A comparison of Hispanic and Caucasian undergraduate students' quality of effort of involvement, level of satisfaction, and perception of the college environment

This study used a random sample of Hispanic and Caucasian students from three four-year universities in Colorado. Of the 540 participants who were mailed the CSEQ (College Student Experience Questionnaire), 215 completed questionnaires were used in the analysis.;Significant ethnic main effect differences occurred on the following scales: clubs and organizations, student acquaintances, personal experiences, library experiences, and topics of conversations (Hispanics reported being more involved). Significant main effect differences were noted for four of the five independent variables (age, gender, grades, and class level). Age was significant on student union, athletic and recreational facilities, clubs and organizations, personal experiences, student acquaintances, and topics of conversation (younger students reported being more involved). Gender was significant on athletic and recreational facilities, information in conversations (males reported higher scores then females), and personal experience (females reported higher scores than males). Grades were significant on the experience with faculty scale (students indicating "A-B" grades were more involved). Class level was significant on library experience, experience with faculty (seniors reported being more involved), and student union (juniors reported being more involved).;Age was significant for level of satisfaction. Older students were more satisfied than younger students.;A significant ethnic difference occurred on two of the eight environmental scales. Those scales included: (a) the development of academic and (b) the development of esthetic qualities on campus (Hispanics perceived less of an institutional emphasis on both scales). Of the independent variables under study, transfer status and class level were found to be significant. Grades were significant on relationship with faculty (students indicating"A-B" grades perceived a higher emphasis). Transfer status was significant on the development of esthetics (transfer students perceived a higher emphasis. Class level was significant on the development of academic qualities (freshmen, juniors, and seniors perceived a higher emphasis); development of vocational competence (freshmen and juniors perceived a higher institutional emphasis); and relevance of coursework (freshmen, juniors, and seniors perceived a higher emphasis).;Major findings revealed a significant interaction between ethnicity x gender on the student union scale (Hispanic males reported being more involved than Caucasian males or females of either group); ethnicity x grades on the science/technology and information in conversations scales (Caucasians indicating "A" grades reported being more involved than Hispanics indicating similar grades); ethnicity x class level on art/music/theatre, clubs and organizations, and student acquaintances (Hispanic seniors reported being more involved).