Del Mar College Utilizing the Results of the 2007 Community College Survey of Student Engagement CCSSE Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness August 2007

What is the CCSSE? The Community College Survey of Student Engagement is a tool that helps us: –assess quality in community college education; –focus on good educational practice— practice that promotes high levels of student learning and retention; –identify areas in which we can improve programs and services for students.

What is the CCSSE? The CCSSE: –is administered directly to community college students at CCSSE member colleges in randomly selected classes; –is based on research, asking questions about institutional practices and student behaviors demonstrated to promote student learning and retention; –uses a sampling methodology that is consistent across all participating colleges.

CCSSE Benchmarks Benchmarks are groups of conceptually related items that address key areas of student engagement. CCSSE’s five benchmarks denote areas that educational research has shown to be important in quality educational practice.

CCSSE Benchmarks Benchmark scores are computed by averaging the scores on survey items that comprise that benchmark. Scores are standardized so that all of the benchmarks are on the same scale, enabling comparisons across benchmarks. Standardized scores provide information about how an individual school is doing relative to other institutions.

CCSSE Benchmarks The most valuable use of benchmarks is to see an individual college’s deviation from the mean, and the standardized score provides an easy way to assess whether an individual college is performing above or below the mean on each benchmark.

CCSSE Benchmarks Active and Collaborative Learning Student Effort Academic Challenge Student-Faculty Interaction Support for Learners

CCSSE Benchmark Comparisons

CCSSE Benchmarks Active and Collaborative Learning During the current school year, how often have you: Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions Made a class presentation Worked with other students on projects during class Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments Tutored or taught other students (paid or voluntary) Participated in a community-based project as a part of a regular course Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.)

CCSSE Benchmarks Active and Collaborative Learning During the current school year, how often have you: Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions Del Mar College CCSSE cohort mean2.91 Made a class presentation Del Mar College CCSSE cohort mean2.04

Active and Collaborative Learning

Using CCSSE Benchmarks Each benchmark provides an overview of a particular performance area, a way to compare performance on various benchmarks within an institution, and a way to compare performance among institutions Results for individual survey items, presented in absolute terms, are the place to see exactly what is happening and to ask the difficult question, how good is good enough?

Using CCSSE Results Prompt dialog about effective teaching and learning Identify areas of concern and investigate potential methods for improvement Identify our successes and best practices Link results to Strategic Plan, unit planning, program review, and accreditation processes Provide a reliable, scientific, and comprehensive resource for College leaders to assess and communicate institutional effectiveness

Thank you.