The University of North Carolina General Administration The Relationship between Non-Cognitive Factors and Academic Outcomes Eric Fotheringham, Research & Policy Analyst Samantha McAuliffe, Dir. Special Projects & Strategic Assessment

Background and Context State Systems Transformation Grant Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation/USA Funds Non-Cognitive/Dispositional Factors Leading Scholars: William Sedlecek, Carol Dweck, Angela Duckworth, Kathryn Connor & Jonathan Davidson, David Yeager, Gregory Walton, C.R. Snyder, Ed Diener, and others. Redefining Student Success Conference

Why Non-Cognitive Factors Higher Education researchers have extensively explored the reasons students do not persist but is only beginning to examine why students DO persist. Examples of Reasons for Stop-Out Examples of Reasons for Persistence Academic Preparedness Engagement Financial Limitations Sense of Belonging Lack of engagement Institutional Match

What are Non-Cognitive Factors Non-cognitive Factors: Variables that do not measure intelligence or academic ability but have an effect on student success in college.

Identified Non-Cognitive Factors Resilience Hope Self-perceived success in relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism Growth Mindset Optimism Grit Satisfaction with Life

The Role of a System Office To facilitate the identification and sharing of best practices To advocate for promising new approaches to improving student success To utilize system-level data to identify trends and areas for further research to assist institutions in making programmatic decisions

Introduction of Pilot Project Pilot Concept Participating Institutions Measurement Tools Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale Life Orientation Test Revised Short Grit Scale Adult Hope Scale PERTS Growth Mindset Scale Flourishing Scale Satisfaction with Life Scale

Pilot Project Assessment Tools Procedure for administration to multiple universities Core measurement tools (5 institutions) Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale Short Grit Scale PERTS Growth Mindset Scale Life Orientation Test Revised (3 Institutions) Flourishing Scale (3 Institutions) Satisfaction with Life Scale (2 Institutions) Adult Hope Scale (2 Institutions)

Research Questions Overarching Research Question: How are non-cognitive factors related to one another and academic achievement? Specific Research Questions Is there a relationship between measurement scales? Is there a relationship between measurement scales and entering academic credentials (HS GPA/Entrance exams)? Is there a relationship between measurement scales and first semester GPA? Was there a statistically significant change in non-cognitive factor scores between first and second semester?

Academic Profile & Summary Statistics for Fall Survey Category (n) Mean High School GPA Mean SAT* Mean Fall 2015 GPA Response Rate Female (864) 3.42 908 2.94 22.4% Male (371) 3.31 924 2.79 15.5% American Indian (91) 3.45 931 2.85 26.3% African American (825) 3.34 902 19.4% Hispanic (63) 3.46 914 20.8% White (163) 3.57 979 3.07 19.1% Other (53) 3.44 928 3.09 18.9% *SAT scores are pre-2016 changes in scoring format, includes ACT crosswalked scores

Non-Cognitive Scale Correlations Scale (n) Resilience Growth Mindset Grit Life Orientation Flourishing Satisfaction with Life Adult Hope Resilience (1235) 1.00 0.10** 0.38** 0.13** 0.46** 0.36** 0.41** Growth Mindset (1232) -0.23** 0.07* -0.13** -0.03 Grit (1235) 0.31** 0.28** Life Orientation (820) 0.20** - Flourishing (830) Satisfaction with Life (405) 0.39** Adult Hope (405) Notes: *p<0.05, **p<0.01

Other Correlations Scale High School GPA SAT* Fall 2015 GPA Gender Resilience 0.04 0.08** 0.09** 0.11** Growth Mindset 0.07* 0.15** 0.10** -0.03 Grit 0.02 -0.06* Life Orientation -0.06 -0.19** -0.09** 0.05 Flourishing -0.02 Satisfaction with Life 0.08 0.10* -0.05 Adult Hope 0.01 0.07 -0.08 Notes: *p<0.05, **p<0.01 *SAT scores are pre-2016 changes in scoring format, includes ACT crosswalked scores

GPA Correlations Scale GPA range: 0.0 - 1.9 2.0 - 3.4 3.5 & above Resilience -0.02 0.06 0.08 Growth Mindset 0.04 0.08* Grit 0.01 Life Orientation -0.11 -0.002 -0.04 Flourishing 0.03 0.17* Satisfaction with Life 0.13 Adult Hope 0.21 0.11 0.21* Notes: *p<0.05, **p<0.01

Discussion Findings as compared to the literature Limitations Implications of Findings Interventions identified in the literature

Future Research & Programmatic Impact Pilot Extension Future Research Plan Programmatic Impact

Questions Contact Information: Eric Fotheringham: emfotheringham@northcarolina.edu Samantha McAuliffe-Raynor: slmcauliffe@northcarolina.edu