Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the elements of student engagement perceived by students enrolled at extra-large California community colleges as important to student persistence. Additionally, it was the purpose of this study to identify and describe the elements of student engagement that faculty and students perceived as most important to persisting in school. Finally, it was the purpose of this study to identify and describe the differences in perceptions of student engagement of ARC first-time, full-time students, ages eighteen to twenty-four, and the ARC faculty. Methodology. The research methodology used for this dissertation was descriptive, a mixed methods sequential explanatory study. Quantitative data were collected from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), a nationally normed assessment instrument, and researcher-developed survey; qualitative data were collected through interviews with students and faculty. Findings. Analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from the surveys and interviews indicated there were differences in the five student engagement benchmarks when compared to the extra-large California community colleges and the 2007 CCSSE cohort. A number of differences between students and faculty were identified through data collection. A key finding included that students did not use support services, although they did indicate the services are important for student persistence. Conclusions. The study data support the conclusion that increased student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction leads to greater student persistence. It supported the conclusion that increased campus involvement leads to improved student persistence. The overall ability of students to develop meaningful relationships with others on campus improves student persistence. Recommendations. Recommendations for future include: (1) conduct a comprehensive study to examine and document reasons why students fail to adequately utilize support services; (2) conduct a study with nonpersisting students to examine the extent to which support services were used and its correlation to student attrition; (3) conduct a study of the largest California community colleges to examine and document effective programs and practices for increasing student persistence among first-time, full-time students, ages eighteen to twenty-four; additional recommendations are listed in chapter 5 of the dissertation.