1. This SENSE Drop-In Overview Presentation Template can be customized using your college’s SENSE results.
Please review the “Notes” section accompanying each slide. The notes provide topical information and additional instructions to assist you in presenting your findings.
In addition, instructional slides precede specific sections of the presentation to provide more detailed information about how you can use these sections to tell your college’s story using SENSE results.
Please note that the 2018 SENSE Cohort data provided throughout the presentation are accurate. All of the data listed for [College Name], however, will need to be updated to reflect your college’s results.

2. SENSE 2018 Findings for [College Name]
This presentation template and accompanying notes provide visuals and talking points you can use to customize presentations for both internal audiences and external audiences.
The template is divided into five sections: SENSE Overview, Student Respondent Profile, SENSE Benchmarks, Community College Students and Stories, and Strategies to Promote Learning that Matters. Use the section(s) that are most appropriate for the audience and objectives of your presentation.
The template presents information about SENSE and puts survey results in context. It also provides placeholders for custom slides that you can use to describe your college, its survey results, and its practices. The template also includes suggestions for the types of information you can include on these customized slides. Refer to your college’s Key Findings and institutional data for the appropriate data and comparisons for your college. You can review your results through the Members Only online reporting system by selecting Standard Reports from the vertical navigation bar.
The PowerPoint template is designed to be flexible. Please note that recommendations for customization and instructions for finding specific data points will be in italics in the “notes” section of each slide.
Finally, this tool may be used in conjunction with the SENSE Drop-In Overview Report Template, a Microsoft Word template that assists colleges in communicating SENSE data to the college community.
[Subtitle]

3. Presentation Overview
SENSE Overview
Student Respondent Profile
SENSE Benchmarks
Community College Students and Stories
Strategies to Promote Learning that Matters

4. SENSE Overview

5. What is Student Engagement?
…the amount of time and energy students invest in meaningful educational practices
…the institutional practices and student behaviors that are highly correlated with student learning and retention

6. The Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE)
SENSE helps community and technical colleges understand the experience of entering students and engage these students in the earliest weeks of their college experience.
The Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) is a tool that helps community and technical colleges better understand the experience of entering students — and engage these students in the earliest weeks of their college experience.
Community colleges typically lose about half of their students prior to the students' second college year. This alone is reason to look more closely at our students' earliest experiences with college.

7. SENSE: A Tool for Community Colleges
As a tool for improvement, SENSE helps us
Understand students' critical early experiences
Identify and learn from practices that engage entering students
Identify areas in which we can improve
Basic principles
Grounded in research about what works to retain and support entering students
Reports data publicly
Is committed to using data for improvement
[College Name], like other community colleges, is working to help students achieve their academic goals. And that work must begin with effectively engaging entering students. SENSE is a tool that helps us be intentional about this work.
Grounded in research about what works to retain and support entering students, SENSE collects and analyzes data that can help colleges understand students' critical early experiences, gauge the progress of successful engagement strategies, and identify gaps in engagement that can be addressed.
Focusing improvement efforts on entering students — and changing the way colleges and their students approach that first term — can yield impressive results.
Current research indicates that helping students succeed through the equivalent of the first semester (12–15 credit hours) can dramatically improve subsequent success rates: Successfully completing the first semester can improve students' chances of returning for subsequent semesters, reaching key milestones, and ultimately earning certificates and degrees.
SENSE data analyses include a three-year cohort of participating colleges. The 2018 SENSE Cohort includes all colleges that participated in SENSE from 2016 through If a college participated more than one time in the three-year period, the cohort includes data only from its most recent year of participation. The 2018 SENSE Cohort participants include 266 institutions from 41 states and the District of Columbia.

8. Student Respondent Profile at [College Name]

9. Excluded Respondents
The following respondents were excluded from reporting:
Respondent did not indicate enrollment status
Respondent did not indicate whether he or she was an entering or returning student
Respondent returned an invalid survey
Respondent was under the age of 18
Respondent indicated previous survey submission
Oversample respondents were also excluded
Exclusions serve the purpose of ensuring that all institutional reports are based on the same sampling methods and that results are therefore comparable across institutions. Respondents are excluded from institutional reports for the following reasons:
The respondent did not indicate whether he or she was enrolled full-time or part-time at the institution. Because all results are either weighted by enrollment status, this is essential information for reporting.
The respondent did not indicate whether he or she was an entering or returning student. 
The survey is invalid. A survey is invalid if a student answered all sub-items of survey item #19 as either never or four or more times.
The student reported his or her age as under 18.
The respondent indicated that he or she had taken the survey in a previous class or did not respond to survey item #1.
Oversampled respondents are not included because they are selected outside of the Center’s primary sampling procedures.

10. Section Instructions
Use the following slides to compare your respondents to the SENSE Cohort on the following variables: enrollment status (part-time or full-time), sex, race and ethnicity, and first-generation status.

11. Student Respondent Profile: Enrollment Status
XX% of the entering student respondents at our college report attending college less than full-time, while 66% of the 2018 SENSE Cohort colleges’ entering student respondents report attending college part-time. XX% of our entering student respondents report being full-time college students, compared to 34% of the 2018 SENSE Cohort colleges’ entering student respondents. Population data for all students at our college are XX% less than full-time and XX% full-time. On Center reports, survey results are weighted or disaggregated by enrollment status so that reports will more accurately reflect the underlying student population (Standard Reports/Appendix/Table 1: Respondents to Underlying Population Comparisons).
Please note that weighting is uniquely calculated for each member college—based on the most recent publicly available IPEDS enrollment figures—in order to apply the appropriate representation of less than full-time and full-time student responses to SENSE data.
Enrollment status is item #2 on the survey instrument.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

12. Student Respondent Profile: Age
Entering student respondents at our college range in age from XX to XX years old. Approximately XX% are 18 to 24 years old. Students at our college are older/younger than the SENSE 2018 Cohort, of which nearly nine in ten (62%) students are between 18 and 24 (Standard Reports/Appendix/Table 1: Respondents to Underlying Population Comparisons ; Overview/ SENSE 2018 Cohort Overview/ Student Respondent).
Age is item #30 on the survey instrument.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

13. Student Respondent Profile: Sex
XX% of our entering students are male and XX% are female, which [is/is not] comparable to the 2018 SENSE Cohort, which is 44% male and 56% female (Standard Reports/Appendix/Table1: Respondents to Underlying Population Comparisons).
Sex is item #29 on the survey instrument.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

14. Student Respondent Profile: Race & Ethnicity
Racial Identification
XX% of our entering student respondents identified themselves as White; XX% as Hispanic, Latino, Spanish; XX% as Black or African American; and XX% as Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander. XX% of the student respondents are American Indian or Native American. XX% marked “other” when responding to the question, “What is your racial identification?” Our student sample is [more/less/equally] diverse compared to the SENSE Cohort, which is 44% White; 31% Hispanic, Latino, Spanish; 13% Black or African American; 6% Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander; and 1% American Indian or Native American (Standard Reports/Appendix/Table 1: Respondents to Underlying Population Comparisons).
International Students
XX% of our entering students responded yes to the question, “Are you an international student or nonresident alien?” Our college has [fewer/more] international students than the 2018 SENSE Cohort, of which 2% are international (Standard Reports/Appendix/Table 1: Respondents to Underlying Population Comparisons).
Racial/ethnic identification is item #35; international student status is item #34 on the survey instrument.
Limited English Speaking Students
At our college, XX% of SENSE respondents are non-native English speakers (survey item #33, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

15. Student Respondent Profile: First-Generation Status
XX% (will need to be calculated using the raw data file– see explanation that follows) of entering student respondents indicate that neither parent has college experience; accordingly, these students are considered "first-generation.”
How to obtain the percentage of first generation respondents using your college’s raw data file (Standard Reports/Data File):
In the raw data file, select the IWEIGHT column.
Perform a sort on this column.
Scroll down to where data no longer populate the cells.
Delete all rows in which there are no IWEIGHT data.
Select the FIRSTGEN column.
Perform a sort of this column.
Students who indicated that either their mother, father, or both parents had attended at least some college will have a value of “2” (not first-generation); students who indicated that neither parent had attended at least some college will have a value of “1” (first-generation).
To calculate the percentage of first-generation respondents, sum the “1” response values in the FIRSTGEN column. Then divide that number by the total count of the “1” and “2” response values.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

16. Section Instructions
In the following section, continue to describe your student respondents by using your college’s frequency reports. These reports will allow you to describe your student respondents by participation in orientation, courses dropped, employment, and goals.

17. Student Respondent Profile: Orientation
XX% of our entering student respondents report attending an on-campus orientation prior to the beginning of classes, while XX% report attending an online orientation. XX% of entering student respondents report enrolling in an orientation course during their first semester/quarter at the college. XX% of entering student respondents report not being aware of orientation, and XX% report being unable to participate in orientation due to scheduling or other issues (survey item #11, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

18. Student Respondent Profile: Courses Dropped
XX% of entering student respondents report dropping at least one course after the first day of class (survey item #9, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

19. Student Respondent Profile: Employment
External Commitments
XX% of our entering student respondents work 21 or more hours per week (survey item #24b, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

20. Student Respondent Profile: Goals
Entering student respondents were asked to indicate their reasons or goals for attending this college; students could choose more than one goal. XX% indicated that obtaining a certificate is a goal. XX% of entering students indicated that transfer to a 4-year college is a goal, and XX% indicated that completing a degree is a goal (survey item #37, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

21. SENSE Benchmarks

22. Section Instructions
To assist colleges in their efforts to reach for excellence, SENSE reports national benchmarks of effective educational practice with entering students in community colleges. While many of the student behaviors and institutional practices measured by benchmarks can and should continue throughout students’ college careers, the SENSE items and the resulting data focus on this critical entering student timeframe. In the following section, enter your benchmark data and describe educational practices at your college.

23. SENSE Benchmarks of Effective Practice with Entering Students
The six SENSE benchmarks are:
Early Connections
High Expectations and Aspirations
Clear Academic Plan and Pathway
Effective Track to College Readiness
Engaged Learning
Academic and Social Support Network
The Center reports survey results in two ways: students’ responses to individual survey items, which are presented in absolute terms, and national benchmarks.
Benchmarks are groups of conceptually related items that address key areas of student engagement. SENSE’s six benchmarks reflect critical elements of engagement for entering students. Ideally, colleges engage entering students in all six benchmark areas, beginning with a student’s first contact with the institution — which could happen months before he or she begins classes — and continuing through completion of the first weeks of the initial academic term. This time is decisive because current research indicates that helping students succeed through the equivalent of the first semester (12–15 credit hours) can dramatically improve subsequent success, including completing courses and earning certificates and degrees.
While many of the student behaviors and institutional practices measured by the benchmarks can and should continue throughout students’ college careers, the SENSE items and the resulting data focus on this critical entering student timeframe.
The SENSE Benchmarks of Effective Practice with Entering Students are early connections, high expectations and aspirations, clear academic plan and pathway, effective track to college readiness, engaged learning, and academic and social support network.

24. SENSE Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice
SENSE Benchmark Scores for [College Name]
Each individual benchmark score was computed by averaging the scores on survey items that make up that benchmark. Benchmark scores are then standardized so that the mean — the average of all participating students — always is 50 and the standard deviation is 25.
The most valuable use of benchmarks is to see your 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 (50) on each benchmark. The standardized scores make it possible for colleges to compare their own performance across benchmarks and with groups of similar colleges.
SENSE encourages colleges to ask continually whether current performance is good enough — and to reach for excellence in student engagement.
You college’s benchmark scores are available through Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

25. SENSE Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice
SENSE Benchmark Scores for [College Name]
compared to [Comparison Group]
SENSE offers five ways that colleges can use benchmarks to better understand their performance — and to reach for excellence. Colleges can:
Compare their performance to that of the national average — and at the same time, resist the average. Comparing themselves to the average of participating colleges (the 50 mark) is a start. But then colleges should assess their performance on the individual survey items that make up the benchmark. Most colleges will find areas for improvement at the item level.
Measure their overall performance against results for their least-engaged group.
Examine areas that the college values strongly.
Make the most important comparison: where they are now, compared with where they want to be. This is the mark of an institution committed to continuous improvement.
On this slide, you can compare your benchmark scores to a comparison group. Some comparisons you might want to make include the following:
Subgroups (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/Less Than Full-Time & Full-Time (Enrollment Status)/Benchmarks and Custom Reports by Comparison Group)
Colleges of similar size (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks)
A consortium to which your college belongs (Standard Reports/Consortium Reports/All Entering Students/Benchmarks)
Source: 2018 SENSE data

26. Early Connections
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following Early Connections benchmark items:
Respond to each item using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree:
The very first time I came to this college I felt welcome (18a)
The college provided me with adequate information about financial assistance (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) (18i)
A college staff member helped me determine whether I qualified for financial assistance (18j)
At least one college staff member (other than an instructor) learned my name (18p)
Respond with Yes or No:
A specific person was assigned to me so I could see him/her each time I needed information or assistance (23)
When students describe their early college experiences, they typically reflect on occasions when they felt discouraged or thought about dropping out. Their reasons for persisting almost always include one common element: a strong, early connection to someone at the college.
Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who answered agree or strongly agree on survey items #18a, #18i, #18j, and #18p (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the EARLYCON section of the benchmark report.
Discuss a specific type of early connection that takes place at your college, such as student orientations or freshman seminar courses. -
The following five items constitute this benchmark:
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond to each item (using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree):
The very first time I came to this college I felt welcome (#18a)
The college provided me with adequate information about financial assistance (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) (#18i)
A college staff member helped me determine whether I qualified for financial assistance (#18j)
At least one college staff member (other than an instructor) learned my name (#18p)
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond (answering Yes or No):
A specific person was assigned to me so I could see him/her each time I needed information or assistance (#23)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks).

27. High Expectations and Aspirations
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following High Expectations and Aspirations benchmark items:
Respond to each item using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree:
The instructors at this college want me to succeed (18b)
I have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed in college (18t)
I am prepared academically to succeed in college (18u)
During the first three weeks of your first semester, how often did you:
Turn in an assignment late (19c)
Not turn in an assignment (19d)
Come to class without completing readings or assignments (19f)
Skip class (19s)
Nearly all students arrive at their community colleges intending to succeed and believing that they have the motivation to do so. When entering students perceive clear, high expectations from college staff and faculty, they are more likely to understand what it takes to be successful and adopt behaviors that lead to achievement. Students then often rise to meet expectations, making it more likely that they will attain their goals. Often, students’ aspirations also climb, and they seek more advanced credentials than they originally envisioned.
Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who answered agree or strongly agree on survey items #18b, #18t and #18u. (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the HIEXPECT section of the benchmark report.
Discuss how you assist students in meeting high expectations at your college. For example “Students often benefit from writing assistance when drafting papers and assignments. [College Name] offers writing assistance through the tutoring lab, which is open every day from 9am to 5pm.” -
The following seven items constitute this benchmark:
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond to each item (using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree):
The instructors at this college want me to succeed (#18b)
I have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed in college (#18t)
I am prepared academically to succeed in college (#18u)
During the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter at this college, how often did you:
Turn in an assignment late (#19c)
Not turn in an assignment (#19d)
Come to class without completing readings or assignments (#19f)
Skip class (#19s)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks).

28. Clear Academic Plan and Pathway
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following Clear Academic Plan and Pathway benchmark items:
Respond to each item using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree:
I was able to meet with an academic advisor at times convenient for me (18d)
An advisor helped me to select a course of study, program, or major (18e)
An advisor helped me to set academic goals and to create a plan for achieving them (18f)
An advisor helped me to identify the courses I needed to take during my first semester/quarter (18g)
A college staff member talked with me about my commitments outside of school (work, children, dependents, etc.) to help me figure out how many courses to take (18h)
When a student, with knowledgeable assistance, creates a road map — one that shows where he or she is headed, what academic path to follow, and how long it will take to reach the end goal— that student has a critical tool for staying on track. Students are more likely to persist if they not only are advised about what courses to take, but also are helped to set academic goals and to create a plan for achieving them. 
Quote a student here.
Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who answered agree or strongly agree on survey items #18d through #18h (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the ACADPLAN section of the benchmark report. -
The following five items constitute this benchmark:
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond to each item (using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree):
I was able to meet with an academic advisor at times convenient for me (#18d)
An advisor helped me to select a course of study, program, or major (#18e)
An advisor helped me to set academic goals and to create a plan for achieving them (#18f)
An advisor helped me to identify the courses I needed to take during my first semester/quarter (#18g)
A college staff member talked with me about my commitments outside of school (work, children, dependents, etc.) to help me figure out how many courses to take (#18h)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks).

29. Effective Track to College Readiness
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following Effective Track to College Readiness benchmark items:
Respond with Yes or No:
Before I could register for classes I was required to take a placement test to assess my skills in reading, writing, and/or math (12a)
I took a placement test (12b)
This college required me to enroll in classes indicated by my placement test scores during my first semester/quarter (14)
Respond to each item using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree:
I learned to improve my study skills (listening, note taking, highlighting readings, working with others, etc.) (21a)
I learned to understand my academic strengths and weaknesses (21b)
I learned skills and strategies to improve my test-taking ability (21c)
Many entering community college students are underprepared for college-level work. Thus, significant improvements in student success will hinge upon effective assessment, placement of students into appropriate courses, and implementation of effective strategies to ensure that students build academic skills and receive needed support.
Give relevant survey results, such as those related to college registration and placement, survey items #12a, #12b, and #14 (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the COLLREAD section of the benchmark report. -
The following six items constitute this benchmark:
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond (answering Yes or No):
Before I could register for classes I was required to take a placement test to assess my skills in reading, writing, and/or math (#12a)
I took a placement test (#12b)
This college required me to enroll in classes indicated by my placement test scores during my first semester/quarter (#14)
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond to each item (using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree):
I learned to improve my study skills (listening, note taking, highlighting readings, working with others, etc.) (#21a)
I learned to understand my academic strengths and weaknesses (#21b)
I learned skills and strategies to improve my test-taking ability (#21c)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks).

30. Engaged Learning
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following Engaged Learning benchmark items:
During the first three weeks of your first semester, how often did you:
Ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions (19a)
Prepare at least two drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in (19b)
Participate in supplemental instruction (extra class sessions with an instructor, tutor, or experienced student) (19e)
Work with other students on a project or assignment during class (19g)
Work with classmates outside of class on class projects or assignments (19h)
Participate in a required study group outside of class (19i)
Participate in a student-initiated (not required) study group outside of class (19j)
Use an electronic tool ( , text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, class website, etc.) to communicate with another student about coursework (19k)
Use an electronic tool ( , text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, class website, etc.) to communicate with an instructor about coursework (19l)
Discuss an assignment or grade with an instructor (19m)
Ask for help from an instructor regarding questions or problems related to a class (19n)
Receive prompt written or oral feedback from instructors on your performance (19o)
Discuss ideas from readings or classes with instructors outside of class (19q)
Use face-to-face tutoring (20d2)
Use writing, math, or other skill lab (20f2)
Use computer lab (20h2)
Instructional approaches that foster engaged learning are critical for student success. Because most community college students attend college less than full-time, and many also must find ways to balance their studies with work and family responsibilities, the most effective learning experiences will be those the college intentionally designs.
Give relevant survey results from the 16 items comprising this benchmark and discuss engagement efforts on your campus. -
The following 16 items constitute this benchmark:
During the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter at this college, how often did you:
Ask questions in class or contribute to class discussions (#19a)
Prepare at least two drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in (#19b)
Participate in supplemental instruction (extra class sessions with an instructor, tutor, or experienced student) (#19e)
Work with other students on a project or assignment during class (#19g)
Work with classmates outside of class on class projects or assignments (#19h)
Participate in a required study group outside of class (#19i)
Participate in a student-initiated (not required) study group outside of class (#19j)
Use an electronic tool ( , text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, class website, etc.) to communicate with another student about coursework (#19k)
Use an electronic tool ( , text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, class website, etc.) to communicate with an instructor about coursework (#19l)
Discuss an assignment or grade with an instructor (#19m)
Ask for help from an instructor regarding questions or problems related to a class (#19n)
Receive prompt written or oral feedback from instructors on your performance (#19o)
Discuss ideas from readings or classes with instructors outside of class (#19q)
Use face-to-face tutoring (#20d2)
Use writing, math, or other skill lab (#20f2)
Use computer lab (#20h2)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the ENGAGLRN section of the benchmark report.

31. Academic and Social Support Network
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides using the following Academic and Social Support Network benchmark items:
Respond to each item using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree:
All instructors clearly explained academic and student support services available at this college (18l)
All instructors clearly explained course grading policies (18m)
All instructors clearly explained course syllabi (syllabuses) (18n)
I knew how to get in touch with my instructors outside of class (18o)
At least one other student whom I didn’t previously know learned my name (18q)
At least one instructor learned my name (18r)
I learned the name of at least one other student in most of my classes (18s)
Students benefit from having a personal network that enables them to obtain information about college services, along with the academic and social support critical to student success. Because entering students often don’t know what they don’t know, colleges must purposefully create those networks.
The majority of students feel that the college emphasizes providing the support they need to help them succeed, yet smaller numbers use support services. Significant numbers also feel that their colleges do not offer support for non-academic, social and financial issues. Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who answered strongly agree or agree on survey items 18l through 18o (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks). The items mentioned above will appear in the ACSOCSUP section of the benchmark report.
Discuss how your college offers academic and social support. -
The following seven items constitute this benchmark:
Thinking about your experiences from the time of your decision to attend this college through the end of the first three weeks of your first semester or quarter, respond to each item (using a five-point scale from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree):
All instructors clearly explained academic and student support services available at this college (#18l)
All instructors clearly explained course grading policies (#18m)
All instructors clearly explained course syllabi (syllabuses) (#18n)
I knew how to get in touch with my instructors outside of class (#18o)
At least one other student whom I didn’t previously know learned my name (#18q)
At least one instructor learned my name (#18r)
I learned the name of at least one other student in most of my classes (#18s)
Use the results you find most compelling for your college (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Benchmarks).

32. Benchmarking – and Reaching for Excellence
The most important comparison:
where we are now, compared with
where we want to be.
Don’t forget to make the most important comparison: where you are now, compared with where you want to be. This is the mark of an institution committed to continuous improvement.

33. Reaching for Excellence at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Show how your college is reaching for excellence by discussing how your college is using SENSE data to better understand and improve its practices
Compare yourself to the national average (the 50 mark)
Measure overall performance against performance by your least- engaged student groups
Gauge your work in the areas your college strongly values (e.g., the areas identified in your strategic plan).
Contrast where you are with where you want to be
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides that show how your college is reaching for excellence. You might, for example, discuss how your college is using SENSE data to better understand and improve its practices — e.g., by comparing yourself to the national average (the 50 mark), measuring overall performance against performance by your least-engaged student groups, gauging your work in the areas your college strongly values, or contrasting where you are with where you want to be.

34. Community College Students and Stories

35. Giving Voice to Students
Insert a profile-text and a picture-about a student at your college.
If available, insert additional slides with more stories and/or videos.

36. Student Aspirations Students’ Goals
Indicate which of the following are your reasons/goals for attending this college.
A goal
Not a goal
Complete a certificate program
10%
Obtain an associate degree
Transfer to a four-year college or university
Among our entering-student respondents, XX% report that completing a certificate is a goal, and XX% say obtaining an associate degree is a goal (survey item # 37, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies). Our graduation rate is XX%.
Note: Respondents may indicate more than one goal.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

37. When do you plan to take classes at this college again?
Student Persistence
Future Plans
When do you plan to take classes at this college again?
Asked about their plans after the current semester, XX% of students report (survey item # 25, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies) that they have no plans to return or are uncertain about their future plans. These data point to an opportunity for our college, through strengthened academic planning and advising, to help students establish an academic plan and pathway that will help them persist in college.
Source: 2018 SENSE data

38. Section Instructions
The following slides provide examples of storylines that you may find helpful when communicating your results. Information is useful when put into context. However, it is more valuable when it is tied to issues people care about. Your audience may find more interest in the college’s survey results if you develop storylines that relate to issues that are relevant to the college and its service area.
The storylines are hypothetical situations, but they provide ideas for stories that can be told using SENSE results. (Refer to your college’s institutional reports for data about your college.)
It is important to remember two things as you develop your storylines:
Don’t forget your audiences. There are storylines that colleges want to tell and storylines audiences want to hear. Sometimes these are the same; sometimes they are different. Focus on ways to highlight key issues that your audiences will find compelling.
This isn’t about spin. The Center’s aim is to be straightforward about data, both when the results make us shine and when they cause us to question—and improve—our current practices. These storylines are intended to inform, engage, and highlight important issues.

39. “Part-timeness”
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides to tell your college’s story. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Consider the experience of part-time and full-time students as shown by your college’s institutional data
Discuss what your institution is doing to engage less part-time students
The "part-timeness" of students is one of the greatest challenges community colleges face in creating strong campus connections. Students who enroll part-time are often less engaged than their full-time peers and are more likely to drop out of college.
Consider the experience of part-time and full-time students as shown by your college’s data. Use the Standard Reports under Standard Reports/Less than Full-Time & Full-Time (Enrollment Status) to note differences between part-time and full-time students on your campus, using the example here….
Only XX% of less than full-time students versus XX% of full-time students say they agree or strongly agree that an advisor helped them set academic goals and create a plan for achieving them (survey item # 18f, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/Part-Time & Full-Time).
Additionally, part-time students were more likely to turn in an assignment late or not turn in an assignment (survey item #s 19c and 19d).
Discuss what your institution is doing to engage part-time students.

40. Developmental Education
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides to tell your college’s story. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who report being enrolled in developmental courses in math, reading, or writing
Compare results with the SENSE Cohort
Give relevant institutional data
Ensuring that students are academically prepared for college upon leaving high school is a difficult task. At [College Name], we know the consequences of being under-prepared for college. Community colleges like ours, moreover, serve large numbers of older students who may need refresher courses (or additional training) and students who may need English language instruction or other types of special support. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that significant numbers of our students may need some level of developmental education. However, with strong developmental education programs, incoming college students can quickly be put on the path to academic success.
Give relevant survey results, such as the percentage of students who were enrolled in developmental courses in math, reading, or writing, ESL courses, or study skills courses during their first semester. Discuss whether your results are comparable to SENSE Cohort data.
XX% were enrolled in a developmental reading course (survey item # 17a, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
XX% were enrolled in a developmental writing course (survey item # 17b, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
XX% were enrolled in a developmental math course (survey item # 17c, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
XX% were enrolled in an ESL course (survey item # 17d, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
XX% were enrolled in a study skills (survey item # 17e, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
Give relevant results from institutional data (e.g. How many of your entering students enrolled in developmental education course in a given fall semester earn a grade of C or better in ANY of their developmental courses? How many of those same students earn a C or better in ALL developmental courses? How many earn zero credits in the first term? These numbers can then be compared with students not enrolled in developmental education courses.).

41. At-Risk Students
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides to tell your college’s story. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide data from survey items related to the risk factors
Provide data from survey items related to the support and student services provided by your college. If possible, provide concrete examples and results
Quote one or two students discussing these services
Research indicates that there are several factors that put undergraduate students at risk of not attaining their educational goals. Community college students generally are more likely to reflect those factors than are their counterparts in four-year colleges and universities.
Many students at [College Name] exhibit multiple risk factors. Provide data from survey items that relate to the risks outlined below (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies)
Risk factors reflected in the SENSE survey include:
attending college part-time (survey item #2)
working more than 30 hours per week (survey item #24b)
being academically underprepared (i.e., students who have not earned a high school diploma and/or have participated in developmental education) (survey item #s 36 and 17a – 17c)
first-generation status (survey item #38)
However, we are working to provide the support that our students need to succeed. Provide data from survey items related to student services (survey item #20). If possible, provide concrete examples and results (Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Quote one or two students discussing these services.

42. Addressing Challenges
This is an opportunity to customize one or more of your slides to tell your college’s story. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Detail challenges specific to your campus
Provide data for survey items related to these challenges
Give examples of initiatives your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen these areas
Give details about plans you have to address challenges results uncover on your campus. Provide your college’s data for survey items related to these challenges and give examples of initiatives your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen these areas.

43. Strategies to Promote Learning that Matters

44. Strategies to Promote Learning that Matters
The Center describes key strategies to promote strengthened classroom experiences:
Strengthen classroom engagement
Integrate student support into learning experiences
Focus institutional policies on creating the conditions for learning
The Center describes four key strategies to promote the strengthened classroom experiences that ultimately are requisite to both increased levels of college completion and deeper levels of learning.
In this discussion, the term classroom experiences refers to any activity that takes place as part of a regularly scheduled course.
The key strategies are:
Strengthen classroom engagement
Integrate student support into learning experiences
Expand professional development focused on engaging students
Focus institutional policies on creating the conditions for learning

45. Strengthen Classroom Engagement
Raise expectations
Promote active, engaged learning
Build and encourage relationships
Ensure that students know where they stand
Moving the needle on student outcomes at community colleges substantially depends on what happens in the classroom. Colleges must make the most of the time students spend with their instructors. To do so, they should raise expectations; promote active, engaged learning; build and encourage relationships; and ensure that students know where they stand.

46. Raise Expectations
Instructors should set high standards and communicate them clearly, deliberately, and consistently.
In school, work, and play — in life generally — people perform better when they are expected to do so. To help students reach their potential, colleges must demand high performance. Instructors should set high standards and communicate them clearly, deliberately, and consistently.

47. Raise Expectations Students report that they are motivated to succeed:
XX% of students Agree or Strongly agree that they have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed in college
SENSE 2018 data indicate that students feel motivated to succeed.
Insert data for your college, such as XX% of students Agree or Strongly agree that they have the motivation to do what it takes to succeed in college (survey item #18t, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

48. Time Spent Preparing for Class
Raise Expectations
But expectations may not be as high as they need to be:
Time Spent Preparing for Class
Other more specific inquiries about student behaviors raise questions about how expectations for performance are expressed and enforced.
XX% of full-time respondents report spending five or fewer hours per week preparing for class (survey item #24a, Standard Reports/Part-Time and Full-Time (Enrollment Status)/Frequencies).
XX% of respondents report that they never prepared at least two drafts of a paper or assignment before turning it in (survey item #19b, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
XX% respondents report that they came to class unprepared one or more times (survey item #19f, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Percentage of full-time students who report spending five or fewer hours per week preparing for class
Source: 2018 SENSE data

49. Raising Expectations at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to raising expectations, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, requiring more writing across all disciplines or agreeing that all instructors will require students to submit multiple drafts of papers).
Compare your college’s performance on raising expectations with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to raise expectations on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to raising expectations, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, requiring more writing across all disciplines or agreeing that all instructors will require students to submit multiple drafts of papers).
Compare your college’s performance on raising expectations with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to raise expectations on your campus(es).

50. Promote Active, Engaged Learning
Students learn and retain more information — and persist and succeed at higher levels — when they are actively involved in learning rather than passively receiving information.
Students learn and retain more information — and persist and succeed at higher levels — when they are actively involved in learning rather than passively receiving information. Student focus group participants say active instructional approaches that encourage engaged learning, such as small-group work and student-led activities, make them more enthusiastic about their classes and more likely to attend and participate.

51. Promote Active, Engaged Learning
Student Perceptions of Engaged Learning
During the first three weeks of your first semester/quarter at this college, about how often have you done each of the following activities?
Data from SENSE 2018 indicate that there are opportunities to heighten the level of collaborative learning that happens both in and outside the classroom.
XX% of SENSE respondents report that they never asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions (survey item #19a, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
XX% of SENSE respondents report that they never worked with other students on projects during class (survey item #19g, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
XX% of SENSE respondents report that they never worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments (survey item #19h, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

52. Promoting Active, Engaged Learning at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to promoting active, engaged learning, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, requiring students to participate in study groups or requiring more group work outside of class).
Compare your college’s performance on promoting active, engaged learning with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to promote active, engaged learning on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to promoting active, engaged learning, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, requiring students to participate in study groups or requiring more group work outside of class).
Compare your college’s performance on promoting active, engaged learning with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to promote active, engaged learning on your campus(es).

53. Build and Encourage Relationships
Personal connections are a critical factor in student success
Personal connections are an important factor in student success. Most students struggle at one time or another. Focus group participants report that relationships with other students, faculty, and staff members strengthened their resolve to return to class the next day, the next month, and the next year.
Personal connections may boost attendance and retention. Initiative on Student Success focus group participants suggest that just knowing someone else’s name can make a wary student feel more comfortable. Moreover, being called by name, which eliminates the option of hiding behind anonymity, is a powerful motivator. Thus, many community college instructors devise ways to learn students’ names — and help students learn one another’s names — in the first few class meetings.

54. Build and Encourage Relationships
Entering Students’ Interaction with Faculty
Survey results reveal both areas in which colleges are doing well and areas for improvement in creating multiple, intentional connections with students, beginning with the first point of contact with the college.
For example, XX% of SENSE respondents Agree or Strongly agree that they knew how to get in touch with their instructors outside of class (survey item #18o, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
But more than XX% of SENSE respondents report that they Never discussed ideas from readings or classes with instructors outside of class (survey item #19q, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
These results clearly indicate opportunities for our college to increase its intentionality in seeking to build meaningful connections with students.
Percentage of entering students who Agree or Strongly agree that they knew how to get in touch with their instructors outside of class
Percentage of entering students who report that they Never discussed ideas from readings or classes with instructors outside of class
Source: 2018 SENSE data

55. Building and Encouraging Relationships at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to building and encouraging relationships, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, assigning a specific person, such as an advisor or staff member, to each entering student, so each student has a single contact for questions).
Compare your college’s performance on building and encouraging relationships with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to build and encourage relationships on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to building and encouraging relationships, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, assigning a specific person, such as an advisor or staff member, to each entering student, so each student has a single contact for questions).
Compare your college’s performance on building and encouraging relationships with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to build and encourage relationships on your campus(es).

56. Ensure that Students Know Where They Stand
Feedback on academic performance greatly affects student retention
Feedback on academic performance greatly affects student retention. Feedback identifies areas of strength and weakness, so students have a greater likelihood of improving and ultimately succeeding. In addition, regular and appropriate assessment and prompt feedback help students progress from surface learning to deep learning.

57. Ensure that Students Know Where They Stand
Student Perceptions of Feedback
During the first three weeks of your first semester/quarter at this college, about how often have you received prompt written or oral feedback from instructors on your performance?
Some community college students may need help understanding where they stand and how to use feedback productively. In focus groups, students frequently report that they were unaware of their poor academic standing in a particular course until it was too late to salvage their grade.
XX% of SENSE respondents report that they never received prompt written or oral feedback from instructors on their performance (survey item #19o, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
XX% of SENSE respondents report that they never discussed grades or assignments with an instructor (survey item #19m, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

58. Ensuring that Students Know Where They Stand at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to ensuring that students know where they stand, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, bringing faculty members together to share strategies for giving feedback).
Compare your college’s performance on ensuring that students know where they stand with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to ensure that students know where they stand on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to ensuring that students know where they stand, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, bringing faculty members together to share strategies for giving feedback).
Compare your college’s performance on ensuring that students know where they stand with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to strengthen efforts to ensure that students know where they stand on your campus(es).

59. Integrate Student Support into Learning Experiences
Students are most likely to succeed when expectations are high and they receive the support they need to rise to those expectations.
Students are most likely to succeed when expectations are high and they receive the support they need to rise to those expectations. Community colleges offer a wide variety of support services, but students cannot use services if they are unaware of them. In addition, students don’t take advantage of services when they don’t know how to access them, find them to be inconvenient, or feel stigmatized by using them.

60. Integrate Student Support into Learning Experiences
Student Use of Student Services
How often did you use the services?
While respondents say they value student services — XX% report rarely or never using academic advising/planning services. In addition, XX% report Rarely or Never using skill labs (survey items #20(2)a and #20(2)f, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Never
Academic advising/planning
10%
Career counseling
Financial aid advising
Skill labs (writing, math, etc.)
Source: 2018 SENSE data

61. Integrating Student Support into Learning Experiences at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to integrating student support into learning experiences, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, introducing more paired courses that combine entry-level or developmental courses with student success courses).
Compare your college’s performance on integrating student support into learning experiences with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to integrate student support into learning experiences on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to integrating student support into learning experiences, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, introducing more paired courses that combine entry-level or developmental courses with student success courses).
Compare your college’s performance on integrating student support into learning experiences with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to integrate student support into learning experiences on your campus(es).

62. Focus Institutional Policies on Creating the Conditions for Learning
Institutional policies focused on student success are most effective when colleges mandate student participation in activities that are shown to increase persistence and improve student outcomes.
Institutional policies focused on student success are most effective when colleges mandate student participation in activities that are shown to increase persistence and improve student outcomes.
For example, colleges can require students to participate in orientation or to meet with an advisor before registering for classes or to enroll in a student success course in their first academic term. Institutional policies also can help faculty members be consistent in their requirements of students. For example, an institution-wide policy can require student participation in study groups, and faculty can help enforce that policy by making it a requirement for their courses.

63. Focus Institutional Policies on Creating the Conditions for Learning
Class Attendance
During the first three weeks of your first semester/quarter at this college, about how often have you skipped class?
Viewing results on student attendance and class preparedness might lead you to uncover areas where institutional policies could affect conditions for learning (survey items #19f and #19s, Standard Reports/Standard Reports for [College Name]/All Entering Students/Frequencies).
Source: 2018 SENSE data

64. Focusing Institutional Policy on Creating the Conditions for Learning at [College Name]
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include the following:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to focusing institutional policy on creating the conditions for learning, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, reassessing drop/add rules or requiring orientation).
Compare your college’s performance on focusing institutional policy on creating the conditions for learning with the performance of a group of similar colleges or to the full SENSE Cohort.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to focus institutional policy in this way on your campus(es).
This is an opportunity to customize one or more slides for your college. Slide and discussion ideas include:
Provide your college’s data for survey items related to focusing institutional policy on creating the conditions for learning, and discuss the results. Provide examples of what you plan to do with the information (for example, reassessing drop/add rules or requiring orientation).
Compare your college’s performance on focusing institutional policy on creating the conditions for learning with the performance of a group of similar colleges (without naming the colleges, of course) or to the full SENSE population.
Give examples of initiatives that your college has developed (or plans to develop) to focus institutional policy in this way on your campus(es).

65. Closing Remarks and Questions

66. Closing Remarks

67. Questions?