Engagement & Accountability: Queensborough Community College and the Epsilen Platform

1. Engagement & Accountability: Queensborough Community College and the Epsilen Platform Michele Cuomo, MFA Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Victor Fichera, Ph.D. Principal Investigator of the Freshman Academies Protocol Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York

2. Queensborough Community College An open access urban public community college in the most diverse county in the United States

3. Freshman Academies Enhanced academic and student support for all first time/full time students

4. High Impact Practices of the Freshman Academies • e-Portfolio • Cornerstone • Learning Communities • Service Learning • Writing Intensive Courses 4 out of 5 High Impact Practices at Queensborough currently adopt Epsilen to better engage students

5. High Impact Educational PracticesWhat they are, who has access to them and why do they matter?By George D. Kuh “The results of participating in these high-impact practices are especially striking for students who are further behind in terms of their entering academic test scores. The benefits are similarly positive for students from communities that historically have been underserved in higher education.”

6. Queensborough & High Impact Practices • Named one of 12 Roadmap Community Colleges by AAC & U • Chosen for the Collaborative for Authentic Assessment of Learning Pilot by AAC &U • Partner in Title V Making Transfer Connections Grant • Partner in FIPSE Connect to Learning Grant

7. Epsilen and EPorfolio http://www.qcc.cuny.edu/eportfolio/

8. Epsilen and the Student Wiki Interdisciplinary Group(SWIG) "To reflect is to look back over what has been done so as to extract the net meanings which are the capital stock for intelligent dealing with future experiences.  It is the heart of intellectual organization and of the disciplined mind" (DEWEY 87)

9. SWIG as a High Impact Practice • Common Intellectual Experience • Cornerstone Course • Global/Diversity Learning • Service Learning • Virtual Learning Community

10. Educational Objectives of the College • Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking • Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems • Use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and life-long learning • Integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study • Differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems • Apply aesthetic and intellectual criteria in the evaluation or creation of works in the humanities or the arts

11. Student Essays as Dramatic Texts • “I chose this character because it reminded me of myself. When I was young my family moved from predominantly black West-Indian neighborhood to a mostly white community. On my first day of the new school, I thought I was watching a “Happy Days” episode with a bunch of Richie Cunninghams. Her closeness to her family is the same as mine. Family is very important to me” • Navin, Theatre 120 Student on an essay by Farima from Afghanistan, • EN 101 student

12. Epsilen and Service Learning “One of the students from education informed me that I am on my way to self-actualization which means that I continually try to be the best by satisfying my cognitive need through reading books and articles. It actually makes sense…I strive for knowledge.” Student #3, Basic Skills Class

13. Epsilen and Assessment • Epsilen Learning Matrix for Assessment with ePortfolio in the Business Academy Pilot 2010/11 • Moving Ahead with Eportfolio a campus initiative which connects the Epsilen Environment with the AAC & U Value Rubrics

14. Making Transfer Connections Questions to Help You Make the Most of College Am I working as hard as I can and choosing a wide array of courses—not just those in which I know I will do well? Am I working with my adviser to chart a pathway through college that challenges me and will ensure that I learn what I need to learn? Am I pursuing opportunities, both in the classroom and beyond, to apply what I am learning in the real world—through internships, leadership in student groups, study abroad, service learning, or undergraduate research? -- from AAC & U LEAP

15. Research on the Effectiveness of High Impact Practices

16. The Assessment Protocol for Freshman Academies A research design used to assess the effectiveness of Freshman Academies via multiple investigative methods. • Student Surveys • Faculty Surveys • Administrative Databases

17. The Academies Provide: • High Impact Practices • Freshman Coordinators • Learning Outcomes Assessment

18. Measures of Success • Higher course success rates • Higher retention rates • Higher credit completion rates • Higher student and faculty engagement with the college • Higher degree-attainment rates

19. Cohort Comparisons Baseline Cohort: First-time, full-time freshmen from Fall 2006 Academy Cohort: First-time, full-time freshmen from Fall 2009 Separate analyses of remedial and non-remedial students.

20. Half-Year and One-Year Retention

21. One-Year QCC Retention by Academy and Cohort

22. COMPARISONS Within Cohorts High Impact Practices

23. Outcomes with HI:Expected and Real • As per the Protocol, it is expected that students having HI experiences would show success in various outcomes (e.g., retention, course grades) • 2009 HI real results – WI, SL, EP, LC: weak if anything, particularly grades • Implementation imperfection

24. Some Bright Spots 92.7% of first time/full time students in the Fall 2009 SWIG project cohort enrolled in Spring 2010 88% of all ft/ft Fall 2009-Spring 2010 (Freshman Academy Students) 82% for all ft/ft Fall 2006-Spring 2007 (Baseline/Pre-Freshman Academy Cohort)

25. Pass Rates in Remedial Writing and Number of HI Courses Taken

26. Literature on HI Effectiveness • It takes time for HI to have an effect • Transformational Process • Outcome effect sizes are small • Multiple HI experiences needed

27. Enter: SWIG Ideal classes to investigate HI Truly intensive implementation Multiple HI within a semester (LC, SL) Technology enhanced integrated experiences

28. SWIG & EN101

29. A Harsh Examination

30. SWIG and Remedial Courses

31. SWIG and Credit Bearing Courses

32. Future Investigations • Will look at SWIG groups in Spring 2011 • Special attention on remedial SWIG classes • Service Learning combined with other HI experiences • E-Portfolio combined with other HI experiences

33. For further information: Michele Cuomo Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Administration 503 Queensborough Community College 222-05 56th Ave Bayside, NY 11364 mcuomo@qcc.cuny.edu www.qcc.cuny.edu 718-631-6344 Acknowledgements: Bruce Naples, Director of Academic Computing Center Ed Hanssen, Eportfolio Director Jean Darcy, SWIG Project Director Jo Pantaleo, Service Learning Director