Co Curricular Activities Student Learning Outcomes

7/29/2019 Co Curricular Activities Student Learning Outcomes

1/27

CO-CURRICULARACTIVITIES&

STUDENTLEARNINGOUTCOMES

October 2011

Contact:

Andy Zehner256 Schleman [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


2/27


3/27

1

Section 1: Introduction

The university years are spent only partly in the classroom, library and laboratory. Students also devote considerable timeto co-curricular activities. Clubs, student organizations and other programs help to make college memorable andpleasurable. These outside-the-classroom activities are vital to the full, formative, college experience. And there is ampleevidence that extra- or co-curricular activities bring benefits beyond enjoyment. One well-documented benefit is improvedretention:

The . . . evidence consistently indicates that student involvement both generally and in an array of academicand social areas or activities is related in some fashion to intended or actual persistence into the nextacademic year. 1

This report provides some insights into the effects of engagement on other important student outcomes. We compare theacademic performance of students who are heavily engaged in co-curricular activities with the general undergraduatestudent population of Purdue University. The analysis shows that the academic attainment of the heavily engaged studentscompares favorably to that of students in general. The time they devote to activities outside of class does not causeobservable diminution in academic attainment. To the contrary, heavily engaged students excel in academic outcomes.

CO-CURRICULARENGAGEMENT ATPURDUE Some level of co-curricular activity or involvement is common among Purdue students. Three out of four Purdue studentsallocate at least some time each week to co-curricular activities. About one in four undergraduates spends more than 10

Chart 1

Participation in Co-Curricular ActivitiesHours per Week

Source: 2010 NSSE

1 How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research , Ernest T. Pascarelli and Patrick T. Terenzini, Jossey-Bass, 2005,p. 426.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

0hours

1-5hours

6-10hours

11-15hours

16-20hours

21-25hours

26-30hours

> 30hours


4/27

2

hours a week on these activities. 2 But evidence from the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement suggests that formost students the time commitment is light. When students were asked how many hours a week they devote to out-of-class activities, the most common answer was 1-5 hours.

Among the 3,328 students responding to the question on the NSSE survey, only 24% reported spending more than 10 hours

per week similar to the number having no co-curricular involvement at all. Only 7.3% of students give more than 20 hours,and only 3.2% give more than 30 hours per week. Level of engagement varies from college to college, as shown in Table 2. 3 Students in veterinary technology, for example, are much less involved than health and human sciences majors.

Table 2Participation in Co-Curricular Activities

Hours per Week

College0

Hours1-10

Hours11-20Hours

21 +Hours

College of Agriculture 19% 60% 15% 7%

College of Consumer & Family Sciences 19% 52% 19% 10%College of Education 23% 52% 19% 6%

College of Engineering 19% 56% 19% 6%

College of Liberal Arts 30% 46% 15% 9%

College of Health & Human Sciences 14% 62% 15% 8%

College of Science 22% 55% 18% 5%

College of Technology 32% 47% 13% 9%

Krannert School of Management 19% 56% 17% 8%

Undergraduate Studies Program 28% 50% 16% 6%

Veterinary Technology 74% 23% 3% 0%

Total 23% 53% 17% 7%Source: 2010 NSSE

This report focuses on the impact of intensive engagement on academic achievement. It is worth noting in passing,however, that engagement seems to go hand in hand with another important objective: student satisfaction. Chart 3 showsthat the most involved students are happiest at Purdue.

The effect of activity on satisfaction is important but should not be overstated. The difference between the least and mostengaged students is small. (Note the scale on the left-hand side of Chart 3, which varies only from 3.1 to 3.5 on a 1-4 scale.)Also, engagement does not necessarily cause satisfaction. It may instead be a result: students may join in activities becausethey are happy with their classes, their housing situation and other factors. Nevertheless, Purdues most satisfied students

are also those who are most heavily engaged in co-curricular activities.

2 According to the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), 77% of Purdue freshmen and 75% of Purdueseniors participate in co-curricular activities. Student involvement is marginally higher at Purdue than at other Big 10schools, other AAU peers and other very high research universities.3 Table 2 displays the NSSE taxonomy of colleges. It does not align with Purdues own list of colleges and schools.


5/27

3

Chart 3Students Satisfaction with Their Entire Educational Experience

by Hours of Co-Curricular Activity

Source: NSSE

Section 2: Methodology

This assessment relies on institutional data from six academic semesters:

Fall 2008 Spring 2009 Fall 2009 Spring 2010 Fall 2010 Spring 2011

The study looks at the academic progress of students in five specific co-curricular programs at Purdue University. These fivegroups are typified by intensive levels of student involvement, including both frequent lengthy practice sessions andoccasional absences from campus. 4 The five programs are:

4 The words intensive and highly engaged are used throughout this report to r efer only to members of the five co-curricular programs.

3.1

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.3

3.4

3.4

3.5

3.5

0hours

1-5hours

6-10hours

11-15hours

16-20hours

21-25hours

26-30hours

> 30hours

m e a n s a t i s f a c t i o n v a

l u e : 1 - 4

s c a l e


6/27

4

Aerospace Studies / Air Force ROTC Military Science / Army ROTC Bands & Orchestras Naval Science / Navy ROTC Purdue Musical Organizations

These disparate programs share several important characteristics. They require a great deal of outside-of-class time fromstudents. Bands and PMO require members to rehearse and perform. The military programs require cadets andmidshipmen to participate in rigorous early-morning drill and training exercises as well as military studies classes. Theseobligations can take up to 20 hours a week for part or all of the academic year. PMO members time obligation is mostintense leading up to the annual Purdue Christmas Show, but lighter at other times of the year. Sports-related bandensembles are busiest during football, basketball and volleyball seasons.

We do not contend that the five programs addressed in this study are the only intensive student activities at Purdue.Purdue Student Government representatives, inter-collegiate and club athletes, and members of the various studentactivities and organizations are also heavily engaged. We have focused on the five programs cited above for methodologicalconvenience.

Membership in the selected programs was determined in most cases through course registrations. Army ROTC cadets wereidentified by course records in any military studies course. The sample of Army ROTC includes 727 student/semesterrecords. Air Force ROTC cadets (sample = 896) were identified through registration in Air Force-related academic courses.Navy ROTC midshipmen (sample = 1015) were identified by registration in naval studies courses. Participation in Bands &Orchestras (sample = 3770) was determined through BAND courses. PMO membership was determined by a list providedby PMO, since there are no PMO-related academic courses. The sample contains 1,045 semester records for PMOmembers. The total number of semester records for engaged students is 7,392.

Two measures of academic achievement are used in this study: credits earned and GPA. The Indiana Commission for HigherEducation has made four-year graduation a priority objective for Purdue and Indianas other public universities. 5 Indeed,state funding to these institutions is contingent upon improvement in the four-year graduation rate. This policy reflects theState of Indianas interest in raisi ng the rate of college attainment among Hoosiers, and in streamlining the educationalpipeline. Faced with this policy, Purdue University benefits when students progress rapidly. And by graduating in theshortest time possible, students minimize their educational costs. Nevertheless, the sense of urgency about finishing infour years is not shared by all students. Among Purdue students surveyed in the Cooperative Instructional ResearchProgram (CIRP) in 2010, 45.3% of incoming freshmen indicated at least some chance they would need extra time to finishtheir degree. 6

In order to graduate in four years, students in most academic colleges must earn more than 15 credits each semester. Thus,we look at the percentage of students earning 15 or more credits in the heavily engaged group versus Purdue studentsoverall.

The second measure of success is semester GPA. We set 3.0 or higher as the threshold of success for two reasons. First,some scholarships require students to maintain this level to remain eligible for aid. Second, a GPA of 3.0 or higher is acommon threshold used by employers when sorting job applications from college graduates. About three out of fouremployers consider GPA when screening applications. Sixty-five percent of these disregard anything below a 3.0. 7

The study employs sample data from the overall Purdue student population. The sample contains 182,666 student recordsacross the six semesters representing 51,170 individual students. An individual student may be represented up to six times,

5 Reaching Higher: Strategic Initiatives for Higher Education in Indiana , Indiana Commission for Higher Education, February2010.6 Details of the CIRP survey are available from Purdues Office of In stitutional Research.7 Job Outlook 2012 , National Association of Colleges and Employers, p. 24.


7/27


8/27

6

Table 5Semester GPA & Credits Earned

Highly Engaged Students

Semester GPA

Lessthan 2.0

2.0 -2.9

3.0 orhigher

C r e

d i t s E a r n e

d 15 or more 1.1% 19.1% 51.8%

12.0- 14.9 1.5% 7.3% 10.5%

Fewer than12

3.9% 3.4% 1.6%

Here are some noteworthy details from Tables 4 and 5 and the supporting data: Students earning 15 or more credits per semester are also most likely to achieve the GPA target. Sixty-six percent

of students earning 15 or more credits also earned a GPA of 3.0 or higher compared to only 23% of studentsearning fewer than 12 credits.

Female students in the study satisfy the dual criteria 42% of the time. Male students do so in 33% of cases.

International students succeed at a 42% rate. Indiana resident students achieve double success 37% of the time;non-resident students 36%.

One would suppose that moderate course loads would be more consistent with high GPA. And logic tells us that at some

level students would be overburdened and unable to satisfy all course requirements. But the evidence of our large samplesuggests that few students exceed their limits. Many students have difficulty in achieving a good GPA, but only a smallshare struggle because they have taken too many courses.

STUDENTSATTAIN15+ CREDITS ASEMESTER HALF THE TIME Undergraduate students obtain 15 or more credits 56% of the time. This is a critical concern, because typical degreerequirements demand that students earn more than 15 credits per semester in order to graduate in eight semesters. Thefollowing chart drawn from our data set shows the distribution of credits earned .10

As Chart 6 shows, students earn 12 or more credits 83% of the time, 15 or more credits 56% of the time, but 18 or more

credits only 18% of the time. Fifteen credits is the most common load, yet it is not at all prevalent: students earn exactly 15credits only 20% of the time.

10 The left vertical axis of Chart 6 shows the count of students earning each number of semester credits. These counts arefrom a large six-semester sample and do not represent official totals for a particular year. The right-hand axis showscumulative percentage of students earning at least the given number of credits.


9/27

7

Chart 6Course Credits Earned per Semester

and Cumulative Total

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSENTERPURDUE WITHHIGHERSAT SCORES Anyone who speaks often with program sponsors around the Purdue campus is likely to hear something like, Our programhas the finest students at Purdue . This has been said with good reason of the five programs that are the focus of this study.Taken as a group, the members of Bands and Orchestras, PMO and the three military studies programs have higheracademic qualifications than the general Purdue student population.

Chart 7Comparison of Verbal SAT Scores

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,00030,000

35,000

40,000

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24

count percent

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%


10/27

8

Evidence for this appears in the distributions of Verbal and Math SAT scores for members of the five programs and for therest of the Purdue student population. 11 The average SAT Verbal score for the sample of 7,297 engaged students is 597 forengaged students, compared with 555 for all Purdue students. In terms of Math SAT scores, the comparison is between 633for engaged students and 601 for all Purdue students. 12

Chart 8Comparison of Math SAT Scores

Charts 7 and 8 show a wide distribution of scores for both the engaged students and for all Purdue students. Both groupshave at least some students entering Purdue with scores below 450 and others with scores above 750. The important detailis that the curve of the (green) lines representing engaged students is higher to the right, indicating more students withhigher scores.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSOUT-PERFORM OTHERS WITHSIMILARSAT SCORES A student s college performance is shaped by many factors. 13 One important student characteristic is innate proficiency.Individuals who have performed better before entering college usually continue to excel after entering college. The SAT isnot a perfect measure of students in telligence, but it does correlate to good college performance. Students who entercollege with higher SAT scores tend to earn higher GPAs in their college career. This is confirmed in the upward slope of thelines in charts 9 and 10: higher SAT scores earned before entering college correspond to higher GPAs in college.

What is interesting for our current study is the differences in angle of slope between the two lines in each of the charts. Alllines are upward sloping. But the (green) lines representing engaged students rises more steeply. The difference in theselines suggests that membership in the programs affects student performance.

11 ACT scores have been converted so as to be comparable on the SAT scale. Throughout this report any mention of SATscores includes both SAT and adjusted ACT scores.12 These values apply to the six-semester sample and do not represent official figures for current Purdue students.13 Astins Input Environment - Outcome (IEO) Model of Learning.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%


11/27

9

Chart 9Comparison of Semester GPAs by Verbal SAT Scores

Chart 10Comparison of Semester GPAs by Math SAT Scores

Engaged students outperform the rest of Purdue with a collective semester GPA average of 3.12 compared to 2.91 for otherstudents. But the advantage does not appear at all SAT levels. Engaged students GPAs are better among stude nts with SATscores above 450. The difference is small among students with SAT scores below 450.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSEARN BETTERGRADES ATEVERYCLASSIFICATION Students GPAs tend to be higher for upperclassmen. This may results from students learning better how to do college workas they gain experience, or from attrition of the poorer students. For whatever combination or reasons, upperclassmentend to earn higher grades than freshmen. On the other hand, upper- level courses sometimes tax students abilities to thefullest. Overall, aggregate GPAs for students in higher grades tend to be higher than those for freshmen.

Chart 11 illustrates the trend of higher grades in higher class levels. What is important for the present study is that highly-engaged students grades exceed those of all Purdue students at every class level.

2.60

2.70

2.80

2.90

3.00

3.10

3.20

3.30

3.40

3.50


12/27

10

Chart 11Average GPA by Class Level

Purdue and Highly Engaged Students

Chart 11 illustrates the change in semester GPA for each level of student. It is important to remember that attrition is atwork. The number of sophomores and juniors at Purdue is always somewhat smaller than the number of freshmen. Thenumber of students listed as seniors, on the other hand, is higher because of the number of fifth- and sixth-year seniors.Retention is even lower among members of the five programs. This is especially true for the ROTC programs. Studentsdeemed unfit to be officers will be dismissed from the ROTC program or will lose their stipend. This ensures that students inthe upper grades of these programs are fewer but more elite.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSEARN MORE CREDITS The second measure of student success in this study is credits earned per semester. The engaged students earn an averageof 15.9 credits per semester. Overall Purdue students in the sample (including part-time students) earn an average 13.9credits.

Chart 12Distribution of Credits EarnedPurdue and Engaged Students

2.50

2.60

2.70

2.80

2.90

3.00

3.10

3.20

3.30

3.40

3.50

Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior

Purdue Engaged

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

0-1 3-5 6-8 9-11 12-14 15-17 18-20 21-23 24-26 > 26

Engaged Purdue


13/27

11

Chart 12 compares the number of credits earned by engaged students and all Purdue students. For both groups, the largestshare earns 15-17 credits. About 43% of both groups fall into this category. But a larger share of engaged students earnmore than 17, while more of other Purdue students earn fewer than 15. All together, 44% of Purdue students completefewer than 15 credits but only 29% of engaged students. Alternatively, 71% of engaged students earn 15 or more credits,

compared to only 56% of all Purdue students.

The differences in credits earned are determined to some extent by part-time students, who, by definition, earn fewercredits. But they are a small part of the entire student population. Even among full-time students, the engaged students aremore likely to earn 18 or more.

HIGHLYENGAGEDSTUDENTSARE MORE HEAVILYENROLLED INSTEMAcademic performance is affected by the rigors of the students course of study. Students may progress more slowly andearn lower grades when their major is especially difficult or demanding. Thus, a group of students who are taking easiercourses than other students might be expected to get better grades. In order to compare two groups of students as we are

doing in this report, we must consider the differences in their academic study.

We do not presume here to say which programs are hard and which are easy. But the data show that students in the fiveprograms are heavily enrolled in engineering programs and also in the broader STEM category. 14 Among all Purdue studentsin the six-semester dataset, 23% are enrolled in some category of engineering. The comparable figure for highly engagedstudents is 33%. Likewise, STEM enrollment is 44% of all Purdue enrollment and 59% of students in the five programs. 15

A detailed display of enrollment by college is shown in Table 13. The table shows the aggregated GPA for students in eachof these academic programs. In 34 of 37 programs listed, the highly engaged students exhibit a higher GPA than all Purduestudents. In some cases, these differences are small, and in other cases the sample is too small to make conclusions. But theoverall trend is sufficient to assert that the heavily engaged students perform very well throughout the university including in its most rigorous academic programs.

The largest enrollment differences between Purdue and the five programs are in the College of Science, the Department of Aviation Technology, First-Year Engineering and the School of Aeronautical and Astronomical Engineering. In these colleges,the five programs are heavily represented. The five programs are under-represented in the College of Consumer and FamilySciences and the School of Management, and, to a lesser extent, the College of Agriculture and the College of Liberal Arts.

14 The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math disciplines include the college of Agriculture and the College of Consumerand Family Sciences.15 The Naval ROTC program has a national directive to enroll at least 65% of its scholarship students in technical fields. Inorder to meet the goal, Naval ROTC at Purdue begins with 85% of its freshmen recruits in technical majors.


14/27

12

Table 13Comparison of GPA, by College

Purdue StudentsOverall Heavily Engaged Students

count percent GPA count percent GPACollege of Agriculture 14,070 7.7% 2.81 407 5.5% 3.02

College of Consumer & Fam Sc 9,625 5.3% 3.11 168 2.3% 3.24College of Education 4,927 2.7% 3.36 146 2.0% 3.44College of Health & Human Sci 4,552 2.5% 3.02 125 1.7% 3.22College of Liberal Arts 36,414 19.9% 2.84 1,379 18.7% 3.03College of Science 17,142 9.4% 2.92 893 12.1% 3.13Computer Integrated Manufctrng 252 0.1% 2.80 10 0.1% 2.85Construction Engineering Mgmt 537 0.3% 2.78 8 0.1% 3.05Dept of Aviation Technology 3,497 1.9% 3.05 576 7.8% 3.29Dept of Bldg & Construct Mgmt 2,765 1.5% 3.04 33 0.4% 3.25Dept of Computer & Inform Tech 2,430 1.3% 2.86 84 1.1% 3.18Dept of Computer Graphics Tech 2,536 1.4% 2.91 80 1.1% 3.19Dept of Elec & Comp Engr Tech 2,321 1.3% 2.65 64 0.9% 2.75

Dept of Industrial Technology 1,376 0.8% 2.83 45 0.6% 3.26Dept of Mechanical Engr Tech 2,806 1.5% 2.69 101 1.4% 2.68Dept of Orgnztl Ldrshp & Supv 3,142 1.7% 2.99 74 1.0% 3.17First Year Engineering 12,612 6.9% 2.90 971 13.1% 3.09Forestry 299 0.2% 2.60 15 0.2% 2.79Pre-Pharmacy 3,381 1.9% 3.10 120 1.6% 3.45School of Aero and Astro Engr 3,217 1.8% 2.86 334 4.5% 3.06School of Agr and Bio Engr 802 0.4% 3.01 51 0.7% 3.29School of Biomedical Engr 1,098 0.6% 3.17 50 0.7% 3.52School of Chemical Engineering 2,997 1.6% 2.89 130 1.8% 3.06School of Civil Engineering 3,625 2.0% 2.83 137 1.9% 3.08School of Elec & Computer Engr 5,092 2.8% 2.76 155 2.1% 3.12

School of Health Sciences 2,724 1.5% 3.02 67 0.9% 3.14School of Industrial Engr 2,428 1.3% 2.84 46 0.6% 3.22School of Interdisciplnry Engr 435 0.2% 2.92 48 0.6% 3.10School of Management 15,610 8.5% 3.01 315 4.3% 3.28School of Materials Engr 801 0.4% 2.84 61 0.8% 3.23School of Mechanical Engr 5,770 3.2% 2.80 270 3.7% 3.02School of Nuclear Engineering 804 0.4% 3.01 107 1.4% 3.44School of Nursing 2,637 1.4% 3.44 121 1.6% 3.33School of Pharm & Pharmtcl Sci 133 0.1% 3.25 5 0.1% 3.20Temporary 2,178 1.2% 2.46 2 0.0% 3.98Undergraduate Studies Program 5,423 3.0% 2.60 189 2.6% 2.73Veterinary Technology 2,168 1.2% 2.84 4 0.1% 2.97

FACTORSTHAT ARE RELATED TO AHIGHERGPASeveral factors affecting student performance have been presented in this report. Up to this point we have considered eachfactor separately. Yet we know that each students performance is affected by the factors in combination. Regressionanalysis allows us to measure how various combinations of factors influence an outcome in this case students semesterGPA.


15/27

13

Table 14 suggests how 15 variables are related to the outcome of semester GPA. 16 The variables are arranged in descendingorder according to the strength of their correlation with GPA. The single most important variable is credits earned. Othervariables contribute to a lesser extent, and the effect of some of the variables in Table 14 is trivial. The Beta coefficient nextto each variable indicates the relative strength of each variable s correlation with GPA .

Table 14 provides a wealth of information about student performance. Credits Earned has the strongest Beta value among

the several factors. And this is not surprising because we know from other sources that students who are enrolled full timetend to get better grades. Table 11 in this report shows how GPAs increase for upper classmen, so it is not surprising to seenegative values associated with Freshman and Sophomore and a strong positive value for Senior. The value for Scholar(.056) indicates the beneficial effect of being a Presidential Scholar or a Trustees Scholar. 17 Note that this effect is separatefrom Scholars high SAT scores. The regression model shows the effect of each factor when other factors are controlled.

Table 14Variables That Have Significant

Influence on Student GPA Factor Standardized

Beta

Coefficient

R2

Credits earned .517 .374Female .118Senior .111Math score .100Freshman -.093STEM -.085Verbal score .078Scholar .056Age .050Out-of-state -.047Liberal Arts -.045

Sophomore -.044Highly engaged .021URM -.020International .020

The variable Highly engage d shows a Beta coefficient of .021. This is a positive effect from being involved in the fiveprograms. This effect is separate from (and in addition to) having high SAT scores and being enrolled full time. The effect issmall, but statistically significant at the .01 level. This effect suggests that involvement in the five programs contributespositively to students academic performance when other factors are controlled.

16 The value of the Beta coefficient indicates how strongly each factor influences (or at least correlates with) the outcome.Negative values (e.g., Freshman, STEM, out-of-state) indicate that students with that characteristic tend to get lowergrades. Standardized Beta values provide an easy way of comparing the strength of several va riables effect on (orcorrelation with) the outcome. The R 2 value is the measure of the overall model rather than of individual factors. An R 2 value of .374 means (roughly) that the combination of factors explain 37% of the variation in GPAs among all students inthe sample. This table is drawn from a sample of 14,498 student records 7,297 highly engaged students and a randomsample of 7,697 other Purdue students. The subset was necessary to ensure that all variables in the model existed for everystudent record. All values shown have a t score of .01 or less.17 These programs are discussed later in the report.


16/27

14

FACTORSRELATED TO MORECREDITSEARNED The second important measure of student academic success as defined in this study is credits earned in a semester. In thissection we find that a small number of variables is statistically correlated to credits earned. Table 15 lists the Beta and R 2 values for a series of models.

In this model, nine factors contribute to an R 2 of .369 a moderately strong model of factors correlating with more coursecredits per semester. The factor for Highly engaged is important in this model with a Beta of .128. Students in the fiveintensive programs systematically earn more credits than those who are less engaged. The regression provides a strongerproof that participants in the five programs are earning more credits than their less-engaged peers.

Table 15Variables That Have Significant

Influence on Credits Earned

FactorStandardized

BetaCoefficient

R2

Semester GPA .520 .369Age -.177

Highly engaged .128Scholar .110Verbal score -.044Female -.030Junior .028Fall semester .025Hoosier resident -.025

The Age variable has a negative beta value. This is because many older students are enrolled part-time while the core of thestudent population aged 19-22 takes full course loads.

Students who are Presidential or Trustees Scholars tend to earn more credits that all students. But the effect of being aScholar is smaller than that of being Highly Engaged.


17/27

15

Section 4: The Five Programs

The following pages present summary information and brief comments about each of the five programs. It has not been ourgoal to pit the programs against each other, but only to see how they as a group compare with the overall Purduepopulation in terms of semester GPA and credits earned. But there is some value in assessing each of the five programsindividually. These details are summarized below. For each program, three tables provide summary evidence.

This study defines academic success as a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher and 15 or more course credits earned in a semester.Table 5 above shows that 37% of Purdue students achieve both these success criteria. The tables below provide similarpercentages for each individual program, showing the percentage of program members who achieve both, only one, andneither criterion.

The second table presented below for each program shows the distribution of GPA and credits earned for Purdue and formembers of the specific program. Rather than restating the average, we provide three points of comparison: the 20 th , 50 th and 80 th percentiles. The 20 th percentile is the score below which the least-well performing 20% of the group falls. In otherwords, one in five members of the group does worse than this value. The 50 th percentile is the middle of the ranking: thepoint at which an equal number of members do better and worse. The 80 th percentile is a mark of high achievement. Fourout of five members (80%) fall below this mark, but one out of five exceeds it.

By comparing different groups at these three points we can observe how results are achieved. Air Force ROTC falls belowPurdue at the 80 th percentile, but still performs better overall by having fewer low performers (as shown by Air Forceshigher 20 th and 50 th percentile values).

The third table provided for each program compares GPA scores for specific colleges and academic departments. Only sixare cited because the number of students in other colleges and schools were too small for a good sample. All the values

shown below have sample size of N=20 or greater.


18/27

16

AIR FORCEROTC

MeetsBoth

SuccessCriteria

MeetsOne

SuccessCriterion

MeetsNeither

SuccessCriterionPurdue 37% 37% 26%

Air Force 47% 36% 17%

Average GPA Average Credits Earned

Purdue Air Force ROTC Purdue Air Force ROTC

80 th 3.67 3.59 17 18

50 th 3.07 3.11 15 16

20 th 2.33 2.50 12 14

Purdue Air Force ROTC

College of Agriculture 2.81 2.82

College of Liberal Arts 2.84 3.01

College of Science 2.92 2.89

First-Year Engineering 2.90 2.81

School of Management 3.01 3.24

Undergraduate Studies 2.60 2.85

Findings are based on a sample of 896 semester records for Air Force ROTC cadets. All were identified by their enrollment inone or more courses in Aerospace Studies.

The Air Force ROTC program is moderately selective at the outset. Between the sophomore and junior years, a rigorousselection process leads to a drastic reduction leaving only students who are serious officer candidates. These are eligible forongoing scholarship support. The three-year sample we studied contained 282 freshmen but only 164 juniors. As thenumbers diminish, the air force cadre becomes more elite.

The Air Force ROTC program achieves the dual measures of academic success defined for this study 47% of the time ahigher rate than the 37% for all Purdue students. Air Force ROTC exceeds the general student population in both creditsearned and GPA. As illustrated above, AFROTC excels the general student population at the 80 th , 50 th and 20 th percentilesfor credits and at the 50 th and 20 th percentiles for GPA.

Aviation technology and first-year engineering are top programs for Air Force ROTC members. Thirty-three percent of allstudents in our Air Force sample were enrolled in the First-Year Engineering program, and 24% in aviation technology.


19/27


20/27

18

BANDS & ORCHESTRA

MeetsBoth

SuccessCriteria

MeetsOne

SuccessCriterion

MeetsNeither


Bands &Orchestras

56% 30% 14%


Purdue Bands Purdue Bands

80 th 3.67 3.81 17 18

50th

3.07 3.36 15 1720 th 2.33 2.73 12 14

Purdue Bands





School of Management 3.01 3.33Undergraduate Studies 2.60 2.80

The dataset contains 3,770 student/semester records for Band members. These were identified by course records for anyBAND course during the six semesters.

Bands and Orchestras members exceed the academic performance of all Purdue students in every measure shown above.They get better grades and earn more course credits per semester. They perform better that all Purdue students at the 20 th ,50 th and 80 th percentiles at both measures. The excellence begins at the beginning freshman band members earn acollective GPA of 3.13 compared to the overall Purdue Freshman GPA of 2.78.


21/27

19

NAVYROTC

Meets BothSuccessCriteria

MeetsOne

SuccessCriterion

MeetsNeither


Navy 59% 31% 10%


Purdue Navy ROTC Purdue Navy ROTC

80 th 3.67 3.68 17 19

50 th 3.07 3.27 15 17

20 th 2.33 2.75 12 14

Purdue Navy ROTC







Purdues Navy and Marine ROTC program is the most selective of the three military programs. Most of the midshipmen areon scholarship, and most are enrolled in a technical major. Only 45% of the members of this program are Indiana residents,compared with 64% of students in the Purdue sample. The smaller share of resident students reflects the competitivenature of the Navy ROTC program. The findings are based on 1,015 student records that were identified from courseregistrations for any Naval Studies (NS) course during the six semesters.

Navy ROTC shows the highest rate of double success among the five programs, with 59% of all midshipmen attaining atleast 15 credits and a 3.0 or higher GPA.

Aviation Technology, First-Year Engineering, Nursing and Nuclear Engineering are preferred majors for Navy ROTC students.The College of Agriculture, the College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the College of Education have relatively fewmidshipmen.


22/27

20

PURDUE MUSICALORGANIZATIONS

MeetsBoth

SuccessCriteria

MeetsOne

SuccessCriterion

MeetsNeither


PMO 41% 35% 25%


Purdue PMO Purdue PMO

80 th 3.67 3.69 17 17

50 th 3.07 3.07 15 15

20 th 2.33 2.40 12 12

Purdue PMO







This report is based on 1,045 student records. Members were identified by records provided by PMO. PMO has the highestshare of Indiana resident members, with 69%. This is higher than any other of the five organizations discussed here, andhigher than the 64% of Purdue students overall.

PMO members percentiles for credits earned are very simila r to those of Purdue students overall. This achievement shouldnot be underappreciated. PMO is a purely volunteer organization. Whereas students in the other programs earn coursecredit for their involvement, PMO members do not. PMO members meet outside of class time and receive no credit fortheir efforts.

Whereas PMO members GPA and credits are very similar to those of Purdue overall, PMO members exceed the twosuccess criteria substantially more often than Purdue overall: 41% to 37%.

Twenty-three percent of PMO members are in the College of Liberal Arts. They are also focused on Agriculture, Educationand Nursing. But PMO members are also concentrated in the College of Science (10.9% compared to 9.4% of all Purdue)and in First-Year Engineering (9.7% compared to 6.9%).


23/27

21

PURDUE SCHOLARS

MeetsBoth

SuccessCriteria

MeetsOne

SuccessCriterion

MeetsNeitherSuccess

CriterionPurdue 37% 37% 26%

Presidential 70% 24% 7%

Trustees 79% 17% 5%


Purdue Presidential Trustees Purdue Presidential Trustees

80 th 3.67 3.94 4.00 17 21 23

50 th 3.07 3.54 3.67 15 17 17

20 th 2.33 2.99 3.17 12 15 15

PurduePresidential

ScholarsTrusteesScholars

College of Agriculture 2.81 3.46 3.63

College of Liberal Arts 2.84 3.65 3.81

College of Science 2.92 3.40 3.56

First-Year Engineering 2.90 3.23 3.42School of Management 3.01 3.64 3.74

Undergraduate Studies 2.60 3.61 3.62

The scholars are students with exceptional academic qualif ications. 18 According to information from Purdues scholarshipwebsite eligible students must demonstrate Exceptional academic achievement, and experience in leadership, service,and/or school or community activity .

Participation in the Presidential and Trustees Scholar programs does not require co-curricular activity as the ROTCs, bandsand PMO do. Those two programs are shown here as a basis for setting the bar for academic achievement. Data for theScholars does not consider their levels of engagement. Some of these students focus primarily on their studies. Others areinvolved in co-curricular activities. A few Scholars are also members of the five programs in this report.

The details reported here are based on 2,865 student records for Presidential Scholars and 3, 367 records for TrusteesScholars.

18 http://admissions.purdue.edu/costs/merit_scholarships.html


24/27

22

Section 4: Observations

Academic achievement is not diminished by intensive co-curricular activities at least not in the five programs assessedhere. Indeed, students in the five programs earn course credits faster than other students while earning grades as good orbetter. It would be reasonable to assume that all activities that distract from academics lessen academic achievement, butthis is not so. Here we discuss some reasons why these co-curricular programs can lead to good academic results.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSARE ORGANIZED& DISCIPLINED One common thread among the programs is the conviction that all students have adequate time. With 168 hours in a week,a student can devote 45 hours to class and studies, get 56 hours of sleep and relaxation, spend 20 hours eating anddressing, and still have 47 hours of unallocated time. None of the five programs require even half of this. Students have

enough time: they only need to manage it well.

Time management is the main problem of almost all students who fail at college, Says PMO Director Bill Griffel. To ensurethat PMO members avoid the pitfall of wasted time, PMO plans a weekly schedule with every member. Griffel explains thatevery student gets a Mortar Board calendar at the beginning of each semester, and PMO lays out precisely what will beexpected of members. That commitment is extensive, but Griffel says PMO never exceeds the plan. I havent call ed anextra, emergency practice in three years, he says.

This contention echoes what has been written elsewhere of other time-consuming out-of- class activities. It may be that,for a substantial number of students who work during college, employment provides a context in which they acquireefficient organizational skills and work habits. As a result, they may be able to compensate for less study time by usingavailable time more efficiently. 19 (emphasis added.)

The Air Force ROTC program also closely monitors the academic status of every cadet both in terms of the gradesstudents receive in class and in how they are using their free time to prepare. We have a culture of time management.Being on time is fundamental to the military, says Lt. Col. Tom Frooninckx. Our cadets see good time managementmodeled by me and all the other personnel. It is contagious.

The Navy ROTC program not only ensures that adequate time is spent in studying, but that the time is spent in genuinelyrigorous study. Midshipmen must spend a required number of hours in a designated area, where quiet study is enforced.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSHAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS Air Force cadets at Purdue have a reason for special motivation. The personal evaluation of an ROTC commander is very

significant in a cadets future placement in the service. Each cadet knows that his or her future in the Air Force depends onmeeting the expectation Lt. Col. Frooninckx sets in his classes and in out-of-class ROTC activities. I dont just hand outcandy, he says, I give a lot of As, but the cadets have to work for their grades. And they do.

The other branches of ROTC do not have the same direct link between the college instructor and the cadets career, buthigh expectations are there for all. Navy midshipmen are mostly on scholarship, and continued financial support is

19 How College Affects Students: A Third Decade of Research , Ernest T. Pascarelli and Patrick T. Terenzini, Jossey-Bass, 2005.p. 133.


25/27

23

contingent on the Navys high academic requirements. Similarly, most Army ROTC cadets are receiving some level of scholarship or stipend. In the case of the Bands and PMO, the expectation derives from the legacy of past achievements.Purdues Glee Club is a world -famous institution, and current members understand that they are part of an extraordinarytradition.

Band director Jay Gephart adds that musicians come to Purdue with a record of combining academic achievement and

performance. There shouldnt be any question about whether students can be in band and still handle their classes, hesays. Every one of our members was in a high school band and got good enough grades there to get accepted intoPurdue.

THE FIVEPROGRAMSPROVIDETUTORINGWHEN NEEDED Purdue Musical Organizations monitors the academic performance of its members from the start of each semester. Everystudent meets with PMO Assistant Directors Jon Ranard and Ted Arthur to set academic goals. A second, similar meetingoccurs between younger PMO members and an older student mentor. The students goals are monitored throughout thesemester. Students who begin to fall short of their goal are advised to seek tutoring or other help. First referrals are usuallyto available tutoring services within each academic school. But if a PMO member exhausts the pertinent academic

resources, another PMO member in the same major will step in.

Doctoral students are employed by Navy ROTC to provide special tutoring to midshipmen in calculus and physics. CaptainEugene Jones describes the Navys policy as , No midshipman left b ehind.

OUTSIDEACTIVITYIS LIMITED This study begins with the assumption that the five programs require students to devote a great deal of time to non-academic activities. Yet one benefit of participation in those programs is that out-of-class activities are limited .20 It is amyth, says PMO Director Bill Griffel, that we take up all of our members time. We dont.

Upperclassmen in the Army ROTC program are made increasingly responsible for their fellow cadets. Whereas a freshman isresponsible only for his own grades and performance, the upperclassmen are made responsible for an entire squad. If acadet doesnt plan and delegate, hell have more of a burden, explains Lt. Col. Jerry Hubbard. We sometimes have tointervene to help a cadet coordinate these efforts better . Working within a hierarchy is essential to the Army, but werehere to teach our senior cadets how to make it work.

Also, Army ROTC has a rule that any cadet who falls below academic threshold s be placed on a No Clubs list. That cadet isprohibited from participating in other outside activities until grades are improved in subsequent semesters.

In addition, there is an argument that the types of activity students experience in the five programs provide a morewholesome diversion from study than other students get from social networking or other unstructured amusements. Allstudents have a choice of how theyll spend their time outside of class, explains Gephart. Our students are telling us bytheir choice to join our bands and ensembles that playing music provides an uplifting experience that they value .

Physical health is conducive to overall success, and the ROTC programs enforce a level of training that is geared towardfitness . The Navys physical training routine involves three sessions a week including a 1.5 mile run and other cardiovascularexercise. If every student at Purdue followed our PT guidelines, insists Captain Eugene Jones, theyd all be healthier andbetter for it.

20 The writer recalls his own experience volunteering at a college radio station that was insatiable in its demand forstudents time. Students were called in for emergency air shifts at all hours and irresp ective of class schedules. That sort of disregard for students academic needs never happens among Purdues ROTCs and musical organizations.


26/27

24

SOME REQUIREDCOURSESMAYPROVIDERELATIVELYEASYCOURSECREDITS Except for PMO, all the programs award grades and course credits for their own classes. Purdue does not offer a major inmusic, but band lessons and practices are scheduled and awarded grades. All ROTC members take a number of requiredmilitary studies classes. The grades awarded for these classes are sometimes based on participation. If it is easier to earn ahigh grade for classes related to co-curricular programs than for academic courses overall, participants would receive a

boost to their GPA.

Bands members grades are based mainly on participation, and course records show that most students receive an A ineach Band class. But this doesnt imply band members or ROTC students are getting easy As. Bands require a level of skill,practice, and responsiveness to instruction that is not less than is required for most other university electives. Similarly, theROTC programs demand an academic effort that is on par with other academic electives.

ENGAGEDSTUDENTSARE EXCELLENTSTUDENTS TOBEGINWITH

Students who choose to participate in the most intensive co-curricular activities are often excellent students. They arecapable of handling the double burden of academic and co-curricular activities.

The five programs have a variety of recruiting methods. Navy ROTC is highly selective: about 90% of midshipmen arecompetitively selected for scholarships, and 85% are targeted to technical fields of study. The other ROTC programs have alarger number of walk- on cadets. At the other extreme is PMO, which does not review applicants scores or otherqualifications before accepting them. If they got accepted at Purdue, says PMO Director Bill Griffel, Theyre pretty goodstudents to begin with.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Organizations that require extensive student involvement (particularly PMO) should be granted course override

privileges, to better enable participants to avoid conflicts between classes and practice and performance times.

2. All clubs and organizations should monitor the academic performance of their members and make continuedparticipation contingent upon academic success.

3. Member-to-member tutoring and other academic support initiatives should be integral to most clubs andorganizations.

4. Further study should be conducted into the effects of co-curricular activities among part-time students, and amongstudents who enter Purdue with a Verbal or Math SAT score below 450.

5. Purdues Office of Admissions and others engaged in recruiting new students should make a greater effort to tell

potential students how engagement is linked with academic success.

6. Purdue should share with the Indiana Commission for Higher Education the story of how co-curricular activitiesenhance the college experience but also extend the time needed to graduate beyond four years. The focus of this storyshould be ROTC programs that require additional course credits beyond what is required for a basic degree.


27/27

COMMENTS ABOUTMETHODOLOGYThis report doesnt fully measure th e value of the programs under study. We have only considered their impact on twospecific measures of academic achievement. But there are three important categories of student outcomes:

1. Purely academic achievement measured in course grades, credit hours and degrees earned

2.

Valuable life skills, such as leadership, time management and organization, etc.3. Enrichment activities that lead to treasured memories, greater personal confidence, etc.

The five programs in this study contribute to all three types of outcomes. Perhaps their greatest contribution is to thesecond and third types.

Further, it is important to remember that a statistical report such as this one describes group characteristics. It does notprovide much information about the most excellent individual performers in a group. The purpose of the ROTC programs isto identify and train candidates for the military officer corps. Their success is defined in terms of Purdue students whograduate and move on to military careers not by the average scores of all participants.

This study does not address the important question of attrition. We had only three years of data, which is insufficient totrack four-year graduation rates. A future longitudinal study of attrition and graduation would be a good idea. However,dropping out of a program isnt always a sign that a student has failed at or been overwhelmed by the demands of theprogram. Jay Gephart, director of Bands and Orchestras, says that band members sometimes quit band because of coursescheduling conflicts. Those students were maintaining academic success while participating in band, but they could notproceed with their degree requirements without attending courses that were only available during band practice times.

This report demonstrates that highly engaged students are successful. We conclude, based on the evidence of our extensivesample, that co-curricular involvement of up to 20 hours per week is consistent with a full course credit load and a highGPA. Our conclusions apply only to participants in the five programs included in the study. We expect that similar resultswould occur among student in other programs that emphasize planning, high expectation, tutoring help and supervision as

strongly as the five programs we studied do. But we do not assume that all students who devote 20 hours a week to out-of-class activities will realize academic benefit from it. This report ought not to be interpreted to imply that all students especially students with poor study skills and low academic qualifications should engage in extensive outside activities.

Documents

Co Curricular Activities Student Learning Outcomes