Student Gender Differences In Perceived Importance Of College Services

College Student Journal, June, 1999 by Trena T. Anastasia, Kenneth R. Jr. Tremblay, Carole J. Makela, Nancy H. Drennen

This study examined the importance incoming students placed on college services, and whether males and females differed in perceived importance of those services. During a summer orientation program, 405 newly admitted students completed a questionnaire that included 12 college service items. Results revealed that females rated awareness of career opportunities, career counseling, graduating in a timely fashion, opportunities to mature, graduate assistants who clearly presented class materials, and professor assistance outside of class higher in importance than males. Conversely, males rated employment skills higher than females. When evaluating college services, information on perceived importance of those services by incoming students can be utilized to better meet expectations of students.

Introduction

Institutions of higher education are being scrutinized for their service orientation. In order to remain competitive, colleges need to measure and address service expectations of students (Canale, Dunlap, Britt, & Donahue, 1996). For recruitment and retention purposes, such information can provide insight into serving students better and producing student satisfaction of services. Tinto (1993) found that programs that involved students in the learning process, including feedback on services, increased retention rates. Tan (1996) discovered that alumni perceptions of their college education were strongly related to quality of social and academic experiences on campus.

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance that incoming students placed on various college services and whether males and females differed in their perceived importance of those services. A major goal of student service personnel has been to convince administrators and faculty that it is the institution's responsibility to assist in total student development, including professional, intellectual, and academic development. Astin (1993) reported a positive relationship between student satisfaction with provided services and college expenditures devoted to such services.

Each student is an individual and places varying importance on services. There exists the possibility of differences between male and female college students (Maher & Tetreault, 1994). Previous research shows mixed results when examining gender differences. For example, Junn, Fuller, Derrell, Graves, Silver, and Tan (1996) found that females had higher rates of using selected services than males, and research conducted by Strach, Freeberg, and Cash (1995) revealed that female students rated female faculty higher than did male students. On the other hand, Hirsch (1997) found no significant gender differences in student perceptions of public safety policy, and Mitchell and Fandt (1995) discovered no significant differences in self-esteem scores between male and female college students.

Methodology

Each summer Colorado State University, a land-grant college with approximately 22,000 students, offers a day and a half summer orientation program entitled Preview for incoming students. During Preview new student, (defined as those students matriculating, into college with no previous experience in higher education) are introduced to the college through activities such as campus tours, advising, experiencing residence hall life, taking placement tests, and registering for classes. Preview is presented in 18 sessions from mid-June to mid-July, involving approximately 40 staff members and 2,000 students.

A questionnaire was recently included in the materials packet provided to each student when checking into Preview. A brief introduction to the questionnaire was presented to students during the opening assembly by the Preview program coordinator to encourage survey participation. The questionnaire was designed to elicit students' perceived importance of 12 college services based on a series of want statements rated from not important (1) to very important (5). Three categories of college services were represented in the questionnaire: professional, intellectual. and academic. Demographic items were also addressed in the questionnaire, including the dichotomous variable of gender.

A total of 405 incoming students voluntarily completed and returned their questionnaires in designated drop boxes at the end of their Preview session. A majority of respondents were female (59.3%), had selected a major (62.7%), were from high schools with a graduating class greater than 100 (79.8%), were 18 or 19 years of age (96.4%), and indicated their ethnicity to be white (93.1%). Demographics of respondents were similar to subsequently enrolled freshmen.

Results

The professional development category explored new students' perceived importance of services offered with the intent of enhancing career-related skills and knowledge in a reasonable time frame. The four items, in mean rank order, were importance for the student to obtain professional skills, training, and knowledge to secure future employment (M=4.82), complete requirements for a degree in a reasonable amount of time (M=4.51), be made aware of career opportunities (M=4.40), and have a career counselor available (M=4.10). T-tests were conducted to examine mean differences between females and males. Results displayed in Table 1 revealed that scores for females (M=4.48) were significantly higher (p [is less than] .01) than for males (M=4.28) on perceived importance of being made aware of career opportunities; scores for females (M=4.27) were significantly higher (p [is less than] .05) than for males (M=3.86) on perceived importance of having a career counselor available; and scores for females (M=4.56) were significantly higher (p [is less than] .05) than for males (M=4.45) on perceived importance of completing requirements for a degree in a reasonable amount of time. The reverse was true for perceived importance of obtaining employment skills, in which scores for males (M=4.84) were significantly higher (p [is less than] .05) than for females (M=4.80).