| Summary: | This study investigated the impact participating in S.T.R.I.P.E.S., an extended orientation program, had on student satisfaction and retention. Student satisfaction was determined through a calculated total score on the College Student Satisfaction Evaluation. Retention was determined based on a students enrollment status beginning with their first fall semester and continued to the beginning of their second fall semester. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between student satisfaction and retention. Finally, the study sought to determine if selected variables explained a substantial portion of student satisfaction and contributed to the predictability of retention. The target population was all first time, first year students entering a large, public, research institution in the southeastern United States in the fall of 2009, 2010, and 2011. The accessible population for the objectives on retention was students that had complete information on selected variables in the study (N=12,466). The accessible population for the objectives on student satisfaction included all students with a valid email address (N=13,983). Data analyses were conducted utilizing correlations, stepwise multiple regression and stepwise logistic regression analyses.
Results indicated a small relationship exists between participation in an extended orientation program and student satisfaction. No relationship exists between student satisfaction and retention. Students who participate in S.T.R.I.P.E.S. are 30% more likely to be retained to the second year than their peers that did not participate in the program. Finally, 8 variables: percent high school rank, S.T.R.I.P.E.S., on campus first semester, gender, fathers education level, first semester cumulative GPA, ACT, and ethnicity (white/non-white) are statistically significant predictors of student satisfaction and 9 variables: first year cumulative GPA, Pell Grant in the second year, Pell Grant in the first year, percent high school rank, fathers education level, residency status, on campus first year, gender, and S.T.R.I.P.E.S. are statistically significant contributors in predicting student retention. In the case of student satisfaction, the effect size was small with a small amount of variance being explained. Even though the effect sizes for the correlations and regression models tended to be small, the large sample size gives reason to believe that the effects matter.
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