Enhancing Transfer Student Success George D. Kuh Indiana University January 2004

1. Enhancing Transfer Student Success George D. Kuh Indiana University January 2004

2. We all want the same thing—an undergraduate experience that results in high levels of learning and personal development for all students.

3. The Challenge There’s too much at stake to assume students are doing the things that lead to high levels of learning and personal development.

4. We can’t leave serendipity to chance

5. Advance Organizers • What can we do individually and collectively to enhance transfer student success? • How do we get transfer students to take greater advantage of their school’s resources for learning?

6. Overview • What the Research Says About Student Success • Effective Educational Practice • Selected NSSE Findings • Transfer Friendly Schools

7. What Matters to Student Success Lessons from the research

8. Lessons From the Research • What matters more to desired outcomes is what students do, not who they are • A key factor for student learning is the quality of effort students devote to educationally purposeful activities

9. What Really Matters in College: Student Engagement “The research is unequivocal: students who are actively involved in both academic and out-of-class activities gain more from the college experience than those who are not so involved.” Ernest T. Pascarella & Patrick T. Terenzini, How College Affects Students

10. Engagement, grades, and persistence go hand in hand

11. Lessons From the Research • What matters most is what students do, not who they are • A key factor is the quality of effort students expend • Educationally effective institutions channel student energy toward the right activities

12. Two Components of Student Engagement • What students do -- time and energy devoted to educationally purposeful activities • What institutions do -- using effective educational practices to induce students to do the right things

13. Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education(Chickering & Gamson, 1987) • Student-faculty contact • Active learning • Prompt feedback • Time on task • High expectations • Respect for diverse learning styles • Cooperation among students

15. Student Engagement Quiz What percent of full-time senior transfer students study two hours or more for every hour in class? (a) 13% (b) 20% (c) 31% (d) 39% (e) 49% a.13%(Starters – 13%)

16. Student Engagement Quiz What percent of senior transfer students never did community service or volunteer work during college? (a) 14% (b) 19% (c) 30% (d) 37% (e) 45% e.45%(starters – 29%)

17. Student Engagement Quiz What percent of senior transfer students never worked with a faculty member on activities other than coursework? (a) 14% (b) 29% (c) 39% (d) 46% (e) 59% e.59%(starters – 39%)

18. Student Engagement Quiz True or false? Senior transfers are more likely to come to class unprepared than starters. False (only 17% vs 24% of starters are “frequently” unprepared)

19. Evidence of Student Engagement • To what extent do transfer students engage in effective educational practices?

21. National Survey of Student Engagement(pronounced “nessie”)Community College Survey of Student Engagement(pronounced “sessie”) College student surveys that assess the extent to which students engage in educational practices associated with high levels of learning and development

22. NSSE Project Scope • 435,000 students from 730 different schools • 58% of 4-yr undergraduate FTE • 50 states, Puerto Rico • 50+ consortia

23. The College Student Report Student Behaviors Institutional Actions & Requirements Student Learning & Development Reactions to College Student Background Information

24. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

25. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

26. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

27. NSSE www.iub.edu/~nsse

28. NSSE Benchmarks Level of Academic Challenge Active & Collaborative Learning Student Faculty Interaction Supportive Campus Environment Enriching Educational Experiences

29. Academic Challenge • Temple University undergraduates complete five writing-intensive courses, including a capstone writing experience in the major.

30. Active & Collaborative Learning • University of Texas at El Paso uses learning communities and course-based service learning and volunteerism to actively engage its mostly commuter, first-generation students.

31. Student-Faculty Interaction • University of Kansas mandates that students constitute 20% of campus policy-making committees and sponsors “Meet-a-Professor” nights in the residence halls. Most classes (79%) have fewer than 30 students.

32. Enriching Experiences • Diversity at George Mason University is deeply rooted, and intentionally woven into the curriculum, especially at New Century College. Through the STAR Center and other venues students are encouraged to use technology to enrich learning.

33. Supportive Environment At Fayetteville State University all first- and second-year students are assigned to University College, which is designed as a transitional bridge. “Failure is not an option here…”

35. Respondents • 56,000 senior “starters” • 33,500 senior transfers • 420 4-year institutions

40. Key Question Are senior transfer students generally more or less engaged compared with starter students? Lessengaged

42. Transfer tremor?!?

49. Lessons From NSSE • Transfers engage in required, class-related effective educational practices to same degree as starters. • Transfers are less engaged in out-of-class “discretionary” activities. • Life exigencies (work, family) may preclude taking advantage of opportunities for learning

50. Institutional Reflection Areas of Effective Educational Practice Areas of Question or Improvement