Research Blog #10

Commuters Must Not Be Lost on the Road to Higher Education

Abstract
This research paper will explore the effects being a commuting student has on academic and social status. A majority of commuters naturally face multiple responsibilities including, a job, household and family tasks, transportation, as well as academics. As a result, commuters are naturally unable to devote their full time and energy when it comes to college. One of the more underrated aspects of college is its transformative qualities. Young adults, not only gain the skills and knowledge to become independent adults, but they also gain a new perspective, a new identity, and new relationships. Commuter students with their time stretched to the limit are unable to fully experience college’s transformative power. This differs greatly from their counterparts: students who live on campus. This demographic of students has the opportunity spend their time, energy, and resources exclusively to their education and their lives on campus. As the privatization of public universities progressed, the costs of tuition increased, and the financial burdens have forced several families to make sacrifices in order for their children to attend school. Less affluent students are commuting now more than ever. Research has shown students who reside off campus tend to have a much more difficult time during their college experiences than those students who live on campus. While it is believed that students tend to do worse because they lack motivation as a result of distance, research has revealed that an even larger contribution is that commuting students have the motivation, but due to external factors they are unable to fully engage in the college experience. The privatization of public universities has created an environment that disrupts commuters on their path to education and sabotage their ability to grow into adults.

Works Cited
  1. Armstrong, Elizabeth, and Laura Hamilton. Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality. Harvard UP, 2013.
  2. Astin, A.W. What Matters in College: Four Critical Years Revisited. Jossey-Bass. 1993.
  3. Biddix, Patrick. Understanding and Addressing Commuter Student Needs. Jossey-Bass. 2015.
  4. Darling, R.A. “Creating an Institutional Academic Advising Culture that Supports Commuter Student Success.” New Directions for Student Services. 2004.
  5. Jacoby, Barbara. “Enhancing Commuter Student Success: What’s Theory Got to Do with It?” Understanding and Addressing Commuter Student Needs. 2000.
  6. Kuh, G. D., Gonyea, R.M., & Palmer M. “The Disengaged Commuter Student: Fact or Fiction?” Commuter Perspectives, 27 (1), 2-5. 2001.
  7. Nathan, Rebekah. “Student Culture and Liminality.” My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student. Penguin, 2006. 146-153.
  8. Newbold J.J. “Lifestyle Challenges for Commuter Students.” International Journal of Education Research. 2011.
  9. Newbold, J.J., Mehta, S.S, & Forbus, P.R., “A Comparative Study Between Non-Traditional Students in terms of demographics, attitudes, behavior, and educational performance.” International Journal of Education Research. 2010.
  10. Tinto, Vincent. “Taking Retention Seriously: Rethinking the First Year of College” NACADA Journal. 19(2), 5-9. 1999.
  11. Webber, K.L., Krylow R.B., Zhang, Q., “Does Involvement Really Matter? Indicators of College Student Success and Satisfaction.” Journal of College Student Development. Vol. 54, No. 6. 2013.


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