Improving Student Learning through Student Engagement January 18, 2006 Community College Survey of Student Engagement 2004 Findings

Student Engagement “The research is unequivocal: students who are actively involved in both academic and out-of-class activities gain more from the college experience than those who are not so involved.” Ernest T. Pascarella & Patrick T. Terenzini, How College Affects Students

Student Engagement Students’ involvement or engagement proves to be central to both persistence and learning. Even among students who persist, those who are more involved show greater learning gain. Vincent Tinto CCSSE Workshop 2005

The Solution: Engagement By Design Community college students’ challenges do not make student engagement impossible. They do mean it must be intentional. It must happen by design.

Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice CCSSE reports survey results in two ways: national benchmarks — areas that educational research has shown to be important in quality educational practice — and students’ responses to individual survey items. The five benchmarks are: H Active and Collaborative Learning H Student Effort H Academic Challenge H Student-Faculty Interaction H Support for Learners CCSSEville Community College 2004 Benchmark Scores

Reaching for Excellence CCSSE encourages colleges continually to ask whether current performance is good enough and to reach for excellence in student engagement. Colleges can: 1. Compare themselves to the national average (the 50 mark). 2. Compare themselves to high-performing colleges. 3. Measure their overall performance against results for their least-engaged group, aspiring to make sure all subgroups engage in their education at similarly high levels. 4. Gauge their work in areas their college strongly values. 5. Contrast where they are now with where they want to be. CCSSEville Community College 2004 Benchmark Scores 50--

Reaching for Excellence : 2004 CCSSE Benchmark Scores 2004 Colleges

Active and Collaborative Learning Students learn more when they are actively involved in their education and have opportunities to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings.

Active and Collaborative Learning Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Students Who Collaborated…

Active and Collaborative Learning Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Students Who Collaborated…

Student Effort Students’ behaviors contribute significantly to their learning and the likelihood that they will attain their educational goals.

Student Effort Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Hours Full-Time Students Spend Studying 2% - MC 61% - MC 18% - MC 20% - MC

Student Effort Students Who Come to Class Unprepared 22% - MC 78% - MC

Academic Challenge Challenging intellectual and creative work is central to student learning and collegiate quality.

Academic Challenge Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Are Students Writing Enough? Are Students Reading Enough? 26% - MC; 29% - MD 27% - MC; 24% - MD

Student-Faculty Interaction In general, the more interaction students have with their teachers, the more likely they are to learn effectively and persist toward achievement of their educational goals.

Student-Faculty Interaction Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Students Who Talked with Advisors or Instructors about Career Plans 38% - MC 33% - MD 20% - MC 21% - MD

Student-Faculty Interaction Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Students Who Discussed Ideas with Instructors Outside of Class 14% - MC 14% - MD 43% - MC 49% - MD

Support for Learners Students perform better and are more satisfied at colleges that are committed to their success and cultivate positive working and social relationships among different groups on campus.

Support for Learners Key Findings: All CCSSE 2004 colleges Students’ Views of Academic and Student Support Services Percentage of students who say their college provides the support they need to succeed — either “quite a bit” or “very much.” 69% - MC 72% - MD

The Need for Inescapable Engagement Students Who Earn Degrees Students Who Transfer

The Need for Inescapable Engagement Students’ Plans after the Current Semester When do you plan to take classes at this college again? 20% - MC 12% - MD 55% - MC 68% - MD 6% - MC 6% - MD 20% - MC 15% - MD

Strategy 1: Engage Early, Engage Often CCSSE Respondents by Credit Hours Earned at the College 14.8% 38.8% 18.1% 10.7% 13.2% 4.3% MC% are in red font

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: The Front Door of College Question: What are your incoming students’ experiences when they first “meet” your college?

Focus on the Front Door Question: If we were to redesign students’ college experience from the moment of first contact with the college through to completion of 15 credit hours, what should be the key elements for that experience?

Focus on the Front Door What does the evidence suggest? HIGH EXPECTATIONS REQUIRED ORIENTATION COLLEGE SUCCESS COURSE LEARNING COMMUNITIES EARLY AND FREQUENT FEEDBACK TUTORING/SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION EARLY ALERT SYSTEMS

Strategy 2: Stress Academic Advising Students’ Use of Academic Advising/Planning Services 39% - MC 37% - MD 37% - MC 43% - MD 14% - MC 9% - MC 12% - MD

Strategy in Action Central Piedmont Community College initiated a student success planning initiative entitled ICAN. After initial advising, students consult with faculty advisors who are experts in their field, familiar with specific courses in their department, and knowledgeable about educational and career opportunities in their areas. Peer advisors, who are usually students, assist other students in navigating the catalog, preparing schedules, locating classrooms, etc. Finally, ICAN has developed a comprehensive online interactive advisement system intended to supplement the student/advisor relationship. Central Piedmont Community College (NC)

Strategy in Action The LifeMap program at Valencia Community College provides developmental advising that supports student planning (for education, career and life) and aims to strengthen students’ self- confidence and decision-making skills. Developmental advising refers to the process of making students self-sufficient. Faculty and staff are students’ advising partners, providing significant information and support initially. The expectation, however, is that as students gain experience, they will increasingly take the lead in defining and implementing their educational and career goals until ultimately, they are completely directing their own learning process. Emily Hooker, Learning Evidence Associate Valencia Community College (FL)

Strategy 3: Emphasize Effective Developmental Education 34% - MC 36% - MC 43% - MC 33% - MC 27% - MD 31% - MD 51% - MD 30% - MD

Strategy in Action Miami-Dade College (FL) …has learning communities that combine mathematics and student life skills (SLS) courses. The math classes focus on math competencies while paying attention to study skills and habits. The SLS course addresses time management, math anxiety reduction, test-taking strategies, learning styles and self confidence. This approach leads to math retention and pass rates that are consistently above the norm.

Strategy 4: Redesign Educational Experiences Collaborative Learning among Students Interaction with Faculty Members 34% - MC 24% - MC 59% - MC 34% - MC 14% - MC

Strategy in Action Northwest Vista College (TX) New instructors participate in an extensive orientation each semester involving exercises on active and collaborative learning. A full-time instructor serves as a mentor to each adjunct. Mentors guide new instructors to incorporate active learning and ASK outcomes into curriculum. ASK (Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge) is a college-wide initiative aimed at providing all students with specific critical thinking and collaboration skills.

Building a Culture of Evidence Better educational outcomes do not just happen. They depend on building and working within a culture of evidence: H Being relentless about putting data in front of faculty and staff — and using the data to promote positive change. H Being honest about current student performance to identify the means for improving. H Setting goals and implementing strategies to achieve them. H Basing every decision — about programs, policies, budgets, and staffing — on which action will have the best effect on student learning.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY SURVEY OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (CCFSSE): A FIRST LOOK

CCFSSE: A First Look In 2005, the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) was administered for the first time.* CCFSSE: H Elicits information from faculty about their teaching practices, the ways they spend their professional time both in and out of class, and their perceptions regarding students’ educational experiences. H Is aligned with CCSSE to allow colleges to contrast student and faculty perceptions.

CCFSSE: A First Look Effective Educational Practice: Student and Faculty Responses CCFSSE data are based on results from 39 colleges. When student (CCSSE) and faculty (CCFSSE) views are shown side-by-side in this presentation, the student responses include data only from colleges that participated in the faculty survey. It also is important to note that while CCSSE results are expressed in terms of benchmarks, which are created through a complex statistical analysis and peer review, there are no benchmarks for CCFSSE. For this presentation, CCFSSE results are presented in groupings of survey items that correspond to the CCSSE benchmarks. Source: CCSSE 2005 data

CCFSSE: A First Look Student-Faculty Interaction: Student Experiences/Faculty Perceptions Source: CCSSE 2005 data

The Metaphor “This college is like a ______________.”