Abstract

Previous research has overlooked university employees' dual working student role as a potential antecedent to altered job perceptions. Therefore, a causal-comparative, quantitative study was conducted to examine how enrollment affects the job satisfaction, role conflict, and role ambiguity of non-instructional university staff. The researcher tested demographic variables, such as age, gender, racial identity, parental status, marital status, and years of service to determine if they moderated the relationship between enrollment and job perception. Among the 811 full-time university staff members who participated, 197 were enrolled as students and 614 were not enrolled. Participants completed the Measure of Job Satisfaction, the Revised Role Stressor Scales, and a demographic questionnaire administered through an online platform. Without considering demographic variables, no multivariate differences existed between students and non-students, but univariate tests indicated students were more satisfied with their jobs than non-students. Of the six demographic variables, only marital status had a moderating effect on the relationship between enrollment and the dependent variables. Specifically, married students were more satisfied with their jobs than married non-students, but single and dating students were less satisfied than single and dating non-students. After controlling for marital status, students showed higher levels of role ambiguity than non-students. No significant effects were found for role conflict. The study concluded that enrollment does affect role ambiguity and job satisfaction among certain employees. With this knowledge, considering the singular influence staff have on the operations of a university (Farrell, 2009), administrators should consider accommodations such as working lunches, a student-employee organization, and a specialized orientation for working students to better support staff who want to continue their education. Future researchers may consider testing different moderators or using a qualitative approach that may provide insight into lived experiences of the working student. The latter approach may explain differences found in the study.

Graduation Date

2021

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Clark, M. H.

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Degree Program

Educational Leadership; Higher Education Track

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0008686;DP0025417

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0025417

Language

English

Release Date

8-15-2021

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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