The Influence Of Faculty Support On First-Time Master\u27s Student Satisfaction

This research study, which was conducted at a large, urban research institution in the Midwestern region of the United States, explored the influence of faculty support on first-time master’s student satisfaction in graduate school. Alexander Astin’s (1993) Inputs, Environment, Outputs (I-E-O) Model was used to guide the study. Data were collected on student demographics and perceptions of faculty support in the areas of advising, mentoring, and teaching, and analyzed via several statistical methods including descriptive statistics, T-tests, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and a linear multiple regression. The analyses focused on the diverse program-related characteristics of first-time master’s students, which consisted of Entry Status (direct pathway or returner), Enrollment Status (full time, three-quarters time, half time, and less than half time), Master’s Cohort Participation and Master’s Orientation Participation. Of the 179 study participants, most were women. More than half of the participants were between the ages of 21 and 30, enrolled in school full time, and employed full time. The results revealed there were no significant differences in perceptions of faculty support associated with first-time master’s student satisfaction as it relates to entry status, enrollment status, master’s cohort participation or master’s new student orientation participation. The results also revealed that of the five independent variables examined (i.e., overall faculty support, entry status, enrollment status, master’s cohort participation and master’s orientation participation), overall faculty support and participation in a master’s cohort were identified as predictors of first-time master’s student satisfaction