How College Affects Students Getting Jobs

This week’s reading from How College Affects Students introduces an interesting concept for readers, how college affects a student’s ability to get a job. Of course one of the main reasons students go to college is to get a good job but according to Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) there are so many factors that go into getting a job with a college degree. Just like in every other chapter in the book, Chapter 9 starts out with a section describing the change during college for the future employment of students. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) reference studies that found that seniors in college tend to have a better grasp of the realities of the labor market and tend to be better equipped when it comes time for them to enter the ‘real-world’. The authors do throw out the caution that those characteristics of seniors may not be a direct result of college, which seems to be a reoccurring theme with this book. A lot of uncertainty and inconsistencies with data.

The next section in the chapter discusses the net effects of college. In this section the authors talk a lot of about the impact getting a certain degree can have on the occupation success of students. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) give statistically data proving that bachelor’s degrees, associates degrees and vocational certificates give a person a specific advantage over those with just a high school diploma. This data can and should be used to persuade potential students into attending college because they will make more money later in life than they would if they just stayed with a high school diploma. The book also talks about how secondary education positively impacts workforce participation and decreases the probability of unemployment for students. On the flip side of that, some research shows a negative impact on job satisfaction for those with college degrees because of expectations they may have of the job.

The next section, between-college effects presents the most interesting information in the chapter, I think. The authors talk a lot of how institutional selectivity impacts subsequent earnings and occupational placement. According to the book, institutional selectivity has a positive impact on job attainment but only in middle rank jobs, not the highest ranked jobs on the market. This statement is only invalid when it comes to high status jobs like lawyers and doctors because institutional status plays a lot into how well a candidate is viewed in a job search. The chapter also talks about the effects of HBC’s on student employment success and single-sex institutions. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) say that HBCs help to foster ambition in students who attend their universities but do not seem to have any statistically significant impact on student’s future earnings. Single-sex institutions seem to have an impact on fame at work for a women but may also push her towards marrying rich to help support her.

The most interesting point this chapter made was when it talked about progressive conformity. According to the book, progressive conformity refers to when a student picks a major/ field of study that is impacted by the dominant peer group. This term is a new concept to me and is kind of hard to understand. This concept talks to the idea that students who attend a university that has a high percentage of students in a certain major are more likely to go into that major. For example, if a unversity is known for their business department, research shows more students will gravitate towards a degree within the business department. 

Fraternity and Sorority Article Reflection Paper

Changing Trends in the Undergraduate Fraternity/ Sorority Experience: An Evaluative and Analytically Literature Review      

This week’s readings were very interesting but a little repetitive in nature. This was probably for a reason but it felt like all the articles were stating the same statistics and overall themes. The meta-analysis Changing Trends in the Undergraduate Fraternity/ Sorority Experience: An Evaluative and Analytically Literature Review had a lot of great research and facts presented to its readers. The subjects the authors chose to highlight in their literature review gave the reader a better sense of what research has been done to help the student affairs profession better understand the inner workings of fraternity/ sorority organization. As I was reading this literature review, I could not help but think of how helpful this information would be when organizations try to end the perpetuation of stereotypes that surround their group. The first section of the lit review focuses on alcohol abuse which is a big problem looming over Greek organizations. The stereotype for these organizations is that all students involved in these groups are heavy drinkers and this review gives light to what is actually going on. The research presented does say that statistically affiliated students do drink way more than their non-affiliated counterparts but the point is also made that students are made to think that is the norm therefor perpetuating the problem.

            Hazing was another topic that was covered in this lit review also plagues Greek organizations. One interesting quote that I took away from this section was “hazing and pledging activities seem to be viewed similarly by fraternity/sorority members, except when asked to determine responsibility” (Perkins et. Al, 2011). The lit reviews states that most Greek organizations lay blame for hazing on different people depending on their gender. Fraternity men laid blame on the organization president and the brothers who hazed whereas the sorority women and non-members laid blame on the initiation process and the organization itself. (2011). This allows student affairs professions to tailor their anti-hazing campaigns to fit the viewpoints of the type of organizations.

The section on sexual assault was probably the most disturbing yet unsurprising section in the lit review. The authors discuss the preconceived notions fraternity men had about drinking and the ability to give consent. The lit review says “A few of these nonverbal signals included a woman flirting with a man, remaining in close proximity or contact with a man, undressing in front of a man, and dancing with a man… these men also described consent as being contextual.. Some believed that if a man and woman were in a dating relationship, consent was assumed” (2011). This idea is not new to me but is frightening to think that this idea is still perpetuated on college campuses today. The lit review also referenced an article that found fraternity men were more likely to respond to an rape prevention course more if a survivor was present to tell their story than if they were just sat in a room and given a lecture. This idea should be incorporated into rape prevention courses for fraternity and sorority organizations as well as education on breaking the stereotypical rape culture thinking.

The Effects of Fraternity/ Sorority Membership on College Experiences and Outcomes: A Portrait of Complexity.

The other piece we read this week looked at how being in a Greek organization effected college experiences and outcomes. The study looked at academic and social engagement, a culture of drinking, and college outcomes. Most of the information flipped what the stereotype of Greek members being unintelligent by showing that the students who are involved in these organizations are academically sound for many reasons. Some of those reasons are how involved they are with faculty members, how civically engaged they are as well as incorporate diversity initiatives into their lives. The most surprising data that the authors presented were the statistics of binge drinking. When I read these I was floored because there was no way these students were drinking this much on a regular basis. “the net odds of senior fraternity/ sorority members binge drinking twice, three to five times, and six or more times in a two-week period were respectively 3.0, 2.6 and 3.5 times greater than the odds of unaffiliated seniors doing so” (Asel et. Al, 2009). My first thought was how these students have so much time and money on their hands that they can drink that much their senior year and then I thought how it would affect them academically. That much of a distraction much take its toll on them academically in a time when they really cannot afford to slip up. 

Resources

Asel, A., Seifert, T., and Pascarella, E. (2009) The Effects of Fraternity/ Sorority Membership On College Experiences and Outcomes: A Portrait of Complexity. The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors: 4(2), 1-15.

Perkins, A., Zimmerman, D., and Janosik, S. (2011). Changing Trends in the Undergraduate Fraternity/ Sorority Experience: An Evaluative and Analytical Literature Review. The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors: 6(1), 65/73.