In 1986, the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus appointed a Study Group on Student Involvement to examine the level of students’ involvement in the educational, cultural, and social life of the campus and to make recommendations to the Strategic Planning Committee.  The Study Group distributed 100 questionnaires to different populations on campus, and received 41 responses.   Here are their findings, in summary:

Our “average” student is male. He is about 19 or 20 yrs. old. He is pursuing a Technology/Engineering curriculum. He is taking about 15 hrs. of classes per week and studies about 15 hours per week outside of the class room.  He works between 10-20 hrs. a week in off-campus employment. He is receiving financial aid; lives at home and neither of his parents are college graduates.  His grades average between C+ and B+. He is white.

Library

His most frequent use of the library is as a quiet place to study. Occasionally he will ask the Librarian for help in finding material on some topic; however he hardly ever runs down leads cited in his text books; nor reads specialized collections or references.

 

Read the full Report of the Study Group on Student Involvement, 1986. How different was the student experience in 1986 to the experience today?