Involvement and persistence: Nontraditional student perceptions of the student-college relationship.

This study was based upon the premise that college students who perceive themselves to matter to their institutions will be more involved and inclined to persist in their educational experiences than those who perceive themselves to be marginalized. The study pursued the question of possible relationships among student perceptions of mattering, involvement and persistence with emphasis on nontraditional student issues. A questionnaire, The Mattering Scales for Adult Students in Postsecondary Education, with additional sections to measure perceptions of involvement and persistence, was administered to a sample of nontraditional and traditional students at a commuter oriented co-educational institution of 6,500 students which offers associate and bachelor level degree programs. Relationships were determined among the mattering, involvement and persistence perceptions of the 67 nontraditional and 222 traditional students who comprised the sample. The perceptions of the institutional environment held by nontraditional and traditional students were unexpectedly similar. With some exceptions, student perceptions of mattering in relation to the institution were independent of their perceived levels of involvement and persistence. As the results of the study were inconclusive, recommendations were qualified by the need for more extensive testing of the mattering construct.