Overview of this Session

1. In Search of New SLO Measures in Student Services: An Exploratory StudyPresented byJerry Rudmann, PhD and Shañon Gonzalez, MACoastline Community CollegeStrengthening Student SuccessAssessment ConferenceOctober 2007

2. Overview of this Session Procedure, findings, conclusions and recommendations from a recent exploratory study.

3. Purpose of the Study The study was designed to explore whether assessment tools used to measure cognitive variables -- e.g., goal clarity, self-efficacy -- could serve as learning outcome measures in Student Services.

4. The Spark for this Study • The need for truly appropriate and really useful assessment measures in Student Services. • Ideas generated by interviews with counselors.

5. Possible Relationships • Students’ Academic Outcomes • Short term outcomes • Semester GPA • Units earned • % units completed • Return next semester • Long range outcomes • GPA • Units earned • Certificate, degree, and/or transfer • Attributes of New Students • Academic Self-Efficacy • Self-Regulation • Goal Clarity (academic and career) • Self-Regulation • Hope • Optimistic/Pessimistic Explanatory Style

6. Possible Relationships • Students’ Academic Outcomes • Short term outcomes • Semester GPA • Units earned • % units completed • Return next semester • Long range outcomes • GPA • Units earned • Certificate, degree, and/or transfer • Attributes of New Students • Academic Self-Efficacy • Self-Regulation • Goal Clarity (academic and career) • Self-Regulation • Hope • Optimistic/Pessimistic Explanatory Style Student Services College success courses Academic counseling Career Center presentations Career counseling Career course Club, team, chorus, band, student government or other form of social connectedness Formal and informal recognition for progress Non-academic counseling Transfer Center programs Peer advisors Tutoring center University tours

7. Possible Relationships • Student’s Academic Outcomes • Short term outcomes • Semester GPA • Units earned • % units completed • Return next semester • Long range outcomes • GPA • Units earned • Certificate, degree, and/or transfer • Student’s Attributes • Academic Self-Efficacy • Self-Regulation • Goal Clarity (academic and career) • Self-Regulation • Hope • Optimistic/Pessimistic Explanatory Style Student Services College success courses Academic counseling Career Center presentations Career counseling Career course Club, team, chorus, band, student government or other form of social connectedness Formal and informal recognition for progress Non-academic counseling Transfer Center programs Peer advisors Tutoring center University tours

8. Procedure • Counselor interviews (preliminary brainstorming) • Literature survey for promising assessments tools • Recruitment presentations at Region 8 DSPS and EOPS meetings • Website created having all assessments online

9. Study Website

10. Measures We Tried • Academic and Career Goal Clarity • Academic Self-Efficacy • Dispositional Hope • Self-Regulation • Optimism • Positive Affect • Negative Affect

11. Data Collection • Sevencolleges participated in the DSPS version • Six colleges participated in the EOPS version • Pre-test – start of fall 2006 semester • College code • ID code • 7 different assessments • Demographic information (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) • Post-test – end of fall 2006 semester • College code • ID code • 7 different assessments • Services used during the semester • Short term academic outcomes for all students – spring 2007 • Semester GPA • Units earned • Percentage of units earned in reference to units attempted

12. Participation • DSPS study • Seven colleges • Students • Pre-test - 142 • Post-test -127 • EOPS study • Six colleges • Students • Pre-test - 276 • Post-test - 154

13. Descriptive Statistics from the DSPS Study

14. Intercorrelations Among Scales and Academic Outcomes (DSPS study)

15. Predicting Academic Outcomes (Based on Correlation Matrix and Stepwise Regression Analyses)

16. Impact of Services on Student Outcomes

17. DSPS StudySelf Regulation, Receipt of Counseling, and Semester GPA Low SR - Yes Counseling = 32 Low SR - No Counseling = 31 High SR - YesCounseling = 20 High SR - No Counseling = 20 (N = 103)

18. DSPS StudySelf Regulation, Receipt of Counseling, and Percentage of Units Earned for Units Attempted Low SR - Yes Counseling = 32 Low SR - No Counseling = 32 High SR - Yes Counseling = 20 High SR - No Counseling = 20 (N = 103)

19. EOPS StudySelf Regulation, Peer Advising, and Semester GPA

20. Academic and Career Goal Clarity correlated with units earned (both studies). EOPS students who were low on goal clarity at the start of the semester but who reporting receiving transfer assistance, had significantly high pre to post-test gains in goal clarity.

21. Academic and Career Goal Clarity correlated with units earned (both studies). EOPS students who were low on goal clarity at the start of the semester but who reporting receiving peer advisement, had significantly high pre to post-test gains in goal clarity.

22. Limitations of Study • Lack of random selection and assignment to treatments • Self-selection bias • Results are correlational, not causal • Data are an aggregate from the participating colleges, but there may be significant differences among colleges, procedures, services, personnel, etc.

23. Recommendations Use these instruments • Inexpensive, easy to complete and score • Can help identify “at risk” students • Can help formulate appropriate ways to assist students • Gain scores derived from pre to post-test assessments can be useful • Instruments can serve as SLO assessment instruments that “fit” the services provided by many functions within Student Services

24. Recommendations • “Map” your services to the constructs measured by these instruments. • Develop new interventions where none currently exist. • Create an assessment referral system.

25. Academic and Career Goal Clarity(Tucker & Rudmann, 2006) Academic Self-Efficacy (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001) Confidence in reaching positive academic outcomes Efficacy for Self-Regulated Learning (Zimmerman, Bandura, & Marinez-Pons, 1992) Confidence is managing and regulating academic tasks encountered in college Hope (Shorey & Snyder, 2004) Hope that one will achieve short and long term academic goals. “Hope” involves goals, pathways and agency (i.e., having clear goals, with alternative pathways for reaching those goals, and agency as the motivation to strive for one’s goals) To SummarizeHere are Suggested SLO Measures

26. Current / Potential Services for Enhancing These SLO Domains

27. Research Team • Jerry Rudmann, PhD – Formally at Coastline College, now at Irvine Valley jrudmann@ivc.edu • Kari Tucker, PhD – Irvine Valley College (Psychologist) ktucker@ivc.edu • Shañon Gonzalez, MA – Coastline College sgonzalez@coastline.edu

28. Addendum Academic Self-Efficacy(Albert Bandura) • Beliefs about one’s capabilities to learn or perform at designated levels. • Compared with students who doubt their learning capabilities, those who feel efficacious for learning or performing a task participate more readily, work harder, persist longer when they encounter difficulties, and achieve at a high level. • Much research shows that self-efficacy influences academic motivation, learning, and achievement.

29. Four Sources of Efficacy Beliefs • Mastery experiences -- Outcomes interpreted as successful raise efficacy, those interpreted as failures lower efficacy • Vicariously – success or failure of models • Verbal persuasions by others – positive or negative appraisals by others • Physiological states (e.g., anxiety, stress, arousal, fatigue, mood) act as information about efficacy beliefs and can raise or lower efficacy

30. Hope for Academic Success(CR Snyder) The three components of the HOPE model: • Goals – that which we want to have happen • Pathways – routes to get to the goal • Agency – motivation to work toward goal

31. Hope for Academic Success(CR Snyder) • Hope scores reliably predict academic success: • GPA • graduation rate • lower drop rates • High Hope versus Low Hope students: • More readily find multiple pathways • Are more motivated to pursue goals • Can more readily articulate their goals • Less sidetracked by self-deprecatory thinking • Less counterproductive negative emotions (e.g., stress, test-taking anxiety)

32. Optimism (Seligman) • Explanatory style • Optimists and pessimists differ in how they interpret both positive and negative events • Pessimists have tendency to underachieve and to become depressed