Academic Engagement Differences by Honors Course Enrollment Status for Community College Students: A National Analysis

In this investigation, the extent to which differences were present in scholastic and faculty engagement as a function of community college student honors course enrollment status was addressed using data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement. Statistically significant differences were revealed for all 7 measures of scholastic engagement: classroom participation, making presentations, completion of multiple drafts, synthesis of information from various sources for course papers, class preparation, in-class group project participation, and out-of-class group project participation. Statistically significant differences were also revealed for 6 measures of faculty engagement: frequency of e-mail communication, discussion of assignments or grades, out-of-class discussions of course concepts, receiving prompt written or verbal feedback, effort required to meet instructor expectations, and collaboration on non-course activities. Students who had been enrolled in an honors course were more engaged scholastically and interacted more with faculty than students who had not been enrolled in an honors course.

Keywords: Academic engagement, class participation, community college, Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE), faculty interaction, group work, honors students.