Student Involvement and Student Unions: A Case Study Of Commuter Students at a California State University

There is limited research on how different elements of higher education institutions influence the involvement of commuter students in co-curricular activities in a positive manner. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how commuter students decide to become involved in co-curricular activities on campus and how student unions support their involvement in those activities at a California State University. This study is grounded in Astin’s Student Involvement Theory (1984), which states that “students do better in college the more they are involved, both inside and outside the classroom” (p. 285). An intrinsic case study was the method used to perform the study, and the two data collection methods utilized were a survey and focus groups. This study determined that commuter students become involved to network, to grow personally, and to develop a sense of belonging to the campus. The results also concluded that the main ways in which student unions can support the involvement of commuter students in co-curricular activities is by providing commuter friendly services, having spaces for commuter students to connect with other commuter students, and by offering a wide range of involvement opportunities. Recommendations are offered matters relating to program development, professional development, graduation initiatives, student involvement, and future research.