Student involvement in the college experience at selected colleges and universities affiliated with the United Methodist Church as measured by the College Student Experiences Questionnaire

The problem of this study was to determine the extent of involvement of students from selected United Methodist colleges in their total college experience as measured by the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) and to note important comparisons among and within these colleges with appropriate national data. A random sample of students was selected from colleges and universities representing six geographic areas of the United States with emphasis on the Carnegie classifications of general liberal arts and selective liberal arts. The sample represented one-third of the full-time enrollments at each institution.;The United Methodist institutions were compared with the national data, as well as among themselves; with the general liberal arts institutions and the selective liberal arts institutions; with the males and females; and with the freshmen and seniors.;Even though the students in this study participated in more out-of-classroom activities involving interpersonal relationships and the use of campus facilities than those of the national comparison group, one should note that in many other areas they equaled that of the national reference group. Only in the areas of library experiences, course learning, and science were they below the reference group.;The students attending these United Methodist institutions were quite similar to those students represented in the national data and in C. Robert Pace's publications. The many groups that were depicted in this study showed the similarities between the groups.;This study lends itself to the body of knowledge that has been researched regarding the CSEQ. Though other religion-affiliated institutions have been studied, the similarities and the uniqueness of the United Methodist institutions add to the wealth of information available to those studying higher education and the student involvement at these institutions.