May 26, 2010 IOL 2010 Student Engagement: Social Networking and Student Success

Karla A. Fisher, Ph.D. College Relations Coordinator Center for Community College Student Engagement Kerry K. Mix, Ph.D. Research Assistant Center for Community College Student Engagement Center for Community College Student Engagement

Session Agenda Our research center Our population Data available to researchers Findings on social networking in colleges Institutional examples Center for Community College Student Engagement

“I need someone well versed in the art of torture… Do you know PowerPoint?” Center for Community College Student Engagement

Who we are… Research and service initiative of the Community College Leadership Program Fee-for-service and grant-funded Committed to improving student outcomes in community colleges Committed to preparing leaders and researchers in our field Center for Community College Student Engagement

 million community college students (6.8M credit, 5M noncredit)  60% enrolled part-time  28 years / average age (46% are under 21)  56% female  40% minority  42% first generation to attend college (AACC, 2010) Center for Community College Student Engagement Who we study…

 43% of all U.S. undergraduates  40% of all first-time college freshman  52% of Native American undergraduates  45% of Asian/Pacific Islander undergraduates  45% of Black undergraduates  53% of Hispanic undergraduates (AACC, 2010) Center for Community College Student Engagement 40% Minority Who we study…

What is student engagement? …the amount of time and energy students invest in meaningful educational practices …the institutional practices and student behaviors that are highly correlated with student learning and retention Center for Community College Student Engagement

Students are more likely to persist and learn if they… Establish relationships with faculty, staff, and peers Feel connected to the college Successfully navigate through college systems, processes, and procedures Have an academic plan and set goals Are active and engaged learners Are challenged to do their best work Center for Community College Student Engagement

 Quantitative  CCSSE  CCFSSE  SENSE  SOSE  Qualitative  Initiative on Student Success / Starting Right Center for Community College Student Engagement Our research includes…

CCCSE Tools for Improvement  Assess quality in community college education  Identify and propagate good educational practice  Identify areas in which colleges can improve  Help shift the focus to institutional locus of control CCCSE also:  Publicly reports data  Opposes ranking of community colleges Center for Community College Student Engagement ranking

CCCSE Offers Data for Researchers CCSSE – 755 colleges from 49 states plus Alberta, British Columbia, Bermuda, Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec – 1,771,724 respondents (rep total enroll. of 5,206,557) CCFSSE – 367 colleges from 45 states plus the Marshall islands – 45,000 respondents SENSE – 203 colleges from 36 states plus the Marshall and Marianas Islands – 230,000+ respondents (rep total enrollment of 1,390,000) Center for Community College Student Engagement

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)

What is CCSSE? Paper-and-pencil survey 123 items 25 demographic items 98 engagement items Additional items – 5 per year Frequency and agreement response categories Psychometric analysis & validation study Center for Community College Student Engagement

Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice CCSSE Benchmarks  Student-Faculty Interaction  Active and Collaborative Learning  Student Effort  Academic Challenge  Support for Learners Center for Community College Student Engagement

CCSSE Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice CCSSE Example Community College 2009 Benchmark Scores Center for Community College Student Engagement

2009 CCSSE Cohort  Quantitative data from:  400,000+ students  600 institutions  48 states, plus the Marshall Islands and Nova Scotia Qualitative data College vignettes Cultivating Connections:  In virtual space  In the classroom  On campus  Beyond the campus Center for Community College Student Engagement

Social Networking Social construction of knowledge “Academic social networking is a concept that refers to the building of connections and relationships among a community of learners” (Ciez-Volz, ). Web 2.0 “…a new era of Web-enabled applications that are built around user-generated or user-manipulated content, such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, and social networking sites” (Pew, 2009). Center for Community College Student Engagement

How often do you use social networking tools for any purpose? Center for Community College Student Engagement

Students’ use of social networking tools to communicate about coursework? Center for Community College Student Engagement

Colleges’ use of social networking tools to communicate about services? Center for Community College Student Engagement

Dissertation: ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN USE OF WEB-BASED SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT (Mix, 2010)  CCSSE U.S. community colleges in 38 state 179,936 max response Five special-focus survey items  Institutional Social Networking Inventory (ISNI) 83 colleges Campus Voice & Student Voice Center for Community College Student Engagement

Used SNT for any purpose Center for Community College Student Engagement (Mix, 2010)

Used SNT to communicate about coursework Center for Community College Student Engagement (Mix, 2010)

College use of SNT to communicate about services Center for Community College Student Engagement (Mix, 2010)

Dissertation: STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ONLINE EDUCATION PROGRAMS: AN EXPLORATION OF SIX CONSTRUCTS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE (Fisher, 2010) Center for Community College Student Engagement  Survey of Online Student Engagement 215 items (59 survey questions) 192 content items 23 demographic items 2,085 respondents at five research sites 43% online courses exclusively 57% online and on-campus courses

Online students less likely to use SNT Center for Community College Student Engagement Online Only Mean Online Only Std Dev Blended Mean Blended Std Dev Mean Diff Sig (2 Tail)Effect Size 19h. Using social networking tools to connect to people at this college (Fisher, 2010)

One thing we KNOW about community college student engagement… It’s unlikely to happen by accident. It has to happen by design. Center for Community College Student Engagement

Phillips Community College (AR) Has actively encouraged faculty members to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking tools for academic purposes. For example, at in-service activities, the chancellor personally encourages faculty to use Facebook. Phillips plans to administer CCSSE again in spring 2010 to assess whether the increased use of social networking tools improves student engagement. Center for Community College Student Engagement

Web 2.0 Netvibes Home Blogger Home Wikipedia Home Youtube Home ePortfolio BlackboardWikipedia Users Group Facebook HomeFacebook Student Pages LaGuardia Community College LEARNING NETWORKS Sample WEB 2.0 Network Interactions and Traditional Connections LaGuardia Community College LEARNING NETWORKS Sample WEB 2.0 Network Interactions and Traditional Connections Shared Google Calendar Netvibes Student Pages Web 1.0 The Ning HomeNing Student Pages Interactive, Public, Student-Driven Content Proprietary, Secure Student BlogsLAGCC Home LAGCC YouTube Student Pages

Traditional Learning Community College Composition College Composition Research Paper Course in Major Student Cohort Instructor A Instructor B Instructor C Integrated Hour Theme Driven Content Course in Major

Instructor C CapstoneStudent Group D Instructor B Urban Studies Mass Media Student Group C Instructor A Composition and Research Student Group BBasic WritingStudent Group A LEARNING NETWORKS

Florida State College (FL) Master Student Program (TA program) Paid appointment, 20 hours week Trained to support DevEd student Focus on academic & social connections 20% Web 2.0 required Center for Community College Student Engagement

Thank you for attending our session! Center for Community College Student Engagement

References AACC [American Association of Community Colleges]. (2010). Factsheet Retrieved May 1, 2010 from Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2009). Making connections: Dimensions of student engagement (2009 CCSSE Findings). Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Community College Leadership Program. Chickering, A. W., & Ehrmann, S. C. (1996, October). Implementing the seven principles: Technology as lever. AAHE Bulletin, 3-6. Retrieved November 29, 2008 from Ciez-Volz, K. ( ). The Master Student Program: Learning to network, networking to learn. Jacksonville, FL: Florida State College at Jacksonville, Program Development. Fisher, K. A. (2010). Student engagement in community college online education programs: An exploration of six constructs with implications for practice. (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, May 2010). Mix, K. K. (2010). Online social networking: Exploring the relationships between use of web-based technologies and community college student engagement. (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin, May 2010). Pew. (2009). Definition of Web 2.0. Retrieved on July 1, 2009 from 20.aspx Center for Community College Student Engagement

Karla A. Fisher, Ph.D.Kerry K. Mix, Ph.D. College Relations Coordinator Research Assistant Center for Community College Student Engagement 3316 Grandview St. Austin, TX Center for Community College Student Engagement