1. NASPA/ACPA 2007 Conference
Looking at the Past, Shaping the Future: Getting to Know Our Students for the Past 40 Years
NASPA/ACPA 2007 Conference
Orlando, FL  April 2, 2007
Sylvia Hurtado John H. Pryor
Director Director
Higher Education Research Institute Cooperative Institutional Research Program
Higher Education Research Institute
University of California at Los Angeles

2. Introduction Unprecedented increase in enrollment
Baccalaureate degree as a minimum and essential credential for many employers
Enrollment predicted to increase through 2015
Women’s movement and civil rights movement sought to decrease inequities and enhance diversity
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

3. Introduction Are our institutions: Achieving educational equity?
Meeting student’s needs and aspirations?
Developing the values, skills, and knowledge for an increasingly complex and global society?

4. Cooperative Institutional Research Program
Longitudinal Research Program Launched in 1966
Hundred’s of articles in professional journals and books written using CIRP data
Astin’s “Theory of Involvement”

5. Higher Education Research Institute
CIRP
Cooperative Institutional
Research Program
Funded
Research
Freshman
Survey
YFCY
CSS
Atlantic Philanthropies
Templeton Foundation
National Institutes
of Health
Faculty Survey

6. Forty Years of Trend Data
1966
2006
206,865 respondents
251
Colleges
and
Universities
271, respondents
393
Colleges
and
Universities
Total over 40 years:
8,319,318 students
1,201 colleges and universities

7. CIRP Freshman Survey Trends
Major Findings in the Report
Demographics and Implications for a Diverse Society
Access and Affordability
Preparation for College
Technology
Politics and Discourse
Values
Conclusion and Implications

8. Demographic Changes

9. Demographic Changes Increased racial ethnic diversity
Women have become a stable majority
Older students
More students reporting learning disabilities
Parents more affluent
Parents less likely to live together

10. Preparation for a Diverse Society

11. CIRP Research Reports

12. College Choice

13. College Choice: Applications Increase

14. CIRP Freshman Survey Trends
2006 – 67.3% attending first choice
1976 (77.3%)
1986 (70.7%)
1996 (71.5%)

15. Affordability

16. Affordability Parental Income
Rising faster in the group of parents of college students than the national average
In 1975, parental income of students was 46% above national
In 2005, parental income of students was 60% above national
Rising faster for parents of students in public universities
Family income of students at privates rose 15.7%
Family income of students at publics rose 17.1%
Fewer students have major concerns about financing their education (11.6%, down from 19.1% in 1995)

17. Preparation for College

18. Preparation for College
Since 1982, completion of recommended levels increased (National Commission on Excellence)
Most increases in meeting recommended levels of course work were in the first decade
Still improvement needed in:
Biology (46.8%)
Physical Science (59.9%)
Computer Science (61.6%)

19. Preparation for College
Academic Preparation
Student Perception of Necessary Remedial Work in College Dropped from 1971 to 1979, but remains fairly stable since then
Will need remedial work in College?
24.1% Math
10.9% Science
9.4% English
Gaps by Racial/Ethnic Group have closed but remain

20. Preparation for College
Academic Habits and Experiences
More were late to class in High School
48.2% in 1966
65.1% in 2001
60.6% in 2006

21. Fewer Students Studying 6+ Hours a Week as High School Seniors

22. Preparation for College
Academic Habits and Experiences
Declining interaction with High-School Teachers

23. Technology

24. Technology Use a personal computer Used Internet for homework

25. Technology Frequent Use of the Internet for Homework as High-School Senior

26. Social and Political Views

27. Political Ideology

28. Political Views

29. Political Views
Shifting views on abortion, gay rights, legalization of marijuana, and using affirmative action in college admissions
Driving this change has been differential changes among conservatives and liberals

30. Political Views Politics Greater differences between students
Also disagree if Colleges have the right to ban extreme speakers:
Overall agreement has increased:
24.1% agree in 1986 to 40.5% in 2006
Conservatives: 55.1% agree
Liberals: 28.5% agree

31. Values

32. Values Why Go To College Are students more: Greatest Changes
To make more money
49.9% in 1976
64.9% in 1985
69.0% in 2006
To prepare for graduate/professional school
34.9% in 1971
57.7% in 2006
Are students more:
apathetic?
materialistic?

33. Values Student Interest in Quality of Life issues
Upward social mobility lessened
Culture emphasizes quick paths to wealth
High corporate salaries
Dot.com
State lotteries
Financial considerations such as College
Altruism in helping others

34. CIRP Freshman Survey Trends

35. Implications for Student Affairs and College Educators
Educating students about diversity, promoting civil discourse, and skills for handling conflict are more important today
Co-curricular programming examples
Staff training

36. Implications for Student Affairs and College Educators
Reports for special tutoring or remediation have not declined among entering freshmen. How will we meet their needs?
Placement tests, advising, early warning systems, more advising
Supplemental education in living learning programs
High school and college partnerships examples

37. Implications for Student Affairs and College Educators
Technology progress means keeping up with modes of communication and student learning (e.g.evaluating sources of information).

38. Implications for Student Affairs and College Educators
Students want a better quality of life and are altruistic
Millennial generation has received much criticism but many of the trends preceded them, starting in the 1980s.
Service opportunities with time for students to reflect on values
Encourage the development of responsible citizenship

39. Implications for Student Affairs and College Educators
Access and Affordability: Balancing the market perspective with broader goals of higher education
Enable more low and middle income students to make good choices
Work collaboratively with colleges that have capacity, joint agreements
Using broad definition of talent and multiple ways of assessing it in admissions

40. For More Information To order “The American Freshman:
Forty Year Trends,”
or for more information
Go to the HERI booth
or use our website:
40 year trends institutional report for each school that has participated in the 2006 data collection and has at least 5 years of data