1. Promoting Student Success in the First Year of College
George D. Kuh
29th Annual Conference on
The First Year Experience
Denver CO
February 13, 2010

2. Context Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment
The New Majority and Demographic Gaps
Questionable Levels of Student Performance 2

3. *
07/16/96 *

4. “It’s the Learning, Stupid”

5. Context Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment
The New Majority and Demographic Gaps
Questionable Levels of Student Performance
In a Most Challenging Fiscal Environment …
 We Need Higher Levels of Student Attainment at an Affordable Cost 5

6. What If…
If we imagined what our work would be like using what we know about how students learn…?
And if we created optimum learning conditions for all students…?
Then, how would we re-design our first-year programs and practices?
What kinds of teaching and assessment approaches would we use?

7. Overview What the world needs now
Why engagement in the first year matters
High-impact practices
A five step agenda

8. Association of American Colleges and Universities8

9. Narrow Learning is Not Enough: The Essential Learning Outcomes
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical & Natural World
Intellectual and Practical Skills
Personal and Social Responsibility
“Deep” Integrative Learning 9

10. Deep, Integrative Learning
Attend to the underlying meaning of information as well as content
Integrate and synthesize different ideas, sources of information
Discern patterns in evidence or phenomena
Apply knowledge in different situations
View issues from multiple perspectives

11. HART
RESEARCH
P e t e r D A S O T E C I
Raising The Bar
Employers’ Views On College Learning In The Wake Of The Economic Downturn
Key findings from survey among 302 employers Conducted October 27 – November 17, 2009 for

12. Employer expectations of employees have increased
% who agree with each statement
Our company is asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past
Employees are expected to work harder to coordinate with other departments than in the past
The challenges employees face within our company are more complex today than they were in the past
To succeed in our company, employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge today than they did in the past

13. Employers’ Top Priorities for Student Learning In College
% saying two- and four-year colleges should place MORE emphasis on helping students develop these skills, qualities, capabilities, knowledge
Effective oral/written communication
Critical thinking/ analytical reasoning
Knowledge/skills applied to real world settings
Analyze/solve complex problems
Connect choices and actions to ethical decisions
Teamwork skills/ ability to collaborate
Ability to innovate and be creative
Developments in science/technology

14. Other Areas Of Learning Needing More Emphasis
% saying two- and four-year colleges should emphasize MORE helping students develop in these areas
Locate/organize/ evaluate information
Understand global context
Global issues’ implications for future
Understand & work with statistics
Understand role of U.S. in the world
Knowledge of cultural diversity in US/world
Civic knowledge, community engagement
Foreign language proficiency
Understand, apply democratic values

15. What Matters to Student Success
Kuh, G.D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J.A., Bridges, B.K., & Hayek, J.C. (2007). Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations. ASHE Higher Education Report, 32(5). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Commissioned papers at:

16. Pre-college Characteristics Associated with Student Success
Academic preparation

18. Pre-college Characteristics Associated with Student Success
Academic preparation
Ability and college-level skills
Financial wherewithal
Family education and support

19. Early College Indicators of Persistence and Success
Psycho-social fit
Goal realization
Credit hours completed
Academic and social support
Involvement in the “right” kinds of activities

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

21. 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)
College impact (Pascarella, 1985)
Student engagement (Kuh, 1991, 2005, 2007)
Pace (1970s)
Pioneer in this movement of looking at the entire student experience versus just looking at test scores or grades to assess student learning.
He asked questions related to students’ academic and social experiences in college – assessed how much effort they were putting forth in their educational experiences
Astin (Hired by Pact at UCLA in 1980s)
Promoted his theory of student involvement
Amount of learning taking place directly proportional to quantity and quality of energy invested in educational activities
Tinto (Also in the 1980s)
Retention model – greater social and academic integration, both formal and informal processes -> greater satisfaction -> more likely to stay
Chickering and Gamson (1980s analysis of hundreds of studies over several decades)
1) Student-faculty contact, 2) Cooperation among students, 3) Active learning, 4) Prompt feedback, 5) Time on task, 6) High expectations, and 7) Respect for diverse talents and ways of learning
Kuh (1990s – idea of student engagement)
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

22. Student Engagement Trifecta
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

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

24. 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

25. NSSE & CCSSE Questionnaires
Student Behaviors
Institutional Actions &
Requirements
Student Learning & Development
Extensive research indicates that good educational practices in the classroom and interactions with others, such as faculty and peers, are directly related to high-quality student outcomes
They also record their perceptions of features of the college environment that are associated with achievement, satisfaction, and persistence including the extent to which the institution offers the support students need to succeed academically and the quality of relations between various groups on campus such as faculty and students (Astin, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Tinto, 1993).
Responses to the Educational and Personal Growth items in The Report have been shown to be generally consistent with other evidence, such as results from achievement tests (Brandt, 1958; Davis & Murrell, 1990; DeNisi & Shaw, 1977; Hansford & Hattie, 1982; Lowman & Williams, 1987; Pike, 1995; Pace, 1985).
As with all college student surveys, the NSSE relies on student self-reports.
For self-reported information to be valid, five conditions must be met:
(1) the information requested is known to the respondents,
(2) the questions are phrased clearly and unambiguously (Laing, Sawyer, & Noble, 1988),
(3) the questions refer to recent activities (Converse & Presser, 1989); (
4) the respondents think the questions merit a serious and thoughtful response (Pace, 1985), and
(5) answering the questions does not threaten, embarrass, or violate the privacy of the respondent or encourage the respondent to respond in socially desirable ways (Bradburn & Sudman, 1988).
The survey was designed to satisfy all these conditions.
The items are clearly worded, well defined, have high face validity, and acceptable reliability (Kuh 2000).
Reactions to College
Student Background
Information

27. Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, gains across a range of desired outcomes, and engagement go hand in hand

28. Both the NSSE benchmark and deep learning scales are…significantly and positively linked to … effective reasoning and problem solving, well being, inclination to inquire and lifelong learning, intercultural effectiveness, leadership, and moral character… These associations persisted even after introducing controls for important confounding influences. Pascarella et al., 2009 reporting on the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNSLAE)

29. It’s more complicated than this…
Many of the effects of college are “conditional”
Some are compensatory
Some have unusually positive effects

30. Who’s (on average) more engaged?
Women
Full-time students
Students who live on campus
Students with diversity experiences
Students who start and stay at same school

31. CCSSE: Who Is More Engaged?
Less Engaged
Full-time students
Part-time students
Nontraditional-age students (those over age 24)
Traditional-age students (those 24 and younger)
Students seeking credentials
Students not seeking credentials
Students who have completed 30 or more credits
Students who have not completed 30 or more credits
Female students
Male students
Black students
Students who are not black
International students
U.S. students
Students who work fewer than 30 hours per week
Students who work more than 30 hours per week
Students who have taken developmental courses
Students who have not taken developmental courses
Students who have taken study skill courses
Students who have not taken study skill courses
Students who have participated in orientation
Students who have not participated in orientation
Students who have participated in learning communities
Students who have not participated in learning communities
 CCSSE data consistently show that high-risk students, such as those who take developmental courses, typically are more engaged than their lower-risk peers. A notable exception is part-time students (a sizable group of high-risk students), who consistently are less engaged than their full-time peers.
 But consider the case of part-time students who participate in developmental education. On four of five CCSSE benchmarks, these students are less engaged than full-time students but more engaged than their part-time peers who did not take developmental courses. On the fifth benchmark, support for learners, part-time students who participate in developmental education are more engaged than even full-time students: They are 15% of the 2008 CCSSE Cohort, but they represent 16% of the most engaged students on this benchmark.
 Thus, even though part-time students are consistently less engaged than full-time students, taking developmental courses is a mitigating factor that affects their engagement levels in all areas. Students in other less engaged groups — male students, traditional-age students, and students who work more than 30 hours per week — have similar outcomes when they take developmental courses.
 This effect, moreover, is not limited to students taking developmental courses. Students from typically less engaged groups are more engaged than their peers when they participate in college orientation, study skill courses, and learning communities.
Community College Survey of Student Engagement

35. Who’s more engaged? Women Full-time students
Students who live on campus
Students with diversity experiences
Students who start and stay at same school
Students who have done “high- impact” practices

36. 36

37. High-Impact Activities
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 37

38. Essential Learning Outcome: NSSE Deep/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
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 38

39. Effects of Participating in High-Impact Activities
on Deep/Integrative Learning and Gains

40. Effects of Participating in High-Impact Activities
on Student Engagement

41. High-Impact Activities Increase Odds Students Will:
Invest time and effort
Interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters
Experience diversity
Get more frequent feedback
Reflect & integrate learning
Discover relevance of learning through real-world applications
Bullet 1: DEEP Schools are confident enough of who they are and what they are striving for that they are willing to question whether they are performing as well as they can. This sense of institutional efficacy contributes to a collaborative culture of improvement.
Bullet 2: DEEP schools are never quite satisfied with their level of performance. They continually revisit and rework policies and practices to make them marginally better.
Bullet 3: Confidence combined with a focus on improved performance makes DEEP schools dynamic organizations. Because they are not afraid to experiment and invest in ideas, they are inclined toward innovation. Even those that are cash strapped typically find small amounts of money to fuel the flame of innovation.

43. High-Impact Practices and the Disparities Within…
Frosh: Service Learning and LCs
Parity among racial/ethnic groups
Fewer 1st gen students
Fewer part-time students
Fewer transfer students
Fewer older students
Bullet 1: DEEP Schools are confident enough of who they are and what they are striving for that they are willing to question whether they are performing as well as they can. This sense of institutional efficacy contributes to a collaborative culture of improvement.
Bullet 2: DEEP schools are never quite satisfied with their level of performance. They continually revisit and rework policies and practices to make them marginally better.
Bullet 3: Confidence combined with a focus on improved performance makes DEEP schools dynamic organizations. Because they are not afraid to experiment and invest in ideas, they are inclined toward innovation. Even those that are cash strapped typically find small amounts of money to fuel the flame of innovation.

44. Assessing Student Engagement in High-Impact Practices
To what extent does your institution provide these experiences?
[√ = have on campus; √ = required; estimate the % of various student populations in these activities]
Learning Community
First Year Seminars
Service Learning
On Our Campus
Required for all
% Students involved
% First Generation
% Transfer Students
% African American
% Latino Students
% Asian American
% other
% Adult Students

45. Ponder This
“If all you ever do is all you’ve ever done, then all you’ll ever get is all you ever got”
Texan quoted in T. Friedman, Hot, Flat and Crowded (2008, p. 6)

46. Five Step Agenda
Make the classroom the locus of community building
Use engaging pedagogies campuswide

47. Engaging Pedagogies and Practices
Classroom organization
Early and continuing assignments requiring reflection and integration coupled with feedback
Use of peer preceptors/mentors
One minute papers (variations)
Case studies
Debates
Simulations
Small group problem sets
Others…

48. 3. Put money where it will make a difference to student success
“…in professional baseball it still matters less how much you have than how well you spend it”

49. 3. Put money where it will make a difference to student success
It’s not how much you spend but where (DEEP study, Delta Cost Project)
Sunset redundant and ineffective programs
Invest in “high-impact” and other activities that contribute to student success
If it works, maybe require it?

50. Targets of Opportunity
Require advising and orientation
Use valid placement tests
Reduce D/W/F rates
Deploy early warning systems
Organize residences around educational themes
Communicate with at-risk student family members

51. 4. Ensure programs are of high quality
What kind of evidence will signal effectiveness?

52. 5. Cultivate a campus culture that fosters student success
unshakeable focus on student learning (“teach the students we have, not the students we wish we had”)
“get the right people on the bus”
high performance expectations for all
human-scale settings
improvement-oriented ethic
inclusive language and traditions

53. Project DEEP
To discover, document, and describe what high performing institutions do to achieve their notable level of effectiveness.

54. High performance is not guaranteed to last
It’s not complacency but over-reaching that better explains how the once invincible self-destruct

55. Five years later, DEEP schools followed one of two approaches
Advancing the student success agenda
Pervasive
Targeted
Drifting off course
Among these collaborative activities are (p. 203):
Peer tutoring and mentoring
First year seminars
Learning communities

56. Keys to Sustaining the Student Success Agenda
Student success becomes an institutional priority when everyone--especially campus leaders--make it so.
Measure and act on what matters to student success
Stay positively restless

57. Questions
&
Discussion

59. John Pelizza – Motivational Speaker
Emotional and personal rules you
Data moves You
Something is bad -> Take action -> Get better
Change needs to be emotional and personal
Discovery -> Energy Production -> Feel better (kids always energetic – constantly discovering)