College Knowledge: From Information to Expectation

1. College Knowledge: From Information to Expectation NACAC Conference, October 6th, 2006, Pittsburgh Julie M. Williams Ty M. Cruce John V. Moore Indiana University Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement

2. Overview • Background and Literature • Questions of Interest • Data Sources and Sample • Findings • Implications for Practice

3. Gaps in College Information • Students enter the college search/choice process with a wide range of expectations, information and support for their college dreams. • The quality and quantity of information available, is often contingent in part on demographics and socioeconomics (student, school & community) • Families misperceive costs of college & can be confused/frustrated by the FA process. • Students are unsure of application requirements and important application and ACT/SAT deadlines. • Students and families may start the process too late.

4. Information is Powerful The quality of information, family/school resources, & social networks individual students have access to and can apply toward their educational goals plays an important role in attainment (e.g. Bourdieu, Coleman, Hossler, McDonough) Information Forms Expectations In addition to being necessary to navigate the search process, information also helps shape students’ expectations for college experience. Why Information is Important

5. Expectations affect the actual experiences of college students by: Serving as a filter through which students evaluate and select various types of educational opportunities. Predisposing students to seek specific learning activities. Student expectations and subsequent experience are not always congruent. Ex: First-generation or low-income students may have less tacit knowledge of what college is like. May influence students’ overall performance in college and satisfaction with their experience. Why Do Expectations Matter?

6. Questions of Interest • How do the primary information sources that shape entering students’ expectations differ by the students’ backgrounds (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, parents’ education)? • How does the match between student and faculty expectations about time spent studying differ by the students’ backgrounds (including their primary sources of information)?

7. Data Sources Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement Faculty Survey of Student Engagement • Annual survey of upper- and lower-division faculty • 2006 administration at 131 institutions • Administered during the spring semester • Annual survey of first-year students at baccalaureate degree-granting institutions • 2005-2006 pilot administration at 70 institutions • Administered prior to start of classes, usually at orientation or welcome week

8. What Does BCSSE Examine? • Experiences (Time on Task, Courses, Grades) • College Expectations (Degree Plans, Time on Task, Grades) • Importance of Activities (College Emphases, Activities) • Baseline Self-Assessment (Knowledge, skills & personal development) • Demographics (HS Size, HS Type, 1st Generation)

9. What Does FSSE Examine? • Faculty perceptions of how often their students engage in different activities • The importance faculty place on various areas of learning and development • Nature and frequency of student-faculty interactions • How faculty organize class time

10. Survey Instrument Histories • Both surveys were designed as companions to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) • Annual survey of first-year students and seniors at four-year institutions that measures extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development. • Documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. • Approximately 600 institutions plan to participate in NSSE 2007 in the spring.

11. Study Sample • Student Sample • 26,620 entering first-year students • 59% female, 41% male • 77% white, 23% of color • 64% have at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree • Institutional Sample • 60 baccalaureate degree-granting institutions • Includes 1 Canadian University • 60% private, 40% public • Undergraduate student body <400 to >35,000 • Range on Barron’s from non-competitive to most competitive

12. Findings Part One: Primary Source of Expectations

13. Primary Source of Expectations • BCSSE asks of entering college students: • To what extent have the following influenced your expectations about your experience at this college? • Family members • Friends/students in high school • Friends/students already attending this college • High school guidance counselors • High school teachers/administrators • College recruiters/admissions counselors • College website/materials • Campus visits • College orientation • External publications (e.g., guidebooks) Responses range from ‘Not at all’ to ‘A lot’ Family/Friends High School College

14. Primary Source of Expectations • Using cluster analysis, we identified four student types • Those students who primarily relied on: • Family and Friends 42% • High School 10% • College 22% • All Sources Equally 26%

15. Question of Interest #1 • How do the primary information sources that shape entering students’ expectations differ by the students’ backgrounds? • Examples: • Are males more likely than females to rely on family/friends as a primary source of information? • Are private high school students more likely than public high school students to rely on the college as a primary source of information? Have some ideas? Its time to test your knowledge…

16. Primary Source of Expectations Imagine two hypothetical college-bound students… Who are similar in all of the following ways but one: Gender High School Grades Race High School Leadership Parents’ Education High School Type Degree Aspirations College Selectivity

17. Females are less likely than males to rely on high school as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #1

18. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy Gender Family & Friends High School College All

19. Asian American students are less likely than students of other races to rely on family/friends as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #2

20. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy Race Family & Friends High School College All

21. First-generation students are more likely than other students to rely on high school as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #3

22. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy Parents’ Education Family & Friends High School College All

23. Students with higher degree aspirations are more likely than students with lower aspirations to rely on college as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #4

24. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy Degree Aspirations Family & Friends High School College All

25. Students with lower high school GPAs are less likely than students with higher GPAs to rely equally on all sources of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #5

26. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy High School GPA Family & Friends High School College All

27. Students who are less involved in leadership activities are more likely than students who are more involved to rely on family/friends as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #6

28. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy High School Leadership Family & Friends High School College All

29. Students who attend private high schools are more likely than their public school peers to rely on high school as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #7

30. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy High School Type Family & Friends High School College All

31. Students who attend more selective colleges are more likely than students who attend less selective colleges to rely on college as a primary source of information. True False Test Your Knowledge: #8

32. Primary Source of ExpectationsBy Selectivity of College Attended Family & Friends High School College All

33. Primary Source of Expectations • “Test Your Knowledge” Scores • 7-8 Good Job! • 5-6 Not Bad! • 1-4 This has been educational, No?

34. Summary of Findings • Most students rely on family/friends as a primary source of information to shape their college expectations • Differences in the primary source of information on which students rely seem most pronounced by: • Race • Parents’ education • High school leadership • High school type • Selectivity of the college attended

35. Primary Source of Expectations • Question for Consideration: • (When) Does the source of information matter? • Answer: • When examining the accuracy of student expectations • Example: • Comparing student expectations with faculty expectations about the time per week that students spend studying

36. Findings Part Two: Matching Faculty Expectations

37. Time Spent Studying • BCSSE asks of entering college students: • During the coming school year, about how many hours do you think you will spend in a typical 7-day week preparing for your class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities)? • FSSE asks of lower division faculty and instructors: • In a typical 7-day week, about how many hours do you expect your students to spend preparing for your class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities) • Student responses were compared to adjusted average lower division faculty responses by college Carnegie Classification

38. Question of Interest #2 • How does the match between student and faculty expectations about time spent studying differ by the students’ backgrounds? • Examples: • Are students who primarily rely on family/friends more likely than other students to match faculty expectations? • Are students who attend more selective colleges less likely than other students to match faculty expectations? Have some ideas? Its time again to test your knowledge…

39. Matching Faculty Expectations Imagine two hypothetical college-bound students… Who are similar in all of the following ways but one: Primary Source of Information High School Grades Gender High School Leadership Race High School Type Parents’ Education College Selectivity Degree Aspirations

40. Students who primarily rely on which source of information have the greatest likelihood of matching faculty expectations? Family/Friends High School College All Sources Test Your Knowledge: #9

41. Matching Faculty ExpectationsBy Information Source

42. Females are less likely than males to match faculty expectations. True False Test Your Knowledge: #10

43. Matching Faculty ExpectationsBy Gender

44. Asian Americans are more likely than students of any other race to match faculty expectations. True False Test Your Knowledge: #11

45. Matching Faculty ExpectationsBy Race

46. First-generation students are less likely than other students to match faculty expectations. True False Test Your Knowledge: #12

47. Matching Faculty ExpectationsBy Parents’ Education

48. Students with higher degree aspirations have the same likelihood as students with lower aspirations of matching faculty expectations. True False Test Your Knowledge: #13

49. Matching Faculty ExpectationsBy Degree Aspirations

50. Students with higher high school GPAs are more likely than students with lower GPAs to match faculty expectations. True False Test Your Knowledge: #14