First Year Findings

1
First Year Findings

ASHE Anaheim November 2006
2
Millennial Student Characteristics

• Millennial students are the generation of
  students who will graduate from college 2004-2024
  and are characterized as

• Achieving
• Pressured
• Conventional
• Diverse
• Oxford Round Table 07/14/05

• Special
• Sheltered
• Confident
• Team-oriented

3
Background

• Approaches to Diversity on the College Campus
  (2002) Qualitative, national, interviews of 75
  practitioners in research universities and 4-year
  colleges
• Millennial Project (2005) Campus-based,
  longitudinal, quantitative and qualitative,
  student focused

4
Literature Review

• Faculty/student interactions key for retention
  and openness to diversity (McGinty Stodt
  Klepper, 1987 Whitt, Edison, Pascarella,
  Terenzini Nora, 2001 Pascarella Terenzini,
  2005)
• Peers powerful for campus integration and
  engagement, influencing attitudes on diversity
  (Phinney, Ferguson Tate, 1997 Pascarella
  Terenzini, 2005)
• Involvement and successful socialization
  correlates with academic success (Astin, 1993
  Gurin, 2003)
• Diverse peers improve intergroup relations
  (Ladson-Billings, 1998 Hu Kuh, 2003 Gurin,
  2003)
• Multicultural education critical to understanding
  transformative perspective of diversity (Banks,
  1994 Banks Banks, 1989)

5
The Millennial Project Research Questions

• What perceptions and experiences regarding
  diversity do college students bring to campus?
• What beliefs do students present about support
  for services for diverse targeted populations?

6
Methods

• Online Survey Interviews
• Sampling Strategy
• Stratified random sample
• Over-sampled students of color
• Contacted 4,500 full-time, classified
  undergraduates enrolled in fall 2005
• Weekly emails sent to students over five weeks
• Response Rate Survey N 487 (11)
• 60 Interviews Conducted
• 10 Students Followed in Documentary

7
Methods Sample Characteristics

• 65 Female
• 11 with Disabilities
• 8 GLBTQ
• 14 First Generation (neither
• parent attended college)
• 37 STEM Majors
• 49 Ethnic Minorities

8
Limitations

• Small sample, single institution
• Self-selection of participants
• Pressure to give socially acceptable
• answers
• Rhetoric may not match behavior
• Coding of open-ended answers

9
Quantitative Analysis Support
Likert Scale Percentages Very Supportive,
Supportive
10
Quantitative Findings Chi Square
Females more supportive of services than males
for all populations

• Asian/Pacific Islander (X²(4, 487) 21.36, p lt
  .001, V .209, V² .044)
• Blacks/African Americans (X²(4, 487) 35.20, p
  lt .001, V .269,
• V² .072)
• Caucasians (X²(4, 487) 18.96, p .001, V
  .227, V² .052)
• Gay, Lesbian, Transgender (X²(4, 487) 32.20,
  p lt .001, V .257,
• V² .066)
• Hispanics/Latinos (X²(4, 487) 32.10, p lt
  .001, V .257, V² .066)
• International Students (X²(4, 487) 23.96, p lt
  .001, V .222, V² .049)
• Men (X²(4, 487) 18.36, p .001, V .194, V²
  .038)

11
Quantitative Findings Chi Square
Females more supportive of services than males
for all populations

• Multi-racial (X²(4, 487) 24.65, p lt .001, V
  .225, V² .057)
• Native Americans (X²(4, 487) 26.11, p lt .001,
  V .232, V² .054)
• Students with Disabilities (X²(4, 487) 25.01,
  p lt .001, V .227,
• V² .052)
• Low SES (X²(4, 487) 24.57, p lt .001, V
  .225, V² .051)
• First Generation (X²(4, 487) 16.65, p .002,
  V .185, V² .034)
• Women (X²(4, 487) 25.37, p lt .001, V .228,
  V² .052)

12
Quantitative Findings Chi Square
Ethnic minorities more supportive of services
than Caucasians for some populations

• Asian/Pacific Islander (X²(4, 487) 10.85, p
  .028, V .149,
• V² .022)
• Hispanics/Latinos (X²(4, 487) 10.19, p
  .037, V .145,
• V² .021)
• Native Americans (X²(4, 487) 10.08, p .039,
  V .144,
• V² .021)
• Students with Disabilities (X²(4, 487) 9.83,
  p .043, V .142,
• V² .020)

13
Quantitative Findings Chi Square
First Generation Students less supportive of
services for Caucasians than Non First
Generation Students (X²(4, 487) 11.74, p
.019, V .155, V² .024)

• No significant differences between
• Students with Disabilities and Students without
  Disabilities
• GLBTQ and Heterosexual Students
• STEM Majors and Other Majors

14
Qualitative Analysis

• Diversity should not be forced 18
• Diversity defined broadly 80
• Surface answers 16
• Exposure and Acceptance Emphasis 37
• Negative Feelings Towards GLBTQ .06
• Diversity Divides 17
• Diversity Marginalizes 17

15
Conclusions About Millennials at UA

• Millennial Students are accepting of the idea of
  diversity, strongly resonating a postmodern
  perspective (a plurality of voices), but many
  are not critically engaged.
• If students come to college with more knowledge
  about diversity and more acceptance of diversity,
  but many are yet to be critically engaged, our
  assumption should change from the need to
  persuade about the value of diversity to the need
  to educate on critical issues.
• Race and ethnicity are no longer solely the main
  crux of diversity. In addition, there is
  resistance to traditional categories of
  ethnicity.
• Students believe diversity is important, but many
  are hesitant to impose this value on others.

16
Contact Information

• Lynette Cook Francis
• Assistant Vice President Multicultural Affairs
  and Student Success
• [phone]
• lynettec_at_email.arizona.edu

Melissa D. Ousley, Ph.D. Research
Analyst Multicultural Affairs and Student
Success [phone] mousley_at_email.arizona.edu
17
Project Web Site http//mass.arizona.edu/millenn
ial/