IMPROVEMENTS FOR HEAD RESIDENT ORIENTATION PROGRAM BASED ON PROBLEMS TAKEN TO THEM BY STUDENTS BY CLAUD THOMS MESSICK Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Education degree in the School of Education Montana State College August, 1961 TABLE OF CONTENTS V3 7$ A'1563 Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION *- Statement of Problem* 2 Procedures*.......... 2 Limitations •••••••> 2 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4 Student Problems * * 4 Qualifications and Roles of a Head Resident... •••• 6 III. CONSTRUCTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE 11 Construction of the Questionnaire..... 11 Administration of the Questionnaire... 13 IV. STUDENT PROBLEMS TAKEN TO HEAD RESIDENTS 14 Problems by Areas* 17 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 22 Summary. ••••••• •••••••.•• 22 Conclusions. 23 Recommendations 23 BIBLIOGRAPHY 26 APPENDIX A: Questionnaire Answered by Head Residents 27 APPENDIX B: Rank of Questions on Questionnaire in Order of Total Scores •••••»•• 28 ii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Distribution of Questions in the Bottom 25 per cent, Middle 50 per cent, and Top 25 per cent for Each of the Parts.,. 17 2„ Rank of Questions on Questionnaire in Order of Total Scores. 28 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page / 1. Organization of Administrative Authority and Responsi¬ bility in the Residence Halls at Montana State College.. 9 2. Total Scores of the Problems on the Questionnaire..... 15 3. Average Score of Parts on the Questionnaire 16 iii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The major concern of student personnel workers at Montana State College in the residence halls is meeting the needs or problems of the students they serve. The people on the residence hall staff are directly concerned with this problem because they see the student on an everyday basis in normal college living. At Montana State College the me^s residence hall staff is organ¬ ized with the objective of meeting these student needs and problems as broadly and completely as possible. In the orientation program for head residents, many of these needs and problems are anticipated and the staff is trained accordingly. There are always some problems, inquiries, and requests which a student brings to his head resident that are not covered in the orientation program. The program is conducted for head residents as training for the coming year* Head residents, residence hall administrators, and guest speakers participate in this program. At present the main source of information for the head residents is obtained from the speeches given by the college president, vice-president, dean of men, dean of women, business manager, director of residence halls, and director of admissions. As an example, the business manager speaks on financing the residence halls. These speeches comprise approximately 60 per cent of the four-day program. It was the purpose of this study to suggest or recommend some changes in the present orientation program for head residents at Montana State College. 2 Statement of Problem It was the feeling of the writer, as an Assistant Residence Super¬ visor in the men^ residence halls at Montana State College for two years, that the time spent in the orientation program for the head residents could be better used to prepare the head residents for handling the students problems. The major student problem areas should be covered more intensely instead of spending time on problems rarely encountered by the head residents or ones he should refer to other sources for the proper solution. The problem presented itself in the form of the following two questions: 1* What student problems are taken to the head residents? 2. How may the orientation program be improved to meet these problems and prepare the head residents for handling them? Procedures There were three procedures used in this study. Th© first was to make a survey of the literature on problems of students living in the residence hall to determine the questions that should be asked on a questionnaire. The second step was to prepare and administer a questionnaire to determine what student problems are taken to a head resident. The third step was to evaluate the data to determine what recommendations and sug¬ gestions should be made in the head resident orientation program. Limitations The study had three limitations. It was limited to the two men!s residence halls at Montana State College, Bozeman, Montana. It was limited to the problems the head residents recalled as having been reported to 3 them. It was also limited to only those problems that a student brings to a head resident. The first procedure was to make a survey of the literature and this is discussed in Chapter 2. 4 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE In the review of literature much attention has been devoted, in residence halls, in determining the college students needs on every level. The majority of these studies seemed to fall into two general classifications: needs the student says he has and needs the head res¬ ident or counselor observes that he has. There have been a number of studies made on differentiated levels such as freshmen, graduate students, veterans, and liberal arts students. In the search of the literature very little was found on student problems taken to head residents. Student Problems Student problems in the review of literature were discussed or reported in terms of problem areas rather than specific student problems. In an informal study done on the theory that problems relate to socializing experiences and processes, Stone at Hanover College found five human relations areas that seemed to be major causes of difficulty for college students. He listed them as follows: Classification Total Men Women I. Family Relationships 23% 15% 30% II. College Situation 11% 12% 22% III. Scholastic Situation 20% 30%, 11$ ' IV. Social Adjustment 15% 20% 10$ V. Sex Adjustment! 25% 23% 21% ■^Stone, Walter L., nObservations in Counseling by a Sociologist," Personnel and Guidance Journal 34:229-31, December, 1954. 5 Tate and Mustek^ found through administering personal adjustment scales that personal problems in college centered first in heterosexual relations and secondly in attitudes toward self. Hulrne,-^ in a very general article, stated that students will have problems in social adjustment, sex, study habits, interpersonal relations, parental ties, and grades. With no mention of frequency or seriousness of the problem area, Siffered^" compiled a list of problems that would be encountered in a residence hall. There were a number of minor problems along with the major problems so all of them have been placed into general problem areas. The list of student problems were included in the following general areas: study habits, choice of courses, discipline and regu¬ lations, social and extra-curricular activities, adjustment to fellow students, health and personal hygiene, heterosexual and social skills, finances, parental emancipation, discrimination and prejudice, morals and standards, religion, and fraternities and sororities. At the University of Minnesota, Darley and Williams made a sta¬ tistical analysis of the types of problems handled by the counseling center. The problems, as diagnosed later by the counselor, are listed as follows (as will be noted, many of the students had more than one problem): ^Tate, Mildred T., and Musick, Virginia A., ’’Adjustment Problems of the College Student,” Social Forces 33s62-65, December, 1954» •^Hulme, William E., ’’The Problems of College Students,” Christian Education 34:17-25, March, 1951* ^"Siffered, Calvin S., Residence Hall Counseling. McKnight and McKnight, Bloomington, Illinois, 1950, 238 pp. 6 Diagnosed Problem Area Men Women Financial Problems 42.0$ 23.2$ Educational Problems 93.1$ 84.2$ Vocational Problems 80.6$ 66.0$ Personal-Social-Emotional Problems 50.2$ 56.9$ Family Problems 39.8$ 42.6$ Physical-Health Problems 13.3$ 24.3$ No problem area of significance^ 5.3$ 17.6$ Of the total number analyzed, 54$ of the men and 63$ of the women had come voluntarily. The most frequent difficulties of men were educa¬ tional, vocational, and personal-social-emotional. With women, the order of frequency was reversed. Family problems ranked fourth for both men and women, but the men had more financial difficulties and the women more physical-health problems. In a summary of student problems, as revealed by the literature, the experience of the writer, and opinions of others, the student problems used in the questionnaire were placed in four general areas. The areas are as follows: Academic, Family and Personal, Campus and Social Adjust¬ ment, and Residence Hall Information and Group Living. In the review of literature on student problems, there was nothing on the qualifications and roles of a head resident. The head resident is very important since he must handle problems similar to those outlined in the section on Student Problems. * Qualifications and Roles of a Head Resident Since the student problems are very important, the head resident must be well qualified or the students will not bring their problems to ^Barley, John G., and Williams, Cornelia T., "Clinical Records of Student Problems," Report on Problems and Progress of the General College, 1939. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1939, pp. 36-41* 7 him. The qualifications and roles of a head resident are outlined in the Head Resident Guide0 which is used in the men’s residence halls at Montana Stats College. This material is used to present the qualifications and roles of a head resident in the following sections. Qualifications of a Head Resident. In the past, it has been found that the most successful head residents have been men who were vitally interested in students and in working with other young men. They have been men possessed with mature, attractive personalities which easily lead college men to respect them and what advice they may give. They are with¬ out exception leaders who are utterly dependable and responsible, with breadth of character. They have come from various backgrounds, but most have had broad and successful experience in leadership, academics, extra¬ curricular activities and interests, community participation, and some military service, athletics, and full-time work. The head resident must be in good academic standing in college to obtain this position and he must continue in this status to hold it. A head resident at Montana State College may be a sophomore in college standing through graduate student status. The head resident must be well qualified so the students will bring their problems to him. He must also be well qualified to assist the student in arriving at a possible solution to the problem. Roles of a Head Resident. There are six major roles that a head resident must fill according to the guide.^ Perhaps the most important is becoming a friend to the men in his house. Along with this he must £ °Head Resident Guide. Men’s Residence Halls, Montana State College, Bozeman, Montana, I960, pp. 1-3. Tlbid, PP* 4-9* 8 be accepted and respected as a member of his own house. There is no rule or pattern to follow here; it is left up to his particular personality. This is one role that takes a lot of time and work. The head resident must be a leader in every sense of the word; however, it this position it is better to be a covert leader and stimulate the activity among the men from behind the scenes. It takes strong active leadership to build a good house government that functions well. If a head resident expects his men to follow or obey the residence hall regulations he must follow them himself. He must be an example in many respects both off and on the campus. The MGolden Rule” applies here quite well. He must be an adviser and counselor. The head resident's success depends largely on the amount of respect and faith his men have in him. This means that the head resident must spend a good deal of his time early in the year establishing a "common ground" between himself and the individuals as well as with the group. Unless he knows each of his residents intimately and they not only know but like and respect him, he will not be consulted about their difficulties and therefore will not be fulfilling his function. It is also necessary for the head residents to make a practice of having periodic talks with each of his residents to discuss his progress in college. The head resident is responsible for a thorough knowledge of the more specialized counseling and resource agencies on the campus so that he may accurately refer students needing assistance of a more professional kind than he can provide. The function of an administrator is another role that the head resident must fill. He must be well-informed and prompt. He must keep 9 a careful check on the physical condition of his house and report any needed repairs. The head resident is responsible for the encouragement of positive and responsible citizenship on the part of groups with which he is working and the individual students within that group. The role of a discipli¬ narian is carried out via individual counseling, group work, and setting the example in his o\m behavior. At times, he may be called upon to assist in dealing with situations which may or may not involve students in his particular house. This is more than just being a policeman. The head residents have authority over all students living in the residence halls. The head resident’s authority and responsibility in the residence hall system at Montana State College is shown in Figure 1. ) Director Dean of of ,,H.9U£ipg SManfra Residence Supervisor Eight Head Residents T Lt~ Assistant Residence Supervisor T I. I Eight Head Residents Students in Assistant N Residence • Supervisor 1 l Eight Head Residents l J • • - L Halls Figure 1. Organization of Administrative At£ thority and Responsibility in the Residence Halls at Montana State College. 10 The head residents are directly responsible to their particular super¬ visor and indirectly responsible to the other two supervisors as well as the dean of man and director of housing. They have direct authority over their house. In the residence halls at Montana State College each floor is called a house. The number of men in a house may range from 28 to 55 depending upon the size of the house. Student problems, in the review of literature, were discussed in problem areas so the head:resident must be well qualified to handle all problems he encounters in a general area. He must "play” a number of roles to be an effective head resident or the students will not bring their problems to him. Since the student’s problems are important and the purpose of this study was to survey the problems that were taken to head residents, the construction and administration of a questionnaire used in this survey will be discussed in Chapter 3. 11 CHAPTEH III CONSTRUCTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE A questionnaire was selected as the instrument for surveying the types of problems taken to head residents in this study. It was selected for the economy of time, ease of computation, and to establish continuity in the responses. Details of its construction and administration appear in the following sections. Construction of the Questionnaire A list of student problems, from the writerfs experience, the opinions of others, and review of literature, was compiled first. The problems were refined and screened for the purpose of determining the most important problems. Then the problems were grouped into four natural areas, Academic, Family and Personal, Campus and Social Adjustment, and Residence Hall Information and Group Living, These four areas covered the majority of the student problems. Since the purpose of this study was to suggest or recommend some changes in the head resident orientation program, the writer1s main concern was specific problems that rated extremely high or low in order that they could be used to make these recommendations. Although the four general areas were of interest, and had a certain amount of usefulness to this study, their main purpose was for comparison with other studies. There was no definite purpose or reason for placing the area in the numerical order in which they appeared in the questionnaire. The Academic area was one of the most frequent problem areas for students in almost all of the related research. The head residents and 12 supervisors have mentioned this as a very frequent problem of their men* It was the feeling of the writer that the area of Campus and Social Adjustment should be included. This is a very important period of personality development and a time when a person can obtain more than an academic education which appears to be vital in this day and age. It was also a frequent problem area in other studies reviewed. The Family and Personal area was included since this is a time when family ties are being severed and the individual is reaching maturity and becoming independent, perhaps for the first time in his life. It is also a time for self-evaluation for the individual. Since this study was centered on the residence halls, it was necessary to include the area of Residence Hall Information and Group Living. This period of living together and the problems encountered in the halls are very educational for all the individuals involved. The individual questions were refined with the assistance of others to determine the significance of each one, clarity of understanding, and for better organization in the questionnaire. A place for three other responses was provided at the end of each area. This was for the head residents to include other problems in that area that had been taken to them. The questionnaire had a rating scale of frequently, occasionally, seldom, and never for the purpose of rating each problem. It was also given a number rating, corresponding to the terms used, of 3, 2, 1, and 0 for the purpose of computation and comparison. It was realized that such a rating would be difficult for the individuals involved to interpret the same way on the rating scale. 13 All of the questions in the four areas had been encountered, with the exception of the sexual problems, by the writer when was a head res¬ ident and a supervisor in the residence halls at Montana State College. The questions on sexual problems were included since this was an important area in almost all of the literature reviewed. Administration of the Questionnaire The questionnaire was administered to 20 head residents in the two men’s residence halls at Montana State College at one of the head resident meetings. The directions that were given to the head residents were the same as those on the questionnaire. They were as follows: "Please check the frequency of each problem that you have had a student bring to you during the year." The head residents were instructed to return the questionnaire in one week or at the next meeting. The results of the questionnaire were tabulated to determine the total responses to each question. These results are presented in Chapter 4* 14 CHAPTER IV STUDENT PROBLEMS TAKEN TO HEAD RESIDENTS The 20 questionnaires on student problems taken to head residents in the residence halls at Montana State College were all returned to the writer. Each question on the questionnaire had a maximum point total of 60 if each of the 20 head residents had given the problem a maximum rating of three or frequently. The total score of each problem is shown in Figure 2. Since total scores were given to each question on the questionnaire, it was assumed by the writer that questions above the seventy-fifth per¬ centile should be major areas of concentration and those problems below the twenty-fifth percentile should receive less attention in the orien¬ tation program; however, it must be remembered that these problems shouldn’t be eliminated because they may be major problems and areas in a future study. The problems that ranged between the twenty-fifth to the seventy-fifth percentiles should receive average consideration and time in the program. Red lines are used to show the twenty-fifth, fiftieth, and seventy- fifth percentiles in Figure 2. The twenty-fifth percentile is a total score of 25, the fiftieth percentile is a total score of 30, and the seventy-fifth percentile is a total score of 36.25. Since the student problems will be discussed in their respective areas, an examination of the importance of each of the four areas will follow 15 How to study. Noisy during study hours. Noisy roommate Info, on courses or profs........ Worry over grades •••• Help with homework.... Unsure of voc. choice...........# Drop or add courses....... Select courses Campus activities Info, frats, and sororities...... Quest, on social skills... Proper dress. • Proper conduct. Manners Aid in getting dates Drinking in college...... Drink at social events* Drink in residence halls......... Sexual problems Info, on sexual behavior Worry about home Girl at home Conflict with parents Sickness in family Lacking money for school......... Conflict with work and study..... Conflict, activities & study..... Jobs on campus Jobs in the halls................ Questions on religion HR opinion on religion Procedure for paying bills Procedure for cleaning rooms..... Procedure for having guests Dining hall info ••••• Meal hours Type of food served Conduct in dining room Info, rules and regulations...... Conflict with roommate Conflict with others Concern, roommate behavior....... 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 H H nn j i i i ±i i A »- ■i 1- H b 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Figure 2* Total scores of the Problems on the Questionnaire 16 Averages were used for the comparison of the four parts or areas of the questionnaire "because the psxts contained different numhers of items* Averages were obtained by totaling the total scores of each queS' tion in a part or area and dividing by the number of items in that part. It must be noted that the validity of an average could have been affected by a low scoring item in one of the parts. The averages of the ques¬ tionnaires parts or areas are .shown in Figure 3. 40 35 w 30 0 8 25 O CO O 20 bO ctf S 15 5 Soc. Adjust. Personal Group Living Figure 3. Average Score of Parts on the Questionnaire. The majority of the student problems that were taken to the head residents were found in the Academic area or Part I of the questionnaire# The second highest average was in Part IV, Residence Hall Information and Group Living. The third student problem area was Part II, Campus and Social Adjustment, and Part III, Family and Personal, was the last area. 17 It can be analytically shown that all questions in a single part had a tendency to be closely grouped thus no single item changed the rank of the entire part as illustrated in Table 1« TABLE 1. DISTRIBUTION OF QUESTIONS IN THE BOTTOM 25 PER CENT, MIDDLE 50 PER CENT, AND TOP 25 PER CENT FOR EACH OF THE PARTS. Part Rank Bottom 25 % ' Middle 50 % Top 25 a I. Academic 1 0 5 / -- II. Campus & Social Adiustment 3 5 7 1 .III. Familv and Person / A /. 1 -Hi— Res. Hall Info. & G-rnnp Tdvinrr 2 1 L.... L -Part I, Academic, ranked first and had no items in the bottom 25 per cent. Part IV, Residence Hall Information and Group Living, had only one item in the bottom 25 per cent and one more item than Part I in the middle 50 per cent thus it ranked second. Part II, Campus and Social Adjustment, and Part III, Family and Personal, each had only one item in the top 25 per cent and ranked third and fourth respectively; therefore, using averages to rank the parts is valid in this case. The high and low questions are discussed in the next section on problems by areas. Problems by Areas The student problems taken to head residents will be discussed by the four areas: Academic, Campus and Social Adjustment, Family and Personal, and Residence Hall Information and Group Living. 18 Academic Area. The academic area ranked first in student problems taken to head residents. This area consisted of nine student problems as shown in Figure 2. They were as follows: Not knowing how to study effectively Too noisy during study hours Roommate is noisy Lacking information on courses or professors Expressing worry or concern over grades Requesting help with homework Is unsure of vocational choice How to withdraw from or add courses Selecting courses for next quarter The two questions, "Not knowing how to study effectively" and "Requesting help with homework," both had scores of 46* These were the two highest scoring items in the entire study. There is time devoted in the orien¬ tation program on the development of good study techniques. The head residents spend a great deal of time with homework requests and they do refer men to each other for assistance. It seems that these two problems would be major ones since many students have never had to develop good study habits or have encountered studies this difficult in the past. Above the seventy-fifth percentile the two other problems encountered by head residents quite frequently were "Expressing worry or concern over grades" and "Lack of information on courses or professors." At present there isn’t anything included in the program for assistance to the students with these problems. Up to this time it has been assumed that problems of this nature were taken to the student’s adviser. The lowest scoring problem in this area was "Roommate is noisy." This is usually a prob¬ lem when individuals must live together and problems of this type are expected. The two other factors involved here would be the random room assignments and the majority of the students being freshmen. This area 19 had no questions or problems in the bottom 25 per cent so it is apparent that all of the questions should be considered for making improvements in the orientation program. Campus and Social Adjustment. Part II, on the questionnaire, was the Campus and Social Adjustment area. It ranked third in student problems taken to head residents. This area consisted of 12 problems as shown in Figure 2. They were as follows: Not knowing how to participate in campus activities Requesting information on fraternities and sororities Having questions on social skills Proper dress Proper conduct Manners Seeking aid in getting dates Drinking in college Should they at social events? Why can!t they in the halls Having sexual problems Seeking information about sexual behavior The only problem from this area in the top 25 per cent was "Requesting information on fraternities and sororities." Many head residents indi¬ cated on the questionnaire that this was a frequent problem at the begin¬ ning of the academic year. This problem has been ignored completely in the orientation program. There were five problems with scores below the twenty-fifth percentile in the area. The two lowest scoring items or problems in the study were in this area. They were "Having sexual prob¬ lems" and "Seeking information about sexual behavior." It appears that students hesitate to take something of a personal nature to their head resident. This doesn,t mean that the students don*t have problems in this area because in the review of literature sexual problems were one of the most frequent problems of students. 20 Family and Personal. Part III, on the questionnaire, was the Family and Personal area. It ranked fourth in student protlems. This area consisted of 11 problems as shown in Figure 2. They were as follows: Worry about the home situation Girl at home Having conflict with parents Sickness in the family Not having enough money to go through school Having conflict between part-time work and school studies Having conflict between school activities and school work Obtaining part-time jobs on campus Obtaining part-time jobs in the halls Having questions on religion Asking head resident direct opinion on religious subjects The problem of 'Hot having enough money to go through school" was the only problem in this area that was above the seventy-fifth percentile. This seems to be evidenced by the students more during winter and spring quarters since there is a greater number of applicants for work in the residence halls at this time. This may also be an area that is too per¬ sonal for the individual to take to his head resident. This area receives quite a lot of time in the orientation program. Residence Hall Information and Group Living. The Residence Hall Information and Group Living area ranked second in student problems taken to head residents. This area consisted of 11 problems as shown in Figure 2. They were as follows: Procedure for paying bills Procedure for cleaning rooms, etc. Procedure for having guests Seeking dining hall information Meal hours Type of food served Conduct in dining room Requesting information on rules and regulations in the halls Having dislike or conflict with roommate Having conflict with persons in hall other than roommate Expressing concern about roommates behavior but no dislike involved 21 This area also had four questions that scored above the seventy-fifth percentile. Most of the information on this area is disseminated in pamphlet form to the students and not discussed at any great length in the program. The four questions with high scores were ’’Procedure for cleaning rooms,” ’’Meal hours,” ”Type of food served,” and "Seeking dining hall information.” This part had only one problem in the bottom 25 per cent. It would appear from the results that this area should be given more time in the program. Since this is an area of specific information, it should be discussed so there would be a common understanding of all residence hall regulations, rules, and procedures. With the results obtained from the questionnaire on student prob¬ lems some conclusions and recommendations were made. These are presented in Chanter 5 22 CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RSCOMICTDATIONS It was the writers basic assumption that the orientation program for head residents at Montana State College was not based enough on stu¬ dent problems that they would probably encounter in the ensuing year. The two questions to be answered in the investigation were (1) What stu¬ dent problems are taken to head residents? and (2) Does the orientation program answer these problems? A questionnaire was constructed on the basis of student problems and administered to 20 head residents. The student problems were from other studies, the writer’s experience, and opinions of others for this study. All of the questionnaires that were submitted were returned. This study was confined to the men’s residence halls at Montana State College during the I960-I96I academic year. Each of the head residents had a least one year of experience in the Montana State College residence halls. The majority of the head residents were sophomores in college along with some juniors and a few seniors. Some of the head residents had three years experience. Summary The data obtained from the questionnaire revealed that most student problems, that were taken to head residents, were in the academic area. The two most frequent problems in this area were ’’Requesting help with homework” and ’’Not knowing how to study effectively.” The residence hall and group living area was a close second in student problems reported to head residents. Residence hall and dining hall regulations were the most 23 frequent problems in this area. The third area of importance was campus and social adjustment. The primary problem in this area i/as in seeking informa¬ tion about fraternities and sororities on the campus, social skills and things of this nature were also fairly prominent problem areas. The head residents commented on the questionnaires that many of the problems in this area were more frequent during fall quarter. The family and personal area was last in student problems that were taken to he-d residents. From the results obtained it was evident that the present orien¬ tation program for head residents was quite weak in providing training to head residents in meeting student problems. Conclusions The only nonelusion that was drawn from this study was that the present orientation program for hea.d residents at Montana State College, doesn’t provide enough information in the four student problem areas that were surveyed. Recommendations On the basis of the results obtained from the questionnaire, there should be a great deal of time spent on the area of academics since more problems in this area are taken to the head residents by the students. As previously mentioned, one guest speaker spends an hour on setting up a study schedule and developing good study habits. It is recommended that this continue in the program with more of an emphasis on good study habits* The question on requesting help with homework was also very impor¬ tant. It is recommended that the head residents exchange a list of courses that they have completed and will be available to help students in these 24 courses. This would give all head residents more information for referrals as well as not to overload one or two head residents. Many students seek information on courses or professors and if the head residents exchange a list of courses that they have completed, this may answer this problem too* It is doubtful whether anyone could provide the type of information on professors that they desire. Most of them want to know nwho is easy," "who is rough," and things of this nature. It is recommended that the services of testing and counseling on the campus be given more time since it is evident that there are many problems which should be referred to this source. More time could possibly be spent on other referrals available to the student. Along with this it is suggested that the head residents take Psychology 202 as soon as they can work it into their schedules since one section is designed primarily for residence hall counselors. This would give them more of an insight into human behavior. In the area of campus and social adjustment it is suggested that some time be allowed for providing information on fraternities and soror¬ ities since it isn‘t in the program at the present time. Possibly a pamphlet on the fraternities along with a list of costs would be a sat¬ isfactory solution. This isn't a recommendation for the orientation program but it might be possible to provide a few sessions in the respec¬ tive houses periodically on social skills and graces along with other aspects of college conduct. This would fill in much of this area and answer some of the questions along these lines. The area of family and personal appears to be an area without many problems for a head resident, at least judging from the results, 25 so it is felt that this area receives more attention than is necessary in the training program. This could indicate that these problems do not exist, or that the students do not feel the head resident can help them with these matters. The latter point may be particularly applicable in the case of family relationships where the student may be wary of dis¬ cussing problems of a very personal nature with a person who is sometimes put in a position of authority. It could be recommended that some time be devoted to financial problems, such as how to obtain student loans, part-time jobs, and things of this nature. In the area of residence hall information and group living it is recommended that the problems in this area be given more time in the program. They should be discussed so there would be a better and common understanding of the residence hall regulations. It is recommended that a systematic recording of problems by head residents and a mid-year training program supplement the present orientation program. It is also recommended that this study be integrated in degrees into the program instead of a complete revision of the present program. 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY Darley, John G,, and Williams, Cornelia T., "Clinical Records of Student Problems," Report on Problems and Progress of the General College, 1939, University of Minnesota, St, Paul, 1939, pp* 36-41, Head Resident Guide. Men*s Residence Halls, Montana State College, I960, PP. 1-9. Hulme, William E,, "The Problems of College Students," Christian Education 34:17-25, March, 1951. Siffered, Calvin S., Residence Hall Counseling. McKnight and McKnight, Bloomington, Illinois, 1950, 238 pp. Stone, Walter L., "Observations in Counseling by a Sociologist," Personnel and Guidance Journal 34:229-231, December, 1954. Tate, Mildred T., and Musick, Virginia A,, "Adjustment Problems of the College Student," Social Forces 33:62-65, December, 1954* APPENDIX A Questionnaire Answered By- Head Residents QUESTIONNAIRE ON PROBLEMS OF STUDENTS IN THE RESIDENCE HALLS AT MONTANA STATE COLLEGE ' This questionnaire includes a number of problems or statements that cover the ollowing four areas: Academic, Campus and Social Adjustment, Family and Personal, nd Residence Hall Information and Group Living. PI ease>check the frequency of each roblem that you have had a student bring to you during the year. (3) (2) (1) (0) • - Frequently Occasionally Seldom Never I. Academic: a. Not knowing how to study effectively 1. Too noisy during study hours 2. Roomate is noisy b. Lacking information on courses or professors c. Expressing worry or concern over ^ grades d. Requesting help with homework e. Is unsure of vocational choice f. How to withdraw from or add courses g. Selecting courses for next quarter h. Other: 1 . 2._ 3. I. Campus and Social Adjustment: a. Not knowing how to participate in campus activities b. Requesting information on fraterni¬ ties and sororities c. Having questions on social skills 1. Proper dress 2. Proper conduct 3. Manners d. Seeking aid in getting dates e. Drinking in college 1. Should they at social events? 2. Why can11 they in the halK? f. Having sexual problems 1. Seeking information about sexual behavior g. Other: 1. 2. ~ 3. I. Family and Personal: a. Worry about the home situation 1. Girl at home 2. Having conflict with parents b. Sickness in the family c. Not having enough money to go through school d. Having conflict between part-time work and school studies APPENDIX B Rank of Questions on Questionnaire in Order of Total Scores 28 TABLE 2. RANK OF QUESTIONS ON QUESTIONNAIRE IN ORDER OF TOTAL SCORES. Rank Questions Number Total Score Part Letter 1. How to study effectively I a 46 2. Help with homework I d 46 3. Procedure for cleaning rooms IV b 44 4. Info, on frats. and sororities II b 43 5* Meal hours IV d2 42 6, Type of food served IV d 42 7. Worry over grades I c 41 8. Info, on courses or professors I b 37 9. Lack of money to go through school III c 37 10. Seeking dining hall information IV d 37 11. Unsure of vocational choice I 36 12. Why can’t drink in halls II C1 36 13. Proper dress II c^ 34 14. Procedure for having guests IV c 34 15. Questions on social skills II 33 16. Girl at home III a^ 33 17. Jobs on campus III f 32 18. Select courses I g 31 19. Aid in getting dates II d 31 20. Info, on rules and regulations in hall IV e 31 21. Drinking in college II e 30 22. Conflict between activities-studies III e 30 23. Jobs in the halls III g 30 24. Conflict with roommate IV f 30 25. Withdraw or add courses I f 28 26. How to participate in activities II a 28 27. Conflict with others in hall IV g. 28 28. Noisy during study hours I a1 27 29. Frocedure for paying bills IV a 27 30. Proper conduct II 26 31. Concern about roommates behavior IV h ' 26 32. Roommate is too noisy I a^ 25 33. Worry about home III a 25 34. Conflict between work and studies III d. 23 35. Manners II c? 21 36. Conflict with parents III al 21 37. Drink at social events II c1 20 38. H.R. opinion on religion III 18 39. Conduct in dining room IV d3 18 40. Sickness in family III b 15 41. Questions on religion III h 15 42. Sexual problems II f 12 43. Info, about sexual behavior II f1 8