Measuring the perception of mattering for adult students at California State University, Sacramento

Thesis (M.A., Education (Higher Education Leadership)) -- California State University, Sacramento, 2009.Adult learners are returning to higher education to pursue their higher education aspirations in increasing numbers (Pusser et al., 2007). For many adult learners, the pursuit of their educational aspirations is just one of several activities that compete for their time. Families, jobs, hobbies, friends and other obligations place burdens on the time and resources of adult learners and often create conflicting demands. Even with the realization that a higher education degree is frequently a good investment, many adult learners can lose sight of this goal.\ud To accommodate and increase the persistence to graduation of this growing group of nontraditional learners, institutions of higher learning need to evaluate their approaches to support and invest in structured, systematic approaches to supporting this significant body of students (Engstrom & Tinto, 2008). The degree to which students believe they matter to someone else (whether right or wrong) and that others care about them and appreciate them is referred to as ???Mattering??? (Schlossberg et al., 1989). The literature has shown that incrementally adjusting the delivery and accessibility of services to improve the perception of mattering for adult services may positively affect retention and persistence to graduation.\ud There are two main research questions addressed in this study:\ud 1. What is the perception of availability of student support services by adult students at Sacramento State?\ud 2. What is the perception of mattering by adult students at Sacramento State?\ud Methodology\ud The sample for this study consisted of 75 respondents from a pool of 400 students who were randomly selected adult undergraduate students over the age of 25 attending classes full-time at Sacramento State. A quantitative method of study was utilized using a digital survey instrument. The survey instrument contained questions from the Mattering in Higher Education (MHE) survey and was administered with permission from the Office of the Vice President for Center for Lifelong Learning, American Council on Education. The goal of this nationally-normed survey instrument was to measure the perception of mattering for adult students at Sacramento State with the hope that the results of the study would provide the university with information that can be used to improve the retention and persistence of adult students. \ud Conclusions and Recommendations\ud Studies have shown that students who feel they are cared about and connected to a campus have higher retention (Astin, 1993). If the student perceives a sense of connection or significance, this student will have a higher rank in mattering. If the perceptions are those of disconnection or insignificance, the sense of marginality exists (Schlossberg, 1989). After analyzing the data, the participants of this study perceived that they did not matter in two of five dimensions to Sacramento State as a function of the services and service availability.\ud The lack of accessible student services may unfortunately send the message to typical adult students that their support needs are not as important or that they do not matter to Sacramento State. Although the focus of this study is not on retention, a summary of Tinto???s (1975) principles of effective retention provides a framework for understanding the role institutions play in helping students succeed.\ud Adult student persistence will benefit from universities that consider their administrative, academic, and financial interactions. Schlossberg (1989) wrote that institutions that focus on mattering and greater student involvement will be more successful in creating campuses where students are motivated to learn, where their retention is high, and ultimately, where their institutional loyalty for the short- and long-term is ensured.\ud Sacramento State University has the opportunity and the duty to consider its adult learners??? perception of mattering. Reflecting on these perceptions and conducting a review of the services that affect the adult learners??? perception of mattering will position Sacramento State to adjust delivery and accessibility of critical support services.Education (Higher Education Leadership