Does Age Matter? A Study of Transfer Students' College Experience and Adjustment Process. AIR 1999 Annual Forum Paper.

This study compared the outcomes and experiences of 275 older and 442 younger liberal arts students who had transferred from California community colleges to a research I California university in fall 1994 and spring 1995. The study's conceptual perspective was that of "quality of effort," which considers both what the institution offers and what students do with these offerings. Subjects completed a 304-item Transfer Students' Questionnaire which was organized into three main sections: (1) social demographics; (2) community college experiences; and (3) university experiences. Findings suggest that younger students and older students are likely to have different experiences at the two- and four-year institutions in their level of effort, involvement, and perceptions. At the community college level both younger and older groups had similar grade point averages (GPAs), but younger students spent more time in social and extracurricular activities. Older students scored significantly higher in the "course learning" and "experience in writing" factors. At the university, older students had significantly higher GPAs, devoted more effort to their experiences with faculty and course learning, and were more satisfied with their overall experiences, whereas younger students continued to be more involved in social and extracurricular activities and were less satisfied overall. (Contains 22 references and 7 tables.) (DB)