andrew k. koch catherine f. andersen june 4 and 5, 2012 copyright, gardner institute for excellence...
TRANSCRIPT
Excellence in the First College Year:A Call for Action From Michigan’s Community College Faculty
Andrew K. KochCatherine F. AndersenJune 4 and 5, 2012
Copyright, Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, 2012.
Purpose of the this event The purpose of this event is . . .
To put Michigan's Community Colleges’ approach(es) to new student success in a broader national context of relevant theory, research, and best practice.
To undertake a thoughtful analysis of the effectiveness of the beginning college experience at Michigan's Community Colleges.
To develop a faculty call to action in supporting first-year student success.
Session Overview What We Learned About You
From Theory to Practice
The Context
High Impact Strategies
The Current Situation – From National Studies
We Know that Faculty Matter
What We Know (and Don’t Know) About New Student Programs
Moving from Tactical to Strategic – Considerations for Faculty
My expectations for this meeting
Please complete an index card anonymously.
Your beginning college experience (Rhodes College 1970’s)
What We Have Learned about The Michigan Center for Student Success
You have a strong vision to support Michigan’s 28 community colleges.
You have goals that stress communities of practice, professional development, use of data, research and collaboration.
You have a strategic plan that outlines specific strategies for faculty in this plan.
What We Have Learned about the Colleges and Your Students
TOTAL CREDIT ENROLLMENT (2010-2011)
Total: 294,960
Enrolled full-time: 39.02% Enrolled part-time: 60.98%
With an estimated 35 % enrollment increase from Fall 2006:
What We Have Learned about the Colleges and Your Students
STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS (Fall 2010)
Average age: 26.4 18-24 years old: 52% 25-34 years old: 21.62% 35-49 years old: 16.24% Over 50 years old: 5.16%Women: 56.08%Men: 43.92%Minorities: 21.97% White/Non-Hispanic: 62.60% Black: 15.39% Hispanic: 2.81% Asian American: 0.77% Native American/Pacific Islanders: 0.08% Non-U.S. citizens: 1.27%
What We Have Learned about the Colleges and Your Students
62% placed in one or more developmental courses:
36% enrolled in one or more developmental courses
49% completed ≤ 3 terms in 4 years*
31% receive Pell Grants
73% retained fall 2010 to spring 2011
33% of CC students transfer at least once
* from 14 ATD schools from 2008-2010
From Theory to Practice in the First Year of College: Determining What Works and Why
Considering the Relevance of Theory to Your Students
Question as we begin:
Do the major theories that serve as a foundation for student success and retention apply to your students?
Which one(s) are most relevant?
Beginning with Basic Theoretical Perspectives
Institutional fit (a state of being) (Tinto)
Can the student’s needs be met at the institution?
Can institutional fit be developed?
Social and academic integration (learning the culture) (Tinto with replication)
Differences in preference by age and life stage
Basic Theoretical Perspectives Campus involvement (student behaviors) (Astin with
replication)
How important for adults or commuters?
Engagement in learning (Kuh and others)
Links affective and cognitive dimensions of learning
Is both a means to learning outcomes and an end in itself
Basic Theoretical Perspectives Commitment and motivation (Tinto and
others)
To the institution
To completion of a degree
To a career or life goal
Making the Path to Success Work
NoviceProfessionalPractitioners
ProspectiveStudents
PersonalCommunities
ProfessionalCommunities
Michigan Experience
Entry Semester 1 Semester 2 Transfer/graduate
Major
Which is most important?
In your opinion, which of these theories best explains student success and retention at your
institution?
(Or propose your own ideas)
Context
X
Context
High Impact Strategies
First-Year Seminars
Common Intellectual Experiences
Learning Communities
Writing-Intensive Courses
Collaborative Assignments and Projects
High Impact Strategies Undergraduate Research
Diversity/Global Learning
Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
Internships
Capstone Courses and Projects
Other Practices / Programs
What We Know From National StudiesThe Good, The Bad, & The Ugly . . .
High School Graduation Class Sizes
WICHE
Decline in Most States
When There is a Rebound . . .
Non-College Going
Low-Income
First-Generation
First-Year Students / Retention Research
Tinto
Braxton
Padilla
Bean & Eaton
Astin
Kuh
Transfer Students
1/3 of all students
AA/AS
Not Quite 40%
The Norm – Not the Anomaly
Faculty Role in Addressing Success
Institution (culture, policy and practice – early alert)
Department (pedagogy, expectations) Course (triggers -points where students struggle –
curriculum – add SI and modify) Instructor Reduce size or pace of assignments -- but not
expectations or standards. If there are large numbers of failing students allow greater opportunity for success. i.e. larger assignments with high percentage grades become several smaller sequential assignments. Are they available?
Best Practices in Teaching and Learning in the first-year
Adjusting Students' Expectations
Calibrating Your Expectations
Being Approachable
Getting Students to Office Hours
Enhancing Large Lectures
Improving Attendance
Engaging Students in Meaningful Learning
Helping Students Manage and Monitor their Learning
Best Practices in Teaching and Learning in the first-year
Challenging Talented Students
Assuring Quality in Teaching
Maintaining Cohesiveness Across Multi sectional Courses
Addressing Academic Integrity Issues
Helping Students Who are Experiencing Difficulty
Best Practices in Teaching and Learning in the first-year
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/resources/PublicationsArchives/InternalReports/BestPractices-1stYears.pdf
Best Practices in Teaching and Learning in the first-year – Learning from Deep Schools
1. Embrace undergraduates & their learning.
2. Set and maintain high expectations for student performance.
3. Clarify what students need to do to succeed.
4. Use engaging pedagogy for approaches appropriate for course objectives and students’ abilities and learning styles.
Learning from Deep Schools continued
5. Build on students’ knowledge, abilities & talents.
6. Provide meaningful feedback to students.
7. Weave diversity into the curriculum including out-of-class assignments.
8. Make time for students.
9. Hold students accountable for taking their share of the responsibility for their learning.
Summing Up
What faculty do makes a difference.
Basic theoretical models are sound but developed primarily for white, male students
Question: How well do these models apply to all of today’s students?
Research today focuses on program outcomes that can be easily counted (e.g., retention, grade point average)
How can we better understand the short-term and long-term learning that does or does not result from common first-year programs ?
In Summation High School Student Graduating Class Sizes
Decreasing
First-Year Students Mobile
Transfer Students the Norm
“Atypical” Subpopulations Become the Typical
What We Know (and Don’t Know) About New Student Programs
First-Year Seminars First-Year Seminars
Do credit hours matter?
Is there a perceived difference between required and elective courses?
Should courses be pass/fail or letter graded?
Do peer leaders have an impact?
Is it a good idea to link seminars into a block or “learning community”?
First-Year Seminars
First-year seminars, cont’d.
Does section size influence effectiveness?
Does the “type” of instructor make a difference?
Does impact relate to a particular textbook?
What’s the bottom line on first-year seminar impact on learning, academic achievement, and retention?
First-Year Seminars Summary
Seminars that
Are elective
Are graded
Use peer leaders
Carry sufficient credit hours to achieve objectives
Are linked into a learning community
Produce better student outcomes!
Learning Communities Learning communities –institution-specific
findings
Impact on retention
Impact on academic achievement
Impact on student satisfaction
Insufficient evidence about impact on student learning
Insufficient evidence about impact on faculty and student leaders
Need clarity about desired learning outcomes
Academic Advising Academic advising
Strong anecdotal evidence about the influence of advising, especially intensive/intrusive advising
Weak statistical evidence
Lack of clarity about goals for advising – Retention? Speed of declaring major? Satisfaction? Time to graduation?
The inherent research difficulties
Issues of student expectations of advisors and experiences
Supplemental Instruction and Orientation
Supplemental Instruction
Strong evidence to support link with retention
Strong evidence to support link with academic achievement
Orientation – a means of early socialization
Strong (but dated) evidence linking two-day pre-term orientation with retention
Research lacking that compares different modes of pre-term orientation
Early Warning Systems Early Warning
Many models
Some Local Examples
Labor Intensive
Grades – Not Retention
Analytics
Early Warning (Analytics)
Learner Analytics (A Form of Early Warning)
Big Market – Some Promising Data
Retention correlation is spotty a best
Grades
Financial Aid and Employment
Financial Aid
Combining Support with Aid
Lead Them to Water and Pay Them to Drink
MDRC – Performance-Based Scholarships
Employment on Campus
On-Campus Employment
10-20 Hours a Week
Service Learning / Developmental Education Service Learning
Strong impact on expected involvement in civic affairs and improved life skills
Limited-to-no direct impact on retention
Developmental Education A necessary, but challenging, service on a number of levels
Impact is mixed on student outcomes
Do developmental courses prepare students for success in regular courses?
How is developmental work best delivered? The ongoing debate.
Summing Up Basic theoretical models are sound but
developed primarily for white, male students
Question: How well do these models apply to all of today’s students?
Research today focuses on program outcomes that can be easily counted (e.g., retention, grade point average)
How can we better understand the short-term and long-term learning that does or does not result from common first-year programs ?
Thinking About Your First-Year Programs
What are their desired outcomes (apart from retention)
What do you know about the degree to which outcomes are realized?
Moving from Tactical to Strategic
Considerations
Four “Take-Aways”
Context
Scale
Coordination
A Plan
1. Context
X
2. Scale Many Single
Pockets of Excellence?
All, Most, or Some?
Critical Mass
3. Coordination The Benefits of
Coordination
Exponential Combinations
Explicit role of faculty
Downsides to Coordination?
4. A (The) Plan! “Coordinated
Coordination”
Application of Evidence to Action
Do You Have One?
Do You Need One?
Questions and Discussion
Reporting Out and Feedback
First-Year Success Strategies
Group Work What are the College’s greatest strengths
in serving beginning students?
What policies, practices, programs are “okay” but could use improvement?
What is not working well and needs to be changed?
Before the first term of enrollment
1. . Your website: how user-friendly is it for prospective students?
2. Use of social media – Facebook, and/or Twitter, etc.?3. Summer bridge programs4. Incentives for early registration5. Placement testing6. Focused outreach to high school students
Before the first term of enrollment
7. “College success” class for high school students
8. Collaborative networks with h.s. faculty to align competencies
9. Campus visits by prospective students and families
10. Pre-term orientation/welcome week
11. Involvement of upper-level students as orientation leaders
12. Parents’ or family programs
13. Pre-term advising
Before the first term of enrollment
14. Admissions process: setting accurate academic expectations
15. Firm admission/registration dates (late start options)
16. Encouragement of full-time enrollment
17. Enforcing course pre-requisites
18. Probationary/readmit programs
19. Attention to transfer-bound students
20. What’s missing? (College initiatives not listed)
During the first term of enrollment1. First-year seminars (ACA courses)
2. Learning communities
3. Supplemental Instruction
4. Information literacy/library skills
5. Special attention to first-year courses with high DFWI rates
6. Special focus on math
7. Early alert programs/attendance monitoring
8. On-campus student employment
During the first term of enrollment
9. Honors programs
10. Learning/study skills centers
11. First-year advising (including for “exploratory” students)
12. Special programs for underrepresented students
13. TRIO Student Support
14. Undergraduate research
15. Service learning
During the first term of enrollment
16. Developmental coursework
17. Utilizing upper-level students as mentors, peer leaders, etc.
18. Opportunities for out-of-class interaction with faculty
19. Encouraging/requiring assistance seeking
20. Creation of student study groups
21. Encouraging joining behaviors (campus activities)
22. Introductory course redesign (especially in terms of pedagogy)
23. Career counseling/planning
24. What’s missing? (College initiatives not listed)
Discussions, questions, feedback
Feedback Cards
Question #1: One thing that I enjoyed today was..
Questions #2: One thing I would like to change for tomorrow is ….
Questions #3 I would recommend the following as one key focus for a first-year action plan:
Homework
What ideas for new or improved first-year programs, practices, policies would you like to explore for your
community college?
What ideas for new or improved first-year programs, practices, policies would you like to explore for your
all community colleges in Michigan?
See you tomorrow!