Disaggregate to Appreciate Making SENSE of Texas’ Entering Community College Students 2012 TAIR Conference Corpus Christi, TX

Center for Community College Student Engagement  Research and service center at The University of Texas at Austin, Community College Leadership Program  Currently serve 826 community and technical colleges across the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Nova Scotia, the Northern Marianas, and the Marshall Islands  Provide national and college-level data on student engagement (approx. 1.7 million respondents), faculty engagement, and promising high-impact institutional practices 2

Center for Community College Student Engagement 3 Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE); administered during the fall term, 4 th and 5 th weeks of class gathers information on entering students’ earliest experiences at the college from the time they decide to enroll through their first three weeks in class Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS)

Making SENSE of Entering Community College Students What are entering community college students saying about their experiences three weeks in? Are all student subgroups saying the same thing? What are the implications for institutional policy and practice? How do we know?

Goals of disaggregation Demonstrate how breaking data down into subgroups yields more in depth information than just relying on benchmark scores to paint a picture 5 Show and discuss how student characteristics intersect with institutional policies and practices

Benchmarks: Effective Practice with Entering Students 6 Engaged Learning Academic and Social Support Network Early Connections Effective Track to College Readiness Clear Academic Plan and Pathway High Expectations and Aspirations SENSE Benchmarks: groupings of conceptually related items

Effective Practice with Entering Students 7 Before I could register for classes I was required to take a placement test (Effective Track to College Readiness) An advisor helped me to set academic goals and to create a plan for achieving them (Clear Academic Plan and Pathway) The first time I came to the college I felt welcome (Early Connections) Discuss an assignment or grade with an instructor (Engaged Learning) All instructors clearly explained course grading policies (Academic and Social Support Network) Item-level data I am prepared academically to succeed in college (High Expectations and Aspirations)

A Closer Look 8 Developmental & Non-Developmental Male & Female Less Than Full-time & Full-time Traditional Aged & Non-Traditional Aged First-Generation & Not First-Generation Dissect the data for a clearer picture

A Closer Look 9 Developmental & Non-Developmental Male & Female Less Than Full-time & Full-time Traditional Aged & Non-Traditional Aged First-Generation & Not First-Generation Dissect the data for a clearer picture

Student Profile: A Look at Texas Students

Texas vs. the Cohort: Enrollment Status Compared to the SENSE Cohort, more Texas students are enrolled less than full- time 11 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Texas vs. the Cohort: Race/Ethnicity Compared to the SENSE Cohort, more Texas students are Hispanic 12 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Texas vs. the Cohort: Developmental Education Of Texas’ Developmental students: 50% are in one type 32% are in two types 18% are in three types Math is the most common type of Developmental course in which entering students are enrolled 82% of Texas students 77% of Cohort 13 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Data Digging: A Closer Look at a Student Subgroup

Disaggregation Example: Developmental vs. Non-Developmental 15 Statistically significant and interesting results on survey items from Texas respondents Alpha level of Cohen’s D effect size of 0.20 or greater Ability for SENSE colleges to run similar breakouts via the SENSE online reporting system or using their raw data file

More students enrolled in Developmental courses have the goal of obtaining an associate degree or certificate More students not enrolled in Developmental courses have the goal of transferring to a 4-year 16 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort Developmental vs. Non-Developmental: Goals for Attending College

Goal Setting and Academic Planning 17 Academic advising is key to student success. With differing goals between subgroups of entering students, how do colleges ensure students are starting off on the right track with goal setting and academic planning?

18 Academic Advising Video Removed

Developmental / Non-Developmental: Academic Advising Fewer Developmental students report knowing about academic advising compared to Non- Developmental students. However, Developmental and Non-Developmental students report the same on use of academic advising. 19 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort Only 53% use academic planning/advising services

Developmental / Non-Developmental: Academic Advising Academic advising for entering students not enrolled in developmental coursework who plan to transfer to a 4-year institution 20 Academic advising for entering students enrolled in developmental coursework who seek to earn a credential vs. Should these conversations be the same?

Implications for Institutional Policy and Practice Is your college setting priorities that align with the needs of your entering students? Consider Academic Advising… –Is it required for all entering students? –Are goal setting and planning a part of the conversation? –Do all advisors talk with students about outside commitments and how those commitments may impact the number of classes the student can successfully complete in the given term? 21

Developmental vs. Non-Developmental: Orientation and The First Class Day Developmental and Non-Developmental students in Texas are similar on: Participating in orientation before classes (49%) Agreeing that all instructors clearly explained course syllabi (91%) 22 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Developmental vs. Non-Developmental: First Three Weeks of Class After just three weeks of class, many students report coming to class without completing readings or assignments. But, fewer developmental students report doing so. 23 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Implications for Institutional Policy and Practice Is your college setting priorities that align with the needs of your entering students? Consider Coming to Class Unprepared… –Does the college provide guidelines to all instructors on what policies should be outlined in their syllabi? –Are class attendance policies clearly stated in each instructor’s syllabi? –Do students understand the consequences for choosing to attend class unprepared or choosing to skip class? –Are student- and instructor-initiated drop policies clearly explained to all students and instructors? 24

Developmental vs. Non-Developmental: Knowledge and Use of Skills Labs More Developmental students report knowing about skills labs and use them more often 25 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Developmental vs. Non-Developmental: Knowledge and Use of Computer Labs More developmental students report using computer labs. 26 Source: 2010 SENSE Cohort

Implications for Institutional Policy and Practice Is your college setting priorities that align with the needs of your entering students? Consider Use of Skills and Computer Labs... –Are they built into the course? –Are labs open and available to all students? –Are all students consistently encouraged to use these services, or is only a targeted group of students encouraged? 27

28 Your College’s SENSE Data Looking at your college’s data using this same method of disaggregation could help inform other aspects of the students’ experiences during the first three weeks in college. This is how you do it…

SENSE Institutional Reports: Custom Reporting

SENSE Online Reporting System 30

Using your SENSE Data File: Further Analysis

SENSE Data File 32 When do you get it? Provided via online reporting system when results are released What’s in it? The data file contains responses from all students at the college who completed SENSE, with the exception of invalid surveys and those completed by students under the age of 18. What is NOT in it? Texas state law prohibits the sharing of student identifiers via the web; therefore, the data file accessible via the online reporting system does NOT include student IDs. Why would I want to have student IDs?

Student Identifiers—Make Request Having students IDs in the data file will enable the college to match engagement data to outcome data by respondent—a key element of tracking the link between students’ engagement behaviors and institutional policies and practices. 33 The goal is not to track an individual student but rather to track a subgroup of students (e.g., engagement levels and learning outcomes of developmental students). Contact your SENSE Liaison to request your SENSE data file with student IDs.

Using the Raw Data File  Using Statistical Software  Using Excel 34

35 Making SENSE of Your College’s Entering Community College Students What are your college’s entering students saying about their earliest experiences? Dig deep. Challenge your assumptions.

Contact Information: April Juárez Program Coordinator, Student Success BY THE NUMBERS Initiative Janelle Guillory Research Associate