More Degrees, Higher Quality Learning:

How Do We Get Both?

SHEEO Higher Education Policy Conference:Collaborating Across Boundaries in Challenging Times

August 10, 2012

Carol Geary Schneider

Overview

What High Quality Means – and Why It MattersThe Mounting Evidence of a Quality ShortfallThe Best Policy Priorities – for Completion AND

Quality– High Effort, High Impact Practices– Purposeful, Practice-Rich Pathways

Using New Tools to Design Purposeful Pathways

Quality and Student Learning – Two

National Priorities

Underserved Student Success – Dramatically Expanding Access and Completion

– Markers of Progress on Completion:Enrollment, Persistence, Transfer, Timely Degree Completion – Credit Hours

Quality and Student Learning – Two National

Priorities (cont).

American Capability – Global Positioning for the U.S. and American Learners

– Markers of Progress:Students’ Demonstrated Achievement of Learning Outcomes Needed for Success

Our Challenge

Merging the Two PrioritiesCreating a Guiding Commitment to Inclusion

AND Achievement Completion with Demonstrated Achievement

– Mapping Purposeful Pathways for Completion and Quality

Quality Continued: What Knowledge and Skills are

Needed for Success?

Preparation for a Fast-Paced Economy – and for Multiple Jobs Over Time

Preparation for Knowledgeable Citizenship

Preparation to Make a Life – of Meaning and Purpose

Focusing ONLY on the Economy – Here’s

What Employers Say

“How Should Colleges Prepare Students to Succeed in Today’s Economy?” (2007)

“How Should Colleges Assess And Improve Student Learning? Employers’ Views on the Accountability Challenge” (2008)

“Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn (2010) *For full reports on these surveys and related employer findings, see www.aacu.org/leap.

College Learning for the 21st Century Economy

Employers are demanding more – much more

They want and seek many more university-educated workers

They also seek much higher and broader levels of learning in those they employ, retain, and promote

Employers Are Raising the Bar

91% of employers say that they are “asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past”

88% of employers say that “the challenges their employees face are more complex than they were in the past.”

88% of employers agree that “to succeed in their companies, employees needs higher levels of learning and knowledge than they did in the past.”

Source: “Raising the Bar: Employers’ Views on College Learning in the Wake of the Economic Downturn” (AAC&U and Hart Research Associates, 2010)

The Growing Demand for Higher Order SkillsSource: Council on Competitiveness, Competitiveness Index

Economic Pressures: Innovation and Measured

Risk-Taking

In a globalized knowledge economy, the capacity to drive INNOVATION is the key strategic advantage

To Drive Innovation, Employers Seek Employees Who Can “Think Outside

the Box”

Nearly 2/3s of Employers Think that Today’s Graduates

Need Both Broad Learning AND In-Depth Learning

Preparation for a Specific Job or Field is NOT Enough

The Four Things Employers Want

Breadth as Well as Depth – Big Picture Thinking as Well as Learning Related to Jobs

High Level Skills – Of Many Kinds Necessary to Innovation

A Proactive Sense of Responsibility – Whether and Why, Not Just How

Adaptive and Applied Learning – The Ability to Get Things Done

Employers Do Not Want People Who Are “Locked Into Mental Cubicles” –

Because They Can’t Adapt to Challenges and Change

So if these are the Goals, How Are Students Doing?

The Preponderance of the Evidence Shows that the

U.S. has a Quality Problem, Not Just a Completion

Problem

  Very well prepared

(8-10 ratings)*

 

Not well prepared

(1-5 ratings)*

Mean Rating*

Global knowledge

18% 46% 5.7

Self-direction 23% 42% 5.9

Writing 26% 37% 6.1Critical thinking

22% 31% 6.3

Adaptability 24% 30% 6.3Self-knowledge

28% 26% 6.5

Oral communication

30% 23% 6.6

Quantitative reasoning

32% 23% 6.7

Social responsibility

35% 21% 6.7

Intercultural Skills

38% 19% 6.9

Ethical Judgement

38% 19% 6.9

Teamwork 39% 17% 7.0

2008 Employer Survey Findings[1]

Employers Grade Student Learning in College

* ratings on 10-point scale: 10 = recent college graduates are extremely well prepared on each quality to succeed in entry level positions or be promoted/advance within the company[1] Note: these findings are taken from a survey of employers commissioned by AAC&U and conducted by Peter A. Hart Associates in November and December 2007. For a full report on the survey and its complete findings, see www.aacu.org/leap.

Underachievement

Arum/Roksa study: Academically Adrift Bok, Our Underachieving Colleges (2006) Blaich/Wabash Longitudinal Studies ACT/ETS Studies – 10% of seniors are

“proficient” in key skills Faculty Members’ Own Reports

Numerous studies should that that too many students are not “doing their best” and make very limited gains in college.

Making Progress? What We Know About the Achievement of Liberal Education Outcomes by Ashley Finley (AAC&U, 2012)

From “Making Progress?”

“…for six of the eleven learning outcomes measured by the Wabash

study, the majority of students showed either ‘no growth or a decline’ over

four years.” – page 8

From “Making Progress?”

ETS Proficiency Profile Seniors

Critical Thinking 8% Proficient72% Not Proficient

Writing 9% Proficient

64% Not Proficient

ACT CAAP Test – Seniors

Scores declined slightly from 2004 to 2010 on measures of Math, Critical Thinking, and Writing

Why is There a Quality Problem?

A Mini-Case: Introduction to Micro-Economics:– Large evening lecture – one 3-hour meeting– No sections– No homework – No mathematics– Two multiple choice mid-terms– One multiple choice final exam

Source: Chronicle of Higher Education, June 18, 2012

The Best Policy Priorities – for Completion AND

Quality

High Impact, High Effort Educational Practices

Purposeful, Practice-Rich Educational Pathways

High Impact Practices

First-Year Seminars and Experiences 

Common Intellectual Experiences

Learning Communities

Writing-Intensive Courses

Collaborative Assignments and Projects

“Science as Science Is Done”/Undergraduate Research

Diversity/Global Learning

Service Learning, Community-Based Learning

Internships

Capstone Courses and Projects

High Impact Practices

Correlate with Increased CompletionCorrelate with Higher Levels of Learning

Outcomes

Five High-Impact Practices: Research on Learning Outcomes, Completion,

and QualityJayne E. Brownell Lynn E. Swaner

(AAC&U, 2010)

Why Do the HIPs Work?

Create Engaged and Supportive CommunityInvolve Students in Purposeful LearningConnect Learning with Larger Questions

and Real-World SettingsRequire Higher Order Inquiry, Exploration and

Problem-SolvingEngage Diversity as a Resource for Learning

In Tackling Underachievement,

Intentionality is Central and Students’ Engaged Practice is

the Key to Developing and Demonstrating Essential

Learning Outcomes

Using New Tools to Design Purposeful Pathways

Touchstones for Quality

Mapping Essential Competencies Across Programs of Study – the DQP

High Impact Practices – Ensuring Students’ Practice of Essential Competencies

Portable Portfolios – Students Working on Key Competencies Across Multiple Levels and Sites

Integrating Practices That work for Persistence INTO Programs of Study

There is a Lot of New Evidence About Practices

that Work to Support Completion AND Quality

Our Responsibility is to Put the New Evidence to

Work in Purposeful Designs for More

Educationally Productive Programs and Policies