Selected Writings: Student Success or Student Non-Dissatisfaction?
Jerry A. Pattengale, Indiana Wesleyan University. This article appeared in Growth Journal (Spring 2006) in an edited form and is used here with permission. The essence of this article served as the background for numerous conference and campus presentations, is reflected in Jerry’s “Foreword” to Tracy L. Skipper’s text, Student Development in the First College Year: A Primer for College Educators (2005, National Resource Center, ISBN-13 978-1-889271-52-1), and is the fulcrum of Jerry’s texts The Purpose-Guided Student and Why I Teach (McGraw-Hill). These notions also frame the lead chapter in Helping Sophomores Succeed (Jossey Bass)--co-authored with John Gardner, Mary Stuart Hunter, Scott Evenbeck, Barbara Tobolowsky, Laurie Schreiner and Molly Schaller.
INTRODUCTION: IS SOMETHING AWRY IN WANTING SATISFIED STUDENTS?
The majority of student success programs are actually programs of student non-dissatisfaction. Addressing student dissatisfaction may nudge retention rates a bit higher, but this approach targets second-rate causes of student attrition.
Campuses that begin their retention efforts with student satisfaction surveys often focus on areas of dissatisfaction—aspects of the college experience rarely tied to student motivation. Therein is the main problem facing many well-oiled student success efforts. The removal of dissatisfaction neither guarantees satisfaction nor addresses motivation—an observation popularized by psychologist Frederick Herzberg (1991/2005).
Read the full article in the attached PDF.
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