This is a summary of a presentation to the Assembly Higher Education Committee on college fee and total cost comparisons of California public universities with comparator universities in other states. This summary also includes grant award estimates and net cost of college by family income.

Research is beginning to demonstrate that sophomores are unique in their academic and developmental needs, yet little is known about how college sophomores' satisfaction with their collegiate experience influences their persistence decisions. This study utilized logistic regression to predict college sophomores' persistence based on student…

The purpose of this study was to understand the extent to which students' psychological sense of community was influenced by IM use using the psychological sense of community theoretical framework created by McMillan and Chavis (1986), and the student development theoretical frameworks created by Schlossberg (1989) and Astin (1984). Thus, this…

Examined differences in alcohol use between one university's commuting students (n=99) who lived at home with their parents and residential students (n=212). Found that resident students exhibited greater frequencies of alcohol use and abuse than did commuters as a function of both precollege factors and involvement in traditional college life.…

The Situational Attitude Scale - Commuters (SAS-C) was employed to measure attitudes of student affairs professionals toward commuting students at the University of Maryland, College Park. Two forms of the SAS-C were randomly assigned. Both contained the same 10 situations and bipolar responses, except a term equivalent to…

Proposed a causal model to examine the impact of resident living on student development. Tested the model with 4,191 college students. Secondary analysis indicated that the influence of on-campus living on intellectual and social self-concept is indirect and mediated through interactions with faculty and peers. (Author/BH)

Black commuters in this study, as compared to white commuters, tended to be older; to be married; if female, to travel further; to spend more time and money to commute; and to receive lower grades. Blacks were also more interested in day care; a place to change and stay overnight. (Author)

A study investigated how long it takes Frostburg State University (Maryland) (FSU) commuter students to drive to courses and how long they were willing to commute to pursue their educational goals. Students and graduates of two local two-year colleges, potential matriculants at FSU, were also asked how long they were willing to drive. Little…

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…

This study compared the perceptions of commuting and residential students about pressures, sources of help, and psychological services on a college campus. The two populations differed in their responses to questions about all three areas of investigation. (Author)

Based on a previous report comparing commuter and resident freshmen at the University of Maryland, College Park, the analysis of the similarities and differences of commuter and resident students is extended in the students' third year of college. Dependent commuters (defined as living at home or with other relatives) were compared to students…

The personal problems and psychological needs of college students may vary according to their living arrangements. To compare the types and number of problems resident and commuter students bring to a university counseling center, the intake data of 345 students (152 dormitory residents, 193 commuters; 177 women, 168 men) seeking individual…

Focusing on freshmen commuter students and freshmen dormitory students at Johnson and Wales College, general characteristics and academic achievement were measured. General entrance characteristics included student age, College Entrance Examination Board scores and high school rank. Academic achievement was measured in terms of student grades in…

This report sought to test the hypothesis that living on campus fosters cognitive growth by estimating the relative freshman-year gains in reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and critical thinking of resident and commuter students at an urban university. Data were collected from 210 college freshmen students at a large research…

Commuting students make up sixty-two percent of the fall 1975 student body and represent the principal source of enrollment growth at UNC-G. The Office of Institutional Research conducted a survey of 2,140 commuter and resident students in the spring of 1975. A stratified random sample was designed so that students in the different undergraduate…