Making Connections Dimensions of Student Engagement

1. Making Connections Dimensions of Student Engagement 2010 Findings

2. SOAR-Survey Outcome Assessment for Retention • Why? • Student Success – we want our students to succeed • GRAD Act – our legislator’s want our students to succeed • We spend a lot of money of surveys – let’s use what we have learned. Center for Community College Student Engagement

3. A word about the GRAD Act • Over the next 6 years, • We must increase our First-time Full-time degree seeking Fall to Fall retention rate by 2.5% • We must increase our IPEDS GRS (percent of First-time, full-time degree seeking students who graduate within 150% of the normal time by 2%. • While these may seem like small increases, it is very difficult to increase these rates. There are so many reasons students drop out that we have no control over. Center for Community College Student Engagement

4. CCSSE Community College Survey of Student Engagement The survey asks questions about institutional practices and student behaviors that are highly correlated with student learning and retention

5. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) • provides a much-needed tool for assessing quality in community college education. • CCSSE results help colleges focus on good educational practice — defined as practice that promotes high levels of student learning and retention — • and identify areas in which community colleges can improve their programs and services for students. • All our work is grounded in research about what works in strengthening student learning and persistence. Center for Community College Student Engagement

6. CCSSE: Background Information • CCSSE data analyses include a three-year cohort of participating colleges. • The CCSSE Cohort includes more than 400,000 community college students from 663 institutions in 48 states, British Columbia, the Marshall Islands, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. Center for Community College Student Engagement

7. Giving Voice to Students 26-year-old single mother of a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter Carolina Villamar (left) and classmate Luisa Castano. “I’m a divorced, single mother. I can and need to do this. If I fall down, my kids are going to fall down. If I’m standing, they will be there, right beside me.” Center for Community College Student Engagement

8. “Students need someone to show them empathy, kick them in the butt, and raise the bar.” — FACULTY MEMBER Center for Community College Student Engagement

9. What have we learned about our students from CCSSE? • The next several slides, come from information gathered by CCSSE • Some of the charts will surprise you, others will confirm what you already know. Center for Community College Student Engagement

10. Key Demographics, Enrollment, and Attendance Many Full-Time Students Work Close to Full-Time Most Students Are Enrolled Part-Time Full-time students who work more than 30 hours per week Part-time students Source: 2010 Delgado CCSSE data. Source: DCC Enrollment, spring 2010. Center for Community College Student Engagement

11. Key Demographics, Enrollment, and Attendance Many Students Take Classes Online Many Students Take Evening Classes Students who have taken an online class Students who take evening classes Source: 2010 Delgado CCSSE data. Source: Data from DCC 2010 enrollment. Center for Community College Student Engagement

12. Community College Students’ Plans • When asked when they plan to take classes at this college again, 23% of students had no plan to return or were uncertain about their future plans. Source: 2010 Delgado CCSSE data. Center for Community College Student Engagement

13. Barriers to Returning to College • How likely is it that the following issues would cause you to withdraw from class or from this college? Percentage of students responding likely or very likely In addition, 51% of respondents say that transfer to a four-year college or university is a likely or very likely reason they would not return to this college. Source: 2010 Delgado CCSSE data. Center for Community College Student Engagement

14. Least Engaged Students* • The least engaged community college students are: • Part-time students • Traditional-age students (those 24 and younger) • Students not seeking credentials • Students who have not completed 30 or more credits • Male students • Financially independent students (those using their own income or savings as the major source of tuition) • Students who work more than 30 hours per week • Students who have not taken developmental courses • Students who have not taken study skill courses • Students who have not participated in orientation • Students who have not participated in learning communities HOW MANY OF THESE STUDENTS ARE IN YOUR CLASSES? *This analysis does not include students who hold degrees. Source: 2009 CCSSE Cohort data. Center for Community College Student Engagement

15. CCSSE Benchmarks Benchmarks are groups of conceptually related items that address key areas of student engagement. CCSSE’s five benchmarks denote areas that educational research has shown to be important in quality educational practice.

16. CCSSE Benchmarks for Effective Educational Practice • CCSSE uses 5 benchmarks to measure student engagement: • Active and Collaborative Learning • Student Effort • Academic Challenge • Student-Faculty Interaction • Support for Learners Center for Community College Student Engagement

17. How benchmarks are calculated • Every college has a score for each benchmark, computed by averaging the scores on survey items that comprise that benchmark. Benchmark scores are 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 an individual 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. Center for Community College Student Engagement

18. Delgado’s Benchmark Scores CCSSE Delgado Community College 2010 Benchmark Scores 50 is the mean score Center for Community College Student Engagement

19. Benchmarking — and Reaching for Excellence • The most important comparison: • where you are now, • compared with • where you want to be. Center for Community College Student Engagement

20. How Good Is Good Enough? • The purpose of “benchmarking” is to compare performance of like institutions — and through that process, to identify opportunities for improvement and potential models of “best practice.” Center for Community College Student Engagement

21. Where do we want Delgado to be? • Part of the SOAR initiative was to bring together a group to review the CCSSE 2010 results. • That group after reviewing the survey results chose Active and Collaborative Learning as our focus. • The next slides outline the reason for that choice. Center for Community College Student Engagement

22. The chart below shows DCC compared to other Large colleges • The most meaningful comparison is of DCC to large colleges Fifty is the average of all colleges participating.

23. Since we are below the mean of other large colleges in Active & Collaborative Learning and Student Effort, it would make sense to focus on one of them. Center for Community College Student Engagement

24. If we look at the benchmark scores for DCC over the last 7 years, Active & Collaborative Learning has consistently decreased, while Student Effort has increased. Therefore it was decided to make Active & Collaborative Learning the focus Center for Community College Student Engagement

25. What is Active & Collaborative Learning ? • Students learn more when they are actively involved in their education and have opportunities to think about and apply what they are learning in different settings. • Through collaborating with others to solve problems or master challenging content, students develop valuable skills that prepare them to deal with real-life situations and problems. Center for Community College Student Engagement

26. Active & Collaborative Learning(ACTCOL) • The following seven survey items contribute to this benchmark. • During the current school year, how often have you: • Asked questions in class or contributed to class discussions ¹ • Made a class presentation ¹ • Worked with other students on projects during class ¹ • Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments ² • Tutored or taught other students (paid or voluntary) ² • Participated in a community-based project as a part of a regular course ³ • Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, co-workers, etc.) ³ 1 -- Connections in the classroom, 2 -- Connections on campus, 3 -- Connections beyond the campus Center for Community College Student Engagement

27. Connections in the Classroom at Delgado Community College DCC vs. Large College Active & Collaborative Learning Center for Community College Student Engagement

28. Connections on Campus at Delgado Community College DCC vs. Large College Active & Collaborative Learning Center for Community College Student Engagement

29. Connections Beyond the Campus at Delgado Community College DCC vs. Large College Active & Collaborative Learning Center for Community College Student Engagement

30. How do different student groups score? Center for Community College Student Engagement

31. The Inarguable Fundamentals • The center of community college work is student learning, persistence, and success. • Every program, every service, every academic policy is perfectly designed to achieve the exact outcome it currently produces. Center for Community College Student Engagement

32. Connections at DCCby developmental students (ACTCOL) Developmental students vs. Non-dev students 1=Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Often, 4=Very often Center for Community College Student Engagement

33. The Connection Gap

34. The Connection Gap • 60% of community college students attend college part-time. • 67% of community college faculty teach part-time. • Part-time faculty typically teach 50% - 66% (half to two-thirds) of all community college course sections. Center for Community College Student Engagement

35. The Connection Gap How can we include Part-time faculty in our initiatives? If Part-time faculty are not engaged – how can we expect the students they teach to be? Center for Community College Student Engagement

36. The Connection Gap After controlling for income and other demographics, NCES found: • 15% of part-time students earned a degree or certificate in six years — compared with 64% of full-time students • 73% of part-time students left college without earning a degree— while 72% of full-time students persisted Center for Community College Student Engagement