1. African American College Students’ Perceptions of Valuable College Experiences Relative to Academic Performance
Jeanette Davis, M.Ed., PC and
Cassandra Harris-Williams, Ph.D., PC
Cuyahoga Community College
League of Innovations Conference
March 19, 2018
Factor Group 1
+4 #16 “involvement with a faculty mentor”
+3 #05 “Connecting with people with similar interests through organizations”
+3 #17 “Involvement with academic advising (professional)
+3 #08 “Face-to-face encounters with professors”
+4 #11 “Having a professor who interacts with students in the classroom” P, IMP, but non-significant
-3 #25 “Participating in intramural sports”
-3 #33 “Using the Writing Center”
-4 #02 “Attending sports activities”
-4 #15 “Involvement in managing a sports team”
-3 #29 “Using the Career Center”

2. A Statement of Concern
African American college students face numerous barriers and obstacles during their college experiences that may result in low graduation rates.
Factor 2
+4 #13 “Having financial aid”
+4 #18 “Involvement with faculty advisor within my major”
+3 #06 “Courses that wer conveniently scheduled”
+3 #31 “Using the Library or Library facility”
+3 #10 “Having a professor who gets to know the student’s name”

3. Issues and Concerns Pre-college Experiences Social relationships
Economic Characteristics
Parental and Family Background
First generation
Academic and Social Adjustments

4. The Purpose of the Study
To obtain subjective viewpoints of African American students at predominantly white institutions about the university based experiences that were most to least helpful in its contribution to their academic success.
Academic success was defined by a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or better.

5. Theories of Retention Thompson & Fretz, 1991 Astin (1992) Tinto (1975)
Person-environment congruence
Student experiences are a collection of interactions between the student, the university, and the community.
Astin (1992)
I-E-O Model – input is affected by environment which results in outcome
Tinto (1975)
Commitment and intention

6. Schwitzer (1999) Social Adjustment
Feeling “underrepresented”, “isolated”, “alienated”
Situations, statements, or actions perceived as racist

7. Guiding Research Question
What university-based experience(s) were most helpful to least helpful in contributing to your academic success?

8. Q-Methodology
An examination of subjective concepts (McKeown and Thomas, 1988).
The researcher obtained the concourse from group interview of 6 students at a Midwestern university (Concourse formation).
40 participants were asked to rank order the 35 statements (Q-sort).
Interviews were conducted with five participants for follow-up and further explanation of their rankings.
Factor 3
P and D
+4 #01 Attending classes rather than distance learning
+4 #21 Involvement with tutoring sessions
+3 #33 Using the Writing Center
+3 #11 Having a professor who interacts with students in the classroom
+3 #31 Using the Library or Library facility
N&D
-4 #35 Working on campus
-4 #02 Attending sports activities
-3 #15 Involvement in managing a sports teams
-3 #25 Participating in intramural sports
-3 #03 Attending financial aid workshops

9. Focus Group
Six African American students at a PWI-Focus group and four individual interviews
IRB submitted to both universities
Interview question: What university experiences do you perceive to be valuable contributors to your academic success at PWI (as defined by at least a or better cumulative grade point average?

10. Descriptive Statistics
Age – years old
Gender – 27 females, 13 males
Types of students –
Residential—35 students – 87.5%
Commuter – 5 students – 12.5%
Information about Parents
16 mothers and 9 fathers who had earned a bachelor’s degree or an advanced degree

11. Concourse
Statements that were taken from the focus group will be used to ask students to rank order them from most valuable to least valuable.
Attending workshops
Having an advisor
Having financial aid
Having a “caring” faculty member

12. Factor 1: Making Use of Supportive People
17% of the variance
Ages 18 and 19
Three females and two males loaded on this factor
Sophomores with credit hours
All participants were residential
Highest number of mothers with an advanced degree; 2 out of 5
Only group with father who had an advanced degree

13. Factor 2: Making The Best Use of Time and Funds
17% of the variance
Ages ranged from 18-23
Four females and one male loaded on this factor
All of the participants were residential students
All sophomores had earned credit hours
With the oldest sophomore student, aged 23
Three of the 5 mothers had a bachelor’s degree and one of the fathers

14. Factor 3: Being Committed to Academic Success
18% of the variance
Four female and two males loaded on this factor
Ages ranged from 18-20
Largest group of 20-year old participants
Largest number of earned credit hours, 30-45
Three commuters and three residential students

15. Findings from the Study
Some African American college students value university- based experiences that allowed for faculty and peer relations.
Some African American students value experiences that involved financial aid and completing graduation requirements in a timely manner.
Some African American college students were committed to academic success and valued academic advising and other campus sponsored academic support services such as tutoring, Writing Centers, etc.
Most of the participants in this study did not value sports or sports-related activities.

16. Q&A
Any questions?
What are the perceptions of the most helpful and least helpful college experiences that contribute to their success?
How recently have you surveyed or conducted focus groups at your campuses to inquire about students’ needs?
How do you insure that the three factors (findings) are realized at your campuses?

17. Thank You! Thanks for your time and attention.
For more information, please contact Cassandra Harris- Williams,