Building on the foundation of research on how critical thinking develops during college and on the extensive research on differences in the resident and commuter student experiences, this article explores aspects of the college experience that might be associated with cognitive development. Analyzes data from six institutions representing 326…

Surveyed 269 freshmen students at a nonresidential college to study faculty influence on student development in a commuter setting. Results suggested that the quality of student-faculty interactions may be more important in the personal and intellectual development of commuter students than the frequency of the interactions. (JAC)

Tested hypothesis that living on campus fostered cognitive growth by estimating relative first-year gains in reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and critical thinking of resident (n=40) and commuter (n=170) first-year college students. Controlling for precollege cognitive level, academic motivation, age, work responsibility, and extent…