Peter Ewell George Kuh Kay McClenney Carol Twigg National Center for Academic Transformation 2 nd Annual Conference Assessing Student Engagement: NSSE and CCSSE

Course Redesign in a National Context: Two Points The National Imperative to Increase Educational Attainment Among Young Adults to Maintain Global Competitiveness The National Imperative to Increase Educational Attainment Among Young Adults to Maintain Global Competitiveness The Need for Evidence-Based Continuous Improvement in Teaching and Learning The Need for Evidence-Based Continuous Improvement in Teaching and Learning

Policy Challenges for the U.S. Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment

Canada JapanKorea SwedenBelgium IrelandNorway United States Spain France Finland Australia Denmark United KingdomNetherlands Iceland LuxembourgSwitzerland New Zealand GreecePoland Germany Austria Mexico Hungary Portugal Italy Slovak Republic Czech Republic Turkey 25 to to 54 Differences in College Attainment (Associate and Higher) Between Young and Older Adults – The U.S. and OECD Countries, 2004 Source: Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, Education at a Glance 2006

Policy Challenges for the U.S. Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment The New Majority and Demographic Gaps The New Majority and Demographic Gaps

Educational Attainment of Young Workforce (Age 25-34) Indexed to Most Educated Country, 2005 Source: U.S. Census Bureaus 2005 American Community Survey; OECD Females Males White Females Males African-American Females Males Hispanic/Latino Females Males Native American/AK Native Females Males Asian/Pacific Islander Norway U.S. Index = 86% Canada U.S. Index = 77% All College Degrees (Associate or Higher) Bachelor's Degree or Higher

Policy Challenges for the U.S. Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment The New Majority and Demographic Gaps The New Majority and Demographic Gaps Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement

Policy Challenges for the U.S. Global Competition in Degree Attainment Global Competition in Degree Attainment The New Majority and Demographic Gaps The New Majority and Demographic Gaps Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement In an Environment of Increasing Fiscal Strain In an Environment of Increasing Fiscal Strain

Policy Challenges for the U.S. Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment Global Competitiveness in Degree Attainment The New Majority and Demographic Gaps The New Majority and Demographic Gaps Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement Questionable Levels of Graduate Achievement In an Environment of Increasing Fiscal Strain In an Environment of Increasing Fiscal Strain We Need Higher Levels of Collegiate Achievement at a Price that the Country Can Afford We Need Higher Levels of Collegiate Achievement at a Price that the Country Can Afford

Student Engagement 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

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

National Survey of Student Engagement Community College Survey of Student Engagement 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

NSSE Survey Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Reactions to People & Environment Student Background Information Student Learning & Development

Effective Educational Practices Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Enriching Educational Experiences SupportiveCampusEnvironment Student- Faculty Interaction

NSSE Scalets and Modules Course ChallengeCourse Challenge WritingWriting Higher-Order Thinking SkillsHigher-Order Thinking Skills Integrative LearningIntegrative Learning Active LearningActive Learning Collaborative LearningCollaborative Learning Course InteractionCourse Interaction Out-of-Class InteractionOut-of-Class Interaction Information TechnologyInformation Technology Diversity ExperienceDiversity Experience Support for Student SuccessSupport for Student Success Interpersonal EnvironmentInterpersonal Environment

Grades, persistence, student satisfaction, and engagement go hand in hand

Behold the conditional, compensatory effects of engagement

Faculty Survey of Student Engagement Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (pronounced fessie) FSSE measures faculty expectations and activities related to student engagement in effective educational practices

Prompt Feedback FACULTY gave prompt feedback often or very often STUDENTS received prompt feedback often or very often 88% / 90% 88% / 90% Lower Division Upper Division 53% / 63% 53% / 63% 1 st yr. Students Seniors

Faculty Priorities and Student Engagement

What is CLASSE? Classroom Survey of Student Engagement A two-part survey instrument that enables one to compare what engagement practices faculty particularly value and perceive important in a designated class with how frequently students report these practices occurring in the class.

Frequency (Student Ratings) Importance (Faculty Ratings) Quadrant Analysis Very Important or Important to Faculty Somewhat Important or Not Important to Faculty Very Important or Important to Faculty Somewhat Important or Not Important to Faculty Below Average Student Frequency Above Average Student Frequency ? ? Opportunities for Improvement

28 Very Important or Important for Faculty Below Average Student Frequency ( <2.5) ( Q2 ) Participated in class discussion ( = 2.40) ( Q7 ) Review class notes before class ( = 1.97) (Q10) Attend review session ( = 1.57) (Q11) instructor ( = 2.00) (Q12) Discuss ideas w instructor outside of class ( = 2.40) (Q13) Discuss grades/assignm w instr during office hrs ( = 1.86) (Q15) Work with classmates on projects during class ( = 2.11) (Q20) Incorporate ideas from different courses ( = 2.21) (Q25) Course emphasis on making judgments ( = 2.09) Very Important or Important for Faculty Above Average Student Frequency ( >2.5) (Q 1 ) Ask questions in class ( = 2.57) (Q 3 ) Take class notes ( = 3.63) (Q 4 ) Attend class ( = 3.23) (Q 5 ) Come to class prepared ( = 2.29) (Q14) Prompt/informative feedback ( = 3.20) (Q22) Coursework emphasis on memorization ( = 3.29) (Q23) Coursework emphasis on analyzing elements of an idea ( = 3.37) (Q26 ) Coursework emphasis on applying concepts and theories ( = 3.34) (Q27) Assign multiple tasks requiring >hour to complete ( = 2.83) (Q30) Challenging examinations ( = 3.49) (Q31) Perceive the need to work harder ( = 2.54) Somewhat Important or Not Important for Faculty Below Average Student Frequency ( <2.5) ( Q6 ) Prepare 2 or more drafts of a paper/assignment ( = 1.83) ( Q8 ) Used to discuss assignment w classmates ( = 1.68) ( Q9 ) Participated in a service learning project ( = 1.63) (Q16) Work with classmates on assign outside of class ( = 2.40) (Q17) Participated in study partnerships ( = 1.97) (Q19) Include diverse perspectives in making points ( = 1.37) (Q21) Coursework emphasis integrating ideas ( = 1.86) (Q28) Spend more than 3 hours preparing for class ( = 2.37) (Q29) Wrote papers of more than 5 pages in length ( = 1.17) Somewhat Important or Not Important for Faculty Above Average Student Frequency ( >2.5) (Q18) Discussed ideas from class with others ( = 2.57) (Q24) Coursework emphasis on synthesis ( = 2.60) Frequency (Student Ratings) Importance (Faculty Ratings) Engineering Course Quadrant Analysis

For Information about CLASSE Bob Smallwood, Ph.D. Assistant to the Provost for Assessment University of Alabama 125 Russell Hall Box Tuscaloosa, Al (205)

Student Engagement and Student Success: WHAT WERE LEARNING Redesign Alliance, 2008

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING #1 Engagement matters …for community college students in particular …and it matters even more for some groups of students

Redesign Alliance WHAT WERE LEARNING #2 Intentionality matters… In community colleges especially, engagement is unlikely to happen by accident. It has to happen by design.

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING #3 We must engage students early and often. New from CCSSE: …the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE)

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING In focus groups with students, what do they typically report as the most important factor in keeping them in school, persisting toward their goals? #4 Relationships matter The compensatory effect i.e., where there are differences in engagement between high-risk groups and their comparison groups (academically under-prepared students, students of color, first generation students, nontraditional college age students) --- the high-risk students are more engaged.

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING #5 Effective Developmental Education Matters Hugely Data points Academic policy and support services How we teach The compensatory effect i.e., where there are differences in engagement between high-risk groups and their comparison groups (academically under-prepared students, students of color, first generation students, nontraditional college age students) --- the high-risk students are more engaged.

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING # 6 Focused, sustained efforts, targeted to significant numbers of students, can produce real improvements in student engagement, learning, persistence, and academic attainment. The compensatory effect i.e., where there are differences in engagement between high-risk groups and their comparison groups (academically under-prepared students, students of color, first generation students, nontraditional college age students) --- the high-risk students are more engaged.

Redesign Alliance WHAT WE'RE LEARNING Student Engagement By Design Kingsborough Community College Valencia Community College Tallahassee Community College/ Surry Community College All Florida Community Colleges The compensatory effect i.e., where there are differences in engagement between high-risk groups and their comparison groups (academically under-prepared students, students of color, first generation students, nontraditional college age students) --- the high-risk students are more engaged.