1. Surveying the Freshman Class
Eva Fernández Center for Teaching & Learning September 16, 2011

2. Freshman Year Initiative
New model, fall 2010 :
Two classes: English 110 (College Writing) linked to a general education Perspectives course
Learning communities sometimes also involved a thematic links: e.g., Environment
English 110 courses standardized with carefully selected readings and sets of assignments (assessment currently underway)
Technology infused curriculum: blogs, netbooks, video assignments, etc.
Fall 2011: almost all freshmen in FYI

3. Freshman Survey 11 questions on demographics
75 questions, 7 different question types, on: active/collaborative learning, general education, home life and values, quantitative reasoning, student-faculty contact, study skills, supportive and diverse campus community, use of technology, writing
2 questions on long-term plans for degree
September: 46 sections, 766 respondents
December: 42 sections, 556 respondents
365 respondents completed survey twice (311 FYI, 54 non-FYI)
Demographics very similar to QC population at large and to larger samples

4. For 75 scalar-response questions, mean difference between answers in September and December
Negative change
Positive change

5. How important to you is…
How important to you is…? Learning process, contact with others, specific skills, etc. (20 questions)
Developing strong critical thinking and analytic skills
Making a life-long commitment to learning
Developing time management and organizational skills
Attending campus events and activities …
Having contact with people from different backgrounds
Becoming a community leader

6. HS-college comparison: in high school/during the current semester, how often did you…?
Making a class presentation
Coming to class having read assignments
Working with others on projects in / out of class
Discussing assignments with faculty
Talking about career plans
Participating in co-curricular activities …
Writing long papers or reports
Using e-medium for an assignment
Including diverse perspectives
Discussing ideas outside of class …

7. Evidence of impact? Questions about writing (N=6)
Questions about technology (N=4)

8. Next moves… ePortfolios to address the negatives:
Second semester seminars: general education courses, where gen ed ePortfolios are introduced
Support group beyond class: student ePortfolio showcases
Linkage to majors that use ePortfolios

9. Limitations Not enough non-FYI respondents (54 out of 365)
No identifying information collected, so not possible to correlate responses to survey with indicators of academic achievement (past and future grades, e.g.)
Design including eclectic question types; scales too narrow to elicit fine-grained judgments
Procedure to administer very labor-intensive

10. Recommendations
Use data like this, and other data we routinely collect (NSSE, alum surveys, evaluations, etc.) to learn more about our students
Continue to build well-supported and coherent institutional programming
Foster engagement in our future freshmen by continuing to pay attention to their diversity and through the development of programs with experiential education components