The individual and environmental effects of part-time enrollment status on student-faculty interaction

Abstract

Based on over 55,000 responses from seniors at 224 public colleges and universities, this study focuses on the difference between full-time and part-time students' interactions with faculty, the effect of those interactions on self-reported gains in general education, and the differential impact of institutions with greater percentages of part-time students. We found, not surprisingly, that part-time students interact with faculty less and report slightly less gains in general education than their full-time peers. We also found that the proportion of part-time students is a negative predictor of full-time student interactions with faculty, suggesting that campuses with greater percentages of part-time students are negatively effecting the engagement of full-time students. The effect of student-faculty interaction on self-reported gains in general education was relatively strong for all students (in fact, slightly stronger for part-time students), which implies that campuses that can find a way to increase the student-faculty interaction of full-time and part-time students will see a beneficial impact on student outcomes.