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Teresa Ward Carol Hand Office of Institutional Research. INTEGRATING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA. ENHANCING THE EXPLANATORY MODEL IN FLC ASSESSMENT. Focus Group. Current FLC Students 17 Participants 168 Quotations 21 Codes Major Themes: Participation in an FLC
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Teresa Ward Carol Hand Office of Institutional Research
INTEGRATING QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA ENHANCING THE EXPLANATORY MODEL IN FLC ASSESSMENT
Focus Group Current FLC Students 17 Participants 168 Quotations 21 Codes Major Themes: Participation in an FLC Integrated learning experience What they would keep/change in the FLC program Retention Accessibility of information
Focus Group Former FLC Students 9 Participants 148 Quotations 25 Codes Major Themes: Definition of a Freshmen Learning Community Sense of community Continued contact with former FLC members Academic performance Retention Shared views
Focus Group FLC Faculty 8 Participants 84 Quotations 11 Codes Major Themes: Participation in the FLC program Benefits Teaching methodology
Table 1 Comparison of Academic Preparedness of FLC and Non-FLC Students
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I was tired after Incept and wanted to go home, so joining an FLC eliminated the registration process. And I wanted to make contacts.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I joined for easy registration. Coming in as a freshman I would have been really screwed up, but it gives you friends and advisors, and a comfort zone.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I wanted to do one, but the one I wanted was full. Emerging Leaders sounded fun because of the retreat and rafting, and my schedule was good.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I joined to make my parents happy. They said it was the easier thing to do.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I did not want to join an FLC, but it was the only way to get the classes I wanted. I joined the Honors FLC.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “I liked the idea of 25 persons. It’s easier to make study groups and easier to register.”
CURRENT FLC STUDENTS Number of Respondents: 16 “The Incept person said it was fun and the teacher would have parties at her house.”
Table 2 Fall to Spring Retention Rates “The majority of us did form a bond and we felt we could continue. Some would be depressed, but we would inspire them to continue. They would do better and they would continue to look for a better education.”
Table 2 Fall to Spring Retention Rates “Oh yes! [emphatic] I had a point where I just said I can’t do this. I’m going to take a break. I really do feel that if I didn’t do the FLC I wouldn’t be at GSU. It was too overwhelming for me without the FLC. I thought I was going to come here and then transfer, but the FLC is like a family and after I got involved, I couldn’t leave my family. I wouldn’t stay without my FLC.”
Table 2 Fall to Spring Retention Rates “I was going to complete it anyway, but the FLC was a great way to meet people and upper level professors.”
“Before I came here, I told people GSU was such a big school and I wouldn’t enjoy it. I got here and enjoyed my FLC and got comfortable with knowing other people and meeting other people. I found I liked it. I planned on completing all four years here any way. [Moderator: What year are you in?] I’m a second semester freshman.” Table 2 Fall to Spring Retention Rates
Current FLC Students Intent “I’d say 98 to 99 percent. I’m planning to transfer to California. Initially, I wanted to go to California, but the FLC made me want to stay and finish out the year with my friends.” “I planned to transfer, but now I want to stay here. How you are in the FLC is a tight family.” “I was ready to transfer, but the FLC and all these people changed my mind. This is a concrete jungle. I want some trees. But being with these people made me think it was a university.” “It has a 99 percent effect. I want to join an FLC next semester and go through my entire freshmen year in an FLC.”
Former FLC Students Intent “I’m not sure the FLC made me stay. I was already focused. But it did help me academically and made me want to stay, but there was other reasons too. I wanted to go to Howard, but HOPE is the reason I’m still here.” “I was going to be here regardless. I have family here. This was not my first choice. I could have gone to Athens, but the FLC turns you on to what GSU has to offer.” “I wasn’t planning on going here. I got a 1400 on my SAT and I had all these schools wanting me. But my mom wanted me to stay close to home. I decided to go to Jumpstart so if I didn’t like it, I could go somewhere else. And after I got here I wanted to stay.” “It encouraged me to stay. My mom wanted me to go to Kennesaw, but I said no since I knew people here.” “Yes it did because initially this was not one of my top choices to go to school. GSU didn’t offer all of the extracurricular activities that I was interested in, like marching band.”
Table 5 Comparison of Grade-Point Averages for FLC and Non-FLC Students Fall 1999 Cohort “Yeah, my GPA was helped by it. It was more than just getting a good GPA, but it teaches you how to study, how to study with groups, and work with other students. Even with a 3.0, you got a lot of study skills that would help you. Professors would collaborate. They tried to connect classes. So even if your GPA is high, it would have been higher than before and you get things to take with you in the long run.”
Table 6 Comparison of Grade-Point Averages for FLC and Non-FLC Students Fall 2000 Cohort “My freshman year, the kids kept asking me, “Why are you in an FLC? It’s wasting your time.” But some of my FLC friends started forming study groups and some of my other friends came into the study group with us. My friends who were not in an FLC got lower GPAs. Most of my friends not in an FLC got below 3.0, but I made the Dean’s List.”
Table 7 Comparison of Grade-Point Averages for FLC and Non-FLC Students Fall 2001 Cohort Table 8 Comparison of Grade-Point Averages for FLC and Non-FLC Students Fall 2002 Cohort “Ninety percent of us got at least a 3.0” “I got a pretty good GPA and kept HOPE, but I didn’t go into it for the academic portion.”
Table 9 Credit Hours Attempted and Percentage of Courses With a Grade of C or Better, Prior to Fall 2002 “Our GSU 1010 professor told us that 80 percent of all freshmen lose their HOPE Scholarship. So man, we went to extremes. When projects were due and one person would forget, we would call them. If we had problems we would go to the teacher. We didn’t want anyone left behind. We encouraged each other.”
Table 9 Credit Hours Attempted and Percentage of Courses With a Grade of C or Better, Prior to Fall 2002 “I would have learned skills anyway, but it would have took [sic] more time. The FLC teaches you that the teacher wanted to talk to you even if it doesn’t seem like it, that they do want to teach you.”
Table 9 Credit Hours Attempted and Percentage of Courses With a Grade of C or Better, Prior to Fall 2002 “Being in an FLC definitely helps academically. You have the opportunity to learn how to use the library, the internet. If you’re not in one you might not know who to go to for help. Being in an FLC, you have the opportunity to learn about these things.”
Former FLC Students Social Activities “The FLC is important to commuters. You can get involved in activities. Most commuters just want to go home, but when you’re in an FLC you find things you are interested in and you can stick around campus. You can stick around and find something to be involved with. You won’t just go home.” “We were the Fat FLC, but we weren’t overweight. My friends were in other FLCs and we would compare each other’s FLC. We were family. We would go out to dinner and we had a study group. [Moderator: But why did you call yourselves the Fat FLC?] My GSU 1010 class had breakfast every Thursday. The whole FLC called us that. More than half of the FLC commuted. The ones that lived in the Village spent the most time together.” “You find out about other organizations and you become involved. If you participate in an FLC, you develop a relationship with GSU and you work together in organizations. If you don’t participate in an FLC, you go on home.” “We went to plays. And it’s nice to have people to be around you can trust and rely on.” “We didn’t have a name like the Fat FLC, but we hung around at lunch.”
Current FLC Students Community “It’s been a great positive influence, but one of the bad things is that we have 21 people and 20 are girls. At first I thought we would hate each other, but we get along.” “I probably would be saying I hate GSU. Other students were saying they don’t like it. It was really hard because the campus is so big and nobody has the time of day for you. The FLC lets you get to know people more closely.” “My FLC has become my school family. I stop to talk to my friends. It benefits me so much. If I was not in an FLC, I would have lost my mind—getting to class—what am I doing—these people—these classes. I would have been hectic.” “It forces you to diversify. If we weren’t in an FLC, we wouldn’t be friends—Blacks and Whites. I wouldn’t have had those friendships.” “I wouldn’t know as many people as I know now. As I look at the friendships outside the FLC, I value my FLC.”
Former/Current FLC Students Student/Teacher Interaction “The teachers were good. They really helped and went out of their way to help us feel like a community. We had lots of discussions about different issues.” “FLCs are helpful because you have a community and you can form closer relationships with professors. You have help from professors, like my English professor, because you are in a smaller setting and you have one-on-one and they tell you how to be a success.” “My teachers seem to care. I was scared about coming to college, like I would be in some evil man’s class, but it wasn’t like that. The teachers work around your schedule.” “If we had problems, we would go to the teacher.”
Current FLC Instructors Student/Teacher Interaction “My students and I connect much better now. It is less teacher/student and more of a secret community—I’ll let you in on the secret.” “I’ve become more personable with many of the students. I have one or two from 3 years ago that come by the office to talk about their courses and graduation. It is almost a parenting situation.” “I like having a toddler. You get into a play group. The parenting model is a perfect analogy. I care about the student. They whine but I say, “not in my house.” The hard thing is knowing not to cross over into the parent role since I’m not their parent. It’s nice for them to know that students can come and talk to me.” “Students from my earlier FLCs, they still come and see me.” “I feel more like a father than I ever did before.” “I get to know those students [FLC students] a little better.”
