of GPA.

These results would seem to suggest that since there is no significant gap in performance,

there is no need for Wentworth to create any programs or classes for commuter students. This

opinion, however, is not entirely correct. It would be accurate to say that the issue of commuter

student performance does not appear to require an immediate and drastic response, as our group

thought might be the case at the beginning of the project. Despite this, both the commuter

student’s GPA figures and survey responses suggest that there certainly is room for

improvement, and that Wentworth can take measures to improve commuter grades.

Though they do not differ significantly from their on-campus counterparts, the average

GPA for commuters over this time period is only 2.76. According to Wentworth’s grading

system, this would equate to a B – average. It is certainly logical to assume that Wentworth

would like to see this average improve for not just commuters, but for all its students. However,

based on our survey data, we believe that commuters still face more challenges than students

who live on campus. Thus, they must work harder to achieve the same grades as residential

students.

For example, students were asked to rank how much commuting prevents them from

taking a major role in group projects, with 5 representing the greatest amount of impact, and 1

the least. A combined 53% of respondents answered 3 or higher in response to this question.

Using the same ranking system, a combined 45% of students responded 3 or higher when asked

how much commuting prevents them from meeting with professors. Perhaps most alarmingly,

46% of respondents answered 3 or higher when asked how much their commutes prevent them

from seeking tutoring at the CTL. These results indicate that commuting impacts a significant

number of off-campus students with regards to study skills and academic focus.

Our research also implies that a significant amount of participants would be at least

somewhat interested in a semester-long seminar designed to refine the study habits of

commuters. Although the data is not as encouraging as our group hoped, fully half of all

respondents claimed that they would attend the meetings of such a program at least once a month

(respondents were told to assume that the class met on a weekly basis). When this figure is

broken down even further, our group found that 27% of respondents would attend meetings at

least every other week. Only 6%, however, would show up for every meeting.

The hypothetical class mentioned in the survey is hardly a new concept, as Wentworth

has in recent years established the First Year Experience seminar (FYE) to assist freshman

students. This program already performs the services mentioned in our survey’s proposed class,

as it attempts to boost the study habits of new Wentworth students. For example, FYE students

are brought to the Wentworth Alumni Library to gain experience and training with the facility’s

online databases. The seminar also arranges regularly scheduled “coffee break” meetings, which

allow participants to form bonds with fellow students and become more involved in campus

activities.

Our group believes that this program serves a good model for a class aimed at commuter

students. The results from the programs first year seem encouraging, as according to Mrs. Giblin,

then number of freshman students on academic probation decreased by 30%. Given this track

record, our group recommends that either the FYE program be extended to include non-freshman

commuters, or that a similar program be installed for the benefit of commuters. Though we

concede that commuter academic performance may not be as pressing a concern as once thought,

our group still contends that this is an important issue which should be addressed by leading

Wentworth officials.

Table of TablesTable 1 Comparison between resedent students GPA and commuter students GPA...............................13

Table of figures Figure 1 How long is your commute to school?...........................................................................................5

Figure 2 commuters with gap over 1 hour..................................................................................................6

Figure 3Activities done during gaps.............................................................................................................6

Figure 4 how does the gap impact your focus?...........................................................................................7

Figure 5 How often commuter don't bring textbooks to campus?..............................................................7

Figure 6 Time spent weekly on non-academic activities..............................................................................8

Figure 7 meeting with members for group projects....................................................................................9

Figure 8 Arriving to class on time................................................................................................................9

Figure 9 meeting with professors regarding academic performance........................................................10

Figure 10 taking major role in group projects............................................................................................10

Figure 11 Tutoring from CTL......................................................................................................................11

Figure 12 Acquiring notes from other students due to absences..............................................................11

Figure 13 Semester long study program/ how often woul you attend......................................................12

Figure 14 What is your GPA.......................................................................................................................12

References

Pascarella, Ernest T. “Validation of a Theoretical Model of College Dropouts.” National Institute

of Education May 1982; Education Resources Information Center.

< http://www.eric.ed.gov/ >

Simmons, Marcus. “Effective Study Skills for Post-Secondary Education.” College Quarterly.

Spring 2006 Education Resources Information Center.


Summerfield, Judith. “The Freshman Year Initiative: Creating Academic Communities for

Students and Faculty at a Commuter College” Fund for the Improvement of

Postsecondary Education; Education Resources Information Center.


Switzer, Jo Young. “Commuter and Residential Campuses: Academic and Co – Curricular

Implications for Speech Communication Faculty.” 74th Annual Meeting of the Speech

Communication Association. Education Resources Information Center.


Tenhouse, Amy M. “Commuter Students – Commuter Student Challenges.” State

University.com 5 Oct. 2009

< http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1875/Commuter-Students.html >

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1875/Commuter-Students.html

http://www.eric.ed.gov/




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