Collaboration in Student Assessment Research

2011 ◽  
pp. 248-259
Author(s):  
Robin Capt ◽  
Heidi Taylor ◽  
Gary Kelley ◽  
Mo Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Outcomes Research ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Small State ◽  
Quality Enhancement Plan ◽  
Success Indicators

Institutional Research (IR) professionals have diverse roles and responsibilities in universities across the country. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Small State University has evolved from an Office of Planning and Analysis whose primary responsibility was for collecting and reporting descriptive statistics to an OIR with growing responsibilities for outcomes research. In this chapter, the authors describe the transition of the OIR to provide more support to outcomes research and program/project evaluation. A particular case related to the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and First Year Experience (FYE) efforts is described. For many universities, the primary and sometimes only outcome measure being assessed related to the First Year Experience is the Fall to Fall retention rate of students. At Small State University, faculty were interested in understanding more about how a particular FYE course and its learning community contributed to student success indicators beyond retention rates. Through collaboration between the OIR, the Associate Provost (AP), and the Associate Vice President for Learning Assessment (AVPLA), data regarding FYE courses and learning communities was assessed. The findings supported the skills learned through the FYE course and learning communities are mechanisms through which at-risk students can improve overall GPA and retention. This collaboration between the OIR, the AP, and the AVPLA provided a foundation upon which focused studies of student characteristics and outcomes assessment can proceed in the future. A framework for organizing the work of institutional research and learning assessment is proposed.

Collaboration in Student Assessment Research

2012 ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Robin Capt ◽  
Heidi Taylor ◽  
Gary Kelley ◽  
Mo Cuevas
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Outcomes Research ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
First Year ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Small State ◽  
Quality Enhancement Plan ◽  
Success Indicators

Institutional Research (IR) professionals have diverse roles and responsibilities in universities across the country. The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) at Small State University has evolved from an Office of Planning and Analysis whose primary responsibility was for collecting and reporting descriptive statistics to an OIR with growing responsibilities for outcomes research. In this chapter, the authors describe the transition of the OIR to provide more support to outcomes research and program/project evaluation. A particular case related to the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) and First Year Experience (FYE) efforts is described. For many universities, the primary and sometimes only outcome measure being assessed related to the First Year Experience is the Fall to Fall retention rate of students. At Small State University, faculty were interested in understanding more about how a particular FYE course and its learning community contributed to student success indicators beyond retention rates. Through collaboration between the OIR, the Associate Provost (AP), and the Associate Vice President for Learning Assessment (AVPLA), data regarding FYE courses and learning communities was assessed. The findings supported the skills learned through the FYE course and learning communities are mechanisms through which at-risk students can improve overall GPA and retention. This collaboration between the OIR, the AP, and the AVPLA provided a foundation upon which focused studies of student characteristics and outcomes assessment can proceed in the future. A framework for organizing the work of institutional research and learning assessment is proposed.

The Impact of Curricular Interventions on Intended Second Year Re-Enrollment

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Keup
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Interactive Relationship ◽  
Second Year ◽  
First Year Seminars ◽  
Cooperative Institutional Research Program ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Curricular Interventions

Utilizing data from the national administration of a Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) baseline and follow-up survey of the first-year experience during the 2002–2003 academic year, this study explores the relationship between three curricular interventions—first-year seminars, service-learning, and learning communities—and the longitudinal process of first-to-second year retention. The findings from descriptive analyses showed that there are numerous positive relationships between these three interventions and integrative first-year experiences as defined by Tinto's (1987, 1993) longitudinal model of departure. Further, logistic regression suggests that service-learning courses have an indirect impact on the intent to re-enroll for a second year of college, while first-year seminars and learning communities may have an interactive relationship in their impact on the outcome measure.

scholarly journals In Their Own Words

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane M. Waryold ◽  
J. Joy James
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Natural World ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Orientation Programs ◽  
State University ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Unobtrusive Measure ◽  
Personal Welfare

Wilderness orientation programs, as a special type of orientation, have become commonplace at many colleges and universities. The First Ascent (FA) program is an example of one such program and is a small piece of a comprehensive first-year experience offered at Appalachian State University (ASU). This program evaluation is intended to uncover the meaning of First Ascent through students' voices. Specifically, this qualitative study used naturally occurring data as an unobtrusive measure to gether feedback from participants over the eight-year period in which First Ascent has been in existence. Analysis of the data revealed that students spoke of the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of the experience as well as the importance of the natural world as a medium. Issues of personal welfare were notable but not prevalent.

scholarly journals Building a Scholarly Network in Learning Communities at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln

2015 ◽  
pp. 16-37
Author(s):  
Charlene Maxey-Harris ◽  
Lorna M. Dawes
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Enrollment ◽  
Library Administration ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
University Of Nebraska Lincoln ◽  
The University

In 2011 the Chancellor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) charged each department and academic unit within the university to create programs and strategies to increase student enrollment within the next six years. The UNL Libraries embraced this goal by becoming more involved in the first-year experience programs and the first-year learning communities. This chapter will outline how the UNL Libraries gained library administration support to hire a Learning Communities/First-Year Experience Librarian and describe how they applied the theory of threshold concepts to develop a series of workshops and e-booklets to teach information literacy skills to students affiliated with the William H. Thompson Scholars Learning Community. These two initiatives will demonstrate how UNL Libraries built connections with campus units and services to become actively involved in student enrollment and retention.

Firstchoice: Creating Innovative Academic Options for First-Year Students

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda G. Mandel ◽  
Kathleen Evans
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
The State ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Academic Rigor ◽  
State University ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Faculty And Staff

When the State University of New York at Oswego set about to improve the first-year experience, the faculty and staff knew two things: they had to create programs with academic rigor and they had to provide students with a good array of choices.

scholarly journals Mental Health and the College Freshman

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian L. Bracken
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Florida State University ◽  
State University ◽  
Mental Health Education ◽  
Mental Health Awareness

Mental health education is growing in importance among college students, as students are arriving on American college campuses with more diagnosed and medicated mental health problems (Gallagher, 2005). The first-year classroom is an excellent setting for raising awareness about the importance of identifying and treating these issues in order to ensure that every student has an enjoyable, successful, and healthy college experience. This article compiles research gathered by a graduate student in a higher education master’s program during an internship with the First-Year Experience Office at Florida State University. It discusses the growing need for mental health awareness on college campuses, identifies current trends in mental health education in the first-year classroom, and presents several useful resources for those campuses who are considering including this topic in a college transition course.

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