George D. Kuh U of Maine System March 20, 2007 Strengthening Institutional Responsibility for Student Success: Lessons from NSSE

We all want the same thing—an undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning and personal development for all students.

Overview Overview  Students today  Why engagement matters  Rethinking classroom practices  Conversation

Advance Organizers  To what extent do your students engage in productive learning activities, inside and outside the classroom?  How do you know?  What must you do differently -- or better -- to enhance student success?

Student Success in College Academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational objectives, and post- college performance

Students Today  Entitlement mentality

Trends in High School Grades

Student Success Quiz What percent of high school seniors have college-level reading skills? (a) 51% (b) 59% (c) 68% (d) 77% (e) none of the above 51% ACT a. 51% (ACT, 2006)

Student Success Quiz True or false: 26% of first-year first-time frosh take one or more remedial courses in college. False. 40%

Student Success Quiz What percent of students who take at least one remedial course in reading do not earn a certificate or degree within 8 years of first enrollment? (a) 18% (b) 33% (c) 43% (d) 61% (e) 70% e. 70%

Student Success Quiz True or false: About $300 million is spent annually on postsecondary remediation coursework. False. $1+ billion

Students Today  Entitlement mentality  Cumulative deficit re: attitudes, study habits, academic skills

What to Do?!? Student success requires that professors explain more things to today’s students that we once took for granted – “You must buy the book, you must read it and come to class, you must observe deadlines or make special arrangements when you miss one” Prof. Richard Turner (1998, p.4)

Students Today  More diverse than previous cohorts  Techno-savvy “NetGens”

Lessons from National Center for Academic Transformation If doing something is important, require it (first-year students don’t do ‘optional’) If doing something is important, require it (first-year students don’t do ‘optional’) Assign course points to the activity Assign course points to the activity Monitor and intervene when necessary Monitor and intervene when necessaryhttp://

Factors That Threaten Persistence and Graduation from College  academically underprepared for college-level work  first-generation college student  gap between high school and college  30+ hours working per week  part-time enrollment  single parent  financially independent  children at home

What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement Because individual effort and involvement are the critical determinants of impact, institutions should focus on the ways they can shape their academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement. Pascarella & Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005, p. 602

Foundations of Student Engagement Time on task (Tyler, 1930s) Quality of effort (Pace, s) Student involvement (Astin, 1984) Social, academic integration (Tinto,1987, 1993) Good practices in undergraduate education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987) Outcomes (Pascarella, 1985) Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, 2005)

Student Engagement Trinity  What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities  What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things  Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities

Good Practices in Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005) Student-faculty contact Student-faculty contact Active learning Active learning Prompt feedback Prompt feedback Time on task Time on task High expectations High expectations Respect for diverse learning styles Respect for diverse learning styles Cooperation among students Cooperation among students

National Survey of Student Engagement Community College Survey of Student Engagement National Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “nessie”) Community College Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “cessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

NSSE Project Scope NSSE Project Scope  One million+ students from 1,100 different schools  80% of 4-yr U.S. undergraduate FTE  50 states, Puerto Rico  35 Canadian universities  100+ consortia

NSSE Survey Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Reactions to People & Environment Student Background Information Student Learning & Development

In your experience at your institution during the current school year, about how often have you done each of the following? 1

Effective Educational Practices Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Enriching Educational Experiences SupportiveCampusEnvironment Student- Faculty Interaction

Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, and engagement go hand in hand

Student engagement varies more within than between institutions.

Academic Challenge by Institutional Type Seniors D oc Ext D oc Int MA B ac LA Bac Gen Nation First-Year Students Doc Ext Do c Int MA Bac LA B ac Gen N ation Benchmark Scores

Worth Pondering How do we reach our least engaged students?

Behold the compensatory effects of engagement

What Are Faculty Telling Us?

Faculty Survey of Student Engagement Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced “fessie”) FSSE measures faculty expectations and activities related to student engagement in effective educational practices

FSSE and NSSE Point to “Disorienting Dilemmas” Situations in which usual perspectives or ways of responding do not work or don’t fit are more likely to motivate us to learn and change (Mezirow, 1990)

Course Emphasis FACULTY report very much or quite a bit of emphasis on memorizing STUDENTS report very much or quite a bit of emphasis on memorizing 29% / 14% Lower Division Upper Division 65% / 63% 65% / 63% 1 st yr. Students Seniors

Prompt Feedback FACULTY gave prompt feedback often or very often STUDENTS received prompt feedback often or very often 93% / 93% 93% / 93% Lower Division Upper Division 64% / 76% 1 st yr. Students Seniors

Association of American Colleges and Universities

Narrow Learning is Not Enough — The Essential Learning Outcomes Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World  Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World  Intellectual and Practical Skills  Personal and Social Responsibility  Integrative Learning

 Integrating ideas or information from various sources  Included diverse perspectives in class discussions/writing  Put together ideas from different courses  Discussed ideas with faculty members outside of class  Discussed ideas with others outside of class  Analyzing the basic elements of an idea, experience, or theory Essential Learning Outcome: Integrative Learning  Synthesizing & organizing ideas, info., or experiences  Making judgments about the value of information  Applying theories to practical problems or in new situations  Examined the strengths and weaknesses of your own views  Tried to better understand someone else's views  Learned something that changed how you understand an issue NSSE DEEP LEARNING SCALE

Essential Learning Outcome: Intellectual and Practical Skills NSSE SELF-REPORTED GAINS  Acquiring job or work-related knowledge and skills  Writing clearly and effectively  Speaking clearly and effectively  Thinking critically and analytically  Analyzing quantitative problems  Using computing and information technology  Working effectively with others  Solving complex real-world problems

NSSE SELF-REPORTED GAINS  Voting in local, state, or national elections  Learning effectively on your own  Understanding yourself  Understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds  Developing a personal code of values and ethics  Contributing to the welfare of your community  Developing a deepened sense of spirituality Essential Learning Outcome: Personal & Social Responsibilities

Very much Quite a bit Some Very little

Very much Quite a bit Some Very little

Effective Educational Practices  First-Year Seminars and Experiences  First-Year Seminars and Experiences  Common Intellectual Experiences  Learning Communities  Writing-Intensive Courses  Collaborative Assignments and Projects  “Science as Science Is Done”; Undergraduate Research  Diversity/Global Learning  Service Learning, Community-Based Learning  Internships  Capstone Courses and Projects

Effects of Learning Communities on Engagement

Faculty Time Devoted to Research and Probability of Students Doing Research

Faculty Time on Research with Undergraduates and Probability of Student Participation in Research P robability of Undergraduate Research Faculty Research with Undergraduates (hours)

Faculty View of Importance of Doing Research with Students and Probability of Students Doing Research Probability of Undergraduate Research Importance of Undergraduate Research

Effective Educational Practices Increase Odds That Students Will: Effective Educational Practices Increase Odds That Students Will: Invest time and effort Invest time and effort Interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters Interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters Experience diversity Experience diversity Get more frequent feedback Get more frequent feedback Discover relevance of their learning through real-world applications Discover relevance of their learning through real-world applications

Fayetteville State  Faculty members “teach the students they have, not those they wish they had”  Center for Teaching and Learning sponsors development activities on diverse learning needs Cal State Monterey Bay  “Assets” philosophy acknowledges students’ prior knowledge “Meet students where they are”

Learning-intensive practices George Mason requires every student to take from 1-3 writing- intensive courses. Most DEEP schools have strong writing centers to emphasize and support the importance of good writing.

Technology enriched learning U of Kansas faculty make large lecture classes engaging via PowerPoint, Blackboard software, and other technology including slides and videos, and “interactive lecturing,” which incorporates various opportunities for students to participate.

Reasons for Taking Online Courses

Comparison of Distance Education and Campus-Based Learners

Faculty Priorities and Student Engagement

Faculty Who Value Effective Educational Practices

What to Make of This? 1.When faculty members emphasize certain educational practices, students engage in them to a greater extent than their peers elsewhere. 2.Good things go together

Focus on Student Success “Sea change” at KU to emphasize undergraduate instruction Experienced instructors teach lower division and introductory courses Experienced instructors teach lower division and introductory courses Faculty members from each academic unit serve as “Faculty Ambassadors” to the Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty members from each academic unit serve as “Faculty Ambassadors” to the Center for Teaching Excellence Course enrollments kept low in many undergraduate courses; 80% have 30 or fewer students; 93% 50 or fewer students. Course enrollments kept low in many undergraduate courses; 80% have 30 or fewer students; 93% 50 or fewer students.

Something Else That Really Matters in College The greatest impact appears to stem from students ’ total level of campus engagement, particularly when academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular involvements are mutually reinforcing … Pascarella & Terenzini, How College Affects Students, 2005, p. 647

It Takes a Whole Campus to Educate a Student

Difference Makers Student success is the product of thousands of small gestures extended on a daily basis by caring, supportive educators sprinkled throughout the institution who enact a talent development philosophy.

Creating Conditions That Matter to Student Success We can’t leave serendipity to chance

Institutional Reflection Areas of EffectiveEducationalPractice Question or Improvement

Using Engagement and Other Data How well do our programs work and how do we know?  How well do our programs work and how do we know?  How many students do our efforts reach in meaningful ways and how do we know?  To what degree are our programs and practices complementary and synergistic?  What are we doing that is not represented among the DEEP practices? Should we continue to do it?  What are we not doing that we should?

Last Word Most institutions cannot change the lineage of their students. Campus cultures do not change easily or willingly. But we can do far more to shape the way students approach college and what they do after they arrive. Do we have the will to more consistently use promising policies and practices to increase the odds that more students “get ready,” “get in,” and “get through?”

Conversation Conversation