Graduation Date
Summer 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Counseling
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Carrie Aigner
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Maria Iturbide
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Melinda Myers
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
Education
Abstract
There has been an increasing number of Black students entering into higher education, but they continue to have disparities in academic achievement when compared to White students. An institution's campus climate has been found to influence student success. This study seeks to examine the factor of campus climate, specifically negative campus racial climate (NCRC), as it relates to the GPA and university satisfaction of Black students at a rural institution. The study adds to the literature by exploring the degree to which involvement (Faculty (FOI) and Club/Organization Involvement (COI)) may act as a moderating force within the relationship.
Three surveys were administered to 56 students, Racial Climate scale, Student-Faculty Involvement scale (SFI), and the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ). Students reported basic demographics, current GPA, and answered open-ended questions regarding involvement and university satisfaction. Regression analyses were conducted to assess the role of campus climate on student success, examining involvement as a potential moderator of this relationship.
Participants were between ages 18 and 45 (M = 22.77, SD = 4.94), reported an average GPA of 3.23 (SD = .30), and were mostly of Junior (n = 19, 33.93%) and Senior (n = 23, 41.07%) status, Freshman (n = 8, 14.29%) and Sophomore (n = 6, 10.71%) being the least represented. Results from the regression analysis for Hypothesis 1 indicated NCRC was not significant predictor of GPA, (F(1, 21) = 4.28, β = .41, p = .05). For Hypothesis 2, NCRC was found to be a significant predictor of university satisfaction (F(1, 22) = 21.03, β = -.70, p = .0001). Moderation results for hypothesis 3-6 indicated that SFI was not a significant predictor of GPA, β = .07, t (22) = .32, p = .75, nor university satisfaction, β = -.01, t (23) = -.03, p = .98. COI was not a significant predictor of GPA, β = -.23, t (22) = -1.07, p = .30, nor University Satisfaction, β = -.14, t (23) = -.75, p = .46. NCRC X Involvement interaction terms were not significant.
The results indicated that greater NCRC was associated with lower university satisfaction. The moderating role of involvement was not significant in the current study. Looking forward, future research should utilize a larger sample to obtain a clearer idea of the relationship that exists between NCRC and student success. Future studies could also include multiple observations over time, providing more information about how these variables might be related to student success over time.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Delemar, Tyries, "Involvement and campus climate on the academic success of black college students" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 183.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/183
IRB Approval