08832323.2015.1110553
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Professional student organizations and
experiential learning activities: What drives
student intentions to participate?
Laura Munoz, Richard Miller & Sonja Martin Poole
To cite this article: Laura Munoz, Richard Miller & Sonja Martin Poole (2016)
Professional student organizations and experiential learning activities: What drives
student intentions to participate?, Journal of Education for Business, 91:1, 45-51, DOI:
10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
Published online: 01 Dec 2015.
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 18:55
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS
2016, VOL. 91, NO. 1, 45–51
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
Professional student organizations and experiential learning activities: What
drives student intentions to participate?
Laura Munoza, Richard Millera, and Sonja Martin Pooleb
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 18:55 11 January 2016
a
University of Dallas, Irving, Texas, USA; bUniversity of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
Experiential learning theory has been referenced as a possible method for attracting and retaining
members in student organizations. In a survey, undergraduate students evaluated a variety of
organizational features pertaining to their intention to participate in professional student
organizations. The study found that students value activities that involve professional development
and contact with professionals. Age was negatively related to student intent to participate. In
addition, ethnicity and being a first-generation college student were not significant predictors in
participating in a professional student organization. To enhance membership recruitment and
retention efforts, educators should focus their efforts on experiential activities that enable studentfaculty contact, career exploration, and skill development.
business education;
entrepreneurship;
experiential learning
activities; professional
development; student
organizations
Business students often join campus organizations for
the opportunity to develop presentation and interviewing skills, network with professionals, locate internships,
and gain entrepreneurial experience (Peltier, Scovotti, &
Pointer, 2008). These organizations implicitly promise to
provide students the skills that employers expect from
graduates. By the same token, employers expect that
recent graduates have an applied knowledge of strategic
and tactical activities and entrepreneurial and venture
experience (Scott, 2013). Thus, membership in a professional student organization (PSO), in addition to the
aforementioned skills, allows students to make connections across diverse courses, meaningfully synthesize
concepts, apply ideas from one context to another, and
gain experiences. However, a gap exists as students join
PSOs to gain wider experience, as membership often fails
to meet their expectations (Peltier et al., 2008).
Given both the benefits and issues, faculty advisors find
it difficult to recruit and retain active members (Clark &
Kemp, 2008; Vowels, 2005). Providing the advisors with a
better understanding of how to improve PSOs is important
as they play a critical role in motivating students to join
and remain active in the PSO, directing their campus and
community activities, and ensuring that students adhere to
the requirements set by their institution and the organization’s corporate office (American Marketing Association,
2013). One potential source of improving this situation is
the exploration of how different pedagogies might influence PSOs and curricula (Peltier et al., 2008). A recent
CONTACT Laura Munoz
lserviere@udallas.edu
© 2016 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
study brought forth this same issue by addressing the
importance of PSOs as a source of experiential learning
(Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014). In addition, there is a
lack of detailed information about organizational features
that attract students (Clark & Kemp, 2008). To fill this gap,
the intent of this study is to empirically determine the
importance of experiential learning activities in understanding how to effectively build and sustain collegiate
chapters of PSOs with the aim of improving the value and
experiences for students and faculty advisors. Specifically,
the study identifies the experiential learning activities that
impact intention to be active members in PSOs and provides practical guidance for faculty advisors.
This manuscript is organized as follows: first, a literature review offering an overview of experiential learning
activities is provided. Then, hypotheses development is
presented followed by a data analysis section. Last, a
practical discussion of the results along with closing
thoughts concludes this manuscript.
Conceptual framework
Experiential learning theory
The conceptual framework for this study is anchored in
experiential learning theory, which may increase organizational membership recruitment and participation by helping
students recognize the value in being active in PSOs. Experiential learning theory is a well-known approach that is
University of Dallas, College of Business, 1845 E. Northgate Drive, Anselm 101, Irving, TX 75062, USA.
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46
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
believed to go beyond the classic boundaries of a classroom
or disciplinary area (Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, & Mayo, 2000) by
providing students with a better understanding of the world
when combined with critical thinking approaches (Petkus,
2000) by involving learning from experience or learning by
doing (Dewey, 1938). Over the last century, many scholars
have explored the role of context and experience in learning
in both formal and informal settings (Bruner, 1960; Dewey,
1938; Kolb, 1984). Ideas about the role of experience in the
learning process underscore many approaches to learning
in American higher education, including service learning,
living learning communities, and study abroad/away (Barber, 2012), as well as having served as the theory of action
for numerous management education initiatives (Forman,
2006; Hunt & Madhavaram, 2006; McCarthy & McCarthy,
2006). Kolb provided the central reference point for the
experiential learning theory scholarship. In a frequently referenced model influenced by the work of other theorists
including John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget, Kolb
proposed that experiential learning is defined as “the process
whereby knowledge is created through the transformation
of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of
grasping and transforming experience” (p. 41).
The concept recognizes that students’ past experiences,
including those outside the formal classroom, figure prominently in the learning process and that they learn most effectively when they have a “direct encounter with the
phenomena being studied rather than merely thinking about
the encounter, or only considering the possibility of doing
something about it” (Borzak, 1981, p. 9). The theory includes
many experiential learning activities that can be incorporated into a PSO’s toolkit such as contact with professionals,
interpersonal skill development, professional development
exposure, networking, and entrepreneurial activities.
The applied nature of business education makes it
suitable for the implementation and use of experiential
learning theory pedagogies (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 2001; McCarthy & McCarthy, 2006; Osland, Kolb,
Rubin, & Turner, 2007; Saunders, 1997) and is endorsed
and advocated by the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB). In AACSB’s recent revision to its standards, it urged business schools to increase
experiential learning activities in curriculum and place
emphasis on the role of extra-curricular activities, such
as membership in PSOs, to increase student exposure to
real-world experience (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, 2013). In addition, Clark and
Kemp (2008) argue that this theory can be used to better
understand and improve student retention, involvement,
and commitment in PSOs, which are an excellent source
for such activities (Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014).
It becomes clear then that experiential learning theory, when operationalized through experiential learning
activities, provides a framework for strengthening PSO
membership. However, despite its apparent relevance,
studies have not included a measurement of students’
implicit value toward experiential learning into their
research designs. For this reason, this study evaluates
students’ intentions to participate in PSOs.
Expectancy theory
Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1965) seems to provide a
rationale as to why students might be motivated and
thus intent to participate in PSOs. It proposes that individuals will show a tendency to allocate their limited
time and energy to actions for which a positive outcome
will be achieved (Buchner, 2007; DeNisi & Pritchard,
2006). Specifically, individuals engage on a series of
causal events. The initial event occurs when the individual forms the action-to-result connection where he or
she creates expectations about the results that his or her
efforts (actions) will produce. Then, a result-to-evaluation connection is formed where, depending on the
results generated, the individual creates expectations on
how favorably will the results be judged. Third, the evaluation of results is expected to also lead to positive outcomes. Last, the outcome-to-satisfaction connection is
created where the expectation is that the outcomes influence personal satisfaction (Buchner, 2007; DeNisi &
Pritchard, 2006).
To decide among the options available to an individual to behave, Vroom (1965) proposed that an individual
will select the choice that contains the most motivational
force, which is expressed by the equation:
Motivational Force D expectancy£instrumentality£valence:
Expectancy refers to the likelihood that the individual’s
effort will lead to attaining certain outcomes. Instrumentality addresses the belief that if the individual meets performance expectations then a greater reward will be received.
Valence accounts for the actual value or worth the individual places in the reward or outcome. The theory holds that
it is essential that the outcome be positive or attractive as
that will motivate individuals to attain it (Vroom, 1965). In
sum, individuals are presented as active, thinking, and predicting entities that not only judge the outcomes of their
behavior but also judge (subjectively) whether their actions
will take them to those outcomes (DeSanctis, 1983).
Hypotheses
As discussed in the previous section, the literature indicates that experiential learning is an integral part of the
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STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
offering among successful PSOs (Clark & Kemp, 2008;
Forman, 2006; Hunt & Madhavaram, 2006; McCarthy &
McCarthy, 2006; Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014).
Drawing from the notion that real-world experiences will
make members more active and satisfied with their organization experience, it is proposed that the application of
experiential learning activities in PSOs will lead to an
increase in student participation while providing additional learning experiences (Clark & Kemp, 2008) such
as hands-on experience, interpersonal skills development, and networking skills (Serviere-Munoz, 2010). A
further point is that these activities can become attractive
enough that influence behavior as denoted by expectancy
theory (Vroom, 1965). If the students find these activities
to be sufficiently attractive that warrant the effort (expectancy), lead to a positive belief in outcome (instrumentality), and are valued (valence), then that empowers
advisors to offer an enhanced educational experience.
The experiential activities tested were contact with
professionals (activities focused on interactions with
future colleagues, members of the student’s profession),
interpersonal skills (the skills used to interact with one
another in every day; life skills), professional development (learning activities situated in practice which do
not have to be area specific as they can focus on enriching an individual’s overall professional or working life),
networking (activities centered around developing relationships), and entrepreneurial activities (starting up and
managing an individual’s own business). Thus, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Contact with professional activities
will positively influence the intention to participate in professional student organizations.
H2: Interpersonal skill activities will positively influence the intention to participate in professional
student organizations.
H3: Professional development activities will positively
influence the intention to participate in professional student organizations.
H4: Networking activities will positively influence the
intention to participate in professional student
organizations.
H5: Entrepreneurial activities will positively influence
the intention to participate in professional student
organizations.
Method
Data collection
The data for this study were collected from a southern
state university where several PSOs are offered within
47
the college of business. Participants were asked to voluntarily answer the surveys. In an effort to capture a diverse
and representative sample, the data collection covered
classes from several business disciplines, such as
accounting, marketing, management, and finance. The
sample contains the answers of 242 participants of which
51.2% (124) were men and 48.8% (118) were women.
Ethnicities were represented follows: 48.3% (117) Caucasian, 43.0% (104) Hispanic, 4.1% (10) African American,
2.9% (7) Asian, and 1.7% (4) marked their ethnicity as
other. Most of the respondents were younger millennials
between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, 93.8% (227).
The remaining 6.2% (15) accounts for those between 30
and 34 years old. Most of the sample worked either part
time, 50.2% (121) or full time, 27.2% (66), and 30.9%
(75) constituted first-generation college students.
Measures
The intention to participate in PSOs was assessed using
the scale developed by Kidwell and Jewell (2003), which
ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Regarding experiential learning theory and its different activities, items originally developed by Serviere-Munoz and
Poole (2014) on how to measure experiential learning, as
shown in Table 1, were employed. Participants were
asked the following:
Let’s talk about participation or thinking about being an
active member in a student organization. On a scale of
1–5, please indicate how important are each of the following factors when you think about being an active
member in a student organization.
The items are depicted in Table 1.
Table 1. Scale items.
Intention to be an active member
I plan to be an active member in a student organization I intend to be
an active member in a student organization I want to be an active
member in a student organization (Kidwell & Jewell, 2003)
Experiential learning activities
Contact with professionals: Number of business speakers, working with
professional mentors, job shadowing, quality of business speakers,
overall contacts with business
Interpersonal Skills: How to interview, improving presentation skills,
developing teamwork and organizational skills, developing
interpersonal communication skills
Professional Development: Working closely with faculty mentors, gaining
experience in an environment where my grade or job is not at risk,
practicing the concepts learned in class in real-world situations,
exploring various career options, attending leadership training,
having more extracurricular activities on my resume, increasing
involvement in the learning process
Networking: Help/system for finding internships, visiting real businesses,
career fairs, professional chapter events
Entrepreneurial activities: New product development, how to run a new/
small business, how to start one’s own business, research for new
business, identifying target markets (Bobbit et al., 2000; McCarthy &
McCarthy, 2006; Peltier et al., 2008).
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48
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
Before proceeding with the analysis, the structure of
the proposed scales was validated using a confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA) for each experiential activity scale:
contact with professionals, interpersonal skills, professional development exposure, networking activities and
entrepreneurial activities. Overall, the CFAs confirmed
the scale structure for all five activities with acceptable fit
indices as can be seen in Table 2. These fit indices are
within the suggested ranges as suggested by Bagozzi and
Yi (1988), Hair, Tatham, Anderson, and Black (1998),
and Hu and Bentler (1999). Convergent validity for each
construct was assessed by examining the average variance extracted (AVE) values. All of the values exceeded
the 0.5 level considered to be acceptable (Chin, 1998;
Chin, Marcolin, & Newsted, 2003). Composite reliability
values for all variables were above the recommended 0.6
level as well (Chin, 1998). Fit indices, AVE, and composite reliability values are included in Table 2.
Cronbach’s alpha for the experiential learning activities were also assessed denoting acceptable ranges. The
alpha values were .882 for contact with professionals,
.876 for interpersonal skills, .883 for professional development exposure, .854 for networking activities, and
.913 for entrepreneurial activities. Multicollinearity was
assessed by a visual examination of the correlation
matrix, as shown in Table 3, and the variance inflation
factors (VIFs). The visual examination is considered a
good initial assessment for multicollinearity where values
above .90 denote high multicollinearity levels (Hair et al.,
1998). The examination showed all levels being below
.90. Next, the VIFs were examined for all of the activities
being as follows: 2.728 for contact with professionals,
4.727 for interpersonal skills, 3.134 for professional
development exposure, 4.258 for networking activities,
and 1.971 for entrepreneurial activities. The values do
not denote a high degree of collinearity among the independent variables (Hair et al., 1998) as they are below
the threshold of 10 threshold. A value over 10 suggests a
serious multicollinearity problem requiring further
investigation (Kutner, Nachtsheim, Neter, & Li, 2004).
Results
A linear regression analysis was conducted to examine
the influence of experiential learning activities on intention to participate in professional student organizations.
The overall R2; for the model was .704 and the adjusted
R2; was .452. Control variables were also included as part
of the analysis. These variables were: membership in professional organizations, ethnicity, major type, first generation college student, and age. Being a member in an
organization was a significant positive predictor (b D
.453; p < .01) on intention and only those majoring in
economics (b D .146; p < .05) or marketing (b D .215;
p < .05) positively influenced intentions to participate
(major type). Ethnicity (accounted as Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, Asian, and other) along with
being a first-generation college student did not show any
significant influence on intention. Age was a significant
negative predictor (b D ¡.158; p < .05).
Regarding the significant experiential activities, contact with professionals (b D .291; p < .01) and professional development activities (b D .232; p < .05) were
significant predictors of intention thus supporting
Hypotheses 1 and 3. Interpersonal skills (b D .126;
p > .10), networking activities (b D ¡.163; p > .10), and
entrepreneurial activities (b D ¡.085; p > .10) were nonsignificant experiential activities, thus not supporting
Hypotheses 2, 4, and, 5 respectively. The results are summarized in Table 4.
Table 2. Experiential learning activities: Confirmatory factor analysis results.
Experiential learning/fit indices-measures
Absolute fit indices
x2 (n D 242)
GFI
RMSEA
Incremental fit measures
NFI
AGFI
CFI
Parsimonious fit measures
PNFI
PCFI
Reliability estimates
Average variance
extracted
Contact with
professionals
Interpersonal
skills
Professional
development
Networking
Entrepreneurial
activities
Recommended
level
5.145
.992
.081
30.789
.953
.167
26.401
.971
.076
8.731
.986
.089
1.134
.998
.024
1
2
< .08
.992
.937
.995
.198
.199
.961
.825
.965
.384
.386
.968
.925
.981
.976
.928
.990
.999
1.000
1.000
90
90
90
.970
.965
.507
.514
.975
.296
.297
.979
.166
.167
.974
3
3
>.50
.818
.801
.785
.864
.860
>.60
1 D Sample-dependent statistic. Marginal acceptability. 2 D Higher values indicate better fit. No established thresholds. 3 Used only when comparing models.
Figures included just for informative purposes. AGFI D adjusted goodness of fit index; CFI D comparative fit index; GFI D goodness of fit index; NFI D normed
fit index; PNFI D parsimonious normed fit index; PCFI D parsimonious comparative fit index; RMSEA D root mean square error of approximation.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
49
Table 3. Experiential learning activities: Correlation matrix.
Interpersonal skills
Networking skills
Contact with professionals
Professional development
Entrepreneurial activity
Interpersonal skills
Networking skills
Contact with professionals
Professional development
Entrepreneurial activity
.838
.731
.780
.584
—
.760
.729
.565
—
.659
.555
—
.614
—
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Discussion and conclusions
Faculty advisors to PSOs often find it difficult to attract
and retain students (Clark & Kemp, 2008; Vowels, 2005).
To address the need for research that investigates how
recruitment and retention can be improved, we investigated the impact of five experiential learning activities on
a student’s intent to join a PSO. The results support an
approach where PSOs focus on offering activities that
involve professional development and contact with professionals as part of their activities. Contact with professionals was the leading variable in the analysis. Greater
student intention to participate can be expected if business speakers are regularly scheduled and students have
access to professional mentors and opportunities such as
job shadowing or question and answer sessions. Contact
with professionals, such as training and coaching opportunities, denotes that students are looking for frequent
contact with businesses and professionals as they value
these interactions; thus, they should be employed and
promoted as part of the benefits of joining a PSO.
Table 4. Experiential learning regression results.
Dependent variable: Intention to
participate in professional student
organizations model hypothesis
Independent variables
Contact with professionals
Interpersonal skills
Professional development
Networking
Entrepreneurial activities
Control variables
Age
Membership
First college generation
Major type: Economics
Major type: Marketing
Major type: Finance
Major type: Accounting
Major type: Management
Ethnicity: White
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Ethnicity: Black
Ethnicity: Asian
Model characteristics
R2
Adjusted R2
N
0.463 (0.126)
0.202 (0.167)
0.398 (0.145)
¡0.238 (0.145)
¡0.111 (0.088)
H1-S
H2-NS
H3-S
H4-NS
H5-NS
¡0.051 (0.016)
1.031 (0.114)
0.081 (0.128)
0.867 (0.378)
0.588 (0.270)
0.315 (0.321)
0.426 (0.261)
0.247 (0.265)
¡0.659 (0.445)
¡0.462 (0.449)
¡0.853 (0.519)
¡0.432 (0.539)
.704
.452
242
Note. Unstandardized parameters are shown. Standard errors are in parentheses. NS D not supported; S D supported.
y
p < .10. p < .05.p < .01.
Additional benefits that can be promoted are affirmation
of professional competence after students have completed a job shadow experience or project, building,
training, and practicing leadership and managerial skills.
Exposure to professionals, whether one-on-one or in
professional events and projects, can also lead students
to build a professional network to launch their careers.
The second leading factor was professional development, indicating students have a strong preference for
activities, such as interacting with faculty mentors,
exploring career options, and participating in trainings
and extracurricular activities, that could not only
increase knowledge and skills but be also listed on the
student’s resume. An excellent opportunity would be
having students conduct small to medium sized projects
for local businesses such as a service gap audit, a process
analysis, or a marketing plan. These projects provide
multiple benefits, as they are a source of differentiation
and value added for the PSO, while also being a source
of satisfaction for the students. In addition, the students
would be able to include such projects on their resumes,
while working in a safe environment where neither a
grade nor a job is at risk. Faculty advisors can also benefit
from the projects by using them as a recruitment and
retention tool by advertising professional development
opportunities. These benefits also extend to the college
level as these activities can be reported as part of the
engagement requirement in the most recent AACSB
standards. To aid faculty mentors to promote recruitment and participation in their PSOs, Table 5 offers specific activities per area included in this study.
In addition to the results discussed about experiential
learning activities with intention to participate, it is worthy to discuss the role that intention has on actual behavior. A potential explanation is that the underlying cause
for intentions to be significantly impacted by these activities is that students expect great rewards from a student
organization and thus this motivates them to be active
members. This rationale would be consistent with expectancy theory. It may appear then that setting proper
expectations to maintain a student’s motivation could
significantly contribute not only to intention to participate but also to recruiting. Therefore, as the theory proposes, the students must believe that there is a great
chance that their efforts will lead to attaining the
50
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
Table 5. Application of significant findings for student organizations advisors.
Experiential learning activities
Contact with professionals
Professional development
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Entrepreneurial activities
Application
Schedule activities that include: business speakers, hiring managers, and alumni. Involvement with several industries and the
community based on student’s interests could be explored. Training and coaching opportunities could be developed with
local as well as national companies with a local presence. Alumni and attendance to local professional events area valuable
resource for networking.
Events aimed at career advancements and personal growth should be pursued. Examples include: developing teamwork and
organizational skills, improving self-confidence, leadership training, practicing business skills, and negotiation workshops.
Participation in local, regional, or national events such as case competitions and business projects or charity-based tasks are
also great options.
Although activities such as: new product development, how to start or run a small business, and how to identify markets for
small businesses were a negative predictor we do not recommend that they are excluded from the organizations’ activities.
We encourage advisors to assess whether the current members are risk averse to entrepreneurship and then adapt
accordingly. In this way, these activities bring value to that type of student who is not averse to the idea of launching their
own business.
outcome that is relevant to them (expectancy), if they
perform as expected that a greater reward may be
achieved (instrumentality), and that the actual outcome
is attractive to them (valence).
Age was a negative indicator of intention to participate
in a PSO. It is very likely that many older students have
additional responsibilities such as a spouse, children, or a
job that takes precedence for them. It might also be more
important as they grow older and as their graduation date
approaches to start focusing on searching for employment
rather than remaining involved in PSOs. These results
imply that advisors should actively promote enrollment
into PSOs when students are younger to be able to offer a
worthy experience. Recruitment then needs to start in the
freshman and sophomore years. To attract older students,
a different range of benefits would have to be promoted
and included such as help with resumes, interviewing skills,
or guidance in job searching. Offering these benefits could
be coordinated with a career development office to avoid
creating responsibilities for the faculty member and thus
effectively use everyone’s time and resources.
Regarding the control variables, the analysis showed
that being a member augments intentions to participate in
such organizations. This increase in intentions is somehow
expected as members who have already joined an organization probably already understand the value of membership, just as the previously discussed expectancy theory
suggests. Along these lines, the results showed that ethnicity and being a first generation college student do not influence a student’s intention to participate. Perhaps in a
crowded marketplace of student organizations, the message needs to highlight what students truly value, which
this study found were contact with professionals and professional development among a young student base,
instead of what we as faculty advisors think they want.
Overall, the research findings provide valuable
insights for the elaboration of strategies that assist with
member participation and likely with recruitment and
retention in PSOs; however, a qualitative approach could
also yield rich results. Qualitative inquiry through focus
groups and in-depth interviews could magnify our
understanding of students’ motivations pertaining to
participation and membership. Future researchers then
could explore specific strategies that contribute to understanding student motivations with respect to membership and continued growth of PSOs. In addition, future
studies may benefit from an understanding of what
drives such motivation to participate by using theories
such as expectancy theory, goal theory, and equity theory. For example, based on expectancy theory, future
work could examine what drives the expectancies, instrumentalities, and valences that make up the motivational
force among a student base. What are the interactions of
such motivational force on additional aspects of the student’s life?
One limitation of this study was the presence of some
multicollinearity among the experiential learning activities. To some extent it would be expected that they were
highly correlated as they all represent a very similar set
of activities. The scale structures were confirmed via
CFA as previously mentioned, but a high correlation
among them persisted. Thus, a further study where the
activities are re-evaluated is warranted.
This study provided an initial exploration into the
drivers of intention for students to participate in a PSO.
There are many more drivers of intention that could be
investigated as this study reviewed five experiential activities. In addition, investigating moderating variables could
yield insight into how to attract and retain students. By
continuing to understand what motivates intention to
join PSOs, advisors and colleges would be better positioned to offer value that is relevant to the student.
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ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Professional student organizations and
experiential learning activities: What drives
student intentions to participate?
Laura Munoz, Richard Miller & Sonja Martin Poole
To cite this article: Laura Munoz, Richard Miller & Sonja Martin Poole (2016)
Professional student organizations and experiential learning activities: What drives
student intentions to participate?, Journal of Education for Business, 91:1, 45-51, DOI:
10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
Published online: 01 Dec 2015.
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Download by: [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji]
Date: 11 January 2016, At: 18:55
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS
2016, VOL. 91, NO. 1, 45–51
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2015.1110553
Professional student organizations and experiential learning activities: What
drives student intentions to participate?
Laura Munoza, Richard Millera, and Sonja Martin Pooleb
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 18:55 11 January 2016
a
University of Dallas, Irving, Texas, USA; bUniversity of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
ABSTRACT
KEYWORDS
Experiential learning theory has been referenced as a possible method for attracting and retaining
members in student organizations. In a survey, undergraduate students evaluated a variety of
organizational features pertaining to their intention to participate in professional student
organizations. The study found that students value activities that involve professional development
and contact with professionals. Age was negatively related to student intent to participate. In
addition, ethnicity and being a first-generation college student were not significant predictors in
participating in a professional student organization. To enhance membership recruitment and
retention efforts, educators should focus their efforts on experiential activities that enable studentfaculty contact, career exploration, and skill development.
business education;
entrepreneurship;
experiential learning
activities; professional
development; student
organizations
Business students often join campus organizations for
the opportunity to develop presentation and interviewing skills, network with professionals, locate internships,
and gain entrepreneurial experience (Peltier, Scovotti, &
Pointer, 2008). These organizations implicitly promise to
provide students the skills that employers expect from
graduates. By the same token, employers expect that
recent graduates have an applied knowledge of strategic
and tactical activities and entrepreneurial and venture
experience (Scott, 2013). Thus, membership in a professional student organization (PSO), in addition to the
aforementioned skills, allows students to make connections across diverse courses, meaningfully synthesize
concepts, apply ideas from one context to another, and
gain experiences. However, a gap exists as students join
PSOs to gain wider experience, as membership often fails
to meet their expectations (Peltier et al., 2008).
Given both the benefits and issues, faculty advisors find
it difficult to recruit and retain active members (Clark &
Kemp, 2008; Vowels, 2005). Providing the advisors with a
better understanding of how to improve PSOs is important
as they play a critical role in motivating students to join
and remain active in the PSO, directing their campus and
community activities, and ensuring that students adhere to
the requirements set by their institution and the organization’s corporate office (American Marketing Association,
2013). One potential source of improving this situation is
the exploration of how different pedagogies might influence PSOs and curricula (Peltier et al., 2008). A recent
CONTACT Laura Munoz
lserviere@udallas.edu
© 2016 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
study brought forth this same issue by addressing the
importance of PSOs as a source of experiential learning
(Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014). In addition, there is a
lack of detailed information about organizational features
that attract students (Clark & Kemp, 2008). To fill this gap,
the intent of this study is to empirically determine the
importance of experiential learning activities in understanding how to effectively build and sustain collegiate
chapters of PSOs with the aim of improving the value and
experiences for students and faculty advisors. Specifically,
the study identifies the experiential learning activities that
impact intention to be active members in PSOs and provides practical guidance for faculty advisors.
This manuscript is organized as follows: first, a literature review offering an overview of experiential learning
activities is provided. Then, hypotheses development is
presented followed by a data analysis section. Last, a
practical discussion of the results along with closing
thoughts concludes this manuscript.
Conceptual framework
Experiential learning theory
The conceptual framework for this study is anchored in
experiential learning theory, which may increase organizational membership recruitment and participation by helping
students recognize the value in being active in PSOs. Experiential learning theory is a well-known approach that is
University of Dallas, College of Business, 1845 E. Northgate Drive, Anselm 101, Irving, TX 75062, USA.
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 18:55 11 January 2016
46
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
believed to go beyond the classic boundaries of a classroom
or disciplinary area (Bobbitt, Inks, Kemp, & Mayo, 2000) by
providing students with a better understanding of the world
when combined with critical thinking approaches (Petkus,
2000) by involving learning from experience or learning by
doing (Dewey, 1938). Over the last century, many scholars
have explored the role of context and experience in learning
in both formal and informal settings (Bruner, 1960; Dewey,
1938; Kolb, 1984). Ideas about the role of experience in the
learning process underscore many approaches to learning
in American higher education, including service learning,
living learning communities, and study abroad/away (Barber, 2012), as well as having served as the theory of action
for numerous management education initiatives (Forman,
2006; Hunt & Madhavaram, 2006; McCarthy & McCarthy,
2006). Kolb provided the central reference point for the
experiential learning theory scholarship. In a frequently referenced model influenced by the work of other theorists
including John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget, Kolb
proposed that experiential learning is defined as “the process
whereby knowledge is created through the transformation
of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of
grasping and transforming experience” (p. 41).
The concept recognizes that students’ past experiences,
including those outside the formal classroom, figure prominently in the learning process and that they learn most effectively when they have a “direct encounter with the
phenomena being studied rather than merely thinking about
the encounter, or only considering the possibility of doing
something about it” (Borzak, 1981, p. 9). The theory includes
many experiential learning activities that can be incorporated into a PSO’s toolkit such as contact with professionals,
interpersonal skill development, professional development
exposure, networking, and entrepreneurial activities.
The applied nature of business education makes it
suitable for the implementation and use of experiential
learning theory pedagogies (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 2001; McCarthy & McCarthy, 2006; Osland, Kolb,
Rubin, & Turner, 2007; Saunders, 1997) and is endorsed
and advocated by the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB). In AACSB’s recent revision to its standards, it urged business schools to increase
experiential learning activities in curriculum and place
emphasis on the role of extra-curricular activities, such
as membership in PSOs, to increase student exposure to
real-world experience (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, 2013). In addition, Clark and
Kemp (2008) argue that this theory can be used to better
understand and improve student retention, involvement,
and commitment in PSOs, which are an excellent source
for such activities (Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014).
It becomes clear then that experiential learning theory, when operationalized through experiential learning
activities, provides a framework for strengthening PSO
membership. However, despite its apparent relevance,
studies have not included a measurement of students’
implicit value toward experiential learning into their
research designs. For this reason, this study evaluates
students’ intentions to participate in PSOs.
Expectancy theory
Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1965) seems to provide a
rationale as to why students might be motivated and
thus intent to participate in PSOs. It proposes that individuals will show a tendency to allocate their limited
time and energy to actions for which a positive outcome
will be achieved (Buchner, 2007; DeNisi & Pritchard,
2006). Specifically, individuals engage on a series of
causal events. The initial event occurs when the individual forms the action-to-result connection where he or
she creates expectations about the results that his or her
efforts (actions) will produce. Then, a result-to-evaluation connection is formed where, depending on the
results generated, the individual creates expectations on
how favorably will the results be judged. Third, the evaluation of results is expected to also lead to positive outcomes. Last, the outcome-to-satisfaction connection is
created where the expectation is that the outcomes influence personal satisfaction (Buchner, 2007; DeNisi &
Pritchard, 2006).
To decide among the options available to an individual to behave, Vroom (1965) proposed that an individual
will select the choice that contains the most motivational
force, which is expressed by the equation:
Motivational Force D expectancy£instrumentality£valence:
Expectancy refers to the likelihood that the individual’s
effort will lead to attaining certain outcomes. Instrumentality addresses the belief that if the individual meets performance expectations then a greater reward will be received.
Valence accounts for the actual value or worth the individual places in the reward or outcome. The theory holds that
it is essential that the outcome be positive or attractive as
that will motivate individuals to attain it (Vroom, 1965). In
sum, individuals are presented as active, thinking, and predicting entities that not only judge the outcomes of their
behavior but also judge (subjectively) whether their actions
will take them to those outcomes (DeSanctis, 1983).
Hypotheses
As discussed in the previous section, the literature indicates that experiential learning is an integral part of the
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STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
offering among successful PSOs (Clark & Kemp, 2008;
Forman, 2006; Hunt & Madhavaram, 2006; McCarthy &
McCarthy, 2006; Serviere-Munoz & Counts, 2014).
Drawing from the notion that real-world experiences will
make members more active and satisfied with their organization experience, it is proposed that the application of
experiential learning activities in PSOs will lead to an
increase in student participation while providing additional learning experiences (Clark & Kemp, 2008) such
as hands-on experience, interpersonal skills development, and networking skills (Serviere-Munoz, 2010). A
further point is that these activities can become attractive
enough that influence behavior as denoted by expectancy
theory (Vroom, 1965). If the students find these activities
to be sufficiently attractive that warrant the effort (expectancy), lead to a positive belief in outcome (instrumentality), and are valued (valence), then that empowers
advisors to offer an enhanced educational experience.
The experiential activities tested were contact with
professionals (activities focused on interactions with
future colleagues, members of the student’s profession),
interpersonal skills (the skills used to interact with one
another in every day; life skills), professional development (learning activities situated in practice which do
not have to be area specific as they can focus on enriching an individual’s overall professional or working life),
networking (activities centered around developing relationships), and entrepreneurial activities (starting up and
managing an individual’s own business). Thus, we proposed the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1 (H1): Contact with professional activities
will positively influence the intention to participate in professional student organizations.
H2: Interpersonal skill activities will positively influence the intention to participate in professional
student organizations.
H3: Professional development activities will positively
influence the intention to participate in professional student organizations.
H4: Networking activities will positively influence the
intention to participate in professional student
organizations.
H5: Entrepreneurial activities will positively influence
the intention to participate in professional student
organizations.
Method
Data collection
The data for this study were collected from a southern
state university where several PSOs are offered within
47
the college of business. Participants were asked to voluntarily answer the surveys. In an effort to capture a diverse
and representative sample, the data collection covered
classes from several business disciplines, such as
accounting, marketing, management, and finance. The
sample contains the answers of 242 participants of which
51.2% (124) were men and 48.8% (118) were women.
Ethnicities were represented follows: 48.3% (117) Caucasian, 43.0% (104) Hispanic, 4.1% (10) African American,
2.9% (7) Asian, and 1.7% (4) marked their ethnicity as
other. Most of the respondents were younger millennials
between the ages of 18 and 29 years old, 93.8% (227).
The remaining 6.2% (15) accounts for those between 30
and 34 years old. Most of the sample worked either part
time, 50.2% (121) or full time, 27.2% (66), and 30.9%
(75) constituted first-generation college students.
Measures
The intention to participate in PSOs was assessed using
the scale developed by Kidwell and Jewell (2003), which
ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Regarding experiential learning theory and its different activities, items originally developed by Serviere-Munoz and
Poole (2014) on how to measure experiential learning, as
shown in Table 1, were employed. Participants were
asked the following:
Let’s talk about participation or thinking about being an
active member in a student organization. On a scale of
1–5, please indicate how important are each of the following factors when you think about being an active
member in a student organization.
The items are depicted in Table 1.
Table 1. Scale items.
Intention to be an active member
I plan to be an active member in a student organization I intend to be
an active member in a student organization I want to be an active
member in a student organization (Kidwell & Jewell, 2003)
Experiential learning activities
Contact with professionals: Number of business speakers, working with
professional mentors, job shadowing, quality of business speakers,
overall contacts with business
Interpersonal Skills: How to interview, improving presentation skills,
developing teamwork and organizational skills, developing
interpersonal communication skills
Professional Development: Working closely with faculty mentors, gaining
experience in an environment where my grade or job is not at risk,
practicing the concepts learned in class in real-world situations,
exploring various career options, attending leadership training,
having more extracurricular activities on my resume, increasing
involvement in the learning process
Networking: Help/system for finding internships, visiting real businesses,
career fairs, professional chapter events
Entrepreneurial activities: New product development, how to run a new/
small business, how to start one’s own business, research for new
business, identifying target markets (Bobbit et al., 2000; McCarthy &
McCarthy, 2006; Peltier et al., 2008).
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48
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
Before proceeding with the analysis, the structure of
the proposed scales was validated using a confirmatory
factor analysis (CFA) for each experiential activity scale:
contact with professionals, interpersonal skills, professional development exposure, networking activities and
entrepreneurial activities. Overall, the CFAs confirmed
the scale structure for all five activities with acceptable fit
indices as can be seen in Table 2. These fit indices are
within the suggested ranges as suggested by Bagozzi and
Yi (1988), Hair, Tatham, Anderson, and Black (1998),
and Hu and Bentler (1999). Convergent validity for each
construct was assessed by examining the average variance extracted (AVE) values. All of the values exceeded
the 0.5 level considered to be acceptable (Chin, 1998;
Chin, Marcolin, & Newsted, 2003). Composite reliability
values for all variables were above the recommended 0.6
level as well (Chin, 1998). Fit indices, AVE, and composite reliability values are included in Table 2.
Cronbach’s alpha for the experiential learning activities were also assessed denoting acceptable ranges. The
alpha values were .882 for contact with professionals,
.876 for interpersonal skills, .883 for professional development exposure, .854 for networking activities, and
.913 for entrepreneurial activities. Multicollinearity was
assessed by a visual examination of the correlation
matrix, as shown in Table 3, and the variance inflation
factors (VIFs). The visual examination is considered a
good initial assessment for multicollinearity where values
above .90 denote high multicollinearity levels (Hair et al.,
1998). The examination showed all levels being below
.90. Next, the VIFs were examined for all of the activities
being as follows: 2.728 for contact with professionals,
4.727 for interpersonal skills, 3.134 for professional
development exposure, 4.258 for networking activities,
and 1.971 for entrepreneurial activities. The values do
not denote a high degree of collinearity among the independent variables (Hair et al., 1998) as they are below
the threshold of 10 threshold. A value over 10 suggests a
serious multicollinearity problem requiring further
investigation (Kutner, Nachtsheim, Neter, & Li, 2004).
Results
A linear regression analysis was conducted to examine
the influence of experiential learning activities on intention to participate in professional student organizations.
The overall R2; for the model was .704 and the adjusted
R2; was .452. Control variables were also included as part
of the analysis. These variables were: membership in professional organizations, ethnicity, major type, first generation college student, and age. Being a member in an
organization was a significant positive predictor (b D
.453; p < .01) on intention and only those majoring in
economics (b D .146; p < .05) or marketing (b D .215;
p < .05) positively influenced intentions to participate
(major type). Ethnicity (accounted as Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, Asian, and other) along with
being a first-generation college student did not show any
significant influence on intention. Age was a significant
negative predictor (b D ¡.158; p < .05).
Regarding the significant experiential activities, contact with professionals (b D .291; p < .01) and professional development activities (b D .232; p < .05) were
significant predictors of intention thus supporting
Hypotheses 1 and 3. Interpersonal skills (b D .126;
p > .10), networking activities (b D ¡.163; p > .10), and
entrepreneurial activities (b D ¡.085; p > .10) were nonsignificant experiential activities, thus not supporting
Hypotheses 2, 4, and, 5 respectively. The results are summarized in Table 4.
Table 2. Experiential learning activities: Confirmatory factor analysis results.
Experiential learning/fit indices-measures
Absolute fit indices
x2 (n D 242)
GFI
RMSEA
Incremental fit measures
NFI
AGFI
CFI
Parsimonious fit measures
PNFI
PCFI
Reliability estimates
Average variance
extracted
Contact with
professionals
Interpersonal
skills
Professional
development
Networking
Entrepreneurial
activities
Recommended
level
5.145
.992
.081
30.789
.953
.167
26.401
.971
.076
8.731
.986
.089
1.134
.998
.024
1
2
< .08
.992
.937
.995
.198
.199
.961
.825
.965
.384
.386
.968
.925
.981
.976
.928
.990
.999
1.000
1.000
90
90
90
.970
.965
.507
.514
.975
.296
.297
.979
.166
.167
.974
3
3
>.50
.818
.801
.785
.864
.860
>.60
1 D Sample-dependent statistic. Marginal acceptability. 2 D Higher values indicate better fit. No established thresholds. 3 Used only when comparing models.
Figures included just for informative purposes. AGFI D adjusted goodness of fit index; CFI D comparative fit index; GFI D goodness of fit index; NFI D normed
fit index; PNFI D parsimonious normed fit index; PCFI D parsimonious comparative fit index; RMSEA D root mean square error of approximation.
STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
49
Table 3. Experiential learning activities: Correlation matrix.
Interpersonal skills
Networking skills
Contact with professionals
Professional development
Entrepreneurial activity
Interpersonal skills
Networking skills
Contact with professionals
Professional development
Entrepreneurial activity
.838
.731
.780
.584
—
.760
.729
.565
—
.659
.555
—
.614
—
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Discussion and conclusions
Faculty advisors to PSOs often find it difficult to attract
and retain students (Clark & Kemp, 2008; Vowels, 2005).
To address the need for research that investigates how
recruitment and retention can be improved, we investigated the impact of five experiential learning activities on
a student’s intent to join a PSO. The results support an
approach where PSOs focus on offering activities that
involve professional development and contact with professionals as part of their activities. Contact with professionals was the leading variable in the analysis. Greater
student intention to participate can be expected if business speakers are regularly scheduled and students have
access to professional mentors and opportunities such as
job shadowing or question and answer sessions. Contact
with professionals, such as training and coaching opportunities, denotes that students are looking for frequent
contact with businesses and professionals as they value
these interactions; thus, they should be employed and
promoted as part of the benefits of joining a PSO.
Table 4. Experiential learning regression results.
Dependent variable: Intention to
participate in professional student
organizations model hypothesis
Independent variables
Contact with professionals
Interpersonal skills
Professional development
Networking
Entrepreneurial activities
Control variables
Age
Membership
First college generation
Major type: Economics
Major type: Marketing
Major type: Finance
Major type: Accounting
Major type: Management
Ethnicity: White
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Ethnicity: Black
Ethnicity: Asian
Model characteristics
R2
Adjusted R2
N
0.463 (0.126)
0.202 (0.167)
0.398 (0.145)
¡0.238 (0.145)
¡0.111 (0.088)
H1-S
H2-NS
H3-S
H4-NS
H5-NS
¡0.051 (0.016)
1.031 (0.114)
0.081 (0.128)
0.867 (0.378)
0.588 (0.270)
0.315 (0.321)
0.426 (0.261)
0.247 (0.265)
¡0.659 (0.445)
¡0.462 (0.449)
¡0.853 (0.519)
¡0.432 (0.539)
.704
.452
242
Note. Unstandardized parameters are shown. Standard errors are in parentheses. NS D not supported; S D supported.
y
p < .10. p < .05.p < .01.
Additional benefits that can be promoted are affirmation
of professional competence after students have completed a job shadow experience or project, building,
training, and practicing leadership and managerial skills.
Exposure to professionals, whether one-on-one or in
professional events and projects, can also lead students
to build a professional network to launch their careers.
The second leading factor was professional development, indicating students have a strong preference for
activities, such as interacting with faculty mentors,
exploring career options, and participating in trainings
and extracurricular activities, that could not only
increase knowledge and skills but be also listed on the
student’s resume. An excellent opportunity would be
having students conduct small to medium sized projects
for local businesses such as a service gap audit, a process
analysis, or a marketing plan. These projects provide
multiple benefits, as they are a source of differentiation
and value added for the PSO, while also being a source
of satisfaction for the students. In addition, the students
would be able to include such projects on their resumes,
while working in a safe environment where neither a
grade nor a job is at risk. Faculty advisors can also benefit
from the projects by using them as a recruitment and
retention tool by advertising professional development
opportunities. These benefits also extend to the college
level as these activities can be reported as part of the
engagement requirement in the most recent AACSB
standards. To aid faculty mentors to promote recruitment and participation in their PSOs, Table 5 offers specific activities per area included in this study.
In addition to the results discussed about experiential
learning activities with intention to participate, it is worthy to discuss the role that intention has on actual behavior. A potential explanation is that the underlying cause
for intentions to be significantly impacted by these activities is that students expect great rewards from a student
organization and thus this motivates them to be active
members. This rationale would be consistent with expectancy theory. It may appear then that setting proper
expectations to maintain a student’s motivation could
significantly contribute not only to intention to participate but also to recruiting. Therefore, as the theory proposes, the students must believe that there is a great
chance that their efforts will lead to attaining the
50
L. MUNOZ ET AL.
Table 5. Application of significant findings for student organizations advisors.
Experiential learning activities
Contact with professionals
Professional development
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Entrepreneurial activities
Application
Schedule activities that include: business speakers, hiring managers, and alumni. Involvement with several industries and the
community based on student’s interests could be explored. Training and coaching opportunities could be developed with
local as well as national companies with a local presence. Alumni and attendance to local professional events area valuable
resource for networking.
Events aimed at career advancements and personal growth should be pursued. Examples include: developing teamwork and
organizational skills, improving self-confidence, leadership training, practicing business skills, and negotiation workshops.
Participation in local, regional, or national events such as case competitions and business projects or charity-based tasks are
also great options.
Although activities such as: new product development, how to start or run a small business, and how to identify markets for
small businesses were a negative predictor we do not recommend that they are excluded from the organizations’ activities.
We encourage advisors to assess whether the current members are risk averse to entrepreneurship and then adapt
accordingly. In this way, these activities bring value to that type of student who is not averse to the idea of launching their
own business.
outcome that is relevant to them (expectancy), if they
perform as expected that a greater reward may be
achieved (instrumentality), and that the actual outcome
is attractive to them (valence).
Age was a negative indicator of intention to participate
in a PSO. It is very likely that many older students have
additional responsibilities such as a spouse, children, or a
job that takes precedence for them. It might also be more
important as they grow older and as their graduation date
approaches to start focusing on searching for employment
rather than remaining involved in PSOs. These results
imply that advisors should actively promote enrollment
into PSOs when students are younger to be able to offer a
worthy experience. Recruitment then needs to start in the
freshman and sophomore years. To attract older students,
a different range of benefits would have to be promoted
and included such as help with resumes, interviewing skills,
or guidance in job searching. Offering these benefits could
be coordinated with a career development office to avoid
creating responsibilities for the faculty member and thus
effectively use everyone’s time and resources.
Regarding the control variables, the analysis showed
that being a member augments intentions to participate in
such organizations. This increase in intentions is somehow
expected as members who have already joined an organization probably already understand the value of membership, just as the previously discussed expectancy theory
suggests. Along these lines, the results showed that ethnicity and being a first generation college student do not influence a student’s intention to participate. Perhaps in a
crowded marketplace of student organizations, the message needs to highlight what students truly value, which
this study found were contact with professionals and professional development among a young student base,
instead of what we as faculty advisors think they want.
Overall, the research findings provide valuable
insights for the elaboration of strategies that assist with
member participation and likely with recruitment and
retention in PSOs; however, a qualitative approach could
also yield rich results. Qualitative inquiry through focus
groups and in-depth interviews could magnify our
understanding of students’ motivations pertaining to
participation and membership. Future researchers then
could explore specific strategies that contribute to understanding student motivations with respect to membership and continued growth of PSOs. In addition, future
studies may benefit from an understanding of what
drives such motivation to participate by using theories
such as expectancy theory, goal theory, and equity theory. For example, based on expectancy theory, future
work could examine what drives the expectancies, instrumentalities, and valences that make up the motivational
force among a student base. What are the interactions of
such motivational force on additional aspects of the student’s life?
One limitation of this study was the presence of some
multicollinearity among the experiential learning activities. To some extent it would be expected that they were
highly correlated as they all represent a very similar set
of activities. The scale structures were confirmed via
CFA as previously mentioned, but a high correlation
among them persisted. Thus, a further study where the
activities are re-evaluated is warranted.
This study provided an initial exploration into the
drivers of intention for students to participate in a PSO.
There are many more drivers of intention that could be
investigated as this study reviewed five experiential activities. In addition, investigating moderating variables could
yield insight into how to attract and retain students. By
continuing to understand what motivates intention to
join PSOs, advisors and colleges would be better positioned to offer value that is relevant to the student.
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