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LIPSS

Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success Initial Results from a Five-State Pilot Study

Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success (LIPSS) This project seeks to identify institution-wide policies that might be leveraged to increase college student engagement – a key predictor of student grades and persistence that is especially beneficial to Hispanic, African American, and academically under-prepared students.

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espite decades of reforms intended to improve student success, including hundreds of specific initiatives designed to facilitate student engagement during the first year of college, roughly one in four students who begins college at a four-year college or university does not return to that institution for a second year (ACT Inc., 2010). This troubling statistic has not changed dramatically for more than 20 years. Although various piecemeal reform efforts have contributed to improved outcomes at countless institutions, such initiatives are often costly and typically serve only a small group of students who participate directly in a given program. As a result, college and university leaders still search for specific, campus-wide, and resource-efficient ways to improve student engagement and retention. However, with few exceptions, studies of institution-level differences speak broadly of organizational “environments” and “cultures” (for a review see Berger & Milem, 2000), concepts that are too abstract to provide practical guidance to administrators pursuing institution-level policies likely to improve student experiences and outcomes. Therefore, the Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success project seeks to identify specific institution-wide policies that might be leveraged to increase college student engagement – a key predictor of student grades and persistence that is especially beneficial to Hispanic, African American, and academically under-prepared students.

Campus Leaders

Researchers

Students & Parents

Identify policies that may be adapted for use at your institution.

Discover opportunities to improve links between research and practice.

Recognize ways your institution can support first-year student success.

2 • Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success

Contents Introduction and Summary ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Guiding Frameworks Foundations of Excellence ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Student Success in College . ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Broad Efforts to Support Student Success Institutional Intentionality ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Information Dissemination . ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Demographic, Academic, and Attitudinal Diversity ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 Efforts Targeting Curricular Experiences Faculty Engagement .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Course Offerings .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Efforts Targeting Co-Curricular Experiences Campus Involvement ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Residence Life .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Supportive Individuals .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18 Appendices A: Methodological Details ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 23 B: Academic Affairs (CAO) Scale Descriptions ............................................................................................................................................................... 24 C: Student Affairs (CSAO) Scale Descriptions . .............................................................................................................................................................. 26 D: Academic Affairs (CAO) Survey and Aggregated Results .......................................................................................................................................... 28 E: Student Affairs (CSAO) Survey and Aggregated Results ............................................................................................................................................ 31 F: References .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35 Participating Institutions ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 38 Project Staff ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 39

Please Cite As: Cox, B. E., Reason, R. D., Tobolowksy, B. F., Underwood, R. B., Luczyk, S., Nix, S., Dean, J., & Wetherell, T. K. (2012). Linking institutional policies to student success: Initial results from a five-state pilot study. Tallahassee: Florida State University’s Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching, and Innovation.

Initial Results from a Five-State Pilot Study • 3

Introduction and Summary T The LIPSS project builds on the intellectual foundation established by the two references in the “Guiding Framework” section of this report.

Throughout this report, the red sidebars indicate how LIPSS results relate to elements of our guiding frameworks.

his report highlights findings from the 57 institutions across five states that participated in our 2011-12 pilot administration of two surveys designed to measure the extent to which institutions have adopted policies consistent with the available literature on first-year student success. With these surveys, one each for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs policies, we created 34 a-priori scales reflecting related clusters/families of policies (e.g., Attention to Advising; Orientation Structure; Assessment Data Use). Each scale reflects the extent to which institutions have aligned their policies with the broad conclusions from the currently available research literature on first-year student success. A scale score of one indicates an institution’s complete adoption of all measured policies and a score of zero indicates that an institution has not adopted any of the measured policies related to a particular policy cluster. It may be most useful to think of the scale scores as approximations, where a score of 0.5 indicates that an institution has done approximately one half (50%) of what it could be doing to align its policies with the available research. Higher scores indicate more complete adoption of policies and practices aligned with the current literature on first-year student success. Aggregated across all 57 participating institutions and across all 34 measured policy scales, institutions in the five-state LIPSS pilot study have done approximately one-half of what they could be doing to align their policies with the available research on first-year student success. This singular point of reference, although informative, masks considerable variability in the extent to which specific policies have been adopted. For example, all 57 participating institutions had some form of “early alert” system in place, most of which include systematic efforts to identify students experiencing both academic and personal difficulty. Likewise, every institution offers a formal orientation program for firstyear students; the vast majority of schools require all of their first-year students to attend an orientation session. In contrast, few participating institutions provide differentiated orientation programs based on student characteristics (e.g., honors students, student-athletes, students with disabilities). Notwithstanding these relatively clear findings related to early alert systems and new-student orientation, the results from this pilot study paint a complex picture of institutional policy alignment with available research on first-year student success.


Coordination of the first year of college: Although many institutions have developed division-wide or institution-wide mechanisms to coordinate the first-year experience, the composition and/or reporting lines of this coordinating structure (e.g., committee, office, individual) may not be maximizing the potential for high-level, cross-divisional collaboration. Faculty engagement with first-year students: Although most schools offer first-year seminars and have early alert systems that promote course-related interaction between faculty members and students, policies supporting or encouraging student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom are less common. Policies requiring or systematically rewarding faculty members for such engagement are particularly uncommon. Information dissemination: Institutions appear quick to share relevant information with key stakeholders (i.e., students, parents, guidance counselors), often front-loading information before students even attend their first class. But fewer than half of the surveyed institutions reiterate those early messages to students after classes have begun. Assessment: Most participating institutions have engaged in formal and wide-spread data collection activities related to institutional research, program assessment, and course evaluations. Far less common, however, is the use of such data for instructional development, academic planning, and resource allocation. When considered from a broad perspective (the scale scores), our data yield remarkably few differences between public and private schools or between states. Of the 34 policy scales, only five differed statistically across public/private control. Private institutions were more likely than public institutions to require new student orientation, require first-year seminars with academic content, offer first-year leadership opportunities, and hold community-building activities such as convocations, speaker series, or cultural events. Public institutions, on the other hand, were more likely to devote institutional resources to academic advising. When comparing results across the five states of the pilot study, we identified only two statistically-significant differences in the scales. Texas institutions shared information with parents less frequently than did schools in the other four states, while California schools were least likely to offer financial support for faculty/staff professional development related to students’ first year experience. Although intriguing, such policy differences typically defy easy explanation. Therefore, we hesitate to draw major conclusions from observed policy differences between public and private schools or between schools in different states. Though we disaggregate scale scores by source of control (public vs. private) and state, we report only the aggregated/ overall results for individual survey items.

0% First-Year Orientation: Structure Early Alert/Intervention Initiatives First-Year Orientation: Family Involvement First-Year Seminars Assessment of Student Affairs Programs Information Dissemination: Earliest Contact First-Year Student Leadership Opportunities Data-Driven Decision Making: Student Affairs First-Year Course Evaluations

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40%

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80%

100%

Degree of Policy Alignment with Research Literature on First-Year Student Success: By Policy Clusters

Information Dissemination: To High School Counselors Information Dissemination: To Families Student Affairs Service Availability Recent Assessment Efforts: Learning Attention to Advising Funding for Professional Development Recent Assessment Efforts: Persistence Curricular Emphasis on Diversity Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity Continuous Improvement of First-Year Initiatives Data-Driven Decision Making: Academic Affairs Programmatic Emphasis on Socio-Political Issues Student Affairs Programming Intentionality Faculty Participation in First-Year Events Information Dissemination: Frequency of Contact

It may be most useful to think of the scale scores as approximations, where a score of 0.5 indicates that an institution has done approximately one half (50%) of what it could be doing to align its policies with the available research. Higher scores indicate more complete adoption of policies and practices aligned with the current literature on first-year student success.

Campus Community-Building Events Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences Encouragement of Student-Faculty Interaction Faculty Involvement Considered in Personnel Decisions Campus-Wide Administrative Coordination Student Affairs Staffing Policies Senior Faculty Teaching of First-Year Courses Student Affairs Administrative Coordination First-Year Orientation: Specific Student Populations Residence Life Academic Integration

See Appendices B and C for detailed descriptions of the 34 scales referenced in this report.

Summary Scales


Guiding Framework: Reproduced with permission from the John N. Gardner Institute www.jngi.org

Foundational Dimensions statements constitute a model that provides institutions with a means to evaluate and improve the first year of college. As an evaluation tool, the model enables institutions both to confirm their strengths and to recognize the need for improvement. As an aspirational model, the Dimensions provide general guidelines for an intentional design of the first year. The Dimensions rest on four assumptions: • • • •

The academic mission of an institution is preeminent; The first college year is central to the achievement of an institution’s mission and lays the foundation on which undergraduate education is built; Systematic evidence provides validation of the Dimensions; Collectively, the Dimensions constitute an ideal for improving not only the first college year, but also the entire undergraduate experience.

Philosophy

Foundations Institutions are colleges and universities that exemplify effectiveness in promoting first-year student success.


Foundations Institutions approach the first year in ways that are intentional and based on a philosophy/rationale of the first year that informs relevant institutional policies and practices. The philosophy/rationale is explicit, clear and easily understood, consistent with the institutional mission, widely disseminated, and, as appropriate, reflects a consensus of campus constituencies. The philosophy/rationale is also the basis for first-year organizational policies, practices, structures, leadership, department/unit philosophies, and resource allocation.

Organization

Foundations Institutions create organizational structures and policies that provide a comprehensive, integrated, and coordinated approach to the first year. These structures and policies provide oversight and alignment of all first-year efforts. A coherent first-year experience is realized and maintained through effective partnerships among academic affairs, student affairs, and other administrative units and is enhanced by ongoing faculty and staff development activities and appropriate budgetary arrangements.

Learning

Foundations Institutions deliver intentional curricular and co-curricular learning experiences that engage students in order to develop knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors consistent with the desired outcomes of higher education and the institution’s philosophy and mission. Whether in or out of the classroom, learning also promotes increased competence in critical thinking, ethical development, and the lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

Faculty

Foundations Institutions make the first college year a high priority for the faculty. These institutions are characterized by a culture of faculty responsibility for the first year that is realized through high-quality instruction in first-year classes and substantial interaction between faculty and first-year students both inside and outside the classroom. This culture of responsibility is nurtured by chief academic officers, deans, and department chairs and supported by the institutions’ reward systems.

Foundations of Excellence Transitions

Foundations Institutions facilitate appropriate student transitions through policies and practices that are intentional and aligned with institutional mission. Beginning with recruitment and admissions and continuing through the first year, institutions communicate clear curricular and co-curricular expectations and provide appropriate support for educational success. They are forthright about their responsibilities to students as well as students’ responsibilities to themselves and the institution. They create and maintain curricular alignments with secondary schools and linkages with secondary school personnel, families, and other sources of support, as appropriate.

All Students

Foundations Institutions serve all first-year students according to their varied needs. The process of anticipating, diagnosing, and addressing needs is ongoing and is subject to assessment and adjustment throughout the first year. Institutions provide services with respect for the students’ abilities, backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Institutions also ensure a campus environment that is inclusive and safe for all students.

Diversity

Foundations Institutions ensure that all first-year students experience diverse ideas, worldviews, and cultures as a means of enhancing their learning and preparing them to become members of pluralistic communities. Whatever their demographic composition, institutions structure experiences in which students interact in an open and civil community with people from backgrounds and cultures different from their own, reflect on ideas and values different from those they currently hold, and explore their own cultures and the cultures of others.

Roles and Purposes

Foundations Institutions promote student understanding of the various roles and purposes of higher education, both for the individual and society. These roles and purposes include knowledge acquisition for personal growth, learning to prepare for future employment, learning to become engaged citizens, and learning to serve the public good. Institutions encourage first-year students to examine systematically their motivation and goals with regard to higher education in general and to their own college/university. Students are exposed to the value of general education as well as to the value of more focused, indepth study of a field or fields of knowledge (i.e., the major).

Improvement

Foundations Institutions conduct assessment and maintain associations with other institutions and relevant professional organizations in order to achieve ongoing first-year improvement. This assessment is specific to the first year as a unit of analysis – a distinct time period and set of experiences, academic and otherwise, in the lives of students. It is also linked systemically to the institutions’ overall assessment. Assessment results are an integral part of institutional planning, resource allocation, decision-making, and ongoing improvement of programs and policies as they affect first-year students. As part of the enhancement process and as a way to achieve ongoing improvement, institutions are familiar with current practices at other institutions as well as with research and scholarship on the first college year.

The following campuses provided national leadership in the inaugural use of the Dimensions: Augsburg College, Aurora University, CUNY – Brooklyn College, CUNY – Medgar Evers College, Chadron State College, Columbia College, Endicott College, Franklin Pierce College, Georgia Southwestern State University, Illinois State University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana Wesleyan University, Kennesaw State University, Madonna University,Maryville College, Marywood University, Missouri Western State University, Nazareth College of Rochester, Plymouth State University, Saint Edward’s University, SUNY – Brockport, Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, University of Charleston, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

The Foundational Dimensions were developed by John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot, Stephen W. Schwartz, Michael J. Siegel, and Randy L. Swing in collaboration with Robert D. Reason, Patrick T. Terenzini, Edward Zlotkowski, and 235 colleges and universities.


Guiding Framework:

Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E.J., and Associates (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. Washington, DC: Jossey-Bass. This material is reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

DEEP is the abbreviation for the Documenting Effective Educational Practice project at the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University.

Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter identified principles guiding policies, programs, and practice at twenty high-performing institutions in the Documenting Effective Educational Practice project.

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DEEP colleges recruit and retain faculty and staff who are committed to student learning and take the time and measures necessary to foster that learning. Faculty and staff members elsewhere surely work as hard as their counterparts at DEEP schools, but not always with the same intensity of focus on student learning and growth.

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Faculty and staff members at DEEP colleges make a lot of time for students. They recognize that there is no substitute for human contact, whether face-to-face or via e-mail.

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DEEP colleges recognize and accommodate, to the best of their ability, multiple styles of learning. Because many students prefer concrete, practical applications, DEEP colleges respond with active and collaborative learning approaches that provide opportunities for students to apply what they are learning to their lives outside the classroom.

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Faculty and administrators at DEEP colleges challenge students to raise their aspirations, and provide timely and apt feedback and support designed to meet their students’ needs.

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DEEP schools work with the students they have, in contrast to the all-too-common fixation on trying to recruit the best and the brightest. This is a very important message: institutions and students can succeed despite the odds. Powerful learning environments and significant learning outcomes can be achieved no matter what the institutions resources or students’ preparation.

Living Mission and Lived Educational Philosophy •

Some DEEP institutions have deviated little from their original mission, whereas others adopted new or revised missions or expanded their educational purposes. Common to all is a focus on student success consistent with institutional values, traditions, and educational purposes.

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Institutional values really do guide actions at DEEP schools. Not everyone in the institution readily articulates these values using the same words, nor are they necessarily exhorted by all campus groups. However, key institutional leaders frequently remind people what their institution holds to be important.

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DEEP schools go to great lengths to make their missions, values, and aspirations transparent and understandable to their constituents.

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The larger DEEP universities rely on an operating philosophy that values students and their success in attempting to manage in educationally purposeful ways the challenges posed by their size, multiple educational purposes, and organizational complexity.

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DEEP colleges make space for those who have different aspirations and values and wish to express different views. Under the right conditions, public discussion of tensions and disagreements helps sharpen the institution’s focus.

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Though the missions, operating philosophies, and organizational and structural characteristics of DEEP schools vary, all have developed complementary policies and practices tailored to the school’s mission and students’ educational and social needs, interests, and abilities. An essential element of these policies and practices is their steadfast focus on student learning, a topic we address next.

Adapting Environments for Educational Advantage •

Although geographic location and physical topography of a college are fixed, DEEP schools do not apologize for where who, or what they are. Instead, they adapt their surrounding and campus environments in creative and educationally purposeful ways. In effect, they make wherever they are “a good place for a college!”

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DEEP schools connect to the local community in ways that benefit students, the institution, and the surrounding community. Such efforts take time, unwavering commitment, and goodwill to bring to fruition.

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DEEP schools are “place conscious.” They create learning environments from natural and constructed settings, and design curricular offerings and pedagogical approaches that induce people to form strong attachments to the “place.”

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DEEP schools harness the educational potential of their campus residence halls by matching the environment to the intellectual mission of the institution.

Focusing on Student Learning •


Student learning and personal development at DEEP schools is a priority. Though this might seem to be a simplistic and hardly revolutionary statement, DEEP schools are special precisely because their commitment to this priority is authentic and they pursue it with a high degree of effectiveness.

Student Success in College •

Buildings, classrooms, and other physical structures are adapted to “human scale.” Living units, classrooms, and meeting spaces are kept small to the extent possible.

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Interior and exterior spaces are adapted to reduce the psychological size of the campus and to encourage participation in campus life.

Innovating and Improving

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DEEP schools tailor their efforts to meet the needs of their students. Each institution sets standards according to what is reasonable for its students’ experiences and aspirations and provides the support remedial, supplemental, or enrichment - students need to meet these standards.

Sharing Responsibility for Educational Quality

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DEEP schools are confident enough of what they are and of their values and aspirations to question whether their performance matches their potential. Never quite satisfied with their level of performance, they continually revisit and rework policies and practices to improve.

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No single unit or office can, on its own, enhance the overall quality of large numbers of students with widely differing needs and characteristics. The dedication and efforts of everyone on campus are needed.

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DEEP schools are inclined toward innovation. They are not afraid to experiment and invest in promising ideas, even though human and fiscal resources are stretched thin.

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Curricular innovation at many DEEP schools is driven by faculty members with a desire to provide a responsive, challenging undergraduate curriculum.

Leaders at DEEP schools clearly and consistently articulate core operating values and principles that flow from their schools missions and philosophy, select associates who are predisposed to make these principles their own, repeat them early and often, and – most important – use them consistently for key decisions as well as for guiding day-to-day activities.

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Most DEEP schools systematically collect information about various aspects of student performance and use it to inform policy and decision making.

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Senior administrators and faculty members “model the way.” Presidents, provosts, and student affairs staff teach occasionally, and speak regularly about institutional aspirations and learning-centered priorities.

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Efforts to improve and innovate are grounded in DEEP institutions’ missions and values. They seek to be best at what they do with the students they have.

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Supportive educators are virtually everywhere at a DEEP college teaching faculty, residence life staff, groundskeepers, and presidents.

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DEEP schools, like other highly effective organizations, choose community members carefully. At the same time, they are committed to diversifying their membership to create a climate where people from different backgrounds can survive and thrive.

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The collaborative spirit and positive attitude that characterize DEEP campuses are evident in the quality of working relationships enjoyed by academic and student affairs which operate on many other campuses as functional silos, a situation that is all too common in higher education.

Creating Clear Pathways to Student Success •

DEEP colleges clearly mark routes to student success. Some guideposts, such as required first-year seminars, advising sessions, periodically updating programs of study, and capstone courses are tied directly to the academic program. Others take the form of convocations that celebrate educational attainment, passing along gowns that represent continuity of experience or walking through arches to heighten one’s commitment to graduating.

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Institutional publications accurately describe what students say they experience.

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Most DEEP schools do not prescribe overly restrictive pathways to success. At the same time, each institution is unmistakably intentional about telling students about the resources and service available to help them succeed. Some institutions are more intrusive than others in this regard; some require specific activities of some or all of their students, others have few, if any, such requirements.

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Through a variety of mechanisms, DEEP campuses expect students to exercise considerable responsibility for their own affairs and hold them accountable for doing so.

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DEEP campuses benefit from large numbers of caring, supportive individuals who perform countless daily acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that make students feel wanted and important.

Text reproduced from chapters 2-7 of Student Success in College.


Institutional Intentionality Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Philosophy Organization Improvement

Relationship to Student Success in College Living Mission and Lived Educational Philosophy Innovating and Improving Sharing Responsibility for Educational Quality

Higher scores indicate more complete adoption of policies and practices aligned with the current literature on first-year student success.

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or the LIPSS project, the term “institutional intentionality” is used to describe the extent to which academic personnel consciously and purposefully adopt policies and practices aligned with student success. One facet of institutional intentionality is the organizational structure. The organizational structure involves both the formal organization of colleges and universities as well as informal and/or cross-division efforts to coordinate student programs. Organizational structure and collaboration among divisions affect student outcomes by influencing institutional policy making, service delivery, and institutional priorities (Bourassa & Kruger, 2001; Braxton, 2003; Brown, 1989; Jackson, 1999; Kezar, 2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2006; Philpott & Strange, 2003). Another form of institutional intentionality involves grounding organizational polices and practice in relevant theory. Grounding organizational policies and practice in theory is important because it provides a unifying foundation for coordinated action. Indeed, one of the goals of the LIPSS project is to assist higher education policy makers in the decision-making process by summarizing the latest research on effective institutional practice. Many families of theories (e.g., from economics, organizational behavior, cognitive science, and higher education) may be applied to real-world issues in higher education (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2003; Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, & Hayek, 2006, 2011; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2010; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005; Seidman, 2005; St. John & Asker, 2003; Tinto, 1999; Upcraft & Gardner, 1989). A third facet of institutional intentionality involves data-driven decision-making. With this practice, policy-makers base their decisions, at least in part, upon evidence gathered through data collection and assessment efforts (Kowalsky & Lasley, 2008). In

addition to campus-specific data (often provided by institutional research offices), decision-makers can draw from state-wide or national reports on, for example, student outcomes or faculty performance (Boyer & Ewell, 1988; Erwin, 1991; Ewell, 2002; Palomba & Banta, 1999; Peterson & Einarson, 2001; Terenzini, 1989, 2010). Lastly, colleges and universities can use incentive structures to intentionally communicate to faculty and staff the institution’s commitment to first-year student success. Institutional incentives in higher education include hiring practices, promotion and tenure policies, and merit pay policies (Hearn, 2006; Kezar, 2003; Komives, 2003; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2005, 2010). For example, formal incentives promoting faculty excellence in teaching communicate an institutional commitment to learning (Astin, 1991). Likewise, institutions that incentivize faculty and staff efforts to improve firstyear students’ experiences and outcomes send signals – directly to faculty and staff, but also indirectly to students – that first-year student success is an institutional priority. To some extent, questions of institutional intentionality permeate the entire LIPSS project and its surveys. Few, if any, of the policies and practices examined in this project are “naturally occurring” or happen “spontaneously” without active efforts by college or university employees. Nonetheless, in this section of the report we highlight twelve scales that reflect 1) institutional efforts to collaboratively coordinate a multi-faceted first-year experience for new students; 2) incentive structures promoting first-year student success; 3) support for faculty/staff development related to first-year students; and 4) the collection and use of assessment/evaluation data for courses, programs, and the whole of the first-year experience.

Overall Public Private CA FL IA PA TX Campus-Wide Administrative Coordination .37 .27 .41 .35 .40 .28 .42 .37 Student Affairs Administrative Coordination .27 .23 .28 .27 .17 .26 .30 .27 Student Affairs Programming Intentionality .46 .44 .50 .61 .35 .35 .54 .45 Faculty Involvement Considered in Personnel Decisions .38 .26 .43 .50 .44 .30 .44 .26 Funding for Professional Development .52 .48 .55 .24 .59 .47 .65 .48 Continuous Improvement of First-Year Initiatives .50 .57 .50 .56 .48 .38 .52 .64 First-Year Course Evaluations .60 .52 .64 .57 .56 .68 .63 .61 Assessment of Student Affairs Programs .69 .75 .69 .72 .70 .65 .66 .79 Recent Assessment Efforts: Learning .54 .36 .59 .39 .42 .52 .67 .52 Recent Assessment Efforts: Persistence .52 .54 .51 .39 .50 .41 .57 .61 Data-Driven Decision Making: Student Affairs .61 .58 .65 .70 .63 .63 .62 .59 Data-Driven Decision Making: Academic Affairs .49 .42 .52 .60 .50 .51 .48 .50 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #1, 2, 3, 21, 22, 25a-d, 26, and 27a-e and CAO #1, 2a-b, 4, 6a-c, 7a-c, 9a-b, 10a-c, 11a-b, 12a-c, and 13a-d.


Information Dissemination

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lthough stakeholders of all types benefit from the receipt of timely, accurate, and relevant information, incoming first-year students are particularly likely to benefit when information is “front-loaded.” Front-loading information involves sharing information about the institution with prospective students, parents, and high school guidance counselors before students have chosen a college; sharing information with incoming students and their families during orientation; and sharing information about institutional policies and expectations in first-year seminars and traditional coursework after students have arrived on campus. More generally, at least two principles underpin effective information dissemination from colleges and universities. First, it is important to share information early and often. Second, it is important to provide information to a variety of stakeholders – such as family members and high school guidance counselors – so that supportive individuals can reinforce the messages that students receive from college personnel (Kuh, 2001-2). Institutions can benefit from effective information dissemination that takes place before students even enroll. Accurate pre-enrollment information about institutional policies and campus cultures can help prospective students decide whether they vwould be a good “fit” with the institution. As Bean (1990) pointed out: one fairly constant finding is that students leave school because they do not fit in. They may not fit in socially or academically or religiously or economically or for some other reasons. They leave because the school is not a good match for their needs (p. 149).

Indeed, several researchers have found that students’ “fit” with the institution is critical to student persistence and success in college (Astin, 1993; Hossler, Kuh, & Olsen, 2001; Kuh, 2001-2; Tinto, 1993). The need for timely, accurate, and personalized information continues after students enroll in college. Information provided to students early in their first year can help them transition to college life and assimilate into the academic culture of the institution (Gordon & Grites, 1984; Kuh, 2001-2). Front-loading information for first-year

students also allows these students to make well-informed plans about their entire college career, thereby maximizing their potential for longterm college success. Information dissemination after students enroll can take place during orientation, in first-year seminars, and in traditional coursework [see report section on Course Offerings]. Singer (2003) found that the expectations of students who attended the University of Wisconsin orientation changed significantly as compared to those who did not attend orientation; the program was particularly influential for students of color. Amid concerns about the potential for incoming students to experience “information overload,” institutions can highlight particularly important information by personalizing some materials for specific groups of students. An e-mail about future course offerings could be differentiated to highlight required courses for certain majors, for example. Such personalization seems especially important during the recruitment process, when students need detailed information about financial aid to understand both the costs and benefits of attending a particular institution (Hossler, Kuh, & Olsen, 2001). Collectively, the literature reviewed here reinforces the commonsense notion that well-informed students are more likely to succeed than those who have a poor understanding of institutional offerings and expectations. The LIPSS surveys address the timing, frequency, and distribution of information from colleges to students. This report highlights seven scales measuring: 1) the earliest time that an institution sends information to (potential) students; 2) the frequency of such contact with students; 3) whether institutions send information directly to (potential) students’ families; 4) whether institutions send information directly to high school guidance counselors; 5) whether institutions offer orientation activities for students’ parents/families; 6) the extent to which institutions offer unique orientation sessions for specific student populations; and 7) the duration/structure of orientation activities.

Overall Public Private Information Dissemination: Earliest Contact .67 .60 .69 Information Dissemination: Frequency of Contact .44 .38 .45 Information Dissemination: To Families .59 .54 .63 Information Dissemination: To High School Counselors .60 .70 .58 First-Year Orientation: Family Involvement .71 .69 .74 First-Year Orientation: Specific Student Populations .27 .20 .30 First-Year Orientation: Structure .91 .85 .93 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #12a-f, 13a-g, 14, 15a-d, 4a-b, 5a-k, and 6a-b.

CA .73 .50 .56 .65 .81 .26 .90

FL .62 .32 .65 .67 .64 .25 .86

IA .67 .46 .62 .69 .75 .22 .89

PA .67 .44 .66 .58 .75 .37 .96

TX .66 .46 .45 .50 .64 .15 .86

Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Philosophy Transitions Roles and Purposes

Relationship to Student Success in College Creating Clear Pathways to Student Success Living Mission and Lived Educational Philosophy



Demographic, Academic, and Attitudinal Diversity Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® All Students Diversity Roles and Purposes

Relationship to Student Success in College Shared Responsibility for Educational Quality Focusing on Student Learning Adapting Environments for Educational Advantage

I

nstitutional policies supporting students from a wide range of backgrounds typically provide specialized services and recognition for groups of students who might otherwise be under-served in a college or university setting. This family of policies addresses demographic diversity (e.g. students from different racial/ethnic groups, students of different sexes, students of different sexual orientations, students with disabilities, students of different socioeconomic statuses, first-generation students, international students, and athletes); diversity of academic status (e.g. adult learners, commuter students, transfer students, part-time students, provisional or developmental students, and honors students); and attitudinal diversity (e.g. students of different religious and political beliefs). The rationale for these policies is two-fold. First, it is oftentimes important to address the specific needs of particular groups of students, the benefits of which include increasing the extent to which students feel safe, understood, and appreciated (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Second, research suggests that it is important to the broader educational mission of academic institutions for students to “encounter difference” (Reason, Cox, Lutovsky Quaye, & Terenzini, 2010, p. 391) both in and outside the classroom. These encounters with difference contribute to learning by creating the “cognitive dissonance” (Festinger,Riecken & Schater, 1957, p. 27) that is essential for students’ intellectual and psychosocial growth. Such encounters may occur through interaction with faculty and staff as well as through interaction with fellow students. Hurtado (1999) found that faculty members of color were more likely to incorporate diverse themes in their teaching than their White counterparts. Furthermore, racial understanding increased when students talked to faculty of color outside of class and were guests in their homes. Similar findings support diversity in student affairs hiring practices (Komives, 2003; Manning & Coleman-Boatwright, 1991). Though faculty and staff are important to the socialization of college students, much of the socialization that occurs in college takes place among peers (Astin, 1992; Feldman & Newcomb, 1969; Grayson, 1999). Indeed, Chickering (1969) noted that “a student’s most important teacher is another student” (p. 253). Some of the most important interactions college students have with their peers occur in student organizations.


The variety of student organizations on college campuses is quite broad. Montelongo (2002) reports that “college student organizations tend to fall into the following categories: governing bodies, Greek letter social organizations, student government groups, academic clubs and professional societies, publication and media groups, service groups, intramural sports clubs, religious organizations, and special interest/cultural groups” (p. 50). These student organizations supplement the formal curriculum of a college or university. Furthermore, participation in these groups is related to a number of positive outcomes for students such as social integration, satisfaction with college, campus involvement, leadership skills, student engagement, learning, and psychosocial development (Anaya, 1996; Astin, 1993; Smith & Griffin, 1993). Cultural or identity-based student organizations provide diverse populations of students with a sense of belonging and validation. Such groups promote identity development in students of color and racial understanding among all college students (Guiffrida, 2003; Harper & Quaye, 2007; Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1999; Kuh & Love, 2000; Museus, 2008). However, the effects of cultural groups on student socialization appear to differ by group and institutional context. Allen, Epps, and Haniff (1991), for instance, found that African American students who participated in student organizations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) had higher persistence rates than African American students who participated in student organizations at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Further, the participation of Latina/o and Asian American students in cultural groups on campus may follow different patterns from African American students (Museus, 2008; Quintana, Vogel & Ybarra, 1991). Although there exists some variability among student experiences with and benefits from encounters with difference, the available literature generally encourages institutional efforts to support diverse student groups. This LIPSS report highlights several forms of institutional support for student diversity: 1) staffing policies, including the extent to which student affairs offices attempt to hire staff with expertise/experience with distinct student populations; 2) the availability of orientation programs for specific student populations; 3) the availability various student services; 4) the prevalence of policies that encourage student encounters with difference through the formal curriculum and 5) co-curricular programming; and 6) the availability of events designed to improve campus unitiy and understanding.

Overall Public Private CA FL IA Student Affairs Staffing Policies .35 .40 .35 .42 .40 .34 First-Year Orientation: Specific Student Populations .27 .20 .30 .26 .25 .22 Student Affairs Service Availability .55 .51 .58 .50 .46 .57 Curricular Emphasis on Diversity .50 .46 .54 .54 .46 .59 Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity .50 .51 .51 .66 .38 .46 Campus Community-Building Events .43 .31 .49 .41 .40 .46 For more detailed findings, see CSAO # 5a-k, 8, 9, 16a-m, 18b-f, 19a-k, 20c, 23a, and 24b-m, and CAO #22a-b, 23a-e, and 24a-c.

PA .38 .37 .62 .56 .59 .48

TX .27 .15 .52 .41 .38 .41


Demographic, Academic, and Attitudinal Diversity Initial Results from a Five-State Pilot Study • 13

Faculty Engagement Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Faculty Organization Learning Transitions All Students Improvement

Relationship to Student Success in College Focusing on Student Learning Creating Clear Pathways to Student Success Innovating and Improving Sharing Responsbility for Educational Quality


E

fforts to improve first-year student success often require direct action by an institution’s faculty. For example, students’ interactions with members of the instructional faculty often have immediate, tangible effects on student success (as occurs when a student visits office hours to discuss a class paper). But facultystudent interaction, especially among first-year students, may also yield important long-term, indirect benefits to students (Milem & Berger, 1997). Documented benefits of faculty-student interaction include improved/increased student effort, satisfaction, cognitive development, and persistence (e.g., Astin, 1993; Endo & Harpel, 1982; Kuh & Hu, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1977, 2005). Likewise, Light (2001) concluded that “students who got the most out of college, who grow the most academically, and who are happiest organize their time to include activities with faculty members…focused around accomplishing substantive academic work” (Light, 2001, p. 10). Other studies have highlighted the value of informal or incidental contact between students and their instructors outside the classroom (Cox & Orehovec, 2007; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). Colleges and universities have long sought ways to increase both the quality and quantity of faculty-student interaction, both inside and outside of the classroom. Outside of the traditional undergraduate classroom, institutions have encouraged undergraduate participation in faculty research; some have even established “take-a-professor to lunch” programs or encouraged faculty service during student orientation or move-in day (Abel, Brice, & Cox, 2007). Research finds these types of interactions lead to greater learning, higher retention, and increased development of critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills (Council of Undergraduate Research, 2002). At some institutions, faculty members are also seen as front-line personnel who are well positioned to identify and support students at risk for academic or personal difficulty. In what are often called “early alert” or “early warning” systems, instructional faculty are asked to make note of students demonstrating poor academic performance or troublesome behavior early in a term. When such students are

identified quickly (e.g., within the first six weeks), support personnel may be able to intervene before a student’s difficulties become too much to overcome. At Hanover College, for example, the early-alert system mobilizes campus early alert partners to provide supports for the student. The early alert team has found that the program “not only helped administrators identify students’ problems before they escalate, but also allowed the college to collect data on what kind of students tend to leave, and why” (Wasley, 2007). One of the faculty’s more traditional responsibilities is the design and delivery of the formal academic curriculum. However, first-year courses are increasingly being taught by graduate student teaching assistants or adjunct/conditional/part-time faculty members (Jaeger, 2008)– a practice that some scholars have argued is not beneficial for students (Bettinger & Long, 2004; Schmidt, 2010). Regardless of the status of the instructor, student evaluations of teaching, along with other forms of course and program assessment, provide “a way for faculty to learn about the efficacy of their practices” (Maki, 2004, p. 89) and for academic leaders to adjust course content or structures in ways that facilitate student success. Collectively, the literature reviewed here confirms the critical importance of faculty engagement, including – and extending beyond – their traditional teaching roles. It also lends some support to institutional efforts to systematically review and improve the curricula. This report highlights eight scales that address several mechanisms for faculty engagement and instructional improvement: 1) faculty involvement with out-of-class activities for first-year students; 2) institutional or departmental initiatives designed to facilitate facultystudent interaction; 3) requirements for post-tenure faculty members’ teaching of first-year students; 4) early-alert systems; 5) teacher evaluation policies; 6) course- or program-level assessment related to retention and 7) learning; 8) use of assessment data for making curricular revisions; and 9) the manner in which faculty members’ involvement with first-year students affects personnel decisions.

Overall Public Private Faculty Participation in First-Year Events .45 .46 .46 Encouragement of Student-Faculty Interaction .38 .40 .37 Senior Faculty Teaching of First-Year Courses .34 .25 .39 Early Alert/Intervention Initiatives .91 .92 .92 First-Year Course Evaluations .60 .52 .64 Recent Assessment Efforts: Persistence .52 .54 .51 Recent Assessment Efforts: Learning .54 .36 .59 Data-Driven Decision Making: Academic Affairs .49 .42 .52 Faculty Involvement Considered in Personnel Decisions .38 .26 .43 For more detailed findings, see CAO # 5a-d, 6a-c, 8a-b, 9a-b, 10a, 12a-c, 13a-d, 19a-b, and 20b.


CA .58 .41 .33 .92 .57 .39 .39 .60 .50

FL .47 .31 .22 .94 .56 .50 .42 .50 .44

IA .47 .28 .39 .86 .68 .41 .52 .51 .30

PA .39 .42 .36 .95 .63 .57 .67 .48 .44

TX .48 .42 .41 .91 .61 .61 .52 .50 .26

Course Offerings

M

any of the mechanisms used by colleges and universities to advance student learning are implemented through the formal curriculum. Whether in addition to or integrated with traditional coursework, some institutions have embedded into their curricula diversity-related courses, first-year seminars, learning communities, and service-learning opportunities. Many institutions have begun asking students to take coursework emphasizing diversity as a part of their general education requirements. In 2000, the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) discovered that over half (54%) of the 543 institutions participating in its study had implemented some type of diversity course requirement, typically requiring students to take one (58%) or two (42%) such courses. The popularity of these diversity course requirements likely reflects findings from a line of literature suggesting that students benefit from exposure to and discussion of diversity (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Nelson Laird (2005) notes “experiences with diversity are important influences on the development of student learning and democratic outcomes, including students’ intellectual engagement and motivation as well as citizenship engagement” (p. 366). Further, he found a direct effect between diversity courses and “students’ self-confidence, social agency, and disposition to think critically” (p. 383). In addition, Chang (2002) found that participating in these courses led to a reduction in the prejudiced views of all students. A study by Bowman (2009) also found that students benefit from diversity coursework, but noted that White students and those from low and middle class backgrounds saw the greatest cognitive growth from taking this type of course. Another popular first-year curricular initiative is the first-year seminar. Results from a triennial survey conducted by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition since 1988 suggest that institutions establish such courses with the intent of “developing academic skills” and “providing an orientation to various campus resources and services” (Tobolowsky & associates, 2008, p. 84; Tobolowsky, Mamrick, & Cox, 2005, p. 81). In addition, institutions report students’ persistence to the sophomore year, satisfaction with faculty, and satisfaction with the institution as “the top three outcomes” associated with first-year seminars (NRC Executive Summary, 2009). Significantly, these seminars have been subject to regular institutional assessment, using varied methods

including student focus groups, individual interviews, analyses of institutional data, and end-of-course evaluations. Research confirms the wide-ranging benefits of first-year seminars: increased student persistence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005, Porter & Swing, 2006), more meaningful faculty interaction (Keup & Barefoot, 2005), higher GPAs (Jamelske, 2009), greater engagement in campus activities (Barefoot, Warnock, Dickinson, Richardson, & Robets, 1998), and greater satisfaction with college (Barefoot, 1993). Like the seminars, curricular learning communities are designed, in part, to “help undergraduates put the pieces together and develop habits of mind that prepare them to make informed judgments in the conduct of personal, professional, and civic life” (AAC&U Integrative Learning Statement, n.p.). There are several types of these integrative learning structures. The most basic learning communities have students register for two or more linked classes (e.g., history and firstyear seminar); more comprehensive living-learning communities place students not only into linked courses, but also into a shared residence hall/floor. Learning communities examined by Bueschel (2009) and Scrivener, Bloom, LeBlanc, Rouse, and Sommo (2008) improved students’ academic performances, their “affective outcomes” (e.g., academic self-confidence), and their connection to student peers, the faculty, and the institution (p. 7). Such integrative learning can also be facilitated through servicelearning courses that combine community service with academic coursework and student self-reflection (Ross & Boyle, 2007). Research suggests that service-learning projects provide benefits to participating students, faculty, and community (Judge, Pierce, Petersen, Bellar, Wamless, & Simon., 2011). Specifically, servicelearning experiences lead to academic, career, and interpersonal gains for the student (Buch & Harden, 2011). They can also pave the way for more future service activities(Buch & Harden, 2011). Curricular structures are referenced in both the Student Affairs and Academic Affairs versions of the LIPSS surveys. In this report, we highlight four scales relating to: 1) the availability and structure of first-year seminars; 2) curricular options/requirements emphasizing or reflecting various forms of diversity; 3) opportunities for integrative learning experiences, including service-learning courses, common reading programs, and curricular learning communities; and 4) the integration of academics into residence life.

Overall Public Private CA FL IA First-Year Seminars .69 .57 .76 .67 .55 .80 Curricular Emphasis on Diversity .50 .46 .54 .54 .46 .59 Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences .41 .40 .43 .49 .41 .49 Residence Life Academic Integration .21 .20 .22 .33 .32 .20 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #7b-h, 10, and 11c-f and CAO #14, 15, 16, 17, 18a-b, 20a, 20c, 21a-b, 22a-b, and 23a-e.

PA .77 .56 .40 .20

TX .69 .41 .38 .12

Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Learning Faculty Transitions All Students Diversity Roles and Purposes

Relationship to Student Success in College Focusing on Student Learning Adapting Environments for Educational Advantage Living Mission and Lived Educational Philosophy Creating Clear Pathways to Student Success



Campus Involvement Relationship to Foundations of Excellence®

I

nstitutions of higher education, through their efforts to encourage students to engage in educationally purposeful co-curricular activities, can positively influence student learning outcomes (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 2005). Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) concluded that:

All Students Diversity Roles and Purposes

Relationship to Student Success in College Adapting Environments for Educational Advantage Sharing Responsibility for Educational Quality


the impact of college is largely determined by individual effort and involvement in the academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings on a campus. . . . This is not to say that an individual campus’s ethos, policies, and programs are unimportant. Quite the contrary. But . . . it is important to focus on the way in which an institution can shape its academic, interpersonal, and extracurricular offerings to encourage student engagement (p. 602).

Terenzini and Reason (2007, 2012) and Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) argue that traditional markers of institutional quality (e.g., selectivity) are not reliable indicators of students’ outcomes as are measures of students’ engagement with educationally-purposeful activities. Engagement takes many forms, although it may be best understood as the amount of effort, both physical and psychological, a student exerts related to educational activities (Astin, 1993; Kuh et al., 2005; Terenzini & Reason, 2007). Understood as such, engagement is related to both Astin’s (1993) concept of “involvement” and Tinto’s (1993) concept of “integration.” Engagement in academic activities, assessed through such crude measures as number of credit hours taken or hours spent in Supplemental Instruction or other tutoring activities, directly and positively relate to students’ development of cognitive skills and academic content knowledge (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). More recently, research has demonstrated positive relationships between student learning outcomes and both service learning and experiential education activities (Kuh, 2008). These two pedagogical approaches, both of which attempt to couple in-class learning with “real world” problem solving, act to increase the effort students put forth and, thus, improve student learning.

Even when we narrow our consideration of engagement to out-ofclassroom activities (e.g. leadership activities, student organizational involvement, and community service), the research suggests that these efforts can be educationally powerful (Kuh et al., 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Participation in leadership development workshops, involvement in student organization leadership, and engagement in community service have been linked to growth in self-efficacy (Dugan, Garland, Jacoby, & Gasiorski, 2008) and socially responsible leadership behaviors (Dugan & Komives, 2010). Dugan and Komives (2010) found that the meaningful peer interaction that came with involvement in student organizational leadership was one of the primary educational influences of such activities. Such peer interactions, especially when they involve substantive student engagement with varied people and ideas [see report sections on Course Offerings and Demographic, Academic, and Attitudinal Diversity], become particularly powerful when they complement in-class activities and content (Kuh, 2008; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). In this section of the report, we present results reflecting institutional policies and structures that likely facilitate student engagement beyond the classroom. Two LIPSS scales include indicators of institutions’ recognition of official student groups: 1) the diversity programming and policies scale, which includes the extent to which cultural/identity student groups are recognized as official organizations; and 2) the socio-political programming and policies scale, which includes whether the institution recognizes socio-political student groups. Institutional efforts to improve student involvement in campus activities are also included in scales reflecting: 3) firstyear leadership opportunities, like those available through student government; 4) integration of academic and “real-world” activities, through activities like service-learning courses or common reading programs; and 5) community-building activities like convocation.

Overall Public Private CA FL Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity .50 .51 .51 .66 .38 Programmatic Emphasis on Socio-Political Issues .46 .45 .48 .55 .43 First-Year Student Leadership Opportunities .61 .35 .73 .67 .38 Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences .41 .40 .43 .49 .41 Campus Community-Building Events .43 .31 .49 .41 .40 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #17, 18a-f, 19a-m, 20a-c, 20f-h, 23a, and CAO #20a, 20c, 21a-b, and 24a-c.


IA .46 .37 .61 .49 .46

PA .59 .53 .69 .40 .48

TX .38 .40 .68 .38 .41

Residence Life

T

he general benefits to college students of living on campus in residence halls are well documented (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005), to the point that little research is being undertaken currently that examines these relationships. Still, there is little reason to question our current understanding. Living in on-campus housing has been positively linked to retention-to-graduation, satisfaction with the college experience, and grade point average (Astin, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Students receive many of the positive benefits of on-campus living through greater psychological connections with the community, increased levels of engagement with curricular and co-curricular activities, and improved knowledge of and access to support services (Pascarella &Terenzini, 2005; Pascarella, Terenzini, & Blimling, 1994). This is particularly true for traditionally under-represented, underserved, and first-generation students (Inkelas, Daver, Vogt, & Brown Leonard, 2007; Jehangir, Williams, & Pete, 2011; Johnson, Soldner, Brown Leonard, Alvarez, & Inkelas, 2007). More recent research has explored the effects of specific, learning-focused interventions on college students’ outcomes. The National Study of Living-Learning Programs (NSLLP) collected data from more than 20,000 undergraduate students in more than 600 living-learning programs on over 50 college and university campuses. Inkelas and her colleagues defined living-learning programs as those “in which undergraduate students live together in a discrete portion of a residence hall (or the entire hall) and participate in academic and/ or extra-curricular programing designed especially for them” (NSLLP, 2007, p. I-2). Inkelas and Weisman (2003) found that students in living-learning communities reported smoother transitions into their first-year of college, greater academic challenge, and more learning from diverse peers than did students not living in such communities. Although students in living-learning communities reported stronger outcomes than students outside of those communities, the focus of a particular learning community also shaped students’ outcomes, with academically-focused living-learning communities tending to have the greatest impact on academic outcomes (NSLLP, 2007). Similar in design to living-learning communities, Freshman Interest Groups (FIGs) – in which students are grouped based on similar academic and/or co-curricular interests – have been linked to several positive outcomes (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Pike, 2002). Pike (2002), for example, linked participation in a diversity-related FIG to increased openness to diversity among students. Both the Pike (2002)

and NSLLP-related studies have concluded that the emphasis of the programmatic efforts of the community tended to make a difference in students’ experiences and outcomes. Residence halls often are designed to include spaces meant for studying, academic support services, and even classrooms (Zeller, 2005). The intentional integration of academic services within student living spaces is not new, but likely gained momentum after a call for “seamless learning environments” in 1996 (ACPA, 1996, p. 120). Creating intentionally educational residence hall environments that integrate academic and student life have associated costs (Schuh, 1999), primarily in the form of extra staffing and facilities renovations. Regardless of the educational programming focus of residence halls, staffing and facilities comprise the largest expenditures related to oncampus housing (Schuh, 2004). Nonetheless, the benefits to student learning of such resource investments seems clear from the research. Although it makes intuitive sense that staffing patterns affect the quality of student learning in residence halls, little research exists to substantiate this belief. Generally, residence halls are staffed by both professional staff members (often a single “hall director” or “residence director”) and several para-professional staff members (generally, one undergraduate resident assistant (RA) per floor). The most educationally effective ratio of staff to students has not been fully established, although one staff member to approximately 50 residents appears to be a common ratio. Similarly, no evidence suggests that specific educational and/or professional training for staff members is specifically related to student learning. Nonetheless, conventional practice suggests that professional staff members have at least a bachelor’s degree or, preferably, a master’s degree in Student Affairs or related field.

Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Organization Faculty All Students Learning Diversity

Relationship to Student Success in College Focusing on Student Learning Adapting Environments for Educational Advantage Sharing Responsibility for Educational Quality

Thus, decades of research, as well as current practice, demonstrate that students’ on-campus residential experiences can contribute to positive student outcomes. The LIPSS surveys address policies and practices related to residential life in several ways, four of which are highlighted in this report: 1) staffing policies, including degree requirements for residence hall directors; 2) the extent to which academic activities are integrated into residence life; 3) diversity programming, including whether housing assignments are structured to facilitate cross-difference interaction among students; and 4) activities designed to facilitate students’ academic engagement, including the availability of living-learning communities.

Overall Public Private CA FL IA Student Affairs Staffing Policies .35 .40 .35 .42 .40 .34 Residence Life Academic Integration .21 .20 .22 .33 .32 .20 Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity .50 .51 .51 .66 .38 .46 Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences .41 .40 .43 .49 .41 .49 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #7b-h, 8, 9, 10, 11c-f, 18b-f, 19a-k, 20c, 23a, and 24b-m and CAO# 20a, 20c, and 21a-b.

PA .38 .20 .59 .40

TX .27 .12 .38 .38



Supportive Individuals Relationship to Foundations of Excellence® Organization All Students Faculty Transitions

Relationship to Student Success in College Focusing on Student Learning Sharing Responsibility for Educational Quality

A

lthough the college experience can be difficult, college students are not alone in their journey. “How-to” books related to navigating the college experience abound (e.g., Leibow, 2010; Light, 2004; Shepard, 2011). More importantly, and more proximal, to supporting students in their educational journey are the numerous individuals in their lives. Many students come from supportive home communities, with family members supporting their educational endeavors. But colleges and universities also employ a wide range of individuals whose jobs include supporting students both personally and academically. Faculty members, student affairs professionals, and para-professional peers are all expected to facilitate students’ learning and development. Existing research suggests that supportive individuals, whether family and friends or those hired by the institution, are essential to student success (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005). Decades of studies examine the nature, quality, and frequency of faculty-student contact and their educational consequences for students. Jacob (1957), in one of the earliest studies, found that “normal and frequent [interactions between students and faculty members]…out of the class” had “peculiar potency” (p. 8) on specific student outcomes. Faculty-student interactions are particularly powerful because these interactions encourage students to engage in educationally valuable activities (Kuh & Hu, 2001) and result in higher levels of social integration and adjustment (Schwitzer, Griffin, Ancis, & Thomas, 1999), processes that increase the likelihood of student success. Further, high quality faculty-student interactions have been linked directly to such positive student outcomes as higher grade-point average (Anaya & Cole, 2001), increased persistence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1977), self-reports of learning (Lundberg & Schreiner, 2004), and plans for graduate study (Hathaway, Nagda, & Gregerman, 2002). The outcomes associated with faculty-student contact vary depending on the type of interaction. Substantive interactions between faculty and students have a greater impact on knowledge acquisition and skill development, for example, than do more casual, less-focused contacts (see, for example, Kuh & Hu, 2001). Studies of students’ development of higher-order cognitive skills also suggest that the purpose and quality of faculty-student interactions may be more important than their frequency. The effects of such contact appear to be greatest when the interactions focus on student development issues or reinforce the academic ethos of the campus (e.g., Astin, 1993; Ishiyama, 2002). Institutional policies and reward structures that support high-quality faculty-student interaction inside and outside the classroom provide potentially powerful levers for encouraging educationally powerful interactions.


Faculty members, of course, are not the only supportive individuals available to students on college campuses. Student affairs professional and paraprofessional staff members – including upperdivision students hired as residence assistance (RAs) or peer mentors – provide out-of-classroom support for students on a variety of issues. A primary reason for the powerful effects of on-campus living on student learning outcomes is related to students’ access to supportive professional and paraprofessional staff members (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005) [see report section on Residence Life]. Interactions with other on-campus support professionals, particularly academic advisors (Habley, 1993), has been linked to improved student outcomes as well. Similarly, recent research (Castonguay, 2011) has begun to link access to and interactions with mental health counselors to improved student outcomes such as integration and academic performance. Students making their initial transition to college are particularly likely to need high levels of support. Many campuses have made efforts to coordinate the support provided to first-year students through specifically designated offices and individuals. New student orientation offices, first-year experience offices, and first-year seminars (along with the supportive professional staff and faculty associated with these services) are essential to easing the transitions to a new college or university. New student orientation programs are particularly helpful in facilitating connections between new students and in helping students make successful academic and social adjustments to college (Pascarella, Terenzini, & Wolfle, 1986) [see report section on Information Dissemination]. Participation in first-year seminars has been shown to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students during the first year (Hendel, 2006-7), specifically increasing the first-to-second year persistence and first-year grade point average of students (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005 ) [see report section on Demographic, Academic, and Attitudinal Diversity]. Institutions can facilitate supportive interactions between firstyear students and college personnel through a variety of mechanisms. In many respects, the programs and policies discussed elsewhere in this report (e.g., residence life, information dissemination, and course structures) serve as mechanisms through which supportive interactions take place. Therefore, in this section we highlight five scales addressing faculty-student interaction, academic advising, and direct studentsupport services: 1) faculty involvement in new-student orientation and other programs for first-year students; 2) faculty professional development activities emphasizing first-year student needs and interests; 3) programs specifically designed to encourage facultystudent interaction outside of the classroom; 4) training, evaluation, and recognition programs for academic advisors; and 5) direct student support services, including career planning, peer mentoring, personal counseling, and child care services.

Overall Public Private Faculty Participation in First-Year Events .45 .46 .46 Funding for Professional Development .52 .48 .55 Encouragement of Student-Faculty Interaction .38 .40 .37 Attention to Advising .53 .68 .48 Student Affairs Service Availability .55 .51 .58 For more detailed findings, see CSAO #16a-m and CAO #3a-c, 4, 5c-d, 7a-c, 19a-b, and 20b.

CA .58 .24 .41 .42 .50

FL .47 .59 .31 .65 .46

IA .47 .47 .28 .52 .57

PA .39 .65 .42 .53 .62

TX .48 .48 .42 .53 .52


Supportive Individuals Initial Results from a Five-State Pilot Study • 19

Linking Institutional Poli Initial Results from a F

ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS POLICI DEGREE OF ALIGNMENT WITH RESEARCH LITE


Academic Affairs Policies

Student Af

icies to Student Success: Five-State Pilot Study

IES AT THE 57 LIPSS PILOT INSTITUTIONS: ERATURE ON FIRST-YEAR STUDENT SUCCESS

ffairs Policies

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Overall Policy Alignment


Appendices A: Methodological Details .................................................................................................23 B: Academic Affairs (CAO) Scale Descriptions ..................................................................... 24 C: Student Affairs (CSAO) Scale Descriptions ..................................................................... 26 D: Academic Affairs (CAO) Survey and Aggregated Results ................................................. 28 E: Student Affairs (CSAO) Survey and Aggregated Results .................................................. 31 F: References ....................................................................................................................35


Appendix A

Methodological Details Methods

Limitations

In January, 2012, LIPSS project staff contacted administrators at 108 institutions from five states (Florida, Texas, California, Iowa, and Pennsylvania), all those that had signed up to participate in the 2012 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement. By the end of February, 57 institutions had committed to participate in the LIPSS pilot administration. Survey distribution began in mid-March. Unless otherwise requested by our campus liaison, LIPSS project staff sent printed copies of the Survey of Academic Policies, Programs, and Practices (the CAO survey) to the Chief Academic Officer (typically the Provost); the Survey of Student Affairs Policies, Programs, and Practices (the CSAO survey) was likewise distributed to the Chief Student Affairs Officer (typically the V.P. for Student Affairs or Dean of Students). Followup distributions for non-responders were sent electronically via email and PDF file. Because the surveys addressed a wide range of topics, survey completion often involved multiple individuals, sometimes from throughout an institution. By late summer, we received completed versions of both surveys from each of the 57 participating institutions. The two administrator surveys are available on our website and are included as appendices to this report. With these surveys we created 34 a-priori scales reflecting related clusters/families of policies (e.g., Attention to Advising; Orientation Structure; Assessment Data Use). Each scale reflects the extent to which institutions have aligned their policies with the broad conclusions from the currently available research literature on first-year student success. A scale score of one indicates an institution’s complete adoption of all measured policies and a score of zero indicates that an institution has not adopted any of the measured policies related to a particular policy cluster. It may be most useful to think of the scale scores as approximations, where a score of 0.5 indicates that an institution has done approximately one-half (50%) of what it could be doing to align its policies with the available research.

First, the results reported throughout this document reflect data collected from 57 institutions across five states. These states and institutions were not selected at random and cannot be said to be formally representative of any specific population of institutions. Generalizations to other institutions based on the evidence reported here should be made with caution. Second, the survey instruments on which this report rests are similar, though not identical, to those used by administrators at 45 institutions during a previous study. Both instruments have also undergone review by both researchers and administrators and, thus, have some claim to content validity. Nonetheless, the surveys and resultant scales may well omit, or only partially reflect, some important programs, practices, or policies. Third, the data for this study come from a single, cross-sectional survey of administrative policies. Because institutional policies are always subject to formal change and divergent interpretations, the results presented here offer a time- and context-specific snapshot of an oftchanging policy environment. Finally, this report is intended to be descriptive rather than normative and, thus, no efforts have been made to adjust for differences within or between sectors for such factors as institutional complexity, wealth, or quality (by whatever measure).


Appendix B

Academic Affairs (CAO) Scale Descriptions Scale Name

Campus-Wide Administrative Coordination Attention to Advising Early Alert/ Intervention Initiatives Senior Faculty Teaching of FirstYear Courses

Faculty Participation in First-Year Events

Content

Question Number(s)

Max. Item-Point Values

1

3

mechanism for campuswide coordination and reporting line

2a

5

2b

5

training advisors

3a

2

evaluating advisors

3b

2

rewarding advisors

3c

2

identifying academic problems

8a

2

identifying mental health issues

8b

2

teaching first-year seminars

5a

2

teaching other firstyear courses

5b

faculty participation in first-year orientation

5c

faculty participation in other first-year activities

Max. Possible Scale Points

Scale Name

13

6

Faculty Involvement Considered in Personnel Decisions

4

4 2

First-Year Course Evaluations

2 4

5d

2 Funding for Professional Development

Continuous Improvement of First-Year Initiatives


Content

Question Number(s)


consideration of faculty involvement in the first-year experience for hiring

6a

2

consideration of faculty involvement in the first-year experience for promotions & tenure

6b

2

consideration of faculty involvement in the first-year experience for merit salary increases

6c

2

use of evaluations for first-year courses and teachers

9a

3

discussing evaluations with instructors

9b

3

assessing effectiveness of first-year courses

10a

3

4

3

faculty orientation covers the first-year experience


6

9

12

sending faculty/staff to first-year conferences and workshops

7a-c

9

assessing first-year programs

10b

3

assessing first-year services

10c

3

using consultants

11a

1

benchmarking programs/services

11b

1

8

Appendix B (cont.)

Academic Affairs (CAO) Scale Descriptions Question Number(s)


assessing classroom experiences

12Aa

1

assessing curriculum

12Ab

1

assessing out-of-class experiences

12Ac

1

assessing classroom experiences

12Ba

1

assessing curriculum

12Bb

1

assessing out-of-class experiences

12Bc

1

using data for course development/design

13a

using data for academic department/program evaluation

13b

using data for academic department/program planning

13c

2

using data for resource allocation

13d

2

type

14

2

optional/required

15

3

duration

16

3

credit(s)

17

3

size cap (Y/N)

18a

1

cap size

18b

3

Scale Name

Recent Assessment Efforts: Learning

Recent Assessment Efforts: Persistence

Data-Driven Decision Making: Academic Affairs

First-Year Seminars

Content


3

Scale Name

Encouragement of Student-Faculty Interaction

3 Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences

2 2 8

Curricular Emphasis on Diversity

15

Campus CommunityBuilding Events

Question Number(s)


encouraging interactions - unit specific

19b

3

encouraging interactions - campuswide

19a

3

mentoring programs

20b

3

learning communities

20a

3

service-learning courses

20c

3

common reading programs

21a

3

applied/experiential learning

21b

3

required diversity course (Y/N)

22a

1

meet required diversity course before sophomore status (Y/N)

22b

1

racial/ethnic studies

23a

3

women’s studies

23b

3

religious studies

23c

3

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning

23d

3

foreign language/culture

23e

3

convocation

24a

3

speaker series events

24b

3

ethnic or cultural events

24c

3

Content


9

12

17

9


Appendix C

Student Affairs (CSAO) Scale Descriptions Scale Name

Student Affairs Administrative Coordination

Content

Question Number(s)


coordination of student affairs activities

1

3

faculty/academic affairs representative on committee

2

responsibility for orientation

3

3

resident assistants : students ratio

8

4

degree requirement for hall director

9

5

recruiting staff with particular experiences

24b-m

12/2=6

Information Dissemination: Earliest Contact

how early information provided to students

12a-f

21

Information Dissemination: Frequency of Contact

how often institutions attempted to provide information to students

Student Affairs Staffing Policies

Information Dissemination: To Families Information Dissemination: To High School Counselors

type of information provided number of parent contacts type of information provided

12a-f

2

21

13a-g

21

14

4


8

8

Assessment of Student Affairs Programs Data-Driven Decision Making: Student Affairs

15

21

21

25

15a-d

Scale Name

8

First-Year Orientation: Structure First-Year Orientation: Specific Student Populations First-Year Orientation: Family Involvement First-Year Student Leadership Opportunities Residence Life Academic Integration Student Affairs Service Availability


Question Number(s)


assessing effects on outcomes

25a-d

12

variety of methods used

26

4

impact of findings

27a-e

15

length of orientation

4a

4

orientation required

4b

3

5a-k

33

6a

3

Content

orientation for specific groups length of parent orientation

16

6b

4

first-year leadership programs and first-year student government

17

2

academic programs and structures

7b-h

7

faculty involvement

11c-f

10

10

1

16a-m

37

types of services

15

7

33

7

percentage of students with a family member attending

substance-free residence hall


2

17

37

Appendix C (cont.)

Student Affairs (CSAO) Scale Descriptions Question Number(s)


programming policy

18b-f

10

group recognition

19a-k

11

programming efforts

20c

3

heterogeneity in residence halls

23a

2

Programmatic Emphasis on Socio-Political Issues

programming policy

18a

2

19l-m

2

programming efforts

20a-b,f-h

15

Student Affairs Programming Intentionality

programming model

21

3

programming theme

22

3

Scale Name

Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity

Content

group recognition


26

19

6


Appendix D

Please answer each question as it applies to your institution at the start of the 2011-12 academic year.

SURVEY OF ACADEMIC POLICIES, PROGRAMS, AND PRACTICES

Academic Affairs (CAO) Survey & Aggregated Results Campus-Wide Administrative Coordination Attention to Advising Early Alert/Intervention Initiatives Senior Faculty Teaching of First-Year Courses Faculty Participation in First-Year Events Faculty Involvement Considered in Personnel Decisions First-Year Course Evaluations Funding for Professional Development Continuous Improvement of First-Year Initiatives Recent Assessment Efforts: Learning Recent Assessment Efforts: Persistence Data-Driven Decision Making: Academic Affairs First-Year Seminars Encouragement of Student-Faculty Interaction Opportunities for Integrative Learning Experiences Curricular Emphasis on Diversity Campus CommunityBuilding Events

Overall

Public

Private CA

FL

IA

PA

TX

.37

.27

.41

.35 .40 .28 .42 .37

.53

.68

.48

.42 .65 .52 .53 .53

.91

.92

.92

.92 .94 .86 .95 .91

.34

.25

.39

.33 .22 .39 .36 .41

.45

.46

.46

.58 .47 .47 .39 .48

.38

.26

.43

.50 .44 .30 .44 .26

.60

.52

.64

.57 .56 .68 .63 .61

.52

.48

.55

.24 .59 .47 .65 .48

.50

.57

.50

.56 .48 .38 .52 .64

.54

.36

.59

.39 .42 .52 .67 .52

.52

.54

.51

.39 .50 .41 .57 .61

.49

.42

.52

.60 .50 .51 .48 .50

.69

.57

.76

.67 .55 .80 .77 .69

.38

.40

.37

.41 .31 .28 .42 .42

.41

.40

.43

.49 .41 .49 .40 .38

.50

.46

.54

.54 .46 .59 .56 .41

.43

.31

.49

.41 .40 .46 .48 .41

For each question below, simply check or darken the bubble next to the most appropriate answer. 1. Where in your institution does primary responsibility lie for a campus-wide, coordinated approach to the first year, including alignment of all first-year efforts through partnerships among academic affairs, student affairs, and other administrative units?

29.8% 10.5% 36.8% 22.8%

We have no such mechanism for campus-wide coordination of the first year. (skip to question 3) A standing, campus-wide coordinating committee. A specific office or individual (e.g., Dean/Director of the First Year Experience). Both a campus-wide committee and a specific office/individual.

2. a. IF you have a campus-wide coordinating committee, to whom does the committee chair report? (Please check ONE)

1.8% President 3.5% Chief student affairs officer 21.1% Chief academic officer 0% Another student affairs officer 10.5% Another academic officer 63.2% Missing b. IF you have a specific office or individual, to whom does that office/individual report? (Please check ONE)

1.8% President 10.5% Chief student affairs officer 33.3% Chief academic officer 1.8% Another student affairs officer 14.0% Another academic officer 38.6% Missing

3. With respect to academic advisors of first-year students, does your institution: a. Provide training and support for advisors? b. Evaluate advisors' performance? c. Reward advisors' performance?

Yes, informally

Yes, systematically

3.5% 36.8% 59.6%

33.3% 28.1% 22.8%

63.2% 35.1% 17.5%

4. In your new faculty orientation efforts, how much time is dedicated to first-year students’ experiences, related programs, and/or services?

29.8% No time

64.9% 2 hours or less

3.5% Half-a-day

5. Does your institution take a position regarding: a. Senior faculty (associate/full professors) teaching first-year seminars? b. Senior faculty (associate/full professors) teaching other firstyear courses? c. Faculty participation in first-year student orientation activities d. Faculty participation in other events for first-year students (e.g., parents’ and family weekend, class trips)?

-128 • Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success

No

1.8% A full day or more

We take no position

Yes, we encourage it

Yes, we require it

40.4%

52.6%

7.0%

36.8%

57.9%

5.3%

17.5%

71.9%

10.5%

17.5%

78.9%

3.5%


6. Is consideration given to faculty members’ involvement with firstyear students (e.g., teaching, advising, informal interactions) when the following decisions are made: a. Hiring b. Promotion & tenure reviews or decisions c. Salary merit increases

7. Does your institution send faculty and staff members to participate in activities relating specifically to first-year students such as: a. State or regional conferences or workshops b. National conferences or workshops c. Visits to other campuses to learn about their first-year courses, programs, or activities

No

Yes, informally

Yes, systematically

45.6% 29.8% 56.1%

35.1% 45.6% 29.8%

19.3% 24.6% 14.0%

No

Yes, at traveler’s expense

Yes, with partial funding

Yes, with full funding

33.3% 24.6%

0% 0%

7.0% 10.5%

59.6% 64.9%

50.9%

0%

5.3%

43.9%


12. In the past three years, has your institution assessed whether any of the following affect first-year student learning and/or persistence into the second year? a. Classroom experiences (e.g., pedagogies, assignments) b. Curriculum (e.g., major, course-taking patterns, Gen. Ed. reqs.) c. Out-of-class experiences

13. Does your institution use first-year assessment information for: a. Course development or redesign b. Academic department/program evaluation c. Academic department/program planning or development d. Resource allocation

Learning

Persistence

No

Yes

No

Yes

43.9% 42.1% 52.6%

56.1% 57.9% 47.4%

50.9% 42.1% 50.9%

49.1% 57.9% 49.1%

No

Yes, informally

Yes, systematically

19.3% 35.1% 26.3% 29.8%

50.9% 36.8% 47.4% 52.6%

29.8% 28.1% 26.3% 17.5%

14. Which ONE of the following formats best describes most of the first-year seminars offered at your institution?

8.8% We don’t currently offer first-year seminars (skip to question 19) 8. Does your institution have an organizational mechanism for: a. An “early alert system” to identify students in academic difficulty b. Early identification of first-year students having personal difficulty

No

Yes, informally

Yes, systematically

1.8% 3.5%

8.8% 17.5%

89.5% 78.9%

5.3% Basic study skills seminar (tends to focus on basic skills such as reading, writing, or math) 36.8% Extended orientation seminar (students learn about such things as campus resources, time management, study skills, and career planning)

0% Pre-Professional seminar (generally taught to prepare students for the demands of a major for a profession such as medicine, law, engineering, nursing, or business)

9. For those courses typically taken by first-year students, does your institution facilitate: a. Student evaluations of instruction b. Conferences/discussions of the results held with faculty members for the purpose of professional development

10. Beyond student ratings of instruction, does your institution assess the effectiveness of: a. Courses for first-year students b. Programs for first-year students c. Services for first-year students

No

1.8% 35.1%

No

26.3% 19.3% 19.3%

Yes, but always optional

Yes, required for some courses

Yes, required for all courses

35.1%

15.8%

14.0%

5.3%


12.3% 17.5% 21.1%

19.3%

73.7%

Yes, required for some

Yes, required for all

31.6% 29.8% 38.6%

29.8% 33.3% 21.1%

49.1% Seminar with academic content (content tends to be specific to a discipline or inter-disciplinary) 15. Are your first-year seminars:

12.3% Optional for all first-year students 14.0% Required for some first-year students 64.9% Required for all first-year students 8.8% Missing 16. What is the duration of the seminars?

8.8% 71.9% 10.5% 8.8%

Less than one term One term More than one term Missing

17. How many credits do the seminars carry? 11. Does your institution: a. Retain consultants on the first year of college b. Benchmark your first-year seminars, programs, or services against those of other institutions

-2-

Yes

No

77.2% 22.8% 61.4% 38.6%

15.8% 33.3% 7.0% 43.9%

None One Semester credit / 1-2 Quarter credits Two Semester credits / 3 Quarter credits Three or more Semester credits / 4 or more Quarter credits

-3Initial Results from a Five-State Pilot Study • 29



18. Does your institution have a cap on the size of first-year seminar sections?

17.5% No

82.5% Yes

If yes, what is that cap?

19. Does your institution have programs specifically designed to encourage out-of-class interaction between faculty and first-year students? a. Campus-wide program(s) b. Unit-specific program(s)

_____

No

22.8% 29.8%

20. Does your institution offer the following for firstyear students? a. Living/Learning communities b. Mentoring programs c. Service-learning courses (a course in which service is a required and integral part)

Yes, required for all faculty

Yes, required for some faculty

54.4% 45.6%

17.5% 19.3%

5.3% 5.3%


Yes, required for some first-year students

Yes, required for all firstyear students

22.8%

47.4%

17.5%

12.3%

No




No

38.6% 24.6%

21. Does your institution provide first-year students? a. Common reading programs b. Applied or experiential learning activities


49.1% 15.8%

40.4% 33.3%

1.8% 38.6%

8.8% 24.6%

19.3% 26.3%

29.8% 19.3%

45.6% Yes

3.5% Yes

23. What is the highest curricular level at which opportunities are available for students to study each of the following topics: a. b. c. d. e.

Racial / Ethnic studies Women’s studies Religious studies Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender studies Foreign languages / cultures

-430 • Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success

24.6% 21.1% 15.8%

We don’t offer these events

21.1% 8.8% 7.0%


26.3% 54.4% 70.2%


3.5% 12.3% 10.5%

26. a. b. c. d. e.

None

Course(s)

Minor / Certificate

Major field

8.8% 14.0% 15.8% 45.6% 5.3%

56.1% 42.1% 19.3% 42.1% 15.8%

19.3% 28.1% 5.3% 7.0% 14.0%

15.8% 15.8% 59.6% 5.3% 64.9%

45.6% 12.3% 3.5%

Each Term

Monthly

Weekly

61.4% 8.8% 8.8%

8.8% 33.3% 40.4%

1.8% 31.6% 29.8%

7.0% 17.5% 14.0%

Does your institution offer preparatory or developmental courses in: Math Writing Reading Basic study skills (e.g., note-taking, time management, active listening) English as a Second Language (ESL)

No

29.8% 31.6% 59.6% 42.1% 59.6%

Thank you very much for your assistance. Please return this survey to:

-5-


Annually

Dr. Bradley Cox Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success The Florida State University 1114 W. Call Street, Mailcode 4452 Tallahassee, FL 32306 [email protected]

b. IF yes, must students meet that requirement before reaching sophomore class status?

96.5% No

25. How frequently does your institution offer the following events: a. Convocation b. Speaker series events c. Ethnic or cultural events

No

12.3% 17.5%

22. a. Does your institution have a course requirement designed to introduce students to “diversity” in areas such as gender, race, ethnicity, culture, or religion?

54.4% No

24. Does your institution offer the following campus-wide events for first-year students? a. Convocation b. Speaker series events c. Ethnic or cultural events

Yes, but not for credit

26.3% 19.3% 10.5% 29.8% 21.1%

Yes, for credit

43.9% 49.1% 29.8% 28.1% 19.3%

Appendix E


SURVEY OF STUDENT AFFAIRS POLICIES, PROGRAMS, AND PRACTICES

Student Affairs (CSAO) Survey & Aggregated Results Student Affairs Administrative Coordination Student Affairs Staffing Policies Information Dissemination: Earliest Contact Information Dissemination: Frequency of Contact Information Dissemination: To Families Information Dissemination: To High School Counselors Assessment of Student Affairs Programs Data-Driven Decision Making: Student Affairs First-Year Orientation: Structure First-Year Orientation: Specific Student Populations First-Year Orientation: Family Involvement First-Year Student Leadership Opportunities Residence Life Academic Integration Student Affairs Service Availability Programmatic Emphasis on Diversity Programmatic Emphasis on Socio-Political Issues Student Affairs Programming Intentionality

Overall

Public

Private CA

FL

IA

PA

.27

.23

.28

.27 .17 .26 .30 .27

.35

.40

.35

.42 .40 .34 .38 .27

.67

.60

.69

.73 .62 .67 .67 .66

.44

.38

.45

.50 .32 .46 .44 .46

.59

.54

.63

.56 .65 .62 .66 .45

.60

.70

.58

.65 .67 .69 .58 .50

.69

.75

.69

.72 .70 .65 .66 .79

.61

.58

.65

.70 .63 .63 .62 .59

.91

.85

.93

.90 .86 .89 .96 .86

.27

.20

.30

.26 .25 .22 .37 .15

.71

.69

.74

.81 .64 .75 .75 .64

.61

.35

.73

.67 .38 .61 .69 .68

.21

.20

.22

.33 .32 .20 .20 .12

.55

.51

.58

.50 .46 .57 .62 .52

.50

.51

.51

.66 .38 .46 .59 .38

.46

.45

.48

.55 .43 .37 .53 .40

.46

.44

.50

.61 .35 .35 .54 .45

For each question below, simply check or darken the bubble next to the most appropriate answer. 1.

Within the Student Affairs division is there a person or standing committee with primary responsibility for coordinating all or most Student Affairs programs and activities for first-year students?

40.4% 12.3% 31.6% 15.8%

TX 2.

No, we have no such person or coordinating body within Student Affairs. (skip to question 3) Yes, we have a standing Student Affairs division-wide coordinating committee. Yes, we have an office or an individual. Yes, we have both a division-wide committee and an office/individual.

IF you have a division-wide standing committee, is there faculty/Academic Affairs staff representation on it?

64.9% 0% 14.0% 21.1%

We have no such division-wide committee. Faculty/Academic Affairs staff are not represented. Faculty/Academic Affairs staff attend when a relevant topic or issue is being discussed. Faculty/Academic Affairs staff are members of the committee.

3. Where does the primary operational responsibility lie for campus-wide New Student Orientation? (Please check ALL that apply.) Selected

0% 3.5% 21.1% 70.2% 19.3%

NOT selected

100% 96.5% 78.9% 29.8% 80.7%

We do not have a formal New Student Orientation (skip to question 7) Operational responsibility is decentralized A Student Affairs division-wide coordinating committee An office or an individual Other (Please specify) ________________________________________________________

4 a. For first-year students matriculating in the fall term, how long is the formal New Student Orientation program? (Please check ONE.)

1.8% 3.5% 26.3% 68.4%

Half-day or less More than half-day to a full day 1 to 2 days More than 2 days

b. Is that orientation:

12.3% Always optional 0% Required for some first-year students 87.7% Required for all first-year students

- 1-


Please answer each question as it applies to your institution at the start of the 2011-2012 academic year. 5. Does your institution provide an orientation specifically for the following first-year student groups: a. Commuter students b. First-year transfer students c. Developmental or provisional students d. Students of color e. First-generation students f. Students with disabilities g. International students h. Honors students i. Intercollegiate athletes j. Part-time students k. Adult or returning students

No

56.1% 24.6% 73.7% 78.9% 73.7% 75.4% 22.8% 77.2% 70.2% 87.7% 78.9%


15.8% 36.8% 3.5% 7.0% 12.3% 12.3% 12.3% 3.5% 1.8% 7.0% 14.0%

Yes, required for some

0% 0% 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 0% 3.5% 0% 0% 0% 1.8%

Yes, required for all

28.1% 38.6% 21.1% 12.3% 12.3% 12.3% 61.4% 19.3% 28.1% 5.3% 5.3%

6. a. How long is your institution’s formal orientation specifically for parents or family?

5.3% 12.3% 49.1% 33.3%

We have no such orientation 2 hours or less Half-day to full-day More than 1 full day

b. Approximately what percentage of first-year students have at least one family member attend parent/family orientation?

8.8% Not applicable

10.5% 0% - 25%

7.0% 26% - 50%

35.1% 51% - 75%

38.6% 76% - 100%

7. Does your institution make available to first-year students any of the following academic programs/services in residential facilities? (Please check ALL that apply.) NOT Selected selected No undergraduate residential facilities (skip to Question 10) 15.8% 84.2% Two or more courses in which a cohort of students living in the same residential facility enroll 26.3% 73.7% Academic credit-bearing courses in residential facilities 14.0% 86.0% Academic interest housing by floor 26.3% 73.7% Academic interest housing by building 14.0% 86.0% Foreign language/international housing 14.0% 86.0% Tutoring/academic advising in residential facilities 26.3% 73.7% Living/Learning Communities 36.8% 63.2% 8. In residence halls where some or all residents are first-year students, what is the approximate ratio of paraprofessional resident assistants (RAs) to residential undergraduate students? (Please check only ONE.)

10.5% 54.4% 33.3% 1.8%

One RA for no more than 15 students One RA per 16-30 students One RA per 31-50 students One RA for more than 50 students

- 2-


Please answer each question as it applies to your institution at the start of the 2011-2012 academic year. 9. What are the minimum requirements for live-in, residence hall directors? (Please check only ONE.)

19.3% 7.0% 35.1% 10.5% 12.3% 15.8%

We have no live-in, residence hall directors in residential facilities No degree required Bachelor’s degree required Bachelor’s degree required, with enrollment in a graduate program Master’s degree required Master’s degree in Student Affairs or a related field required

10. Does your institution offer first-year student housing in which residents subscribe to a “substance-free” code?

56.1% No

43.9% Yes

11. Describe the level of formal faculty involvement in residential facilities that house first-year students. (Please check ALL that apply.) NOT Selected selected Our institution does not have residential facilities 5.3% 94.7% Faculty are not involved in residential facilities 24.6% 75.4% Faculty make presentations in residential facilities 63.2% 36.8% Some faculty offices are located in residential facilities 10.5% 89.5% Some first-year classes are taught by faculty in residential facilities 15.8% 84.2% Faculty member(s), with specific educational responsibilities for residents, live in residential 5.3% 94.7% facilities 12. Excluding websites, when does your institution provide firstyear students with information on: (Please check ALL that apply.) a. b. c. d.

d. e. f.

The institution’s mission statement Policies regarding academic integrity Expectations regarding academic effort Their likely performance and/or persistence, given their secondary school GPA and/or admissions test scores Social behavior codes and standards Information on academic support services for students with special learning needs Information on whom to contact with questions or concerns regarding academic matters

Not formally provided

During the application process

After admission, but before classes begin

After classes begin

Selected

NOT selected

Selected

NOT selected

Selected

NOT selected

Selected

NOT selected

21.1%

78.9%

63.2%

36.8%

42.1%

57.9%

22.8%

77.2%

1.8%

98.2%

8.8%

91.2%

77.2%

22.8%

40.4%

59.6%

5.3%

94.7%

29.8%

70.2%

71.9%

28.1%

31.6%

68.4%

54.4%

45.6%

15.8%

84.2%

22.8%

77.2%

12.3%

87.7%

0%

100%

21.1%

78.9%

89.5%

10.5%

40.4%

59.6%

0%

100%

49.1%

50.9%

86.0%

14.0%

35.1%

64.9%

3.5%

96.5%

42.1%

57.9%

78.9%

21.1%

43.9%

56.1%

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13. Does your institution provide parents/family the following information before the start of the academic year: a. The institution’s mission statement b. Policies regarding academic integrity c. Expectations regarding academic effort d. Information on the likely performance and/or persistence of students with a given secondary school GPA and/or admissions test scores e. Social behavior codes and standards f. Information on academic support services for students with special learning needs g. Information on whom to contact with questions or concerns regarding students’ academic matters

No, not provided

Yes, provided on request

Yes, provided to some

Yes, provided to all

19.3% 14.0% 14.0%

17.5% 24.6% 19.3%

22.8% 28.1% 33.3%

40.4% 33.3% 33.3%

61.4%

12.3%

14.0%

12.3%

8.8%

15.8%

31.6%

43.9%

0%

21.1%

29.8%

49.1%

5.3%

14.0%

31.6%

49.1%

14. Excluding financial solicitations, approximately how many times during the year does your institution have formal contact with all parents/families of first-year students (e.g., invitations to parents’/family orientation, newsletters/listserv, invitations to join parent/family organizations)

8.8% 29.8% 28.1% 26.3% 7.0%


16. Are the following services/training available to firstyear students? a. Academic advising b. Career planning c. On-campus community-building activities d. Community service opportunities e. Computer setup and tech support f. Computing workshops g. International student advising/services h. Learning Center /Academic support services i. Use of library resources j. Peer mentoring k. Services for students for whom English is a second language l. Personal counseling m. Child care services

No


Yes, required for some firstyear students


0% 1.8% 3.5% 1.8% 3.5% 28.1% 8.8% 0% 0% 15.8%

3.5% 64.9% 49.1% 52.6% 61.4% 49.1% 22.8% 49.1% 45.6% 43.9%

12.3% 12.3% 7.0% 8.8% 3.5% 5.3% 21.1% 28.1% 19.3% 12.3%

84.2% 21.1% 40.4% 36.8% 31.6% 17.5% 47.4% 22.8% 35.1% 28.1%

29.8%

35.1%

24.6%

10.5%

3.5% 78.9%

82.5% 21.1%

14.0% 0%

17. Does your institution offer any of the following activities or programs? (Please check ALL that apply.) NOT Selected selected First-year leadership programs 56.1% 43.9% First-year class officers or other first-year student government 66.7% 33.3%

We do not initiate such contacts 1-2 times per year 3-4 times per year 5-6 times per year 7 or more times per year

15. Does your institution provide high school guidance counselors the following information: a. Kinds of students likely/unlikely to benefit from attendance b. The likely performance and/or persistence of students with a given secondary school GPA and/or admissions test scores c. Academic support services for students with special learning needs d. Whom to contact with questions about academically related matters

- 4-

Yes, provided on request

Yes, a systematic program to reach counselors

40.4%

31.6%

28.1%

14.0%

50.9%

35.1%

5.3%

47.4%

47.4%

No

21.1%

31.6%

47.4%

18. Does your division have a policy of encouraging professional or paraprofessional staff to organize events in which students have the opportunity to become acquainted with: a. Students whose socio-political attitudes are different from theirs b. Students whose race, or ethnic background, is different from theirs c. Students whose socio-economic status is different from theirs d. Students whose age is different from theirs e. Students whose religious beliefs are different from theirs f. Students from other countries

19. Does your institution formally recognize student organizations or groups for: a. African American students b. Asian American students c. Latino/a American students d. Native American students e. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally students f. Commuter students g. International students h. Judeo-Christian students i. Non-Judeo-Christian students j. Adult learners k. Women l. Politics (e.g., Young Republicans, Young Democrats) m. Social justice issues

No

Yes, informal policy

Yes, formal policy

35.1% 26.3% 35.1% 63.2% 33.3% 24.6%

57.9% 59.6% 52.6% 29.8% 57.9% 63.2%

7.0% 14.0% 12.3% 7.0% 8.8% 12.3%

No

Yes

21.1% 40.4% 28.1% 68.4% 28.1% 50.9% 21.1% 24.6% 47.4% 73.7% 45.6% 29.8% 19.3%

78.9% 59.6% 71.9% 31.6% 49.1% 49.1% 78.9% 75.4% 52.6% 26.3% 54.4% 70.2% 80.7%

- 5-



20. In your division’s programming, how much emphasis do you give each of the following topics? a. Current events b. Social issues (e.g., peace, gun control, human rights, equality, race relations, health care, abortion) c. Different lifestyles, customs, or religions f. Social and ethical issues related to science and technology (e.g., energy, pollution, chemicals, genetics) g. The economy (e.g., employment, poverty, taxation, trade) h. International relations (e.g., immigration, free trade, military activities, political differences)

Little or none

Slight

Moderate

A great deal

12.3%

26.3%

47.4%

14.0%

8.8%

8.8%

56.1%

26.3%

5.3%

19.3%

43.9%

31.6%

12.3%

36.8%

40.4%

10.5%

17.5%

36.8%

36.8%

8.8%

19.3%

36.8%

29.8%

14.0%

22.8% Slight

35.1% Moderate

21.1% A great deal

22. To what extent were the programs and activities of the Student Affairs division this past year guided by a central theme (e.g., environmental awareness, social justice, patriotism, diversity, international awareness)?

38.6% Little or none

22.8% Slight

19.3% Moderate

19.3% A great deal

23. Does your institution make purposeful efforts to offer housing that will bring together a racially/ethnically heterogeneous groups of students?

3.5% 66.7% 8.8% 21.1% 0%

No, our institution does not have residential facilities. No, we do not consider race/ethnicity in housing students. Yes, we have a specific housing unit(s) that focuses on racial/ethnic diversity. Yes, we have an institution-wide housing-assignment policy intended to maximize racial/ethnic diversity in all or most of our residential facilities. Other (please specify) _______________________________________________________

24. Does the Student Affairs division purposely recruit staff members or counselors with expertise specific to one or more of the following student populations (Please check ALL that apply): Selected

29.8% 19.3% 50.9% 1.8% 33.3% 29.8% 8.8%

NOT selected

70.2% 80.7% 49.1% 98.2% 66.7% 70.2% 91.2%

Selected

No special recruiting efforts First-year transfer students Students of color Part-time students First-generation students Developmental or provisional students Adult or returning students

- 6-


25. Does your institution formally assess the effects of Student Affairs first-year programs and activities on: a. Student learning outcomes b. Other student development outcomes c. Persistence into the second year d. Student satisfaction

No

Yes, but rarely

Yes, occasionally

Yes, regularly

26.3% 22.8% 10.5% 3.5%

7.0% 8.8% 5.3% 5.3%

21.1% 28.1% 19.3% 21.1%

45.6% 40.4% 64.9% 70.2%

Complete questions #26 and #27 only if you have done any of the assessments listed in question #25. 26. Which of the following methods do you use in those assessments? (Please check ALL that apply)

21. To what extent does a specific programming model (e.g., Wellness Wheel, Chickering’s Vectors) guide the programs and activities of the Student Affairs division?

21.1% Little or none


33.3% 15.8% 52.6% 17.5% 45.6% 7.0%

NOT selected

66.7% 84.2% 47.4% 82.5% 54.4%

Intercollegiate athletes Honors students International students Commuter students Students with disabilities

93.0%

Other (please specify) _____________________

Selected

NOT selected

66.7%

33.3%

86.0% 66.7% 10.5%

14.0% 33.3% 89.5%

Locally-developed instrument(s) (including institutional records) Focus groups or interviews State/system-wide or regional instrument(s) National/commercial instrument(s)

27. What impact have the findings of those assessments had on the Student Affairs division’s: a. General sense or understanding of its effectiveness b. Program evaluation and/or revision c. New program development d. Budget allocation e. Hiring/personnel assignments

Little or none

Slight

Moderate

A great deal

5.3% 5.3% 5.3% 21.1% 22.8%

7.0% 12.3% 8.8% 35.1% 42.1%

50.9% 31.6% 50.9% 29.8% 28.1%

36.8% 50.9% 35.1% 14.0% 7.0%

Thank you very much for your assistance. Please return this survey to: Dr. Bradley Cox Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success The Florida State University 1114 W. Call Street, Mailcode 4452 Tallahassee, FL 32306 [email protected]

- 7-

Abel, M., Bice, A., & Cox, B.E. (2007). Importance of faculty involvement in orientation. Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 14(2), 25-31. Allen, W., Epps, E., & Haniff, N. (Eds.). (1991). College in black and white: African American students in predominantly white and in historically black public universities. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. American Association of Colleges and Universities. (2000). National survey on diversity in the undergraduate curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/divsurvey/index.cfm American Association of Colleges and Universities and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (2004). A statement on integrative learning. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/ integrative_learning/pdfs/ILP_Statement.pdf American College Personnel Association. (1996). Preamble: The student learning imperative. Journal of College Student Development, 37, 118-122. Anaya, G. (1996). College experiences and student learning: The influence of active learning, college environments, and co-curricular activities Journal of College Student Development, 37, 611-622. Anaya, G., & Cole, D.G. (2001). Latina/o student achievement: Exploring the influence of student-faculty interactions on college grades. Journal of College Student Development, 42(1), 3-14. Astin, A.W. (1991). The changing American college student: Implications for educational policy and practice. Higher Education, 22(2), 129-143. Astin, A.W. (1992). What really matters in general education: Provocative findings from a national study of student outcomes. Perspectives, 22, 23-46. Astin, A.W. (1993). What matters in college? Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Barefoot, B.O. (1993). Exploring the evidence: Reporting outcomes of first-year seminars. National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience, University of South Carolina.

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Participating Institutions

California

Art Center College of Design Brooks Institute California State University San Marcos Harvey Mudd College Life Pacific College Occidental College University of Redlands Whittier College

Florida

Flagler College Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences Palm Beach Atlantic University Rollins College Southeastern University Stetson University University of North Florida University of South Florida St. Petersburg

Iowa

Clarke University Grand View University Iowa Wesleyan College Mount Mercy University Northwestern College St. Ambrose University University of Dubuque University of Northern Iowa Upper Iowa University

Texas

Abilene Christian University Concordia University Texas Huston-Tillotson University Lubbock Christian University Midwestern State University The University of Texas at Brownsville The University of Texas at Tyler University of St. Thomas University of Texas of the Permian Basin Wayland Baptist University West Texas A & M University

Pennsylvania Albright College Allegheny College Alvernia University Arcadia University Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Central Penn College Dickinson College Drexel University Grove City College Lycoming College Millersville University

Misericordia University Pennsylvania College of Technology Robert Morris University Saint Joseph’s University University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Ursinus College Washington & Jefferson College Waynesburg University Widener University Wilson College

Participants in this 2011-12 LIPSS pilot study include 57 institutions, of which 22 are bachelor’s degree granting institutions, 29 are master’s degree granting institutions, 2 are doctoral degree granting institutions, and 4 are specialty institutions (e.g. a Bible college, a health professions school, and 2 schools of art and design). Participating colleges and universities include 13 public not-for-profit, 42 private not-for-profit, and 2 private for-profit institutions. The overall scales and the state scales in this report are based on all 57 institutions; the public and private scales exclude the 2 for-profit institutions.


Project Staff Bradley E. Cox is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education in The Florida State

University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Broadly invested in research that aims to understand student success and improve student outcomes, Cox undertakes projects that illuminate or extend “actionable intersections” that affect college students’ development, persistence, and graduation. Of primary interest are projects exploring how institutional policies shape student experiences and outcomes during the first year of college. Related topics of interest include: 1) the interplay between students’ college experiences and their home lives; 2) interactions between faculty members and students outside of the classroom; and 3) equity of outcomes for traditionally underserved students. His research has appeared in higher education journals including Research in Higher Education and The Review of Higher Education. At Florida State, Cox teaches Theories of College Student Development and The American College Student.

Robert D. Reason is an Associate Professor of Student Affairs and Higher

Education at Iowa State University. His work has been published in numerous scholarly journals, such as the Journal of College Student Development, NASPA Journal, and College Student Affairs Journal. Reason is the Director of Research and Assessment for the Core Commitments Initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and in that role, directs the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory. He currently is a Faculty Fellow for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) and a Senior Scholar for the American College Personnel Association (ACPA).

Barbara F. Tobolowsky is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership

and Policy Studies department at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her research focuses on student transitions into and through higher education. More specifically, she investigates the experience of first-year students, transfer students, and sophomore students, as well as the impact of media on college expectations. Prior to coming to UTA in 2009, she was the Associate Director of the National Resource Center for The FirstYear Experience and Students in Transition based at the University of South CarolinaColumbia. She earned her PhD from UCLA in 2001.

Thomas Kent “TK” Wetherell was the President of The Florida State

University from 2003 to 2010. Under President Wetherell’s tenure, Florida State University set new records for research dollars and experienced a boom in campus construction. A career educator who served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1980-92, including two years as House Speaker, Wetherell earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as a doctorate in Education Administration from Florida State. He served as President of Tallahassee Community College from 1995 until 2001. On his retirement from the presidency, Wetherell became a tenured Professor in the College of Education and President Emeritus.

Rebecca B. Underwood is a doctoral candidate in the Department of

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Florida State University and a research assistant for the Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success project. She has worked in various capacities while at Florida State University including leading a policy project for the University Business Administrators and coordinating the bylaws project for the Dean of the Faculties. She holds master’s degrees in Hispanic Studies and Higher Education Administration, both from Auburn University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from the State University of New York at Oswego.

Sarah Luczyk is the Director of Assessment and Planning for the Division of

Student Affairs at the University of West Florida. Sarah recently graduated with her doctorate in Higher Education from The Florida State University’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Her dissertation research explored the efficacy of Achieving the Dream as a mechanism to improve community college student retention, transfer, and degree attainment. She received her M.A. in college student development from Appalachian State University in 2004, and her B.S. in Child and Family Community Services from Bowling Green State University in 2002.

Jessica Dean is a second-year master’s student in the Higher Education program at The Florida State University. Currently, she serves as the Program Coordinator for the Jon C. Dalton Institute on College Student Values. In this role, she directs the processes related to theme and speaker development, as well as program and awards selection. Additionally, she serves as the campus advisor for the Beta Nu chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. She received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Nonprofit Leadership at Clemson University.

Samantha Nix is a second-year master’s student in The Florida State University’s Higher Education program. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the Women in Math, Science, and Engineering Living Learning Community. Her other roles at FSU include assisting the Department of Physics Advisors’ Council with educational research and interning with the LIPSS project. Before pursuing her degree in Higher Education, she received B.A. degrees in English Literature and French from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2009. At the completion of her master’s degree in April 2013, Samantha plans to enroll in a Higher Education PhD program.

Coordinating Partners:


LIPSS CHERTI.FSU.EDU/LIPSS The pilot administration of the Linking Institutional Policies to Student Success project has been made possible by generous support from: TG Public Benefit Grant Program Florida State University’s College of Education Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Council on Research and Creativity Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching, and Innovation

and in collaboration with colleagues from the: Iowa State University University of Texas - Arlington National Survey of Student Engagement

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