Community College Survey of Student Engagement

Executive Summary2009 Findings

November 16, 2009

What is CCSSE?CCSSE is a national study designed to provide information about effective educational practices in community and technical colleges and assists institutions in using that information to provide improvements in student learning and persistence.

•A Tool for Improvement – CCSSE helps us:• Assess our educational quality.• Identify and learn from good educational practices.• Indentify areas in which improvement can be made.

•A Tool for Accountability – CCSSE:• Provides reliable data on issues that matter.• Reports data publicly.• Is committed to using data for improvement.

WITC and CCSSE•CCSSE was first conducted in 2002 and WITC was one of 257 colleges to launch the study.

•The study has grown in popularity and credibility and now includes over 600 participating colleges with approximately 400,000 students participating.

•WITC participated in CCSSE in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2009. In 2007, WITC was ranked 7th best 2-year college in the nation based on results from the 2005 CCSSE study.

CCSSE 2009Consisted of 663 participating colleges.WITC is one of 331 colleges grouped into a

‘small college’ cohort.Classroom survey administration consisted

of 70 classes selected with a total of 667 students participating.Student participation represented nearly 20%

of the total program students enrolled at WITC during the FY 09 spring term.

CCSSE Student Profile•84% of WITC students participating in CCSSE are enrolled full-time.

•The majority (71%) of CCSSE respondents are between the age of 18 and 29.

•52% of respondents are male.

Education Level and College Experience

A high school diploma/GED is the highest level of education attained by 68% of CCSSE respondents.

72% of respondents are starting their college career at WITC.

First-Generation Status

Fifty-five percent (55%) of students are first-generation college students.

39% of mothers’ and 40% of fathers’ highest education is a high school diploma/GED.

Support Systems

Three-fourths of WITC students indicate that their family is extremely supportive of their attendance at WITC.

WITC Students Contend With Multiple Priorities Work Caring for Dependents

Nearly three-fourths of students work for pay.Half work 20 or more

hours per week.

58% have family that is dependent on their care.

CommutingOver one-third of students

spend 6 or more hours a week driving to and from WITC.

10% spend 11 or more hours in their weekly commute.

Students’ Educational Goals

Transfer to a 4-year college

Career Change

Self-Improvement/Personal Enjoyment

Complete certificate program

Obtain/update job-related skills

Obtain Associate Degree

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

11%

45%

47%

49%

63%

65%

Percent of Students Indicating Primary Goal

Factors Causing Students to Leave

Transfer to 4-year college

Academically unprepared

Caring for dependents

Working full-time

Lack of finances

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

34%

36%

53%

54%

69%

Percent of Students Indicating Very to Somewhat Likely

Paying for college.

Employer

Public Assistance

Parent or spouse

Own income/savings

Grants/Scholarships

Loans

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Minor Source

Percent of Students Indicating Major or Minor Source for Paying Tuition

The majority of WITC students are utilizing student loans, grants, and scholarships to pay for their WITC tuition.

Relationships are Strong at WITC

More favorable (5 - 7) 4 Less favorable (1 - 3)0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100% 90%

6% 3%

90%

6% 4%

81%

11% 8%

Other StudentsInstructorsAdministrative Personnel & Offices

WITC students say …..

Other Students are: Friendly, supportive, and help create a sense of belonging.

Instructors are: Available, helpful, sympathetic.

Staff are: Helpful, considerate, flexible.

WITC Students are Very Satisfied

•98% of survey respondents would recommend WITC to a friend or family member.

•93% of students rated their educational experience at WITC as good or excellent.

Future Plans •Over two-thirds of CCSSE respondents will either return to WITC within the year or have accomplished their goals at WITC.

Return within next 12 months

Uncertain

Will Ac-complish

Goals This Term

No Current Plan to Re-

turn

52%22%

17%

9%

Service ItemFrequency of Use Satisfaction Importance

(Often/sometimes) (Very/Somewhat) (Very)

Computer lab 85% 97% 73%

Financial aid advising 67% 89% 69%

Academic advising/planning 61% 93% 55%

Skill labs (writing, math, etc.) 60% 94% 51%

Career counseling 42% 86% 50%

Transfer credit assistance 42% 82% 48%

Student organizations 38% 88% 25%

Job placement assistance 37% 78% 58%

Peer or other tutoring 30% 85% 38%

Services to students with disabilities 21% 82% 47%

Child Care 12% 56% 27%

Student Services

2009 Special-Focus QuestionsA regular feature of CCSSE allows colleges to dig deeper into areas of student experience and institutional performance that are basic to student success.

This year’s Special-Focus questions elicited information from students on their use of social networking tools such as Instant messaging, text messaging, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for communication with other students, faculty or college staff.

Survey results show that most students use social networking tools on a daily to weekly basis; however, their use of these tools for educational purposes is less frequent.

Mul

tiple

Tim

es P

er D

ay

Mul

tiple

Tim

es P

er W

eek

Mul

tiple

Tim

es P

er M

onth

Mul

tiple

Tim

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ear

Nev

er0

10

20

30

40

50

6053%

23%

6% 5%

13%17% 15% 15%

9%

46%

Use Social Net-working Tools for any purposeUse Social Net-working Tools to communicate with other students, faculty, or staff.P

erc

en

t of

Stu

den

ts

85% of students surveyed use WITC’s Course Management system, Blackboard, at some time during their educational experience at WITC.

Multiple Times Per Day

Multiple Times Per Week

Multiple Times Per Month

Multiple Times Per Year

Never

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

23%

36%

16%

11%

15%

Percent of Students Using Blackboard

Q. How connected do you feel to WITC when using social networking tools?

8%6%

54%

19%

13%

Much less connected

Somewhat less connected

Neutral/No Effect

Somewhat more connected

Much more connected

Almost one-third of WITC students feel more connected to WITC because of social networking tools.

CCSSE Benchmarks

Active & Collaborative LearningStudent EffortAcademic ChallengeStudent-Faculty InteractionSupport for Learners

CCSSE uses a set of five benchmarks of effective educational practice in colleges.

Benchmarks allow colleges to monitor their performance in areas that are focused on teaching, learning and student success.

The five benchmarks encompass 38 engagement items on the survey that reflect a variety of aspects of our students’ learning experiences.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 60.453.2

58.2 57.952.6

WITC WTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

WITC benchmark scores were higher in all five areas compared to the WTCS Consortium and the CCSSE Small School Cohort!

Active & Collaborative LearningAsked questions/contributed

to class discussions.Made a class presentation.Worked with other students

on projects during and outside of class.

Tutored or taught other students.

Participated in a community-based projects as part of a regular course.

Discussed ideas from readings or classes with others outside of class.

0

10

20

30

40

50

6060.4

54.851.2

WITCWTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

Student EffortPrepared two or more drafts

of a paper/assignment before turning it in.

Worked on a paper/project that required integrating ideas or information from various sources.

Came to class unprepared.Time spent preparing for

class.Reading books for personal

enjoyed or enrichment.Frequency of use of peer

tutoring, skills lab, and computer lab.

0

10

20

30

40

50

6053.2 51.1 51.1

WITCWTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

Academic ChallengeWorked harder than they

thought they could to meet instructor's standards/expectations.

Applied theories/concepts to practical problems or in new situations.

Used information read or heard to perform a new skill.

Made judgments about the value or soundness of information, arguments, or methods.

Completed exams that challenged them to do their best work.

0

10

20

30

40

50

6058.2

52.7 50.3

WITCWTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

Student-Faculty InteractionUsed email to communicate

with an instructor.Discussed grade/assignment

with an instructor.Talked about career plans

with an instructor/advisor.Discussed ideas from

readings or classes with instructors outside of class.

Received prompt feedback from instructors on performance.

Worked with instructors on activities other than coursework.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60 57.953.2 51.6

WITCWTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

Support for LearnersProviding support necessary

to succeed, thrive socially, and cope with non-academic responsibilities.

Providing financial support to afford education.

Use of academic advising/ planning and career counseling.

Encouraging contact with students from different economic, social, racial, or ethnic backgrounds.

0

10

20

30

40

50

6052.6

48.851.5

WITCWTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 60.453.2

58.2 57.952.6

WITC WTCS ConsortiumCCSSE Small School Cohort

WITC benchmark scores were higher in all five areas compared to the WTCS Consortium and the CCSSE Small School Cohort!

How Will CCSSE Results be Used?

•Marketing•HLC Accreditation•Student Services QRP•Strategic Planning