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SATCLASS being the dependent variables, and family and high school background
characteristics being the independent variables. The multiple correlations (and their
squares) resulting from these regression analyses, performed for first-year students
separately and then for all students, are presented in Table IIE-5.
We can see that background variables have a much stronger effect on the
satisfaction of first-year students than on students at more advanced levels. The square of
the multiple correlation tells us how much of the variation in the dependent variable can
be explained by all of the background characteristics taken together. For first year
students, more than a quarter of the variation in satisfaction with the program offerings
(SATCHOIC) can be explained by these background characteristics. Among more
advanced students, however, less than 7% of the variation is explained by family and
high school background; at more advanced levels, involvement in the program itself is
more important than the background with which the student enters the program.
Similarly, among first-year students, background characteristics explain 17% of the
variation in satisfaction with class work (SATCLASS), but only 4% of the variation
among more advanced students. Among more advanced students, satisfaction with
coursework is more strongly related to their achievement at Rowan, as we will see below.
IIE-166