A life in common: exploring the causal effect of living on campus

• Main Author: Holmes, Joshua Mark
• Other Authors: Bowman, Nicholas A., 1979-
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iowa 2019
• Subjects: college students; propensity score; residence; student engagement; Educational Administration and Supervision
• Online Access: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/6959; https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8460&context=etd

This this three-article dissertation sought to explore the potential causal link of students’ collegiate residence with three broad categories of student outcomes. Using data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, each article employed propensity score matching in an effort to reduce selection bias associated with a student’s decision to live on campus. The first manuscript examined academic achievement, retention, four-year graduation, and satisfaction with the college experience and found that living on campus had no direct effect on any of these outcomes. The second manuscript explored the effect of living on campus on students’ overall health, alcohol consumption and binge drinking, smoking behaviors, exercise frequency, and psychological well-being. Findings suggest that living on campus has a positive effect on students’ first-year alcohol consumption, frequency of binge drinking, and exercising behaviors. These findings do not persist beyond the first year. Some conditional effects were uncovered, with a significant interaction between race and campus residence on some outcomes. The final study considered the effect living on campus has on student engagement. Living on campus was found to have a direct effect on positive peer interactions, frequency of interactions with student affairs staff, and co-curricular involvement. Like the second study, conditional analyses were conducted and revealed significant interactions mostly among race and campus residence.