Conceptual Framework Assignment:
Academic Success among Greek vs. Non-Greek Students
Nick Stowers
Oklahoma State University
1) Describes your issue, problem, or research problem
Academic Success is the number one topic among college students. Doing well
academically is the most important thing in college. At Oklahoma City University I am
the men’s Greek advisor. As fraternity and sorority men and women, our students pride
themselves on academic success and scholarship. There have been major goals and
benchmarks to uphold by these individuals. I believe that these students succeed because
of the positive interaction with others in Greek life. By using Bandura’s Theory of SelfEfficacy we see how extra-curricular engagement motivates students to be successful in
the classroom, while providing them with positive experiences and a higher self-efficacy.
While being guided through social interaction, students learn to meet these benchmarks
set forth by their peers, therefore excelling academically. See figure 1 to get the diagram
of how Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy can be applied to Greek students. The
problem in the study questions the lack of engagement in Greek organizations. If more
students participated, they may have a positive experience, therefor making them more
successful in the classroom. I predict that these students in extra-curricular groups will
continue to be successful.
2) Lists and explains your variables
Variables used are college students and Greek life, college students being the
dependent variable and Greek life being the independent variable. When students at
OCU join an organization, it gives them the motivation to uphold academic success and
meet their goals. By applying the theory of student persistence and the theory of selfefficacy, the students continue to persist and excel in their academics while participating
in extra-curricular activities. By adding activities such as Greek life to their college
experience, they are able to better themselves and stay on track for graduating because of
the positive interaction.
3) Lists the theories you want to apply and briefly explain each theory you use
As I mentioned, the theories I choose to use in this assignment are the Bandura’s
Theory of Self-Efficacy and Tinto’s theory of Student Persistence. Self-efficacy is based
on one’s belief of their capabilities. Positive experiences can make the college
experience more enjoyable. The theory of student persistence is used as the goal setting
benchmark that student retention can be based off of. By joining organizations a student
is more likely to be successful and graduate, because of the expectations to do well and
graduate.
4) Presents your research and theoretical/conceptual frameworks as diagrams
After doing research at OCU, I have discovered that students involved in Greek
life outperform non-Greek student on a regular bases. In fact, between the 2005 and
2011 academic years, female Greek student’s outperformed female non-Greek students
every semester, where male Greek students outperformed male non-Greek students 10
out of 13 semesters (see figure 2). The research shows that by joining a Greek
organization student are more likely to excel and maintain academic success. This can be
applied to any extra-curricular activity that encourages social engagement and has high
academic standards.
5) Explains your diagrams and what they show
Figure 1 shows that by joining an organization at OCU, students are more likely
to have high academic success. I believe this is because of the high standards set by the
organization leaders and peers. Figure 2 shows the results when evaluating the academic
success among Greek students. Figure 3 shows the effects of self-efficacy as it is
applied to the typical college student. By engaging in activities, statistics have shown
that by joining an organization at OCU students gain positive experiences through social
interaction. Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy defines that a person has a set of beliefs
that originate or are altered by positive and negative experiences. There are many ways
that you can apply this theory in college students of any population. In the right setting, a
student could be positively influenced by environmental, behavioral, and personal
factors.
Figure 1: Bandura’s Theory of Self-Efficacy is used to motivate students to meet their academic
goals.
College
Student
Greek Life
(extraCurricular
activity)
Academic
Success
(Higher
GPA)
Figure 2: Oklahoma City University GPA statistics from fall 2005 to fall 2011
Figure 3: Self Efficacy is improved by positive experiences from participation in extra-curricular
activities.
Self Efficacy
Greek Life
Bandura’s Theory of
Self-Efficacy
Extra-Curricular
Activity
Academic Success
Positive Social
Engagment/College
Experience