Graduate Program

College Student Affairs

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Semester of Degree Completion

2012

Thesis Director

Daniel P. Nadler

Thesis Committee Member

Louis V. Hencken

Thesis Committee Member

Angela M. Yoder

Abstract

In order to assist in the development and growth of students to reach their maximum potential research into what services and activities students perceive as valuable was conducted. The purpose was to explore student's relations between the perceived value of student services/activities and the knowledge, use, and value of student services and activities. The literature expresses that many factors affect a student's experience at college. Student involvement occurs through many facets, academics, socialization, and environment. Student satisfaction with these factors impact student success or failure. The research demonstrates that students need interactions with the college community in order to facilitate positive outcomes and retain students through graduation. A quantitative study was conducted to explore what activities and services students participate, what activities students want to participate, the student services they utilized and the value of those services and activities, as well as, how the students perceived those activities as having positively contributed to their self-perceived success. The survey was administered to 263 students during the Spring 2012 semester at a large, rural, public, two-year college in the Midwest. The results demonstrated that the majority of students did think or feel that participation in college activities did positively affect their success.

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