Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice Summary Report Background: The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) provides community colleges across the United States with information about effective educational practices to inform decision making and target institutional improvements. Specifically, CCSSE is intended to provide information to further efforts in student learning and persistence. The Community College Student Report (CCSR) is the CCSSE survey instrument that collects student responses about their engagement in an effort to measure institutional quality. Student engagement is defined by CCSSE as “the amount of time and energy students invest in meaningful educational practices. “ Annual Participation: In the 2010 administration of CCSSE at Rock Valley College, 426 students participated in the CCSR. As a medium-sized college by CCSSEE definition, the target for participation is 800. As such, Rock Valley College sampled 53% of its target for participation CCSSE Participation at RVC Target Participation800 Actual Participation426 % of Target53% Understanding the Scores: Using Benchmark scores, comparisons can be made among subgroups and to other groups of colleges participating in the survey, including the following: <> Illinois - community colleges in the state participating in the survey <> 2010 CCSSE Cohort - all the community colleges in the nation participating in the 2010 administration of the survey <> 2010 Top Performing Colleges - the ten colleges in the nation with the highest scores for each of the identified benchmark; actual colleges may change with each benchmark Benchmark 1: Active and Collaborative Learning “Students learn more when they are actively involved in their education and have opportunities to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings. Through collaborating with others to solve problems or master challenging content, students develop valuable skills that prepare them to deal with real-life situations and problems.” Summary: <> Rock Valley College scored a 49.0 on this benchmark. <> RVC students rated this benchmark slightly higher than their peers in Illinois community colleges. <> RVC students rated this benchmark lower than their peers in national comparison groups. NOTE: Information for this report comes from CCSSE Standard Reports. Additional data, including disaggregated data (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, age, developmental, first generation and full-time/part-time status), is available. More complete reporting of CCSSE results will be posted on the Assessment website.

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice Benchmark 2: Student Effort Benchmark 3: Academic Challenge Summary: <> Rock Valley College scored a 51.0 on this benchmark. <> RVC students rated this benchmark higher than their peers in Illinois community colleges, as well as peers in the 2010 CCSSE Cohort. <> RVC students rated this benchmark lower than their peers in 2010 Top Performing Colleges. “Students’ own behaviors contribute significantly to their learning and the likelihood that they will successfully attain their educational goals.” “Challenging intellectual and creative work is central to student learning and collegiate quality. These survey items address the nature and amount of assigned academic work, the complexity of cognitive tasks presented to students, and the rigor of examinations used to evaluate student performance.” Summary: <> Rock Valley College scored a 52.4 on this benchmark. <> RVC students rated this benchmark higher than their peers in Illinois community colleges, as well as peers in the 2010 CCSSE Cohort. <> RVC students rated this benchmark lower than their peers in 2010 Top Performing Colleges.

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice Benchmark 4: Student-Faculty Interaction Benchmark 5: Support for Learners Summary: <> Rock Valley College scored a 48.3 on this benchmark. <> RVC students rated this benchmark slightly higher than their peers in Illinois community colleges. <> RVC students rated this benchmark lower than their peers in national comparison groups. Summary: <> Rock Valley College scored a 47.8 on this benchmark. <> RVC students rated this benchmark lower than their peers in Illinois community colleges and in national comparison groups. “In general, the more contact students have with their teachers, the more likely they are to learn effectively and to persist toward achievement of their educational goals. Through such interactions, faculty members become role models, mentors, and guides for continuous, lifelong learning.” “Students perform better and are more satisfied at colleges that provide important support services, cultivate positive relationships among groups on campus, and demonstrate commitment to their success.”