Central Michigan University Academic Affairs Office of Institutional Research June 2009

1. What We Know About CMU Students’ Experience: Selected Highlights and Discussion Central Michigan University Academic Affairs Office of Institutional Research June 2009

2. Welcome! • CMU values data-driven decisions • Valuable information is already posted on the Institutional Research website • KPIs publically monitor progress • Not all information is flattering

3. OIR’s Survey Research Websitehttp://www.ires2.cmich.edu/survey/surveyresearch.shtml

4. CMU 2010 Websitewww.planning.cmich.edu

5. CMU Seniors Love CMU “If you could choose again, would you still choose to attend CMU?”

6. Purpose Four initiatives: • Diversity • Student-faculty Interaction • Student Higher-Order Thinking Skills • Student Retention

7. Method For each initiative: • Identify opportunities for progress • Provide major findings • Facilitate discussion • Share some action plans

8. Diversity

9. Diversity – Opportunities – • Segregation in Michigan • Ethnicity of CMU student population • Incoming CMU first-year students’ exposure to diverse populations • Six year graduation rates of CMU students by ethnicity

10. Diversity – Findings – • Incoming CMU first-year students rated the following life goals as more important than user norms: • “Helping to promote racial understanding” • “Improving my understanding of other countries and cultures” • CMU students reported less frequent class discussions and writing assignments on diverse perspectives than the user norms

11. Diversity – Discussion – It’s expensive for students to study abroad, so not all of them can afford experiencing a different culture firsthand. What can we do at CMU to provide multi-cultural opportunities for students locally? What type of experiences are most meaningful? How can we better prepare all students, including those who have had the opportunity to learn from individuals with diverse backgrounds, for work in international contexts?

12. Diversity – Action Plans – • Some current CMU diversity initiatives: • Implementing the Inter-group Dialogue program • Recognition in Cultural Competency • Decreasing the proportion of admitted, non-enrolling minority students • Increasing the participation for cultural events and activities • CMU/Flint Partnership • FYE’s focus on diversity (peer educators’ certified, strong relationship with Multicultural Center & Institutional Diversity) • Recruitment of diverse faculty and international students • Cultural/Global ideas incorporated into each course • Field hours in diverse areas for teachers Refer to Office for Institutional Diversity for further information: http://www.diversity.cmich.edu/

13. Student-Faculty Interaction

14. Student-Faculty Interaction – Opportunities – • Student-to-faculty ratio • Improve students’ interaction with faculty inside the classroom • Student comment: • “Plain lecture courses are boring and probably a big reason why a lot of students do not show up to class.”

15. Student-Faculty Interaction – Findings – The two reported reasons for a lower SFI has been due to: (1) The quality of relationships with faculty members (2) Prompt feedback

16. Student-Faculty Interaction – Discussion – What could we do to increase student participation in the classroom? Follow-up: Is there anything we should be doing differently to encourage interaction in a large classroom setting?

17. Student-Faculty Interaction – Action Plans – • Some current CMU initiatives: • Decrease student-faculty ratio • Increase engagement of students in large class sizes using FaCIT • The University Teaching Excellence Award • FYE 101 requires students to meet with a non-FYE faculty member as a class assignment • Monitor surveys of students’ engagement with faculty • Better technology tool which will help students to understand where they are in their curriculum • Encourage more faculty to encourage support during office hours

18. Student Higher-Order Thinking Skills

19. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Opportunities – • Metacognition • Academic Expectations • Student Engagement

20. Elevated Levels of Academic Expectations - Findings -

21. Students’ Time Usage - Findings -

22. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Findings –

23. Higher-Order Thinking Skills • Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) • Measures critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem-solving, and written communication skills • Students tested as first years, rising juniors, and seniors • Accounts for entering GPA & ACT • “Value-added” measure

24. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Findings – CMU

25. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Findings –

26. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Discussion – CMU seems to do very well on the CLA, which measures “value-added”. What practices have we been doing well to encourage intellectual development in our students? Why do you think a discrepancy exists between student perceptions of their learning and the CLA results?

27. Higher-Order Thinking Skills – Action Plans – • Some current CMU initiatives: • Service-learning projects • Capstone projects • Enforcing pre-requisites • Reviewing master course syllabi • FaCIT faculty development training • Live.Learn.Connect Newsletter (teaching tidbits) • Writing Center – provides feedback for students related to the types of things measured by the CLA

28. Student Retention

29. Student Retention • Related to: • Diversity • All CMU students should have the experience of a “warm, welcoming campus climate” and “sense of belonging” • Student-faculty interaction • Available, helpful, sensitive • Quality of relationships • Students’ educational experience

30. Student Retention – Opportunities – • Two Considerations: • Financial Factors • High School Graduates

31. Financial Concerns

32. Michigan High School Graduates

33. Student Retention – Findings – • Decision to Re-Enroll • Academic advising • The quality of students’ relationships with others

34. Seven Preliminary Factors Related to Retention ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

35. Student Retention – Discussion – What mechanisms do we have in place to assist at-risk students? Follow-up: What mechanisms for students that are “somewhere in the middle”?

36. Student Retention – Discussion –

37. Student Retention – Action Plans – • Some current CMU retention initiatives: • Student retention committee • Educate the CMU community on student retention • Help programs develop student retention goals • Develop a student exit survey • FYE 101 uses 8-10 categories to engage students • Monitor progress through CMU 2010 & OIR’s survey research cycle • Examine the issue of financing higher education in Michigan • Strengthen graduate level programs to account for fewer high school graduates • Recruit and offer programs aimed at unemployed adults (ProfEd?) • Reviewing advisor-to-student ratio – consider a reallocation of resources • Spend more time helping students identify their interests, discover their major (with student services) which should be more than completing a checklist • Connecting students through registered organizations, volunteer opportunities, etc. • Automated Degree Audit System allowing students to help themselves graduate on time • Consider how much support we want to offer (in terms of student services – e.g., math center, writing center) • 1

38. Additional Information Dan Pijnappels, OIR Survey Research Coordinator Email: pijna1dt@cmich.edu Phone: 774-7222 http://www.ires2.cmich.edu/survey/surveyresearch.shtml Becky Oosterhoff, Acad. Affairs Research Analyst Email: ooste1b@cmich.edu Phone: 774-2897 http://www.planning.cmich.edu/

39. Conclusion

40. Thanks to the following individuals for their support with this presentation: • Catherine Riordan, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs • Denise Green, Associate Vice President of the Office for Institutional Diversity • Denise Webster, Director of Curriculum and Assessment • Jason Bentley, Coordinator of the First-Year Experience Program • Shawn Wilson, Director of Student Retention