Glenn Craney Executive Director Office of Institutional Research & Analys

1. The Environment II: The Determinants of Student Choice and Student ExperiencePresentation to Deans Mini-Retreat – June 2009 Glenn Craney Executive Director Office of Institutional Research & Analys

2. Who are our Undergraduate students? • Primarily from the GTA • 83% in Fall 2008 • Live at home (with their parents) and commute • York 62% vs Ontario System 30% • Spend little time on campus • Almost 50% spend less than 5 hours a week outside of classes • Compared to 35% in the Ontario System

3. Who are our Undergraduate students? (2) • Have lower family incomes • $88,000 pa for York students • $100,000 - $140,000 pa for students who leave the GTA • Important Caveat: Data for UofT and Ryerson is similar on all of these measures

4. Why do students apply to York? • The University Applicant Survey provides information on why students choose York • Asks questions on • Academic Reputation • Financial Factors • Campus/Nurturing Factors • Outcome Factors • Benchmarks York results against competitor instiutitons

5. Why do students apply to York? • Benchmarking key results • Academic reputation university/program/major • Grads get high quality jobs • Reputation of student experience • Accessibly of public transit/close to home • Guaranteed Scholarships • UofT and Ryerson score similarly BUT • UofT, Western, Laurier and Mac all score significantly higher on Academic Reputation issues

6. Academic Reputation vs Student Experience Reputation

7. The Need to Focus on Academic Reputation • Academic reputation factors • Grads get good jobs • Program prestige • Highly regarded professional school • Co-op programs • High Admission Averages • Innovative Research • Leaders of Tomorrow/ Famous Graduates

8. The Need to Focus on Student Experience? • A focus on the Student Experience shows a Commitment to Learning • This is best summed up by the Provost at the University of Calgary “We all want the same thing – an undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning and personal development for all students.”

9. Foundations of Research on Student Engagement • Time on task(Tyler, 1930s) • Quality of effort(Pace, 1960-70s) • Student involvement(Astin, 1984) • Social, academic integration(Tinto, 1987, 1993) • Good practices in undergraduate education(Chickering & Gamson, 1987) • Outcomes(Pascarella, 1985) • Student engagement(Kuh, 1991, 2005)

10. Good Practices in Undergraduate Education • Student-faculty contact • Active learning • Prompt feedback • Time on task • High expectations • Respect for diverse learning styles • Co-operation among students (Chickering & Gamson, 1987; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)

11. Engaged Students Value Education • Students who are engaged in curricular, co-curricular and extra curricular activities are active participants in the learning process • Engagement is valued by students and institutions and is an indicator of motivation and habits that carry over into other current and future settings

12. Tangible Examples of Active & Collaborative Learning • Asked questions in class / contributed to a class discussion. • Made a class presentation • Worked with other students on projects during class • Worked with classmates outside of class to prepare class assignments • Tutored or taught (paid or voluntary) • Participated in a community-based project as part of a regular course (service learning) • Discussed ideas from your readings or classes with others outside of class (students, family members, coworkers, etc.)