Colleges IDENTIFIERS *Personal Report of Communication Apprehension

This study focuses on determining the relationship between communication apprehension and factors of student success for first-semester community college students. It specifically examined the relationship between levels of students ' communication apprehension as determined by the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, and indicators of student success as measured by grade point average (GPA), class completion, and persistence to enroll the next semester. The study's results pointed to variables that indicated student success. One analysis identified variables that predict academic performance as measured by GPA. It found that completion ratio, age, and gender were significant in explaining approximately 25 % of the variance of academic performance. A second analysis identified variables that predicted persistence as measured by enrollment in the subsequent semester. It found that completion ratio, GPA, and age were significant in explaining approximately 80 % of the variance of persistence. There was no indication of a significant relationship between communication apprehension and any of the academic or demographic variables. This finding contradicted some studies performed at four-year institutions. It is recommended that further studies of communication apprehension be pursued that specifically take into consideration the activities and processes used by an institution. (Contains 16 tables, four illustrations, one appendix, and 112 references.) (Author/KP) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document