Engaging Community Colleges A First Look

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• Courtney Adkins, Ph.D.
• CCSSE/SENSE Survey Operations Coordinator
• Community College Survey of Student Engagement
• The University of Texas at Austin
• Angela Oriano-Darnall, Ph.D.
• SENSE Project Coordinator
• Community College Survey of Student Engagement
• The University of Texas at Austin

Survey of Entering Student Engagement
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High-Risk Students

• First generation
• Low-income
• Minority
• One or more developmental education needs
• Exhibit higher levels of engagement on CCSSE

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Why? Whats going on?

• Compensatory Effect
• High-risk students start the race behind the
  starting line.
• They have to run further and faster just to stay
  in the race, much less to finish or win it.
• Timing of CCSSE Survey Administration
• Preponderance of students start in the fall term.
• Administered during the spring term, CCSSE
  essentially surveys survivors.

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Why focus on entering students?

• The Entering Student Hemorrhage
• Achieving the Dream Round One college data (fall
  2002 cohort)
• Of 41, 008 students, 14 did not complete ANY
  college credits during their first academic term.

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Why focus on entering students?

• The Entering Student Hemorrhage
• Achieving the Dream Round One college data (fall
  2002 cohort)
• Part-time students 17.5
• Male students 15.9
• Native American students 15.3
• Black, non-Hispanic students 13.9
• Hispanic students 19.0

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Why focus on entering students?

• There is hope.
• Emerging evidence suggests
• If students can be helped to earn the equivalent
  of one academic term (12-15 hours), their chances
  of achieving their educational
  goals are greatly increased.
• Students who successfully complete a
  developmental course (C or better) in their
  first term are from that point forward
  MORE likely to persist and succeed than other
  student groups.

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How can we help?

• We need a systematic way to understand the
  earliest student experiences.
• SENSE, the Survey of Entering Student Engagement
• Starting Right, a MetLife Foundation Initiative

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SENSE Overview
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Instrument Overview

• 90 Items (30 fewer than CCSSE)
• 7th Grade Reading Level
• Eight Topical Areas

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Instrument Overview

• Topical Areas
• Demographic/Student Characteristics
• Classroom/Learning
• Admissions, Orientation Registration
• Academic Advising Planning
• Financial Aid
• Relationships
• Academic Assessment Placement
• High School Experience/Preparedness

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Sampling

• Sample Created from Fall Course Schedule File
  (CSF)
• Course Parameters
• All levels of developmental reading, writing, and
  math courses (excluding ESL courses)
• First college-level English courses
• First college-level math courses

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SENSE Survey Pilot / Fall 2007

• 22 Colleges
• Including 13 Texas Colleges

• Northwest Vista College
• Palo Alto College
• Richland College
• San Antonio College
• St. Philips College
• Wharton County Junior College

• Alvin Community College
• Brazosport College
• College of the Mainland
• El Paso Community College
• Houston Community College
• Lee College
• Lone Star College District (formerly NHMCCD)

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SENSE Happenings

• SENSE First Look Report / Spring 2008
• Entering Student Success Institute / Spring 2008
• National Field Test with 94 colleges / Fall 2008
  
• First National Administration / Fall 2009
  Registration opens November 2008

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Administration Timelines

• Surveys arrive at colleges first day of fall
  academic term.
• Colleges survey administrator prepares for
  administration during weeks 1-3.
• SENSE is administered during weeks 4-5.
• Surveys are returned to SENSE/CCSSE offices by
  mid-October.
• SENSE reports are available early February.

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Institutional Reports

• All reports will be provided online.
• Pilot results will be provided via the
  members-only section of the SENSE website
  www.enteringstudent.org
• Field test and all subsequent national
  administration results will be posted in the
  public section of the SENSE website.

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CCSSE/SENSE Compare Contrast

• CCSSE administered during spring academic term.
• SENSE administered during weeks 4-5 of fall
  academic term.
• CCSSE samples drawn from all credit courses.
• SENSE samples drawn from courses in which
  first-time students are most likely to enroll.
• CCSSE assesses overall quality and
  institution-wide use of effective educational
  practice, predominantly through the eyes of
  experienced students.
• SENSE assesses effective practice in areas
  strongly affecting entering student success.

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• Fonda Vera
• Dean, Research and Planning
• Richland College
• Dallas Community College District
• Georgia Sinclair
• Statistical Research Associate
• Office of Institutional Research
• El Paso Community College

Survey of Entering Student Engagement
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• They need to remember that they hold this
  person's future in their hands
  and with one wrong
  action or one wrong word, you can
  totally turn them off and they'll turn
  around, walk out the door and never come back.
• Female student
• SENSE focus group

Survey of Entering Student Engagement
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Q ADiscussion