Seeking to Understand Faculty-Student Interaction at Community Colleges

Abstract

One fundamental aspect of engagement in higher education is faculty-student interaction (FSI). FSI has been associated with student success and persistence in both four- and two-year institutions. Due to limited research concerning diverse students, understanding student engagement in higher education is based on White, traditional-age students who attend four-year institutions. Community colleges enroll almost half of United States undergraduates, and these students are considered nontraditional. Community college students’ primary involvement or interaction typically occurs inside the classroom due to students’ part-time status, employment responsibilities, limited involvement in student activities, and attendance at nonresidential campuses. Examining FSI is a possible approach to understand and support community college students in their educational endeavors. The purpose of this study was to explore the variables that predict FSI of community college students. This research project was guided by two theories that examine student engagement and FSI: Astin’s (1985) student involvement theory and Pace’s (1979) student development and college impress model. Descriptive and inferential statistics examined the data and answered three research questions. Analyses revealed that age, grants/scholarships, grade point average (GPA), orientation program/course participation, and learning community participation were significant predictors of FSI for full-time community college students; first-generation status, GPA, orientation program/course participation, and learning community participation were significant predictors of FSI for part-time community college students.