Aviation Student Involvement in Campus Based Extracurricular Organizations at a Midwestern University

The purpose of this study was to investigate aviation student involvement in campus based extracurricular organizations at a large Midwestern university. Since 2002, the researchers have noted a steady decline in aviation student involvement, and recently surveyed students with the use of a descriptive survey questionnaire developed for this study to determine the cause of decreased student involvement. The survey was also used to investigate aviation student attitudes and beliefs about various student organizations in addition to soliciting demographic information about the students who completed the survey. The study found that a substantial number of aviation students did not perceive involvement in aviation student organizations as particularly meaningful to their lives. Furthermore, students were not aware of opportunities, through active involvement in campus and civic organizations, to network with aviation industry representatives for internships and employment during school or after graduation. Students also cited various reasons regarding their lack of active involvement in organizations including work, other obligations, and lack of time. Students indicated that some organizations had student leaders who lacked a sense of direction and purpose. Recommendations were made to assist faculty advisors in providing guidance to student leaders of organizations and to develop opportunities to educate students about the benefits of organizational involvement.