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Transitioning Into a Major: The Effectiveness of an

Academic Intervention Course
a

Jeanne Almaraz , James Bassett & Olukemi Sawyerr

a

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California, USA

Available online: 13 Feb 2011

To cite this article: Jeanne Almaraz, James Bassett & Olukemi Sawyerr (2010): Transitioning Into a Major: The Effectiveness
of an Academic Intervention Course, Journal of Education for Business, 85:6, 343-348
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JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 85: 343348, 2010

C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Copyright

ISSN: 0883-2323
DOI: 10.1080/08832321003604953

Transitioning Into a Major: The Effectiveness of an

Academic Intervention Course
Jeanne Almaraz, James Bassett, and Olukemi Sawyerr

Downloaded by [201.47.27.211] at 07:07 26 April 2012

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, California, USA

The authors examined the effectiveness of a course designed to assist students in transitioning
into a business major in achieving its learning outcomes in three areas: knowledge of the
curriculum, utilization of the career center, and an appreciation of the value of and involvement
in cocurricular activities. We collected data from 361 students enrolled in the course. The
results indicate that the course was effective in all three areas, having a positive impact on
both first-generation college students and those who are not. The value of a college-concurrent
intervention for all types of students is discussed.
Keywords: academic intervention, academic preparation, college transition, management
education

There is a body of studies that are rooted in a desire to increase participation in postsecondary education and the acquisition of degrees. Some of these studies have focused on
college-concurrent programs that work to support students
presently enrolled in college and are frequently designed to
ease students transition into college and facilitate retention.
The literature is replete with a wide variety of programs
and activities as vehicles for college preparation, but they
have often featured a single intervention focused on either
academic or psychosocial development issues. In addition,
although some researchers explored perceptual changes regarding preparation, not all examined behavioral changes.
Further, many of these programs have been special offerings rather than being integrated into the regular curriculum
and its learning objectives. However, opportunities for personal and professional development may present themselves
to students in the form of academic advising, involvement
in student organizations and activities, cocurricular learning
opportunities, career center offerings, internships, and other
programs. Nevertheless, a student may fulfill the requirements for graduation and receive a degree without pursuing
the benefit of these resourceseffectively denying themselves the additional value that these resources would have
brought to their education.

Correspondence should be addressed to Jeanne Almaraz, California State

Polytechnic University, Pomona, Department of Management and Human
Resources, 3801 W. Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768, USA. E-mail:
jaalmaraz@csupomona.edu

Although several programs have focused on the efficacy of

basic forms of college preparation, such as improving study
skills, examinations of the effect of preparation on student
participation in campus-based learning enrichment programs
have received relatively little attention. Our purpose in this
study is to examine a particular college-concurrent program
aimed at encouraging students to take advantage of the many
professional development opportunities available to them in
the university environment. In as much as the value of a
college degree is extended by the breadth and depth of such
educational enhancements, levels of student participation in
these activities deserves attention as well.

College-Concurrent Preparation and Support

Although a variety of college preparation programs exist for
high school students that focus on developing academic skills
and improving scores on standardized tests to increase the
likelihood of admission to college, continuing support during the college years may improve retention and graduation
rates. Orientation programs, assistance with adjustment to
the college environment, and advising are some examples of
such support. College-concurrent preparation programs can
be examined with regard to both their content and process.
Although some researchers have suggested that the selection of program elements is the critical factor in determining
the effectiveness of the program, still others indicate that
the skillfulness and commitment with which a program is
delivered is also a critical component of program success.

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344

J. ALMARAZ ET AL.

College-concurrent support programs were advocated by

Kaelber (2007), who documented his experience with a freshman program, a first-year offering designed to prepare incoming students for the educational opportunities offered by the
university. The program served not merely as an orientation
to the campus but, more importantly, as a training experience
to enhance students academic skills and teach new students
how to build professional working relationships with faculty
that facilitate learning. Thus, the programs focus extended
beyond the scope of typical academic preparation to include
the facilitation of student-teacher partnerships in learning.
Kaelber noted that encouraging enrollment in a freshmen
program is not enough to improve students performance.
He contended that for a freshman program to be successful
students in such a first-year program should be encouraged
strongly to cultivate skills in active learning and critical thinking as well as build a stronger sense of partnership with their
professors. Kaelber argued that the collaboration of faculty
and students working together toward student achievement is
an essential element for the success of such programs. In this
way, freshman programs can lead to a smoother transition
for students into their university experience and can lead to
higher retention rates for new college students.
First-generation students may particularly benefit from
college-concurrent support programs that better prepare them
to take advantage of educational opportunities. A study by
Byrd and MacDonald (2005) explored the readiness, success, and strengths of first-generation college graduates and
how their level of preparation is not measured by traditional
standardized tests. The factors associated with readiness for
college were academic skills, time management, goal focus,
and self-advocacy. The studys qualitative analysis revealed
four critical background elements that affected college performance. These included family factors, career influences,
financial concerns, and college preparation. The authors also
identified additional issues that impacted students ability
to navigate college culture, such as self-concept and understanding of the college system and standards. In addition to
academic skills, student characteristics such as goals, attitudes, and motivation were also found to contribute to the
success of entrance and longevity in college. The authors
recommended additional research with a view to improving
student advising and placementparticularly for nontraditional students. Also suggested are efforts to help students
to recognize and leverage their strengths to improve academic performance. Development of favorable financial aid
programs for high-risk students was also emphasized.
Addus, Chen, and Khan (2007) also considered the effectiveness of advisement as a tool to supplement a lack
of precollege preparation and to help students overcome
college-concurrent academic challenges that affect students
performance. They surveyed 1055 college students use of
campus academic assistance programs. The study recorded
students overall GPAs, identified the severity of academic
and related issues that affected students performance from

their freshman to senior years, and evaluated perceived effectiveness of advisement and counseling services. Addus et al.
noted that inadequate preparation, working long hours, poor
study habits, family responsibilities, lack of self-confidence,
and social and extracurricular activities have a direct correlation with low grades and high dropout rates. They also
documented that poor-performing students often failed to
take advantage of support services and that students generally reported that they perceived advisement services to
be ineffective. The authors recommended the development
of an academic monitoring and advisement center for each
respective discipline versus a university-wide service in order to monitor, encourage, and assist students in achieving
educational and career objectives.
There appears to be evidence that, under the right circumstances, college-concurrent preparation and support services
can improve retention and graduation rates. Precollege preparation alone, though valuable, may not always be sufficient to
ensure that students will realize the full benefit of the learning
opportunities afforded by a college education. Support, guidance and encouragement coupled with a high quality array
of cocurricular activities that are conducive to learning may
add an important dimension to students success in college.
Present Study
In the fall of 2004, the Management and Human Resources
(MHR) Department of a large, four-year public university
began developing a course that would educate students about
the MHR curriculum, provide information about careers and
career planning, and encourage students to take advantage of
on-campus opportunities for personal and professional development, particularly those present in cocurricular activities. The MHR department found over the years that many
majors did not fully understand the curriculum and associated policies and as a result often made mistakes that sometimes delayed graduation. The department also noticed that
many students did not avail themselves of the wealth of opportunities for personal and professional growth available
on the campus such as the career center and cocurricular
activities.
The design of the course was both functional and introspective. From the functional perspective, three specific
outcomes were targeted. These included student knowledge
and understanding of the policies and procedures inherent
in the MHR curriculum, exploration and utilization of the
Career Center on campus, and an appreciation of the value of
cocurricular activities and encouragement to become more
involved in such activities. In the duration of the course, students are informed about the procedures and policies of the
MHR department and the university. In addition, students are
required to spend an hour of research and attend a variety of
activities (of their own choosing) in the on-campus Career
Center. This may include attending career fairs and attending
presentations in the Career Center on interview skills, resume

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ACADEMIC INTERVENTION COURSE

workshops, and other activities. Finally, the strategic value

of cocurricular activities is explored and reinforced through
presentations from leaders in student clubs. Such activities
are designed to help students understand the networking opportunities and the many resources available to them on the
campus.
From a developmental perspective, students in the class
are engaged in a number of career review activities designed to help them articulate and claim transferable skills
in documenting their qualifications and in personal development planning. Students formulate career development
plans for leveraging their talents and abilities toward professional careers. Individual plans reflect self-awareness, wellarticulated transferable skills, and insights from significant
self-directed efforts at career research. Efforts are made to
bridge competency achievements and transferable skills with
required competences in order to attain desired entry level
jobs upon graduation and target jobs in their chosen fields
after 5 years.
Although a wide variety of programs and activities have
been represented in the literature as vehicles for college
preparation, they have often featured a single intervention
focused on either academic or psychosocial development issues. In addition, although some studies explored perceptual
changes regarding preparation, not all examined behavioral
changes. Further, many of these programs have been special
offerings rather than being integrated into the regular curriculum and its learning objectives. Critical in many of the studies
was the issue of differential preparationhow well prepared
students were when they entered the programin the effectiveness of the intervention program. Some of the reviewed
studies associated this differential preparation with whether
or not students were first-generation college students.
Rather than the single-intervention technique, the course
was designed to address academic and psychosocial as well
as other issues of preparation bundled together into a unified approach. Featuring an experiential learning method,
the course was intended to generate both behavioral and perceptual changes among the participants. Course designers
recognized that students were likely to come to the class
with varying levels of collegiate preparation and were sensitive to these differences in the planning of the course. An
awareness of the fact that many class participants would be
first-generation college students, with greater need and thus
potential for greater benefit from preparation activities, also
informed the course development process.
In this study, we examined the effectiveness of a course
specifically developed and integrated into the curriculum in
terms of achieving the stated learning outcomes and the impact on that achievement caused by differences that may exist
in terms of the students perceived level of preparedness for
the collegiate experience. Three key questions emerged and
the following hypotheses were developed to address them.
First, to what extent can a course designed to prepare students
to take greater advantage of the college experience, in terms

345

of programs, courses, campus resources and leadership, and

networking opportunities, achieve its learning objectives?
Hypothesis 1 (H 1 ): MHR 201 course outcomes would be
achieved as demonstrated in a significant difference in
the pre- and posttest scores of the respondents in their
knowledge of the MHR Curriculum, use of the Career
Center services, value they ascribe to cocurricular activities, and the degree of participation in cocurricular
activities.
The second hypothesis addressed the issue of whether the
course would influence the perceived level of preparedness
for college among the respondents. Essentially, we were interested in finding out whether or not the students would
perceive that they were better prepared for the college experience as a result of taking this course. To address this issue,
the following hypothesis was proposed:
H 2 : There would be a significant difference in the pre- and
posttest scores of the respondents in their perceived level
of preparedness for the college experience.
The third hypothesis addressed whether students who
come into such a course with perceptions of low levels of
preparation for college performed worse on the three outcomes of the course than those who came into the course
with perceptions of high levels of preparation for college.
On a related note, we wondered whether performance on the
three outcomes of the course would vary for the students
based on whether or not they self-identified as first generation to college. The following hypotheses addressed these
questions:
H 3a : There would be significant differences in the respondents pre- and posttest scores on the three outcomes of
the course based on their perceived level of preparedness for college with the respondents who perceive a
higher level of preparedness scoring better than those
who perceive a lower level of preparedness.
H 3b : There would be significant differences in the respondents pre- and posttest scores on the three outcomes
of the course based on whether or not they were firstgeneration college students, with first-generation college students scoring lower than those who are not firstgeneration college students.

METHOD
Participants and Procedures
Data were collected in MHR 201 as part of a voluntary exercise during the seven quarters from fall 2006 to spring 2008.
The course was piloted in the 20052006 academic year. It
was approved by the College of Business Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and added permanently to the curriculum

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J. ALMARAZ ET AL.

as a requirement for all MHR majors in the 20062007 academic year. All MHR majors are required to take the course
before proceeding to upper division courses.
On the first day of class students were provided the purpose of the study, assured confidentiality, signed a consent
form, and completed the precourse survey. On the last day
of instruction, students signed a consent form and completed
the postcourse survey. Each survey took approximately 15
min to complete.
A total of 474 students were enrolled in the course during
the two academic years the surveys were administered. A
total of 361 students completed useable pairs of the pre- and
postcourse surveys, resulting in a response rate of 76%. Sixty
percent of the sample comprised women and 36% considered themselves first-generation college students. Students
who self-identified as Asian constituted 31% of the sample,
Hispanic students constituted 30%, White students constituted 27%, Black students constituted 6%, Native American
students constituted less than 1%, and students identified as
Other constituted 6%.
Measures
The precourse survey had four sections. The first section had
twelve items designed to ascertain a students knowledge
of the MHR Curriculum (MHR Curriculum Outcome). The
questions were in the form of a multiple choice and true or
false test. The students were asked to select the best response.
The section contained questions such as, If you transfer into
MHR in a different year than you enrolled in the University, which MHR curriculum must you follow? The second
section was composed of 15 items designed to ascertain a students utilization of the services offered by the Career Center
(Career Center Utilization Outcome). The questions asked
the students to indicate whether they had taken advantage of
specific Career Center services, such as Career Assessment
Tests, Resumania, or MonsterTrak. The third section aimed to
ascertain the value ascribed to and the degree of involvement
in cocurricular activities (Cocurricular Value and Participation Outcome). The first part of section three listed 10 competencies identified by employers as being necessary for employability. The respondents were asked the extent to which
they believed participation in cocurricular activities could
help them develop these skills using a 7-item Likert-type
scale ranging from 1 (not at all valuable) to 7 (very valuable).
The second part asked the respondents to indicate their degree of involvement in college of business-based, universitybased, and/or non-campus-based clubs/organizations using a
7-item Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at all involved)
to 7 (highly involved). The fourth section obtained demographic information of gender, raceethnicity, the number of
hours worked, and whether they were first-generation college students. Respondents were asked if they were the first
in their families to attend college. They were also asked to
indicate on the same 7-item Likert-type scale the extent to

TABLE 1
Descriptive Statistics for Study Variables
Variable
1. MHR curriculum
2. Career center ctilization
3. Cocurricular value
4. Cocurricular participation
5. Preparedness

Pretest
Posttest
Pretest
Posttest
Pretest
Posttest
Pretest
Posttest
Pretest
Posttest

SD

5.74
7.01
3.88
7.33
6.16
6.19
1.78
2.27
3.73
5.26

2.03
1.71
2.84
2.56
0.80
0.91
1.25
1.45
1.73
1.29

which their parents or other family members were involved in

their college-related decisions. Finally, we sought to evaluate
the extent to which the respondents felt they were prepared
for the college experience. The respondents were asked to
indicate on a 7-item Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not at
all prepared) to 7 (very well prepared) the extent they felt
they were prepared for the college experience. The pre- and
postcourse surveys were identical, with the exception that in
the demographic section only one item was retained, which
was the extent to which the respondents felt prepared for the
college experience.
RESULTS
Table 1 includes descriptive statistics for all variables tested.
In H 1 we predicted that MHR 201 course outcomes would
be achieved as demonstrated in a significant difference in the
pre- and postcourse scores of the respondents on the three
learning outcomes. This hypothesis was partially supported.
Paired-samples t tests showed significant differences in the
pre- and posttest scores for the knowledge of the MHR curriculum, t(360) = 26.065, p > .001, utilization of the career
center services, t(360) = 26.065, p > .001, and participation in cocurricular activities, t(360) = 7.633, p > .001. The
difference between the pre- and posttest scores for the value
ascribed to cocurricular activities did not differ significantly,
t(359) = 0.743, p < .05.
In H 2 we predicted that there would be differences in
the pre- and postcourse scores of the level of preparedness
perceived by the respondents. This hypothesis was supported.
The extent to which the respondents felt prepared for the
college experience differed significantly between the preand postcourse surveys, t(360) = 16.463, p > .001.
For the third hypothesis we predicted that there would be
significant differences in the performance of the students in
the pre- and postcourse surveys on the three outcomes of the
course based on the perceived level of preparation for the college experience (H 3a ) and whether they were first-generation
to attend college (H 3b ). We performed independent samples t
tests. We found significant differences in the precourse scores

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ACADEMIC INTERVENTION COURSE

of the two groups for participation in cocurricular activities

with students who indicated they were highly prepared taking greater advantage of cocurricular activities even before
taking the course, t(308) = 2.259, p > .05. There were no
significant differences in the pre- and postcourse scores of
the two groups for knowledge of the MHR Curriculum, use
of career center services and value ascribed to cocurricular
activities. We found significant differences in the postcourse
scores of the two groups on the value ascribed to and participation in cocurricular activities. Respondents who indicated
they were highly prepared for the college experience appeared to ascribe greater value to, t(265) = 2.200, p > .05,
and demonstrated greater participation in, t(265) = 2.440,
p > .05, cocurricular activities after the course as compared
with students who indicated they were not that prepared for
the college experience. We found significant differences between those who indicated they were first-generation college
students and those who indicated they were not in the precourse cocurricular participation score, t(308) = 2.554, p >
.05, with those who were not first-generation college students taking greater advantage of cocurricular activities even
before taking the course. There were no significant differences between first-generation and non-first-generation respondents in their pre- and postcourse scores for any of the
other variables.
DISCUSSION
The results of the study provide support for the effectiveness
of a course that is specifically developed and integrated into
the curriculum to prepare students to gain greater outcomes
from their collegiate experience. Such a course can have a
positive effect on students, regardless of their prior level of
college preparation. In the present study, we found that by
the end of the course students had a greater understanding of
the MHR curriculum, had increased their use of career center
services as well as become more involved in cocurricular activities. Precollege preparation alone, though valuable, may
not always be sufficient to ensure that students will realize
the full benefit of the learning opportunities afforded by a
college education. In line with the extant literature (Addus
et al., 2007; Byrd & MacDonald, 2005; Nonis & Hudson,
2006), the results of our study provide support for the effectiveness of curricular innovations designed to aid students in
leveraging the multiple opportunities available on a college
campus for personal and professional development.
The issue of college preparedness as perceived by the students was significantly increased by the end of the course.
This improvement occurred whether students were first to
college in their families or whether they had family role
models who had been through college in the past. This result provides support for requiring this type of course for all
students, regardless of their degree of preparedness. When it
comes to the academic and career planning of an individual
student, it seems that all students benefit from a course that

347

requires them to self-assess and pursue opportunities on campus for information and mentoring about avenues of study as
well as career opportunities.
Finally, we looked at students who felt they were more
and less prepared for the college experience as well as students who were not the first to attend college in their families
and those who were the first to attend college. We did not
find any significant difference between these groups when it
came to curriculum issues or use of career center services
and activities. However, we did find a significant difference
when it came to the perception of value of, and the level
of participation in, cocurricular activities. Students who felt
more prepared for their college experience put more value
in cocurricular activities and were, in fact, involved in more
of these activities prior to beginning the course. In contrast,
students who felt less prepared or were the first to attend
college did not participate in as many activities prior to taking the course. This difference continued at the end of the
course, even though more of all types of students felt that
cocurricular involvement had value to them and they all had
a greater level of involvement by the end of the course. Byrd
and MacDonald (2005) identified family factors as issues
that impacted students ability to navigate college culture
and understand the college system and standards. It appears
that in the absence of family members who had gone to college, first-generation college students were not cognizant of
the value of cocurricular activities and as a result did not
take advantage of the opportunities for personal and professional improvement offered by these activities. However,
upon completion of the course both the value they ascribed
to these activities and their participation in them increased.
Again, this result provides support to prior research that has
found utility in college-concurrent interventions designed to
empower students to identify and take advantage of a wider
array of offerings on the college campus to enhance their
college education (Kaebler, 2007).
Implications
The results of this study have multiple implications for the
design of college-concurrent interventions. Many collegeconcurrent intervention programs often feature a single intervention focused on either academic or psychosocial development issues and have been single interventions rather than
being integrated into the regular curriculum and its learning objectives. In addition, although some studies explored
perceptual changes regarding preparation, not all examined
behavioral changes. The results of the present study provide
some support for the effectiveness of a required course specifically developed and integrated into the curriculum to prepare
students to gain greater outcomes from their collegiate experience. Rather than the single-intervention technique, the
course was designed to address academic and psychosocial
as well as other issues of preparation bundled together into a
unified approach.

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348

J. ALMARAZ ET AL.

Critical in many extant studies was the issue of differential preparationhow well prepared students were when
they entered the programin the effectiveness of the intervention program. Some of the reviewed studies associated this differential preparation with whether students were
first-generation college students. Our results demonstrate the
value of such an integrated approach to students regardless
of their levels of preparedness or whether they are firstgeneration college students. This is encouraging, given the
reality of the 4-year university system in which students may
be first-time freshmen, transfer students, or transfers from
other majors. Regardless of these factors, students from all
levels seemed to master the material and moved forward in
their perception of preparedness for college after taking the
course. The value of such a course to students at any level
reinforces the importance of continued support for students
during the college years.
Of particular interest is the perception of cocurricular activities and the value ascribed to them by students who are
first to college and those who are not. This aspect of college
life may be less visible and therefore perceived as less valuable by students who have no one at home to relate stories of
college life to them. Their perceived norms of the college experience may not encompass cocurricular activities. Students
may only be taking the classes they are told to take and assume that this is all that the college experience is about. The
implication of this result is the need to include educating students on the value of cocurricular activities and encouraging
participation in an integrated approach to college-concurrent
intervention programs.
Limitations and Future Research
This study has a number of limitations. Survey research has
often been criticized and this study is no exception to this

criticism. All data are self-report measures as is typical of

survey research. Perhaps it would be useful for future researchers to examine the students knowledge of the curriculum, utilization of the career center, and appreciation
of the value of and participation in cocurricular activities
from the perspective of a third party before and after the
course.
We did not examine the impact of such a course on persistence in college and graduation rates. Future researchers
should include longitudinal studies that examine the impact
of a college-concurrent program integrated into the regular
curriculum and its learning objectives on retention and graduation rates. Of special interest is whether or not a good
understanding of the curriculum and its associated policies
impact retention and graduation rates. Also, do students that
value and participate in cocurricular activities have higher
retention and graduation rates than those who do not? Finally, it would be interesting to explore the issue of college preparedness as perceived by the students in order to
further delineate what is missing in their perceptions of
preparedness.

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Addus, A., Chen, D., & Khan, A. (2007). Academic performance and advisement of university students: a case study. College Student Journal,
41, 316326.
Byrd, K., & MacDonald, G. (2005). Defining college readiness from the
inside out: First-generation college student perspectives. Community College Review, 33, 2237.
Kaelber, W. (2007). A senior professor tackles the freshman program. Liberal Education, 93(1), 5660.
Nonis, S., and Hudson, G. (2006). Academic performance of college students: Influence of time spent studying and working. Journal of Education
for Business, 81, 151159.