1. Making Entering Student Surveys Relevant & Actionable
Jessicah Rauch, M.A.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
POSITIVE PREDICTORS OF STUDENT SUCCESS
ABSTRACT
SENSE OF BELONGING
DECISIONS TO ATTEND IUPUI
Beginning freshmen entering student surveys are one of the most important surveys in the cycle of a student. These surveys are important as they help the university and decision makers within the university to get a glimpse into how the new beginning student cohort is feeling about the university as well as what activities they see themselves doing while in college. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has gone through a few variations before landing on the current version of the Entering Student Survey. By continuously working on the survey, some tips and tricks have emerged to help ensure our survey is actionable and beneficial to decision makers on campus. Different decision makers on campus utilize IUPUI’s Entering Student Survey results to investigate the predictors of student success or get an indication of what services the students may need during their first year of college.
A large area of focus of the IUPUI campus is making sure students feel welcomed and like they belong. These items are the first the students are asked. By asking these items on the Entering Student Survey decision makers on campus are able to gauge first impressions of IUPUI. These items are also asked on other surveys the students will take while at IUPUI, giving the campus an opportunity to track sense of belonging past orientation.
A helpful series of items for decision makers are the items pertaining to why students decided to attend IUPUI. Knowing why students are choosing to come to IUPUI can inform decisions to ensure resources are allocated to the keeping and strengthening these things. With IUPUI being an urban campus the decisions to attend reflect that, and it is important to focus on what makes the campus special to the beginning freshmen.
The following items included in IUPUI’s Entering Student Survey are positively related to one-year retention/GPA of 2015 and 2016 cohort students, the most recent availability of data. This analysis is conducted by Michele J. Hansen Ph.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor IRDS.
Commitment to IUPUI
Organizational Commitment
Self-Efficacy Ratings
Drive to Succeed
Mathematical skills
Study skills
Ability to seek out appropriate academic help
Ability to manage finances
Motivation of college work
Intellectual or academic activities
Emotional health
Time Commitments
Preparing for class
Plans and Expectations
Have chosen a major
Participate in student groups/clubs
Participant in High Impact Practices (service learning, study abroad, participate in an internship, co-op, field experience, practicum, student teaching, or clinical placement)
Good choices for personal health
Factors Affecting Decision to Attend IUPUI
Graduates get good jobs
Academic offerings such as courses, certification, and degrees
Wanted to live at home while attending college
Social opportunities associated with IUPUI located in Indianapolis
Job, career, internship opportunities available in Indianapolis while attending classes
IUPUI’s reputation
Availability of financial aid scholarship
Type of housing available on campus
Campus visit
Parents wanted me to attend
MATERIALS & METHODS
IUPUI’s Entering Student Survey was developed using empirically validated instruments, research on factors associated with student success, and suggestions from campus leaders. The survey’s current form came about after combining a few surveys new beginning students were taking at different times of the onboarding process. The data for the academic year was collected from a Qualtrics survey of entering students, both new beginners and transfer students to IUPUI in the Fall of The survey, asks a wide range of questions including items asking about sense of belonging, self-rating on academic and personal skills, finances, planned hours spent on activities, factors affecting their decisions to attend IUPUI, and other items. These responses are then merged with information from university records, including but not limited to direct-admit or pre-major, school of major, ethnicity and age. Data was then used to analyze statistical differences between different populations of students as well as giving a broad overview of the beginning freshmen cohort as a whole.
HOURS SPENT ON ACTIVITIES
Another important section of the survey helps decision makers understand how many hours the beginning students plan to spend on different items during their first year at IUPUI. Students now are pulled in many directions and having this information can be imperative to understanding each cohort more completely.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
IUPUI’s Entering Student Survey is vital to understanding the incoming beginning freshmen cohort. Decision makers are able to use the information from the survey to make sure goals of the university are aligned with what the students are hoping to get out of their schooling as well as make sure there are the resources on campus to help retain students and set them up for success during their college career. In addition to the overall report the results allow us to compare different groups. Each school receives a report of just their students and their direct-admits and pre-majors are compared to the rest of the direct-admits and pre-majors on campus.
The next step to ensure the survey is most actionable will be to create a Tableau dashboard allowing the data to be available to decision makers much earlier. By getting the data in the hands of those making decisions earlier they will be able to work with programs and support services on campus to help the students succeed and retain them at IUPUI until graduation.
SURVEY ADMINISTRATION
FINANCING COLLEGE
The survey was administered during a dedicated block of approximately 30 minutes before dinner on the first day of orientation. By working with IUPUI Orientation Services to get this dedicated amount of time it ensures we are able to get very high response rate. For the academic year IUPUI’s response rate for beginning freshmen was 59.7%. This was an large increase from the response rate for the academic year (41.9%) was the first year the Qualtrics survey was embedded within a web page with an easy domain name to ensure students were able to access the survey quickly. There was a small issue when we first launched the survey and some students were contacted with the link at a later time. IUPUI’s Entering Student Survey is voluntary and we hope the response rate will continue to increase for the academic year.
Financing college is a top concern of students and understanding how concerned they are is vital to retention within the university. The more concern a student is the more likely they are to not return to the university.